314 Sermon Illustrations on Christ

I have a friend in the City of Glasgow, who, many years ago, found

himself in Barlinnie prison because of his sin. He was given to

drunkenness, became a sot, and grieved the heart of his godly mother.

After serving his term of imprisonment, he found his way back again to

the old home, and the mother who loved him pleaded with him to sign

the pledge. But, like the honest man he was, he said, "No, Mother, I

have signed enough pledges to paper the wall; I need something more

than a pledge." But she said to him, "Sinclair, perhaps if you sign it

this time it may help you," and having a pledge near at

hand, she urged her wayward boy to sign the paper. But again he said,

"No, Mother, I am not going to sign another pledge. I need a power

that can make me a sober man, and change my life."

Growing desperate, his mother took a knife and opened one of her

veins, and dipping a pen into her flowing blood, she said, "Sinclair,

sign it with your mother's blood, and that may help you." I heard him

say one night before a crowded audience, "What the blood of my mother

could not do, the blood of Jesus Christ accomplished," and that man

tonight is preaching the Gospel of the Redeemer. --Christian Herald

It is recorded of a certain Hindu on the Malabar coast in India, that he had inquired of various devotees and priests how he might make atonement for his sins, and find peace for his soul. At last he was directed to drive iron spikes, sufficiently blunt, through his sandals; and on these spikes he was to walk on pilgrimage to a celebrated heathen shrine, a distance of 480 miles.

He undertook the journey, and proceeded for some distance, in much pain and distress of both body and mind. While halting under a shady tree where the gospel was sometimes preached, a missionary came and delivered an impressive sermon, in the native language of the people, from that important text, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth from all sin.”

The Word came with power to the man's heart; he believed the good news; and before the missionary had finished his discourse, he rose up, threw off his torturing sandals, and cried aloud, “That is what I want!” He became a living witness that the blood of Christ does indeed cleanse from all sin.

-- Missionary Anecdotes

Some years ago, in Western New York, I stood in a crowded assembly

preaching. I remember that I was struck upon this point of doctrine,

and I cried out to my congregation, in great earnestness, "The blood

of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth, cleanseth, CLEANSETH, CLEANSETH us

from all sin." Just then a gentleman who sat four or five seats from

the front looked right up at me. His eyes sparkled, he seemed to grasp

the idea with great force. By and by he grasped the seat in front of

him. He acted as he leaned a little forward, as if he was going to

jump right up over the heads of the people to the pulpit. I could

hardly understand the meaning of his actions.

I drove home the idea with force, feeling, as I remember, that I

could not let one of that congregation leave without believing that

the blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin, and just now. I passed

from the thought. The man settled back, but his countenance shone with

perfect radiance.

The next morning, as I sat in my room, there came a hasty knock at

the door. I opened it, and there stood that man. "Good morning, sir,"

said I. "Good morning; you don't know me?" " Yes, I do know you," said

I. "I don't know your name, or where you live, but you are the man who

sat so and so in my congregation yesterday?" "Yes," said he," and I

have come in to tell you about it."

"Seven years I have been a member of the church, and I have been to

sacraments, and supposed I was all right, but , sir, I never had an

idea that I was to be saved by the blood of Christ, and that alone,

until yesterday, in your sermon, when you struck into the thought 'the

blood of Christ cleanseth.' Somehow, in an instant, my heart grasped

that thought and I said, 'That is what I want,' and at once I realized

that the blood took away my sins and saved my soul, and I thank you

for those words" --Albert P. Graves

During the American war, a doctor heard a wounded man saying:

"Blood, blood, blood!" The doctor thought this was because he had seen

so much blood, and sought to divert his mind. The man smiled, and

said:

"I wasn't thinking of the blood upon the battlefield, but I was

thinking how precious the blood of Christ is to me as I am dying."

As he died, his lips quivered: "Blood, blood, blood!" and he was

gone. That blood will be precious when we come to our dying bed--it

will be worth more than all the world then. --Moody

Blood is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible and is

essential to the doctrine of Christ's atonement. It lies at the

very heart of the Gospel, for it is through "the blood of his

cross" that Jesus reconciled us to God (see \reference{Colossians

1:20-23}{Colossians 1:20-23}).

Some years ago a terrible railroad accident occurred, killing

many people. A commuter train had stalled on the tracks just a

few minutes before a fast freight was due to arrive. A conductor was

quickly sent to flag down the approaching "flier."

Being assured that all was well, the passengers relaxed. Suddenly,

however, the speeding freight came bearing down upon them. The crash

left a ghastly scene of horror. The engineer

of the second train, who escaped death by jumping from the cab,

was called into court to explain why he hadn't stopped. "I saw

a man waving a warning flag," he said, "but it was yellow, so I

thought he just wanted me to slow down."

When the flag was examined, the mystery was explained. It had been

red, but because of long exposure to the sun and weather it had become

a dirty yellow. Dr. Harry Ironside commented on this incident: "O the

lives eternally wrecked by the 'yellow gospels' we are hearing today

-- the bloodless theories of unregenerate men that send their hearers

to their doom instead of stopping them

on their downward road!"

Dear friend, only Christ and His sacrifice on the cross can redeem

your soul (see \reference{Romans 5:8}{Romans 5:8},\reference{9}{Romans

5:9}). Don't be deceived by an anemic "yellow gospel" of works that is

powerless to save you from everlasting destruction.

"...and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

\reference{Isaiah 53:6}{Isaiah 53:6} The story is told of a man who

was brought into court for trial and found guilty. The judge happened

to be a close boyhood friend of the accused, although they had not

seen each other for many years. Remaining impartial, the judge

sentenced the man and levied a penalty appropriate to his case. It was

a fine so large that the accused could not pay it. A jail sentence,

therefore, seemed to be the only alternative. The judge then did a

very unusual thing. Leaving the bench he approached the convicted man,

shook his hand, and announced, "I'm paying the fine for you."

A poor man plodded along toward home in an Irish town carrying a

huge bag of potatoes. A horse and wagon carrying a stranger came

along, and the stranger stopped the wagon and invited the man on foot

to climb inside. This the poor man did, but when he sat down in the

wagon he held the bag of potatoes in his arms. And when it was

suggested that he should set it down, he said very warmly: "Sire, I

don't like to trouble you too much. You're giving me a ride. I'll

carry the potatoes!"

Sometimes we think we are doing the Lord a favor when we carry the

burden. But the work is His, and the burden is His, and He asks us

only to be faithful. --Isaac Page

Many people recognize Jesus' humanity but fail to accept His deity.

They remind me of the young woman who was engaged to Mozart before he

rose to fame. Impressed by more handsome men, she became disenchanted

with him because he was so short. So she gave him up for someone tall

and attractive. When the world began to praise Mozart for his

outstanding musical accomplishments, she regretted her decision. "I

knew nothing of the greatness of his genius," she said. "I only saw

him as a little man."

We wonder why the Jews, who knew the Scriptures, failed to see

Jesus' true greatness. Perhaps they were looking for the beautiful

King described in \reference{Isaiah 33:17}{Isaiah 33:17}. They did

not understand that before Messiah came in all His glorious beauty, He

must first come as the Man of sorrows described in \reference{Isaiah

53}{Isaiah 53}.

A preacher once met a member of a cult who challenged his

views about the deity of Christ. "You say that Jesus Christ is

coequal with the eternal Father, but He cannot be, for no son is

ever as old as the one who has begotten him." The minister

thought for a moment and then replied, "You yourself have just

called God the eternal Father. Have you ever thought that

statement through? Don't you realize that God can only be the

eternal Father if He has an eternal Son? If you would rethink

your position in the light of the Scriptures, you would see that

eternal Fatherhood demands eternal Sonship!"

There was a man in New York who had been so fortunate as to get a

copy of Hoffmann's "Jesus in the Temple," soon after it was painted,

and he kept it on his desk in his office. A judge of one of the

superior courts of Massachusetts went to this lawyer's office on a

matter of business. As the two men talked, the judge's eyes rested on

this picture until it seemed hard for him to attend to business; but

at last the business was settled and the judge left the office.

