Sermons And Writings of Stephen O. Khoobyar

By Milt Khoobyarian

Trying to find out quickly what a book is all about can be the opposite, and time consuming. I will try to simplify this effort. Here you have a collection of sermons (religious discourses) delivered by a clergyman (minister) while he was at his best, at several churches not long ago.

The sermons come in a variety of topics, religious and otherwise.

They are easy to read since they are like essays or lectures on a topic. What makes them be called a sermon is the distinction that they are surrounded by the following: a title that is perhaps taken from a verse or paragraph from a book in the Bible and occasionally followed by a brief prayer. Finally, sermons are normally presented at a religious meeting or church. Otherwise, sermons' use can be by the reader's choice of use as a learning experience. In the preface of the book, you will find a composite of most of the topics covered. Here you can select a topic and find out more details covered.

As I have read and inputted these sermons for the last few years, then turned around and re-entered them for other reasons, some of the particular messages in the sermons have influenced me as never before. Many times, I have found answers to my questions or views to change in interpretation as I have looked further in alternative possibilities found in the scripture.

Finally, by browsing the list of sermon titles for a topic of interest, you may use short-title sermons that logically fit the larger category of topics and begin your journey. Best wishes.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9781639619887

Book preview

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Sermons And Writings of Stephen O. Khoobyar

Milt Khoobyarian

ISBN 978-1-63961-987-0 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63961-988-7 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Milt Khoobyarian

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

The Ministry of Rev. Stephen O. Khoobyar1

Section A: Sermons (1949–1956)

Great Commission

Christ's Compassion

The Commandment of Love

Christ Set His Face to Jerusalem

The Message of the Cross

The Power of Christ

The Finality of Christ

What Is Religion

Section B: Sermons (1959–1961)

Stir Up the Gift That Is Within Thee

The Shadows of the Cross

He Is Not Here; For He Is Risen, as He Said

Christ, Our Example

Follow Me

Moved with Compassion

The Conquest of the Grave

He Steadfastly Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem

The Resurrection of Christ

The Blessed Mother

The Abundant Life

Lord's Supper

The God's Word

The Gift of God

The Human Christ

The Divine Christ

The Credentials of Christ

The Sinfulness of Man

The Sinlessness of Jesus

Thanksgiving Day

The Second Word

Christ the Way, the Truth, the Life

An Act of Devotion

The Christian Perfection

Thanksgiving

Heavenly Vision

Prayer of a Mother

Great Vision

Section C: Sermons (1961)

A Happy New Year

The High Mission of the Mother

The Descending Spirit

Abominations

Spiritual Sins

Envy

The Life of Fellowship

Lust

God's Law of Labor

Worldwide Communion

Anger

Intemperance

Covetousness

Laymen's Sunday

Seven Virtues

The Marks of a Christian Family

Section D: Sermons Dual Language (1960–1961)

Dual Language: Worshipping Christ

Dual Language: Being with Jesus

Dual Language: Evangelism Sunday

Dual Language: Reformation

Dual Language: A Great Faith (How to Get Faith)

Dual Language: Who Is a Christian?

Dual Language: John 3:16

Dual Language: Who Is Christ?

