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Let me set in order before you the greater sin that we have committed in rejecting Jesus than did the Jews. WE HAVE REJECTED JESUS AS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH. What is the Church? It is the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. The Church is the body of Christ, of which He is the head, to pour into it continually the glory of His own power and the excellency of His own beauty and the perfectness of His own holiness. It is a Church embodied, that is the mystery, and not a Church disembodied. A Church disembodied is only a fraction of the mystery of godliness; the mystery of godliness is God manifest in the flesh. And the Church was intended to reveal the whole excellency and power of Jesus seated on the throne of God. What were the Church's gifts? The word of wisdom, to search all the deep things of God. The word of knowledge, to tell all that was passing in all parts of His dominions; the gift of faith, never to doubt that whatever she desired she would receive. The gift of healing, to go forth and show the power of Jesus over all flesh, to forgive sin in the soul, and to heal disease in the body. The power of miracles, to order in the things of creation, to get all disorder into order, and to command the various powers of nature. To this the Church was called; deny it who dare! This is the dignity of the Church, but we reject it. The Jews rejected a man of flesh, — we have rejected a Man in the power of the Spirit.

II. JESUS HAS BEEN REJECTED AS THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. This is a title which He maketh great account of. It is written on His raiment, and on His thigh. But it has been denied; it is denied round the whole world. In the papacy the pope has taken the supremacy. In the Greek Church it is denied; the Czar is the head of the Church. In Britain it is denied. Who is King of kings? — Their majesties the people. "All power is from the people." That is the baser denial — the basest of all denial. Power is no longer held as from Jesus, nor is it any longer held to be responsible to Him.

III. ANOTHER GREAT SIN HAS BEEN THE REJECTION OF JESUS AS THE OWNER OF ALL: as the merchantman, as the householder, the head of the house, whose is all the goods and chattels, and all the furniture, and all the provision, and all the treasure of the house. There is not one man in a hundred to whom the idea has once occurred, everything in his house is Christ's; everything in the banker's hands is Christ's; everything in the funds is Christ's. There is not aught that hath not the stamp of His name.

IV. WE HAVE REJECTED CHRIST AS THE POOR MAN'S FRIEND. Who was first the preacher of good tidings to the poor? Who blessed and honoured the estate of poverty? Who said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"? We have forgotten to preach Him as the Bringer of glad tidings to the poor. We have rejected Him who was the Redeemer of poverty, — who is its friend; and we have chosen for Him demagogues who are not worthy to be trusted with the lowest of the goods of creation.

(Edward Irving, A. M.)

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KJV: And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

WEB: It will happen in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.