Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-06-23
CHRISTS MISSION CLOSED.
LESSON KIN. SECOND QUARTER. m
TERNATlohAL SERIES. june 81.

aultrn Text. Matt. xxviil. is-His FINAL
Teachings. LesSans I-v--His Final suffer
iags. lessons vi-sx-His Resurrection
aad FiDal Comnanls. Lessons x-xIT.
CONDENSED from Lesson Helper Quarterly. by
permission Of II S Hoffman. Philadelphia, pub
lisher
The second quarter of the year Is devoted
IN the closing scenes. final lessons and com
mAnds. death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ-cvents and teachings transcending in
Importance all other earthly events what
ever. In the first quarter the calling Of his
disciples and the preliminary work we're I'M
folded; we now come to the distinctive doc
trines, the warnings and judgments, and
after them the shameful and painful death
which sealed the divine testimony, followed
by the visible proofs of life and immortality
brought to light and the command to carry
the Gospel into the world.
The first lesson is the parable of the mar
riage feast. how those first hidden rejected
the message. how multitude of all sorts of
people we're then called and accepted, and
how even one Of them was found without a
wedding garment and rejected. The teach
ing is plain The Jews first received reve
lation and neglected it; Christ came and sent
his servants, the apostles, to tell them all was
ready, and again they refused, covetousness
being the prevailing cause; then the apostles
went to the gentle world. and all sorts and
conditions of people accepted the call And
Df these some failed on the final test. No
great learning is required to understand this
last. we see the formal professor daily,
showing that the true work Of grace is not
in his heart
The second lesson lesson XIV, April 3 pre-
sents an abrupt, startling break in Christ's
general tone. He is no longer the gentle
friend; he is the great and terrible Judge,
pronouncing woe upon the blind guides, the
"generation OF vipers" It is terrific i'm
dictment; but so far as it was history it was
known to the indicted themselves to
be true, and so far as it was proph-
ecy. it was soon to be fulfilled. The
Jews were soon to I'LL up the measure Of their
iniquities by fierce prosecutions, and within
the lives of many who heard Christ Jerusar
lem was destroyed 60 A. d., after the most
frightful suffering by its people, and the
Jewish nation was utterly blotted out The
essential point of the lesson is that God is
just Judge. as we'll as a Saviour and Friend.
Lesson XVI continues the warning with
an exhOrtation TO watch, and then comes
Tie IClkldI kuDt6 pdIttDtc Ol buC tIlA FiIElISa
with the same lesson. and TO a considerable
extent the same figures and similitudes as in
Lesson XIV The parable of the ten talents
continues the teaching as to our Lords
second coming, again emphasizing the ter
rible fact that even of the chosen servants
one did and many may prove slothful or
faithless Indeed, this fact appears in al
most every teaching. and Is at the last most
painfully confirmed by the treachery of
Judas One point in this parable Is quite
delicately put: the slothful servant, when
called to account, at once began to find fault
with the conditions II the trust and to
exaggerate the exacting disposition of his
lord, even charging him with cruelty and
avariciousness. How very naturall How
closely does it correspond with what we SO
often hear from men who complain of the
rigor of Bible doctrinei And the lords re-
ply is sufficient answer to all those who COM
plain of this or that as shard doctrine He
says in effect that the complaint is false, but
even il the servant believed it true, ''Thou
oughtest SO much the more have given thy
self to the business appointed thee tor
The Judgment set forth in Lesson XIX
Matt XIV. 3l-46--has probably been more
thoroughly and heatedly discussed than any
other section of the New Testament It is
C0L4AkAAoSN THAI cDAAAC uA&&aA CtAc BA fOlUlIN3
have been written upon the single Greek
word s'aionios"-s'e -s'eteTnaln-and that the one
question as to whether the judgments are
contemporary or successive has called forth
more than ten thousand pamphlets and pub
lshed sermons in Great Britain alone. And
it is indeed remarkable that with all this the
doctrine held by the Christian churches has
not greatly varied from Tertullian, in the
Second century. till now. On one point
only does there appear a marked change
and that not of practical Importance. It
was long held that the Judgment was to be
one great event, when all human beings
would appear before the Great White
Throne:" but now many learned and pious
men hold that there are separate resurTec-
tions and successive Judgments Belief in
either is not test of faith, the reality is
awful enough, be it one event or many. Tho
Scriptures are open 20 all believers to study
and decide for themselves. so the reader IS
referred to ! Thess. iv. 1918: II Thess. /.
I'll: Cor. xv. 22-26. Rev. