“Go into the Highways and Hedges”
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“Go out into the highways and hedges,” Christ says, “and compel them
to come in, that My house may be filled.”
The world is perishing for want of the gospel. There is a famine
for the word of God. There are few who preach the word unmixed
with human tradition. Though men have the Bible in their hands, they
do not receive the blessing that God has placed in it for them. The
Lord calls upon His servants to carry His message to the people. The
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word of everlasting life must be given to those who are perishing in
their sins.
In the command to go into the highways and hedges, Christ sets
forth the work of all whom He calls to minister in His name. The
whole world is the field for Christ’s ministers. The whole human
family is comprised in their congregation. The Lord desires that His
word of grace shall be brought home to every soul.
To a great degree this must be accomplished by personal labor.
This was Christ’s method. His work was largely made up of personal
interviews. He had a faithful regard for the one-soul audience. Through
that one soul the message was often extended to thousands.
We are not to wait for souls to come to us; we must seek them
out where they are. When the word has been preached in the pulpit,
the work has but just begun. There are multitudes who will never be
reached by the gospel unless it is carried to them.
The invitation to the feast was first given to the Jewish people, the
people who had been called to stand as teachers and leaders among
men, the people in whose hands were the prophetic scrolls foretelling
Christ’s advent, and to whom was committed the symbolic service
foreshadowing His mission. Had priests and people heeded the call,
they would have united with Christ’s messengers in giving the gospel
invitation to the world. The truth was sent to them that they might
impart it. When they refused the call, it was sent to the poor, the
maimed, the halt, and the blind. Publicans and sinners received the
invitation. When the gospel call is sent to the Gentiles, there is the same
plan of working. The message is first to be given “in the highways”—
to men who have an active part in the world’s work, to the teachers
and leaders of the people.
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Let the Lord’s messengers bear this in mind. To the shepherds of
the flock, the teachers divinely appointed, it should come as a word to
be heeded. Those who belong to the higher ranks of society are to be