Several hours later he returned to the office and asked "to look at

that Boy again." For an hour he sat and looked at that picture. The

next day he came again into the man's office and said, "I want to see

that Boy again." He was given the picture, and retired into a private

room adjoining the office. Having occasion later to go into the room,

the man found the judge sitting with the picture on his knees, his

eyes being filled with tears. When the judge came back into the

office, he handed back the picture and said, "That Boy has mastered

me."

A few years ago the Prime Minister of England stepped across

Downing Street with a friend, who wanted some information from

one of the government officials. They entered the particular

office, and on inquiring for the head of the department, they

were curtly told to "wait" by an insolent young clerk, who did

not even look up from his newspaper, and presently added an

order to "wait outside." When the principal official returned,

he was thunderstruck to find the head of the government sitting

with his friend on the steps of the stone staircase. Equally

surprised was the clerk, when, to his dismay, he learned by his

dismissal the result of his careless insolence. --1000 Illustrations

Dr. Matthews, in his book about Madagascar, where he was for thirty

years a missionary, describes this native custom: The prisoners were

kept in chains, but they had to earn their own living, and were

confined to prison only during the night. On the days, however, on

which the Sovereign appeared they were not allowed to leave the

prison; or if allowed out on these days, at noon, before the Sovereign

as to appear, they all had to return to prison, were counted, and

locked up.

Why? Because if one of those criminals managed to secrete himself,

and then emerge from his hiding place to gaze at and salute the

Sovereign, as she passed, wearing her diadem and beautiful in the

glory of her royal apparel, he was a free man. Whatever his crime had

been, his chains were at once struck off, for he had looked on the

Sovereign in her beauty and saluted her, and no one could do that and

still remain a prisoner. --Rev. W. W. Landrum

The application here is that by looking unto Jesus, our Sovereign,

as He spiritually passes by, one who is condemned and bound by sin can

gain instant freedom from the bondage of sin! --Duane V. Maxey

A minister, going through a mental institution, was stopped by a

woman, who asked: "Mr. Minister, what work of man will there be in

Heaven?" "None, my dear lady," he said, thinking to answer as quickly

as possible and get away. "Oh, yes, there will! Can't you tell me?"

"No, I cannot; but will you tell me?" said the minister. "Oh, sir,"

she replied, "it will be the prints of the nails of the hands and feet

of the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the only work of man

that there will be in Heaven."

It was June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under the

command of Napoleon were fighting the Allies (British, Dutch, and

Germans) under the command of Wellington. The people of England

depended on a system of signals to find out how the battle was going.

One of these signal stations was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral.

Late in the day it flashed the signal: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- --

D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- -."

Just at that moment one of those sudden English fog-clouds made it

impossible to read the message. The news of defeat quickly spread

throughout the city. The whole countryside was sad and gloomy when

they heard the news that their country had lost the war.

Suddenly the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message could be

read. The message had four words, not two. The complete message was:

"W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N-- -D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- - T-H-E- - -E-N-E-M-Y!" It

took only a few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned

into joy, defeat was turned into victory!

So it was when Jesus was laid in the tomb on the first Good Friday

afternoon. Hope had died even in the hearts of Jesus' most

loyal friends. After the frightful crucifixion the fog of

disappointment and misunderstanding had steeled in on the friends of

Jesus. They had "read" only part of the Divine message: "Christ

defeated." But when the entire message came through, they

realized and rejoiced that "Christ defeated satan at Calvary, and

rose again from the dead, eternally triumphant!"

All those who love the Lord Jesus should desire to walk as He

walked and should be eager to reach the lost with the Gospel.

Jerry McAuley is an example of such an individual. Early in

life he was a thief and counterfeiter. As a result, he spent 7

years in Sing Sing Prison. Although he was converted there, it

was a long time before he experienced the complete victory

that's available in Christ. When he did, however, he began

witnessing to other men who had sunk deep in sin. Later he

started America's first rescue mission in New York City where he

befriended the worst criminals and skid-row characters.

