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"Jesus Himself."
BY
THE REV. ANDREW MURRAY.
_Author of "Abide in Christ."_
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY.
NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO.
_Publishers of Evangelical Literature._
COPYRIGHT 1893 BY
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY.
PREFACE.
The following brief messages comprise a revision of two addresses, which
originally appeared in the _South African Pioneer_, the organ of the
"Cape General Mission" (Rev. Andrew Murray, Pres.), and are published by
arrangement, the Mission participating in the proceeds.
"Jesus Himself."
"_Their eyes were opened, and they knew Him._"
I
The words, from which I want to present a simple message, will be found
in the Gospel according to St. Luke, the 24th chapter and the 31st
verse: "_And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him._" Some time
since, I preached a sermon with the words "Jesus Himself" as the text;
and as I went home I said to those who were walking with me: "How
possible it is to have Jesus Himself with us and never to know it, and
how possible to preach of, and to listen to, all the truth about Jesus
Himself and yet not to know Him." I cannot say what a deep impression
was made upon me as I thought over it.
Now these disciples had spent a most blessed time with Jesus, but if
they had gone away before He revealed Himself that evening, they would
never have been sure that it was Jesus, for their eyes were holden that
they should not know Him. That is, alas, the condition of a great
multitude in the Church of Christ. They know that Christ has risen from
the dead. They believe, and they very often have blessed experiences
that come from the risen Christ. Very often in a time of Convention, or
in time of silent Bible reading, or in a time of the visitation of God's
grace, their hearts burn; and yet it can be said of a people whose
hearts are burning within them, that they did not know it was Jesus
Himself.
And now if you ask me what is to be the great blessing to be sought, my
answer is this: Not only should we think about Jesus Himself and speak
about Him and believe in Him, but we should come to the point that the
disciples in the text arrived at, "and they knew Him." Everything is to
be found in that.
If I read that story of the disciples on the way to Emmaus, I get from
it four stages in the Christian life. Just think! How did they begin the
morning that day? With
_Hearts sad and troubled_,
because they thought Jesus was dead. They did not know that He was
alive, and that is the state of very many Christians. They look to the
Cross, and they struggle to trust Christ, but they have never yet
learned the blessedness of believing that there is a living Christ to do
everything for them. Oh! that word of the angel to the women! "Why seek
ye the living among the dead?" What is the difference between a dead
Christ, whom the women went to anoint, and a living Christ? A dead
Christ, I must do everything for; a living Christ does everything for
me.
The disciples began the morning with a sad heart. I fancy very possibly
they spent a sleepless night. Oh! the terrible disappointment! They had
hoped that Christ would be the Deliverer of Israel, and they had seen
Him die an accursed death. On the morning of that first day of the week,
they rose with sad hearts--the bitter sadness cannot be expressed. That
is just the life of many Christians. They try to believe in Jesus and to
trust Him, and to hope in Him, but there is no joy. Why? Because they do
not know that there is a living Christ to reveal Himself.
Then there is the second stage. What is that? The stage of which Christ
speaks:
"_Slow of heart to believe._"
They had the message from the women. They told the stranger who walked
with them: "Certain women have astonished us, telling us they have seen
an angel, who says He is alive." And Christ replied to them: "Oh! fools,
and slow of heart to believe." Yes! there are many Christians to-day who
have heard and who know that they must not only believe in a crucified
Christ, but in a living Christ, and they try to grasp it and take it
in, but it does not bring them a blessing, and why? Because they want to
feel it and not to believe it. They want to work for it, and with
efforts get hold of it, instead of just quietly sinking down and
believing, "Christ, the living Jesus, He will do _everything_ for us."
That is the second stage. The first stage is that of ignorance, the
second stage is that of unbelief--the doubting heart that cannot take in
the wonderful truth that Jesus lives.