The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1905, Page 18

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18 The Lutheran Pioneer.

soul on the Holy One of God. Our sins made Him
a man of sorrows, nailed Him to the cross, and put
Him to death. In His sufferings and death we see
the punishment of our sin.

Woe to them who reject this Saviour and what
He has done and suffered for them. They thereby
reject their only salvation and must themselves suf-
fer the punishment of their sins in the everlasting
fires of hell. But blessed are all that see in the suf-
ferings and death of the Saviour the punishment of
their sins and trust in His work for salvation. In His
death they find everlasting life, and by His wounds
they are healed. His blood cleanses them from all
sins, and though their ‘‘sins be as scarlet, they shall
be white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.”

Believe in the Saviour who suffered and died for
you and with His own blood paid the price of your
redemption. Come to Him for salvation. His arms
are open to receive even the chief of sinners.

“Kach drop of blood proclaims there’s room,
And bids the poor and needy come.’

* “Father, Forgive Them; For They Know Not
What They Do.”

This prayer should teach us, first of all, that our
dear Lord Jesus is a priest, and that He fulfilled the
duties of the priestly office there upon the cross.
To pray for sinners is, indeed, one of the proper
employments of the priesthood. Now, Aaron, serv-
ing under the Law, was invested with peculiar
priestly apparel made for glory and for beauty.
But if we would know with what priestly robes
Christ was clad and what the altar was at which He
served, we need merely look at the cross. There we
see Him entirely naked, full of wounda and void of

, every trace of sacerdotal splendor. Still He attended
to His priestly duties most perfectly and carefully,
even praying for His foes. Let us not be offended
at His unpriestly appearance, for the work of this
Priest has a significance entirely different from that
of Moses’ priests. This difference we learn even
from the superscription written over Him, which
declares Him to be ‘‘the King of the Jews,’’ the
correctness of which title He had Himeelf publicly
and,clearly confessed before Pilate.

. Neither does this title harmonize with His ap-

_ pearance. Instead of wearing a scarlet robe, His
__ body is covered with blood and wounds and bruises.
_ Instead of a golden crown, He wears a crown of

thorns. There upon the cross we see a Priest and

3 ane King, of whom the world is ashamed, whom the

world despises, and whom it regards as neither King
nor Priest. This is just what Isaiah says: ‘‘When
we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should
desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we
hid as it were our faces from Him. He was despised,
and we esteemed Him not.’’ This Priest offers us
His own body and blood upon the cross in a place
that was dishonored, desecrated, yea, accursed. This
shall be our dearest, loveliest, and most graceful
garment, no matter how it is regarded by the world
and the natural eye. Bulls, heifers, and calves were
sacrificed in the temple upon an altar that was not
consecrated. Gallows and places of execution are
to this day horrid and dishonorable, and Moses
writes: “He that is hanged is accursed of God.’’
Now, the world thinks it disgraceful and dishonor-
able that this Priest was not permitted to bring His
offering even to the place where heifers and calves
were sacrificed. But this was for us and for our
good, that we might learn that He has brought a
fully satisfactory offering for our sins. Since our
sins could not be atoned for and removed by any
other than this Priest who is the eternal Son of God,
it is our fault that He could not have a more honor-
able altar and a more precious garment. This is no
hindrance, however, to the discharge of His office.
He not only does offer His body and blood, but
also prays for poor, ignorant sinners.

We should, therefore, be heartily comforted be-
cause of this Priest and His office. Even as He
suffers not alone for those who were present at His

crucifixion, took hold of Him and nailed Him to the.

cross, so, neither, does He pray for them alone, but
also for us; otherwise the prayer of Christ would
receive too limited an interpretation. Those present
then were merely our servants and ministers. Had
it not been my sin and thy sin that nailed the Lord
Jesus to the cross, these men would surely not have
been able to molest Him. — Luther.

> —_______—_—_

Christ’s Return to Judgment.

Christ, who now sits enthroned in glory at the

right hand of His Father, will come from thence to
judge the quick and the dead, and then will His
glory be revealed to all flesh.

As the disciples stood on Mount Olivet and with
longing hearts gazed after their ascending Lord,
they were told by the angels: ‘‘This same Jesus
which is taken up from you into heaven shall so

come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into -

heayen,”’ Acts 1,11. Job in holy confidence de-
clares that he shall see his Saviour stand at the

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