Just before his death in 1884, he said to his wife, "I know that

soon tuberculosis will take my life, but I want to die on my knees,

still praying for the lost. I'd rather have some poor soul that I led

to the Lord put one small rose on my grave than to have

the wealth of a millionaire."

His wish was granted, for at his funeral an aged, shabbily dressed

man appeared. Handing one of the ushers a few flowers, he asked him

in a voice trembling with emotion to place them on the coffin. Then

he said apologetically, "I hope Jerry who was my friend will know that

they came from old Joe Chappy."

Mrs. McAuley preserved that little bouquet for a long time in

remembrance of the fact that her husband had been a true friend of

sinners.

Some years ago at a drawing-room function, one of England's

leading actors was asked to recite for the pleasure of his

fellow guests. He consented and asked if there was anything

special that his audience would like to hear. After a moment's

pause, an old clergyman present said: "Could you, sir, recite to

us the Twenty-third Psalm?" A strange look passed over the

actor's face; he paused for a moment, and then said: "I can, and

I will, upon one condition; and that is that after I have

recited it, you, my friend, will do the same." "I," said the

clergyman, in surprise. "But I am not an elocutionist. However,

you wish it, I will do so."

Impressively, the great actor began the psalm. His voice and his

intonation were perfect. He held his audience spellbound; and as he

finished, a great burst of applause broke from the guests.

Then, as it died away, the old clergyman arose and began the

psalm. His voice was not remarkable; his intonation was not faultless.

When he had finished, no sound of applause broke the silence, but

there was not a dry eye in the room, and many heads were bowed.

Then the actor rose to his feet again. His voice shook as he laid

his hand upon the shoulder of the old clergyman and said: "I reached

your eyes and ears, my friends; he reached your hearts. The difference

is just this: I know the Twenty-third Psalm, but he knows the

Shepherd." --The War Cry

Who Am I?

I am the salt of the earth (\reference{Matt. 5:13}{Matthew 5:13}) I am

the light of the world (\reference{Matt. 5:14}{Matthew 5:14}) I am a

child of God (\reference{John 1:12}{John 1:12}) I am part of the true

vine, a channel of Christ's life (\reference{John 15:1}{John

15:1},\reference{5}{John 15:5}) I am Christ's friend (\reference{John

15:15}{John 15:15}) I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His

fruit (\reference{John 15:16}{John 15:16}) I am a slave of

righteousness (\reference{Romans 6:18}{Romans 6:18}) I am enslaved to

God (\reference{Romans 6:22}{Romans 6:22}) I am a son of God; God is

spiritually my Father (\reference{Romans 8:14}{Romans

8:14},\reference{15}{Romans 8:15}; \reference{Gal 3:26}{Galatians

3:26}; \reference{4:6}{Galatians 4:6}) I am a joint heir with Christ,

sharing His inheritance with Him (\reference{Rom 8:17}{Romans 8:17}) I

am a temple--a dwelling place--of God, His Spirit and His life dwells

in me. (\reference{1 Cor. 6:17}{1 Corinthians 6:17}) I am united to

the Lord and am one spirit with Him (\reference{1 Cor 6:17}{1

Corinthians 6:17}) I am a member of Christ's Body (\reference{1 Cor.

12:27}{1 Corinthians 12:27}; \reference{Eph. 5:30}{Ephesians 5:30}) I

am a new creation (\reference{2 Cor. 5:17}{2 Corinthians 5:17}) I am

reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation (\reference{2

Cor. 5:18}{2 Corinthians 5:18},\reference{19}{2 Corinthians 5:19}) I

am a son of God and one in Christ (\reference{Gal. 3:26}{Galatians

3:26},\reference{28}{Galatians 3:28}) I am an heir of God since I am a

son of God (\reference{Gal. 4:6}{Galatians

4:6},\reference{7}{Galatians 4:7}) I am a saint (\reference{Eph.

