The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-18
READING FOR THE DAY.

sanday-school Lesson for July 20, 1885.
Tan RESURRECTION or LAzARus.-John xi, 17-44
Golden Text-Jesus said unto her, am the resur-
reetion and the life.-Jchn xi, %.
The language and teaching of the Old Tesla
ment were not perfectly clear concerning the
future life of man. One great religious sect
among the Jews denied that there was any res
direction. or angel, or spirit While we, by the
light of the New Testament, find many beautiful
passages that imply soul life after death, yet
the whole subject was to them hazy and indis-
tinct. They could not understand how man
could still exist with the body in the
grave-nor could we had not Jesus brought life
and Immortality to light by means of the gospel
Of the resurrection. This miracle on the body
Of Lazarus, dead four days, made it evident
that the power of God could at any time restore
the soul to the risen body; in other words. de
made known the possibility and truth of the res
direction of the dead, and prepared the way
for an understanding of His own resurrection
and of its far reaching consequences. The living
Lazarus made it easy to believe in the risen
Christ, and both together made it possible for
the church to conceive the idea and believe the
promise of a general resurrection.
The lesson of to-day opens with picture of a
sorrowing Eastern home. Mary sitting by her
self means that she sat on the ground alone,
weeping probably in a chamber where the seats
and couches were upset, and all the furniture
indicated broken, sorrowing home. We may
suppose that there was less of violent grief there
than was common, and that their friend Jesus
may have taught them to think or death as
going to God Such passages as Ps., cxi, 8;
Prov, K, z; lisa, xi, 10; lvii, 2, may have com
forted them. While the presence of their friends
shows their need OF comfort, Jesus came to bring
comfort and light, not only, for Mary and Mar
tha but for every sorrowing home for all time.
1t will be easy to believe that the messenger
who brought news of Jesus coming may also
have brought the words He had spoken about
Lazarus being asleep. and that He was going to
wake him from this slumber, and that his death
was in some way for the glory of God. This
will afford clew to some of the sayings OF the
women as they afterward occur.
PRACTICAL LESSONS.
l. Martha went to meet Jesus in her time of
trouble, while Mary waited for Him to send for
her. Martha's Is the better example. It is I'M
wise TO give way to silent depressing grief Go
and find Jesus and tell Him your sorrow
2. 1t is useless TO dwell on what might
have been had Jesus been here. which means
had he chosen to have been present The great
thing is to know what Jesus wills to do now
when he is present Be sure that there is
something for the glory of God and our good.
g. The Last Dav-There Is last great day,
Ia day for which all other days are made" This
lfe is temporary. probation that must have a
judgment day, "a last day.
A. Jesus Wept-What world of comfort in
this picture of divine sympathy and compassion
Jesus's beast is still the same
8. The call that brought Lazarus from the
grave can rouse the dead in trespasses and sin
from their deeper slumber We measure the
size of the stone the bands that bind them, the
length of time they have been dead, but the
power of Jesus is always sufficient to raise them.
The church needs more faith in the resurrection
power of the Lord Jesus.
SPECIAL TEACHINGS.
l. For Belief-"He that beleveth in me
shall never die" The old ideas of death were
that the soul passed to a place of waiting. a
hades or underground world. Christ here
teaches that to the believer there is no such
piace--it is abolished, and the soul, instead of
waiting there, passes on at once, with what we
call death, TO higher form Of life The believer
never ceases to live, he never dies" but like
bursting bud, he takes on more beautiful form
OF life The bud is broken and ceases but the
life continues as the bud passes into a flower.
The shell of the acorn is left behind in the
ground, but the Part that has the life breaks up
through into the light. So the body is not the
life. Christ gives his life to the soul, and this
is eternal life,' according to the word, and
abiGes through all outward changes. With this
life the soul, waen it departs goes to Christ.
With the marks of Christ upon it. that soul at
once passes into the great company of the
deemed in heaven, and there waits the final and
formal winding up of the affairs of this life and
those higher manifestations of God that are to
follow.
For Practice-There is a great deal to be
done to others in the way of loosing and letting
them 60. Almost every one has some old habits
or impediments that are like the bands on the
body of Lazarus, and he needs the help of others
to set him free. Some men have the bands on
their hands SO they cannot work, some have the
napkin over their mouth so they cannot talk for
Jesus, and many have double bands over their
pockets so they cannot give. There is many a
boy that you could help get rid of some band
that keeps him from action. How much we
could do in such ways to help each other!