Dual Language: Evangelism through Literature

Dual Language: A Noble Philosophy of Life

Dual Language: The Lord's Supper

Dual Language: Regeneration

Dual Language: A Prophet Fleeing from His God

Dual Language: Sanctification

Dual Language: Christology

Dual Language: Evangelism

Dual Language: Birth of the Christian Church

Dual Language: The Heart of the Christian Gospel

Dual Language: Christian and His Belief

Dual Language: Christian and His Church

Dual Language: Christian as Citizen

Dual Language: Christian and His World

Dual Language: Memorial Day

Dual Language: A Sad Statement

Dual Language: A Sad Statement Part 2

Dual Language: A Disciple's Doubt

Dual Language: Strength and Action

Dual Language: I Press toward the Mark

Dual Language: Things That Keep Us from God

Dual Language: Receiving and Giving

Dual Language: Godliness

Dual Language: Victory through Resurrection

Dual Language: Witness for Christ

Dual Language: Church Membership

Dual Language: The Mission of the Church

Dual Language: Behold Thy King

Dual Language: Christ's New Order of Sonship

Dual Language: Christ and Disappointed Men

Dual Language: The Vision of God

Dual Language: The Voice in the Wilderness

Dual Language: The Sabbath Day

Dual Language: The Glory of Christ

Dual Language: Christ the Preeminent Lord

Dual Language: Christ the Incarnate Lord

Dual Language: The Believers' Union with Christ

Dual Language Embedded: The First Christmas Service

Section E: Pastoral Prayers and Invocations

Pastoral Prayers

Pastoral Prayers: Christmas Service

Pastoral Prayers: Invocation at Princeton Seminary Chapel Where Rev. Kagawa Preached

Pastoral Prayers: Invocation at New Citizens' Ceremony, New Britain, Connecticut

Pastoral Prayers: Easter Service

Pastoral Prayers: Easter Service

Pastoral Prayers and Invocations: Gospel Crusade Turlock

Section F: Talks and Papers

Talks and Papers: Keynote Talk Presented at the Banquet in Honor of Bishop Raphael Bidavid in Turlock, California

Talks and Papers: The Christians of the Eastern Church

Talks and Papers: Service at First Presbyterian Church Easton, Pennsylvania October 24, 1948

Talks and Papers: Our Christian Task in Iran

Talks and Papers: The Fourth Word from the Cross

Talks and Papers: A Band of Men

Talks and Papers: What Is It to Be a Christian?

Talks and Papers: Go and Preach the Gospel

Section G: Weekly Radio Talks

Station KTUR, Turlock, California

Weekly Radio Talks KTUR, Turlock, California: Christ, Master of the Storm

Weekly Radio Talks Station KTUR, Turlock, California: The Cure of Anxiety

Weekly Radio Talks Station KTUR, Turlock, California: What to Do with Our Fears?

Weekly Radio Talks Station KTUR, Turlock, California: Abiding in Christ

Weekly Radio Talks Station KTUR, Turlock, California: The Commandment of Love

Weekly Radio Talks Station KTUR, Turlock, California: Abiding in Christ 2

Weekly Radio Talks Station KTUR, Turlock, California: Christ, Lord of Life and Death

Weekly Radio Talks Station KTUR, Turlock, California: The Christmas Joy

About the Author

Preface

This publication consolidates the sermons and writings of Rev. Stephen Odishoo Khoobyar for the period 1948–1962 while residing in the US. Prior to 1948, all his writings were in Turkish, Assyrian, Farsi, and English.

My father wrote the original documents in handwritten 5×10 booklets, using blue ink, that remain still in excellent condition. Each booklet contains one sermon in two languages: English and Assyrian. Rev. Khoobyar used the King James Version of the Bible, which also reflected the same tense of writings in the sermons. Other documents included are pastoral prayers, radio broadcast talks, and presentations on special occasions.

Sermon were used during Sunday services, as well as during the weekly series of related topics. Other sermons were used in teaching situations outside weekly services. These sermons are shorter in duration and deal with topics of abbreviated titles, simpler language, better suited as teaching presentations. Sermons in this document are grouped in alphabetical sections summarized below.

Sermons in section A were presented during large gatherings such as when church delegates met with longer allotted time. Topics included Christian doctrines, Christ's roles, the meaning of the cross, commandment of love, Great Commission spells out the responsibility of the church to spread out its message to the world. (It reminds us that today's church needs are the same as those written long ago.)

Section B sermons cover a large variety of topics and varied time allotments. Christian perfection is a detailed biblical exploration of the meaning. Christ, Our Example was preached at the Installation of Westminster Club as a training sermon. Follow Me is another theme of sources from the New Testament to clarify the definition of a Christian. Christ the Way, the Truth, the Life contains a series of sermons to explore: The Divine Christ, Credentials of Christ, Sinlessness of Jesus, The Humanity of Christ, The Triumphant Christ, The Risen Christ. The Advent calendar brings several sermons: The Conquest of the Grave, He Steadfastly Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem, The Lord's Supper.

Section C sermons consist of topics in spiritual life: Mark of a Christian Family, High Mission of the Mother, God's Law of Labor (the church has condemned idleness). Separate but related sermons cover topics of sin: Seven Virtues, Abominations (feeling of disgust), Anger, Lust, Envy, Spiritual Sin, Intemperance, Covetousness (lust of getting and greed of keeping), Church Holidays.

Section D sermons include several theological topics that require a background of Christianity's basic beliefs for their understanding: Worshiping Christ (Magi came), Being with Jesus (ordained the twelve), Reformation (background, rise of Protestantism). Several sermons on evangelism (purpose and task): World Evangelism (Christian Mandate), A Great Faith, Steps to Faith, Who Is a Christian (characteristics, full surrender), John 3:16 (proposition of the whole inspired treatise), Sanctification (those who are called), Regeneration (spiritual renewal), Birth of the Christian Church.

I should thank Rev. Erik Khoobyarian, my dear son, for his advice and for his effort in moving the files from one system to another. Also, my sincere debt to the memory of Rev. Stephen Khoobyar, who conscientiously documented his sermons as he had presented them so that there were no gaps.

All original sermon booklets are available from the Harvard College Library for research.

Milt Khoobyarian

July 23, 2021

The Ministry of Rev. Stephen O. Khoobyar

¹

Stephen rose from humble origins in Urmia, to prominent pastoral services in the cities of Tabriz, Tehran, Iran, and later in New Britain, Connecticut, and Turlock, California. While his parents had little or no formal education, they did not want their son to grow up uneducated. His father labored hard to save enough money to send Stephen to study at the Urmia College under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church Mission. Stephen received his academic degree in 1912, followed by a degree in theology. Upon graduation, Stephen and his schoolmate Piour Sargis got married in Ada. It was at this time that Stephen manifested his gift for evangelical work that led to his appointment as the pastor of the Assyrian Presbyterian Church in Ada.

After serving five years in Ada, he accepted a similar but more challenging position in the Presbyterian Evangelical Church of Tabriz, Iran, in 1921. Stephen served faithfully in Tabriz Church for twenty-seven years (1921–1948). His talents brought him to the attention of American missionaries, and they offered him a one-year scholarship to do graduate work at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey (1924–1925).

Upon his return to Tabriz from Princeton, Stephen resumed his duties in the Tabriz Presbyterian Church for six more years.

To complete his studies, Stephen returned to Princeton Seminary and finished his studies toward a master's of sacred theology degree (1931–1932).

While Stephen was at Princeton, he attended several conferences, including one on missionary policies and methods sponsored by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Mission held in Lakeville, Connecticut. In 1938, he was chosen to attend the International Missionary Council meeting in Madras, India, to be followed immediately by another conference in Delhi, India.

During his thirty-two years of ministry in the Presbyterian Church in Iran, those who came to know Stephen considered him a true friend and an inspiring preacher. His passion for preaching the Christian message and his understanding and expressing the power of the Christian faith was the hallmark of his ministry.

Stephen loved speaking and meeting with people. Piour often accompanied him when he called on the sick in their homes or in hospitals. He would read from the Bible, pray for them, and assure them of God's love in their lives. Because of the great affection he had for his parishioners, he often counseled those who were troubled by personal problems, those who had experienced loss of a family member.

As part of mission work, Stephen and a missionary physician, Dr. Joseph Cochran, would travel by a horse-drawn carriage, from Urmia to small towns and villages, to preach the gospel of God and to attend to the sick. Stephen would preach to their situation, as he understood it, as well as respond to their human condition, assuring them that they were important people in the eyes of God. Dr. Cochran, on the other hand, saw patients with a variety of ailments, some that needed urgent attention that had to be referred to nearby hospitals for further treatment. Respiratory infections and diarrhea, particularly in children, were most common in those villages. As they traveled from village to village, they took up lodging in teahouses on roadsides for a few days before moving on to the next village.

