Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament

¹ By the Lord “was the world made, and the world knew Him not.” What world was made by Him, what world knew Him not? For it is not the same world that was made by Him, which knew Him not. What is the world that was made by Him? The heaven and earth. How did not the heaven know Him, when at His Passion the sun was darkened? How did not the earth know Him, when as He hung upon the Cross, it quaked? But “the world knew Him not,” whose Prince he is, of whom it is said, “Behold, the prince of this world comes, and finds nothing in me.” Wicked men are called the world; unbelieving men are called the world. They have gotten their name from that they love. By the love of God we are made gods; so by the love of the world, we are called the world. But “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” “The world” then “knew Him not.” What? “all men?”

2. “He came unto His Own, and His Own received Him not.” All things are His, but they are called His Own, from among whom His mother was, among whom He had taken Flesh, to whom He had sent before the heralds of His advent, to whom He had given the law, whom He had delivered from the Egyptian bondage, whose father Abraham according to the flesh He elected. For He said truth, “Before Abraham was, I am.” He did not say, “Before Abraham was,” or “before Abraham was made, I was made.” For “in the beginning the Word was,” not, “was made.” So then “He came unto His Own,” He came to the Jews. “And His Own received Him not.”

3. “But as many as received Him.” For of course the Apostles were there, who “received Him.” There were they who carried branches before His beast. They went before and followed after, and spread their garments, and cried with a loud voice, “Hosanna to the Son of David, Blessed is He That comes in the Name of the Lord.” Then said the Pharisees unto Him, “Restrain the children, that they cry not out so unto You.” And He said, “If these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.” Us He saw when He spoke these words; “If these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.” Who are stones, but they who worship stones? If the Jewish children shall hold their peace, the elder and the younger Gentiles shall cry out. Who are the stones, but they of whom speaks that very John, who came “to bear witness of the Light”? For when he saw these self-same Jews priding themselves on their birth from Abraham, he said to them, “O generation of vipers.” They called themselves the children of Abraham; and he addressed them, “O generation of vipers.” Did he do Abraham wrong? God forbid! He gave them a name from their character. For that if they were the children of Abraham, they would imitate Abraham; as He too tells them who say to Him, “We be free, and were never in bondage to any man; we have Abraham for our father.” And He said, “If you were Abraham's children, you would do the deeds of Abraham. You wish to kill Me, because I tell you the truth. This did not Abraham.” You were of his stock, but you are a degenerate stock. So then what said John? “O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Because they came to be baptized with the baptism of John unto repentance. “Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance. And say not in your hearts, We have Abraham to our father. For God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” For God is able of these stones which he saw in the Spirit; to them he spoke; he foresaw us; “For God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Of what stones? “If these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out.” You have just now heard, and cried out. It is fulfilled, “The stones shall cry out.” For from among the Gentiles we came, in our forefathers we worshipped stones. Therefore are we called dogs too. Call to mind what that woman heard who cried out after the Lord, for she was a Canaanitish woman, a worshipper of idols, the handmaid of devils. What said Jesus to her? “It is not good to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.” Have ye never noticed, how dogs will lick the greasy stones? So are all the worshippers of images. But grace has come to you. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” See you have here some just now born: to them has He “given power to become the sons of God.” To whom has He given it? “To them that believe in His Name.”