John 5:1-18 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.… I. Christ always honoured the religious observances of his day. He shows us — 1. The advantage of church institutions. 2. The relative value of religious ritual. 3. The duty of public worship. II. NEAR THE TEMPLE WAS A HOSPITAL. The connection between the Church and benevolent institutions (and between the philanthropist and the Christian) is vital. Show one and you will find — 1. That Christian love has started it. 2. That Christian liberality has supported it. 3. That Christian charity has been its daily guardian. III. WHAT HAVE THE SYSTEMS OF INFIDELITY DONE FOR THE POOR AND SICK OF OUR LAND? Did Voltaire ever endow an almshouse? What have Tom Paine, Rousseau, Hume, Gibbon, etc., done for the amelioration of the race? What building stands to commemorate the sympathy, heroism, and liberality of the secularism of our day? It was the Christian in Howard that made him a religious reformer; in Wilberforce that made him a slave emancipator; that inspired Florence Nightingale, etc. The Church is the poor man's refuge; the Bible the sorrowing man's hope; Christ the world's great need; heaven the weary man's rest. (G. Minkle.) Parallel Verses KJV: After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.WEB: After these things, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. |
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