Throughout his ministry in Tabriz, Stephen had a unique opportunity to evangelize to the people of Muslim faith, as well as to their leaders, the mullahs, and high-ranking public officials. While some Muslims were interested to learn about Christianity, they seldom attended Sunday worship services, since they were afraid of being stigmatized by fellow Muslims as traitors to Islam. Stephen would invite them to meet in his office during the weekdays for exchange and fellowship. Since he had a good knowledge of the Koran and understood the Islam religion, he was well prepared to discuss and examine questions of vital importance to Muslims. Many sessions were devoted to discussions about the fundamentals of Christian doctrine. Stephen was truly convinced that some Muslims, including mullahs, had many doubts and felt a sense of incompetence about the Muslim religion and were sincerely seeking Christianity. Some indeed converted to Christianity. It was through Stephen's courage and Christian faith that he was able to inspire fellow humans to embrace Christianity.

Although these accomplishments were notable, the obstacles that he had to overcome to achieve them were equally challenging. This was an era when the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, known as a tyrant dictator, was ruling the country. People were genuinely afraid to express their feelings in public and were fearful of being constantly watched. Despite such problems, overall progress toward creating educational opportunities and curing medical ills of many people in Iran were some of the greatest contributions of American missionary work in Iran.

Stephen continued his ministry in Tabriz until he was called to serve as a pastor of the South Congregational Church's Assyrian Mission in New Britain, Connecticut (1948–1956). Here he preached regularly to both the English and Assyrian-speaking congregations. Eight years later, Stephen accepted an invitation from the San Joaquin Presbytery in California to become senior pastor of St. John's Assyrian Presbyterian Church in Turlock, California, until he retired (1956–1961).

In the sections that follow, a synopsis of Stephen's sermons, pastoral prayers, talks, and papers provide an intimate picture of a man who devoted himself full-time in enriching human life with the love of God.

Section A: Sermons (1949–1956)

This section includes selected sermons preached during the period 1949–1956 at the South Congregational Church in New Britain, Connecticut.

Great Commission

Christ's Compassion

The Commandment of Love

Christ Set His Face to Jerusalem

The Message of the Cross

The Power of Christ

The Finality of Christ

What Is Religion?

Great Commission

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19–20)

Preached in New Britain, Connecticut, February 22, 1961, for Lenten series.

This text was spoken under the most impressive circumstances. A risen Christ spoke it. With all that had happened to him, this made it all the more impressive. It was spoken to a group of people in a most extraordinary state of heart. They lived through forty days of experience that shook the soul. The greatest act in history had taken place before their eyes. Out of the depth of despair, they had suddenly been raised to the heights of spiritual ecstasy and a sense of the reality of the higher world. Our minds can hardly picture the look on the faces of the group on the mountain as they heard this great and wonderful commission and then beheld their Lord taken from their sight.

The command that comes down to us out of such a scene would attest our attention by its historical background, if by nothing else. More than any other statement of the Word of God, this one might be termed the foundation of the missionary enterprise of the church. It was the command of our Lord himself. Christ founded his kingdom on spoken command, not on a written law nor on a formulated constitution nor on a declaration of rights nor on new equipment. He founded it on the everlasting injunction that those who love him and profess to be his disciples carry the truth of their experience everywhere.

The risen Christ gave this commission with authority, All authority has been given unto me. By reason of the dignity he had won, he bids men go into the whole world. This commission has all the weight of the word of supreme authority. This expresses the will of the king and the head of the church. When he uttered these words, the glory of heaven was already on his brow. He knew that he was about to take his place at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

The words of this commission were spoken by a king who had a right to command. He told them to make disciples of all nations to baptize in his name and to teach the things he had commanded. It means bringing men definitely into the ranks of the followers of Christ. We are heralds of the news from heaven because the king has commanded it. It is apparent that the determining factor in the missionary enterprise is what we think of Christ. It makes all the difference in the world, with regard to his work, whether we think of him as a carpenter of Nazareth or as the Son of God.

