The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1886-05-29
INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS.
BY REV, F. p. HARGREAyES.
Lesson MAY 30.
JESUS FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND.
LESSON 9

JESUS FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND.
John vi, 1-21. Golden Text, John
Vi, 80. Time, A. ID. %, in April.
Place, the plain of Butalha, on the n.
E. side of the Sea of Galilee.
Nearly year has passed since our
last lesson; a year which has been
full Of wonderful events in the life of
our Lord and those with whom he
came in contact. Crowds daily gath
cred to hear Him speak and they
continually brought their sick and
disabled to Him for healing. With
His disciples He took boat and went
over the Galilean lake to a spot which
was uninhabited and lonely, that He
might the more easily hear His dis
eiples tell the story of their recent
missionary work, and that He Him
self might haye needed rest. His
movements were watched and on His
arrival He found large concourse of
people waiting for Him. As His boat
drew near the shore He could see the
grassy slopes covered with people
who had followed Him. Passing
amongst them, He healed their sick
with a word or a touch diyine, and
then seating Himself He taught them
Of those higher spiritual truths, which
He came to teach and died to seal.
Toward the close of the day His dis
ciples became anxious on account of
there being such large crowd, 5000
men besides the women and children,
out in that lonely place without food.
They wanted Christ to send them
away so that they might 90 to the
neighboring villages and buy food for
themselves. But He told His discip-
les that they must feed the multitude.
An inventory of their stock of food
revealed five small barley loayes and
two small dried or picked fishes.
They tell the story of the large guam
tity required and their own inability
to fill it, to Christ, who at once gives
orders to have the people seated in
companies of ffties and hundreds.
Thus sitting in companies, their rich
ly colored Oriental costumes bright in
in the glow of the setting sun, made
picture which reminded Mark of a
flower garden, and he describes them
as sitting in ranks, or literally, in
flower plats. Then Jesus took the
loaves and the fishes and blessed them
and gave to His disciples and they
gave to the multitude and when they
had all eaten enough there were still
twelve baskets or wallets full left of
the fragments. There was more in
the end than at the beginning.
Impressed with this wonderful mir
acle the people determined that this
was the Messiah. Their idea was
that the Messiah would be a temporal
ruler who would strike the deathblow
of Roman power and set their country
free. They began whispering among
themselves and it soon became appar-
ent that they desired to take Jesus to
Jerusalem and proclaim Him king,
This temptation of material power
had always been before Him and He
had always thrown it aside. Now He
sends His disciples back to the boat,
and dismissing the multitude He re-
tires to a lonely place to pray. Tired
of waiting, the disciples push off from
shore and are caught in a terrible
storm. When it seemed as though
they could not possibly survive it and
make land they are suddenly startled
by seeing Christ walking on the water.
At His word the wind is hushed to
silence, the storm obeys its Master,
and they reach the land in safety.
LESSON THOUGHTS.
1. Christ can still the sotrms Of life.
2, Christ feeds the hungry soul with
the bread of life
3. God uses means: the disciples
distributed the bread
Christ always helped those in need.
Let him help you.