p. 6 (182) | A REMARKABLE CONTRAST by G.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 25, 1903

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 12.

A REMARKABLE CONTRAST.

By G.

When Christ was on earth, the only material crown He ever wore was a crown of thorns. The Papacy assumes that the pope is the vicar of Christ on earth; that is, that he is the personal representative of Christ as the head of His church. Now note the contrast in the one item of a crown. At the pope’s jubilee, held in Rome February 20, one of the gifts was a gold tiara (triple crown) costing $25,000. When Christ’s admirers would have made Him a temporal King, He dispersed them, and took Himself away to a place of solitude for prayer. He was not seeking temporal honor. When the time comes for Him to be a King, the Father will give Him an eternal crown and kingdom.

The coronet that the pope received on his jubilee day bears on the upper crown the inscription, “The King of Kings and Lord of Those Who Rule.” The second crown bears the words, “The Good Shepherd Will Feed His Flock.” On the lower crown is inscribed the sentence, “Thou Art Peter, and Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church.” Beneath the upper crown is a medallion of the Divine Redeemer, and between the second and lower crowns are medallions of St. Peter and Pope Pius IX. The whole is surmounted by a cross.

A part of the ceremony was the bearing of the pope, wearing gorgeous robes and this triple crown, on the shoulders of eight men, who were clothed in red brocade. A report in a leading Catholic journal says:—

He bestowed his benediction right and left, as he passed through the cheering concourse, whose enthusiasm was so great, and whose desire to touch the hem of the pope’s gown was so intense, that the presence of the guards seemed really necessary for his protection. In a procession surrounded by such a brilliant escort of prelates, aristocracy, and guards, Pope Leo always appears at his best.

Christ never rode upon the people’s shoulders. He was Himself the burden-bearer for the people. His invitation is, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.” Ps. 55:22. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28. On the occasion of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He humbly rode on the colt of an ass, clad in His every-day attire. Leo was protected by a body-guard of soldiers, but when Christ was led to the cross, the soldiers were there to see that His execution was not hindered. Leo has housed himself in the Vatican during all of his twenty-five years of pontifical reign. Christ, whose personal representative the pope claims to be, “went about doing good.”

Leo claims to be the successor of Peter, but Peter followed the example of His Master during his ministry. He, too, went about doing good. He did not make himself a voluntary prisoner, hiding from imaginary dangers; and when he was imprisoned by hostile authorities, the Lord sent His angel to release him, and told him to go ahead preaching the Gospel of life. Leo seeks honor and emolument from men; Christ and Peter sought the honor of God and the salvation of men. Leo seeks to control human governments, in order to glorify the Roman Catholic Church. Christ and Peter sought to bring men to a recognition of the law of God, that the kingdom of heaven might be established in their hearts, that they might humble themselves in this probationary life, to be honored and exalted at the coming of the Lord. See John 5:41, 44; 1 Peter 1:3-7. G.