The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-04-26
SUNDAY MEDITATION.

Practical Duties Taught By Study OF the later
national SuHday-sehoOi lesson Appointed for
May s. st. HIATT, %: 8l-46
Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures ~
indicated above.l
SUBJECT; AWARDS AT TIE FINAL JUDGMENT.
THE PARABLE or THE SHEEP AND THE
GOATS.
/. Tine and Plqss.
The parable was spoken March To- A. D. %.
on the slope Of the Mount of Olives, overlook
ing the city of Jerusalem. 10 was $50 years
ago. Christ was in his 3ith year and in the
fourth year OF his ministry The company had
just come from the temple Christ never re-
turned to the temple, We next fud him as
Bethany. Two days after utteriug the parable
our Savior was crucifed.
2. Speaker aud Hearers.
Christ is the author Of the parable. He was
IN the habit Of teaching in this Illustrative
way. The fgurative style Of address attracts
attention, interests old and young, and makes
clear truths which, uttered badly would not
be so readily comprehended. AS a teacher he,
after the Eastern manner, sat- (St Matt q.
3. Compare SD The hearers were the y
Disciples (St. Matt, q .1-4l Sts Peter,
James, John and Andrew are named in the ac-
count as given by st. Mark 13:3.j Like
Sunday-schoOl class before their teacher. the
DtoSlpttS tiuotbICu duoub tufi5L. ne hOEA
disciple means learner, and the Twelve were
simply pupils. They went to school to Christ.
Their attitude was standing. Having listened
to their Teacher for two or three years they
were becoming quite yersed in religious kuoWl-
edge.
3. The Occasion.
All travellers in Palestine speak Of the grand
view of jerusalem one can get from the Mount
of Olives. Christ and the Twelve had left the
ri vv1ra ASCENDING fba hin ToaL--re,
back, their eyes caught the grandeur of the
scene. It was between afternoon and evening.
Probably they attended evening prayer at
O'Clock IN the temple, and then set out for
Bethany. The sun was goiBg down, casting
bright rays over the more elevated points Of
the city and lighting 10 the walls and turTets
of the temple 1t was 50 grand a sight that the
Disciples called Christs attention to it. He was
probably quite in thought about the sad scenes
SO near at hand which were to accompany his
cruCiiZiOn. The spectacle set Christ to think
ing Of Jerusalem, its fate, and the terrible
destiny of the Jews. The parable which we
study is part Of his answer.
4. The Subject Of The Parable and is Bearing.
Our Savior is still answering the questions or
train Of thought suggested by his Disciples
when they called the attention Of Christ TO the
grandeur of Jerusalem and the beauty of the
temple. III: /, p He at once foretold the de-
struction of the Jewish capital aud the over
throw of the temple Naturally ne passed on
to tell of the final Judgment The parable Of
the good and the evil servant "a: 45-5IJ Illus
trated his attitude toward those having official
position in the Church. The parable of the 10
virgins %: 1-13) set forth the Judgment of
God upon the Church as an organization. The
parable Of the talents Us: 14-3O) is a picture Of
the Judgment in its bearing on individuals
Now we come to the lesson which sets forth the
results Of the Judgment Day. (Ro.. 2 5-103
2 Cor, 3 10.) This is the close of Christ's re-
marks as suggested in "A: /, 2 In the simplest
language Christ tells a terrific story. With
the fearful is mingled the tender Blessings
and curses alternate.