If his commission was a polite request, and if his teachings are good advice, there is no great impulse to suffer for the redemption of the world. But if he is the Lord of heaven and earth, then we must obey him. If he is our Savior, we must go for him. If he is our master, we must serve him. If he is life, the world needs him. If he is God come down to share the lot of his children, he must be preached. It needs cause no surprise if those who think little of Christ feel no great impulse to go to the ends of the earth to proclaim him. Go to all nations. Christ's ideal for his world is, of course, that his brethren should enjoy every one of the good gifts of the Father: leisure, happiness, comfort, justice, and opportunity. But he wants more than these for his brethren. He wants them to be redeemed. Therefore, in the first century, the twentieth century, and in every century that yet remains, the method of the enterprise of the church, which we call missions, will be to preach redemption to mankind. It means the end of all the evils and sorrows that plague the nations. The end of the race hatred and the economic divisions that bring on wars. The end of the great social wrongs that destroy humanity. The end of the individuals' sins that ruin men's particular lives. The end of tears and sorrows, and the transgressions, the end of all cruelties, the enslaving and the repression.

Christ's orders are urgent because the world needs Him.

There are millions today in the darkness of sin. There are millions that have never heard of God, who sent his only Son into the world to save it. There are countless homes where the peace of Christ has never taken up its abode. Multitudes with white faces and aching hearts are marching on under a burning sun into the dark toward an unknown end. Across the nations of the world, there is sweeping the great tide of the secular spirit coming out of the godless Communistic philosophy. It is threatening the youth of the world. At present, those who have the direction of the nations in their hands are being carried away by the subtle and destructive appeal of this false philosophy. Trying times are ahead for the people of God.

It must be said that our world at present is a terrorized world. It is a world afraid of itself. It has been forced as a result of the Great War not yet finished, to face the fact that it is possible for the world, as now organized, to destroy itself. Mutual fears, distrusts, and hatred among nations have created increasing menace and madness. The world today is not only unsafe for democracy but also for humanity.

It is true; our world is a spiritually hungry world. The word spiritually includes not merely religion but also all those aspirations and ideals which represent the hunger of the human spirit for the best life has to offer. The appeal is to liberate lost bodies bound by continuous hunger, unrelenting disease, lost minds chained in fear and superstition, lost hopes because of economic slavery and social insecurity.

When Jesus came to the synagogue in Nazareth and stood up to read as follows, The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to liberate those who are bruised. Here he declared his mission and the power through which his mission would be accomplished in the areas of need as they existed in his day. The same areas of need still exist today among disinherited in all lands.

The world's present and desperate need is Jesus Christ. He alone has the power to discern the great areas of human need, and he alone has the solution to the problems of the economic, political, and social areas of life. His way of love alone is sufficient to bring order out of chaos. This still works and always will work.

And he said unto them, Go ye therefore and teach all nations. These words are divine in origin and carry with them the authority of the Almighty.

Our God is a missionary God. He has eternally hated sin and loved the sinner from the earliest dawn of human history. We have the question: Adam where art thou? And from that hour to this hour, our God has been the seeking and the saving God.

Our book is a missionary book. Running through the whole narrative is the missionary purpose and plan of its authors.

Our Savior is a missionary Savior. Was not Jesus, in a very real sense, the first foreign missionary? Did he not leave his home in heaven, as well as his throne and kingly crown, to come to earth to be the Savior of men? Time and again, he gave explicit expression and emphatic utterance to his saving mission and his worldwide purpose, I am come to seek and save that which was lost.

Our church is a missionary church. The Master's word is clear, As the father hath send me even so I send you. And you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations.

