Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-01-20
JESUS AND TIE SICK.
FOURTH LESSON OF THE INTERNA-
TlONAL S. S. SERIES, JAN. 22, 1888.


From Lesson Helper Quarterly. by permission
of ii. S. Hoffman, Philadelphia, publisher.
Notes. -Thence, i. e., from the place
where he replied to the Pharisees from
Jerusalem Tyre celebrated CITY of
Phenicia on the eastern coast of the Medi-
terranean sea twenty -one miles from Sdon.
1t was a great city in the time of Joshua,
l444 b. {. Sdon, probably the oldest city
in the world. 1t was named after the grand
son of Noah, 22lS b. c. Gen X, -. Canaan.
descendant of original inhabitants of the
land Son of David prophetic title of the
Messiah
Y. p. 1t is an easy, yet a sad and touching
thing to see Jesus on his way to Tyre and
Sidon. Why does he go there! Why does
he turn his back on his own country and go
TO the Gentiles' Is not the reason plaini Did
not this deputation of PhariSees from JeiTlsa-
lem, now offended at his doctrine and their
own manifest discontinue. mean an ACCUSE
ton against him for heresy before the San
hedrimf And his hour was not vet come
And SO we see him on his lonely way. His
own country closing itself against him, and
he waiting for his deoease, which he should
accomplish at Jerusalem.
V. %. Some of the people Of the land had
remained here since the time of Joshua, and
JulS NOudu WIS one OF lnelr descendants.
And in her case, we notice
l. The tenderness of her appeal. She
Identifies herself completely with her daugh-
ter. Have mercy upon me.n For she was
bound up with her child, and the mercy ex-
tended to her would tell first upon herself
.. The title 10y which she addressed him,
Thou Son of David And what right had
she to thisi In one sense, none In another,
the highest and fullest For, had she not
great need? Had not he abundant means of
supply And faith assured her that was the
most sacred claim And
3. The case presented for relief We do
not know the special form of this possession,
for there were divers forms of them But
she was "grievously vexedn by it. and her
mothers heart yearned for her relief And
how does he receive her?
" %. He answered her nothing. Was this
like him! Did it tell of his gentle ministry,
who would not break the bruised reed nor
quench the smoking flax? Just at that point
it did not Just at that point it rather
showed him to be cold, hard, unsympathiz-
ing But is it much to believe that, as he
treated no two cases alike, 80 he saw in every
case the reasons that determined his mode of
treating it! Did he not see such reasons in
this cases And did he not seek thus to show
strengthen'it.
'. "A. These words seem like still far
ther reputation of her claim. He was not
sent to her, i. e, not primarily to her. ITO
the jew first is the order of the divine man
Hesitation. Did she know of this, land also
b the Genties:" Alas! who was to teach it
10 here Not the Jews for they did not be-
Ieve it. Not the Gentiles. for they did not
know it. Only the Divine Spirit could have
wrought this faith in her.
v 70. There seems to have been a gather.
ing of all her powers of unyielding resolve.
as, on hearing these chilling words, she came,
and throwing herself down before him cried
out; Lord, help me- She would not be de.
utd
V. 26-27 The trying Of her faith was not
yet ended Indeed, he seemed harder and
colder and sterner still. What right had she
TO the childrens bread? Was it right to
take ii from them and cast it to the dogs
Now this might seem like n most unfeeling
rebuff. In one point of view it was So But in
another it was just the medium through
which her deeply tried faith was to shine
gloriously forth. And so it was to her. 1t
was all just as he said. And she asked for
no more than the privilege accorded to the
little dogs, j. e., that of gathering up the
crumbs that fell from the masters table.
Y. .. Her faith triumphed She had
reached the point he meant her to gain
Forth from the masters lips burst the
graciously approving words: go woman
great is thy faith Be it unto thee even as
thou wilt"
Y. -. Had Jesus now accomplished the
real end and purpose of his visit to the coast
of Tyre ard Sidon: Was the relief of this
troubled one his real objective pont-as his
teaching of that benighted one by Jacobs
well. Yves the reason why He must needs
pass through Samaria| John iv, 4. But his
end was gained; his pGcnias were thrown off
their pursuit. and he must by slow degrees,
return to his own people Accordingly, he
departed thence; passed round the sources of
the Jordan, and came again to the eastern
shore Of the sea. Here again he Withdrew
himself from observation, by going up into
mountain, but he could not be hid
V. 30-3l. The news of his coming soon
spread. Every one had something to tell of
the great teacher, and his wondrous words
and works And the result was soon mani
fest, From all parts of the country round
about, they brought unto him their sick
Let us note the lessons the narrative may
teach us.
l. ManifcStly two opposing powers are
here-one of sickness, one of health One of
blight, the other Of blessing. One of death
and the other of life. For all the different
forms of disease are only messengers in adj
vance of death. They all mean death That
IS the word they spell out, when written in
full. Clearly, therefore, they are as the
master put 'the power of the enemy They
are fruits on the tree of humanity, from the
blight of sin, So we say that every form OF
bodily ailnent is the work of sin, and there
fore of broken laws. This was on one side
What on the otherf
The very antagonism Of all this. e., Jesus
as the healer Of sin, commencing his course
by healing sickness. And he himself tells us
we may know that he has power to do the
first, because he did the second. Every act
of healing, therefore, was sign of what he
came to do. 1t showed to men the presence
of one who could deal with unseen cause and
so put away the visible result. 1t told too of
the coming day, when his work should be
fully unfOlded.
GENERAL LESSONS.
| Had ,IpSlS lppu condanna1 NV L,, ,,o,,,,