1:1}{Ephesians 1:1}, \reference{1 Cor. 1:2}{1 Corinthians 1:2},

\reference{Phil. 1:1}{Philippians 1:1}, \reference{Col.

1:2}{Colossians 1:2}) I am God's workmanshp--His handiwork--born anew

in Christ to do His work (\reference{Eph 2:10}{Ephesians 2:10}) I am a

fellow citizen with the rest of God's family (\reference{Eph

2:19}{Ephesians 2:19}) I am a prisoner of Christ (\reference{Eph.

3:1}{Ephesians 3:1}; \reference{4:1}{Ephesians 4:1}) I am righteous

and holy (\reference{Eph. 4:24}{Ephesians 4:24}) I am a citizen of

heaven, seated in heaven right now (\reference{Phil 3:20}{Philippians

3:20}; \reference{Eph. 2:6}{Ephesians 2:6}) I am hidden with Christ in

God (\reference{Col. 3:3}{Colossians 3:3}) I am an expression of the

life of Christ because he is my life (\reference{Col 3:4}{Colossians

3:4}) I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (\reference{Col.

3:12}{Colossians 3:12}; \reference{1 Thess 1:4}{1 Thessalonians 1:4})

I am a son of light and not of darkness (\reference{1 Thess. 5:5}{1

Thessalonians 5:5}) I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling

(\reference{Heb. 3:1}{Hebrews 3:1}) I am a partaker of Christ; I share

in His life (\reference{Heb. 3:14}{Hebrews 3:14}) I am one of God's

living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house

(\reference{1 Peter 2:5}{1 Peter 2:5}) I am a member of a chosen race,

a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession

(\reference{1 Pet. 2:9}{1 Peter 2:9},\reference{10}{1 Peter 2:10}) I

am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live

(\reference{1 Peter 2:11}{1 Peter 2:11}) I am an enemy of the devil

(\reference{1 Peter 5:8}{1 Peter 5:8}) I am a child of God and I will

resemble Christ when He returns (\reference{1 John 3:1}{1 John

3:1},\reference{2}{1 John 3:2}) I am born of God, and the evil

one--the devil--cannot touch me (\reference{1 John 5:18}{1 John

5:18}). I am NOT the great "I am" (\reference{Exodus 3:14}{Exodus

3:14}; \reference{John 8:24}{John 8:24}, \reference{28}{John 8:28},

\reference{58}{John 8:58}), but by the grace of God, I am what I am

(\reference{1 Cor. 15:10}{1 Corinthians 15:10}).

Neil Anderson says, "One of the greatest ways to help yourself grow

into maturity in Christ is to continually remind yourself who you are

in Him...I suggest you go back and read the list aloud to yourself

right now. Read the list once or twice a day for a week or two. Read

it when you think Satan is trying to deceive you into believing you

are a worthless failure. The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ,

the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity."

(From Victory Over the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson; Harvest House

Publishers; permission granted to copy.)

The Bible scholar Sir George Adam Smith was one day travelling in Palestine with a guide, and came across a shepherd and his sheep. He fell into coversation with him. The man showed him the fold into which the sheep were led at night. It consisted of four walls, with a way in. Sir George said to him, "That is where they go at night?" "Yes," said the shepherd, "and when they are in there they are perfectly safe." "But there is no door," said Sir George. "I am the door," said the shepherd. He was not a Christian so he was not speaking the language of the New Testament. Rather, he was speaking from a Mid-Eastern shepherd's point-of-view. Sir George looked at him and said, "What do you mean you are the door?" Said the shepherd, "When the light has gone, and all the sheep are inside, I lie in that open place, and no sheep ever goes out but across my body, and no wolf comes in unless he crosses my body; I am the door."