The nature of our Christian religion lays upon all who accept the obligation to share that religion. Suppose Christ had never spoken the words of our text to his disciples, would not the obligation to share his Gospel be inherent in the religion itself which we profess? The very nature of the Christian religion when received into the heart of man constrains him to share it. A missionary leader put it this way, Any man who has a religion is bound to do one of two things with it, change it or spread it. If it isn't true, he must give it away. If our religion is true, we are under obligation to propagate it to all the world. Our personal experience of the Savior impels us to share this Christ. It is unconscionable that a person should be saved and not feel the impulse to save others. If Christ means something to us, we want others to enter into the same blessings. If Christ be in my heart, I must do one of two things with him: give him away or give him up.

There is a divine way of compulsion. He has put in our hearts a desire to share the abundance of the Christian life with those who need it most. This driving compulsion cannot be fully explained, but perhaps we can more fully understand it as we see it in the lives of others. Jesus had it in his life. The most striking example of this divine compulsion is in the life of Albert Schweitzer. In his Out of My Life and Thought, he writes these words about it:

It struck me as incomprehensible that I should be allowed to lead such a happy life. While I saw so many people around me wrestling with care and suffering. Even at school I had felt stirred whenever I got a glimpse of the miserable home surroundings of some of my school fellows and compared them with the absolutely ideal conditions in which we children of the parsonage at Gunsbach lived. Then one brilliant summer morning at Gunsbach there came as a matter of course that I must give something in return for it. Many times already I had tried to settle what meaning lay hidden for me in the sayings of Jesus: whosoever would save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospel shall save it. Now the answer was found. In addition to the outward I now had inward happiness.

Because of this divine compulsion, Dr. Albert Schweitzer left his eminent place in art and philosophy in Europe to become a doctor in the dangerous jungles of Africa.

Today tremendous forces oppose the Gospel.

Atheism is aggressively seeking to undermine the faith of men everywhere.

Communism definitely challenges Christianity because of its ardent intellectual spirit.

Secularism is widespread, and the false gods of this world are madly followed.

Religionism still considers Christianity as only one of many religions in which the best of each will contribute toward the more perfect religion that is to be.

Nationalism is running wild toward the peril, and the possibility of war lies that way.

We know it is an evil world where men and nations are calling world conferences for the godless and free thinkers.

We know it is an evil world where men and nations are deliberately planning death for their neighbors, as witnessed in the building of armaments.

It is an evil world that has national parties which hate all religions, especially the Christian religion and the Christian Bible. But this is just the kind of world that Jesus came to save.

Some of the present needs

Today there are several special needs of the church that should be given careful attention.

In the first place, in order to remedy its own inadequacies, there is need for a fundamental and thoroughgoing self-examination. It must become, in a very real sense, a repentant church. Its sins, however, are not so much positive as negative. The missionary zeal of the early days in the church has sadly cooled. Lukewarmness will never move the world to God nor move the church forward. Nominal Christianity is passionless, powerless, and almost Christless. It needs to be redeemed, converted, saved, justified, and sanctified. It needs to come alive and become active.

Another great need is a rededicated church. A rededication of individuals, money, talents, and life for the maintenance of the missionary work. The establishment of working bases for better relations between nations and the improvement of economic conditions everywhere. A rededicated church in this connection needs to remember that, after all, Christ is our leader, and we merely cooperated with him. A revival of prayer is an integral part of the redemption of the church to its own great primary mission to the world.

There is another great need: the world needs and the Gospel needs a totalitarian church. The word totalitarian is applied to certain nations in which everything and everybody, including all organizations, all agencies, are tied into a single unit that drives for one goal under the control of one mind. That statement can be applied definitely to the church as one of its greatest needs today. What we need today in all our churches of all denominations and in Presbyterianism, as a whole, to recognize and accept without qualifications, or reserve, the dictatorship of Jesus Christ as the one Master and guide of our methods and our spirit. Christ is our motive, and Christ is our end. Yes, Christ is our message. He is unique, complete, final, truly human, truly divine, supernatural, indispensable, and universal. Christ and Christ alone is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.

