disciples were in doubt as to whether Jesus was the Messiah or not. I believe that John himself had no doubt whatever about the matter, for he had received positive revelations and had given substantial testimonies on the subject. But in order to relieve their doubts, John said to his disciples, in some such words, “Go and ask him yourselves”; and, therefore, he dispatched them with this message, “Tell us whether you are the one that should come, or do we look for another?” Jesus Christ continuing his preaching for a while, said, “Stay and receive your answer”; and instead of giving them an affirmative reply, “I am that Messiah,” he said, “Go and show John again those things which you hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” As much as to say, “That is my answer; these things are my testimonies — on the one hand, that I come from God, and, on the other hand, that I am the Messiah .” You will see the truth and force of this reply, if you will observe that it was prophesied about the Messiah, that he should do the very things which Jesus at that moment was doing. It is said of the Messiah, in Isaiah 35:5,6: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness waters shall break out, and streams in the desert.” The Jews had forgotten this too much; they only looked for a Messiah who would be clothed with temporal grandeur and dignity, and they overlooked the teaching of Isaiah, that he would be “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” And besides that, you observe, they overlooked the miracles which it was prophesied would attend the coming of the glorious one, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus gave this as his answer — a practical demonstration of John’s problem, proving it to an absolute certainty. But he not only referred to the miracles, he gave them a further proof — “The poor have the gospel preached to them.” This, also, was one evidence that he was the Messiah. For Isaiah, the great Messianic prophet, had said, “He shall preach the gospel to the meek”; that is, the poor. And in that Jesus did so, it was proven that he was the man intended by Isaiah. Besides, Zechariah mentions the congregation of the poor who listened to him, and in it evidently foretold the coming of Jesus Christ, the preacher to the poor.
2. I shall not, however, dwell upon these circumstances this morning; it must be apparent to every hearer, that here is sufficient proof that Jesus Christ is the person who had been foretold under the name of Shiloh, or Messiah. We all believe that, and, therefore, there is little need that I should try to prove what you have already received. I rather select my text this morning as one of the constant marks of the gospel in all ages and in every land. “The poor have the gospel preached to them.” This is to be its semper idem its constant stamp. And we believe, where the poor do not have the gospel preached to them, there is a departure from the dispensation of the gospel, the forsaking of this which was to be a fundamental trait and characteristic of the gospel dispensation. “The poor have the gospel preached to them.”
3. I find that these words will bear three translations; I shall, therefore, have three points, which shall be composed of three translations of the text. The first is that of the Authorised Version: “The poor have the gospel preached to them”; it is also Tyndall’s version. The second is the version of Cranmer, and the version of Geneva which is the best, “The poor are evangelized,” that is to say, they not only hear the gospel, but they are influenced by it; — the poor receive it. The last is a translation of some eminent writers, and above all, of Wycliffe, which amused me when I read it, although I believe it to be as correct as any of the others. Wycliffe translates it — “pore men ben taken to prechynge of the gospel?” The verb may be equally well translated in the active as in the passive sense: “The poor have taken to the preaching of the gospel.” That is to be one of the marks of the gospel dispensation in all times.
4. I. First, then, THE AUTHORISED VERSION, “The poor have the gospel preached to them.” It was so in Christ’s day; it is to be so with Christ’s gospel to the end of time. Almost every impostor who has come into the world has aimed principally at the rich, and the mighty, and the respectable; very few impostors have found it to be worth their while to make it prominent in their preaching that they preach to the poor. They went before princes to promulgate their doctrines; they sought the halls of nobles where they might expound upon their pretended revelations. Few of them thought it worth their while to address themselves to those who have been most wickedly called “the swinish multitude,” and to speak to them the glorious things of the gospel of Christ. But it is one delightful mark of Christ’s dispensation, that he aims first at the poor. “The poor have the gospel preached to them.” It was wise in him to do so. If we would burn down a building, it is best to start the fire in the basement; so our Saviour, when he wished save a world, and convert men of all classes, and all ranks, begins at the lowest rank, that the fire may burn upwards, knowing right well that what was received by the poor, will ultimately by his grace be received by the rich also. Nevertheless, he chose this to be given to his disciples, and to be the mark of his gospel — “The poor have the gospel preached to them.” Now, I have some things to say this morning, which I think are absolutely necessary, if the poor are to have the gospel preached to them.
5. In the first place, let me say then, that the gospel must be preached where the poor can come and hear it. How can the poor have the gospel preached to them, if they cannot come and listen to it? And yet how many of our places of worship are there into which they cannot come, and into which, if they could come, they would only come as inferior creatures. They may sit in the back seats, but are not to be known and recognised as anything like other people. Hence the absolute necessity of having places of worship large enough to accommodate the multitude; and hence, moreover, the obligation to go out into the highways and hedges. If the poor are to have the gospel preached to them, then we must take it where they can get it. If I wanted to preach to English people, it would be of no use for me to go and stand on one of the peaks of the Himalayas, and begin preaching; they could not hear me there. And it is of little avail to build a gorgeous structure for a fashionable congregation, and then to think of preaching to the poor; they cannot come any more than the Hottentots can make their journey from Africa and listen to me here. I would not expect them to come to such a place, nor will they willingly enter it. The gospel should be preached, then, where the poor will come; and if they will not come after it, then let it be taken to them. We should have places where there is accommodation for them, and where they are regarded and respected as much as any other rank and condition of men. It is with this view alone that have laboured earnestly to be the means of building a large place of worship, because I feel that although the bulk of my congregation in New Park Street Chapel are poor, yet there are many poor who can by no means enter the doors, because we cannot find room for the multitudes to be received. You ask me why I do not preach in the street. I reply, I would do so, and am constantly doing so in every place except London, but here I cannot do it, since it would amount to an absolute breach of the peace, it being impossible to image what a great multitude of people would come to listen. I trembled when I saw twelve thousand on the last occasion I preached in the open air; therefore I have thought it best, for the present at least, to desist, until happily there shall be fewer to follow me. Otherwise my heart is in the open air movement; I practise it everywhere else, and I pray God to give to our ministers zeal and earnestness, that they may take the gospel into the streets, highways and byways, and compel the people to come in, that the house may be filled. Oh that God would give us this characteristic mark of his precious grace, that the poor might have the gospel preached to them!
6. “But,” you reply, “there are plenty of churches and chapels to which they might come.” I answer, yes, but that is only half the problem. The gospel must be preached attractively before the poor will have the gospel preached to them. Why, there is no attraction in the gospel to the great mass of our race, as it is currently preached. I confess that when I have a violent headache, and cannot sleep, I could almost wish for some droning minister to preach to me; I feel certain I could go to sleep then, for I have heard some under the soporific influence of whose eloquence I could most comfortably snore. But it is not at all likely that the poor will ever go to