During the Viet Nam war a hand grenade was thrown onto a truck full of American soldiers. Just before it exploded, one of the soldiers threw himself on the bomb. He caught all the fury of the bomb in his own body, and he was killed. This soldier gave his life as a ransom for his fellow soldiers. Upon the cross Jesus caught all the fury of God against our sin. He gave Himself as a ransom. \reference{1 Timothy 2:3-6}{1 Timothy 2:3-6}

A missionary, returning home from a witnessing campaign, ran out of fuel in a Muslim village of Sri Lanka. While a young man was cycling some miles to get a can of gasoline, the missionary and his companion decided to speak to the people about Jesus. Not knowing the Sinhalese language of the village, this seemed impossible, but a villager who knew a minimal amount of English agreed to interpret. Now, in the Sinhalese language when one speaks of a divine person he uses the name and adds the word vihansa. Therefore Jesus would be called Jesusvihansa. However, the Muslim interpreter refused to add this title each time Jesus was referred to. The missionary, getting somewhat annoyed at the man's stubbornness, explained that if the man wished, he could tell the people that he was only saying what the speaker was saying. Even that did not work, for he refused this offer. So each time the name of Jesus was spoken, the man would only say, "Jesus." The missionary would stop him and say, "No! Jesusvihansa." At the end of the meeting the missionary had to apologize for the fact that he had run out of literature to pass out, but he would be happy to send each one who would give his name and address a copy of the Bible so that they could learn more about Jesusvihansa. Imagine his surprise when 25 men asked for copies of the Sinhalese Bible, 2 others asked for a copy of the Bible in Tamil, and 1 asked for an Arabic Bible! God used the refusal of the interpreter to refer to Jesus as divine as the occasion for the missionary to emphasize this in correcting the man repeatedly. The audience wanted to know why there was this difference between the 2 men. In subsequent months a Bible study was begun in the village, and a small church had its beginning.

French scientists have succeeded in causing chickens to sound like quail. Nancy Ross-Flanigan, writing for the Detroit Free Press, reports that researchers took tissue from parts of the Japanese quail brain thought to control the bird's call and implanted it in the brains of five chicken embryos. The experiment worked. Researchers say the hatched chicks sounded like quail rather than chickens. But now the real miracle. God has implanted the mind of Christ in those who have accepted His Son as their Savior. Paul says, \reference{2 Corinthians 5:17}{2 Corinthians 5:17} "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" If we believe in Jesus we are new creatures, a new creation, with a new mind or a new attitude.

Without any credentials Jesus redefined the Law, setting himself

above it and promising salvation without it. He made himself Lord of

the Temple, his Father's house, whose presence he dared to convey

beyond Temple grounds to every dusty little town. He broke the Law of

the Sabbath and spoke of the destruction of the Temple. He was an

arrogant blasphemer against God and a charismatic threat to the rule

of Rome. He died a criminal's death on a Roman cross, rejected and

alone, and worse, a Godforsaken "King of the Jews."

- Frank Tupper, {A Scandalous Providence, }(Macon, GA:: Mercer

University Press, 1995), 1.

A Hindu, who had become a Christian, on his way to church one

Sabbath, passed some British soldiers who thought they would joke with

him. "Hello, Sammy," they called. "How's Jesus this morning?" The

Hindu stopped and looked at them. "You Sahibs come from a great

country that has known Jesus a long time. It is your country that has

given us this Book to teach us of Him," and he held up his Bible. "You

ask how Jesus is this morning. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and

today, and forever." Two of the soldiers could not sleep that night.

The next day they went to the Hindu. They said, "We could not

rest until we gave ourselves to Jesus. You brought us to him." --The

Presbyterian

It is said that Henry Clay once borrowed some money from a New York

banker. But before time of its payment he suffered serious financial

reverses. When the note came due he was unable to meet the notes and

went to the bank to ask for renewals. The banker said, "Mr. Clay, we

have no note of yours here." "Oh, yes, you must have," said Mr Clay.

"I gave you one six months ago." "Yes," said the banker, "but some of

your friends came along and paid all of your debt, and there is

nothing on our books against you now." ("Choice Illus." W.W. Clay

pg.30-31)

It is said that Napoleon once took a map and pointing to the British

Isles remarked: "If it were not for that red spot, I would have

conquered the world." Satan could point to the cross of Christ, and

say, "If it werenot for that red spot, I would have conquered thge

world." ("Choice Illus." W.W. Clay pg. 31-32)