We cannot win without sweat and tears, but we can win by being wholehearted and by putting our redeemed lives at God's disposal. A zealous church, fervent in spirit, alive with its message, and diligent in its efforts, will mean progress and victory.

There is an impressive weight of historical evidence behind the insight Charles Rann Kennedy in The Terrible Meek ascribes to the Roman captain who supervised the crucifixion of Jesus. Speaking to the dejected mother, he declares, He is alive…all the empires can't kill him…I tell you woman, this dead son of yours, disfigured, shamed, spat upon, has built a kingdom this day that can never die.

Let us take our stand with Christ today upon Olivet, where we can view the outlook in wide perspective. What did he see? He saw through to the end; meanwhile, he saw false prophets, wars, rumors of wars, nations arrayed against nations. His followers hated, persecuted, stumbling, led astray, chilled, killed. But out of that devastation, he saw some enduring to the end, and the Gospel of the kingdom reached in the whole world for a testimony unto all nations. What a great commission!

Christ's Compassion

And Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them and he healed their sick. (Matthew 14:13–21, 14:14)

And wherever he enters, say to the householder, "The teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I am to eat the Passover with my disciples?" (Mark 14:14)

Preached in New Britain, Connecticut, during the Lenten series week of February 22, 1951.

Christ had thought retirement by crossing the lake of Galilee for two reasons: the murder of John, and the return of the apostles from their mission. The need for rest is emphasized in St. Mark's gospel. There were crowds because of the approach of the Passover, and these crowds outran them round the head of the lake so that when the boat reared the landing place, they were all there. The hope of retirement and privacy had gone. So our text is very emphatic as showing us a glimpse into our Lord's heart, in circumstances that would have annoyed most of us.

The unwearied toil and endless patience of the master

How valuable these and the like hints are of Christ's true humanity. His weariness in body. His longing for quiet and repose of mind and how gladly he puts it aside without a word of reproach for intruding on his leisure or regret that it is so broken in upon. What did Jesus say? Did he say these people have no consideration? They are selfish. I have done enough. I am worn out. Send them away. Tell them to be quiet and stoop their noise that I may sleep. Get rid of them somehow for I must rest. Had we been in his place in something like this, we would have said we have little patience with anyone who disturbs our repose.

The penetrating look of Jesus enabled him to see the multitudes; why was compassion the emotion? Possibly this reaffirms primarily to their weary travel, stained appearance. The visible token as a symbol so a crowd is ever a pathetic sight.

The compassion of Christ

If few could see a man as he is, we should pity. Christ's eye beholds all our hidden evils and sorrows. The result is pity, not aversion, not anger, indifference. Here we have true human sympathy of Jesus. This sympathy was a spring of his action. Some of his miracles are drawn out by entreaty, and some are wrought by his unsought love spontaneously. This pity is extended to each of us. The work that compassion leads the healing, his care for the body, the feeding, teaching, his revelation of the greatness of his compassion it comes before we ask is brought near to each of us.

Jesus never thought of himself; the crowds have broken in on his rest. How does he take it when he saw the great multitude and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

Christ and criticism

When Jesus looked out on the crowd, he saw plenty to criticize. Much that was wrong. A lot that was selfish, not a little that was vile. He saw people who were dishonest in business, who were ready to cheat and lie in order to make money, who were crooked and dishonest. He saw worldliness. He saw people who sat down to eat and to drink and who rose up to play. He saw hypocrisy. He saw scoundrels hiding behind the skirts of priests, hands stained with crime serving at the altar, and lips full with blasphemy reciting the creed. He saw much to criticize, but the strange thing is that no criticism fell from his lips. He was moved with compassion and touched with pity. He was filled with a sadness that sometimes could express itself only in tears. The sin of the world did not make him bitter.

Christ did not withdraw from the crowd. Instead of drawing back, he pushed in where the crowd was, right into the thick of soiled and stained and defeated humanity. This does not mean that he was tolerant toward sin. He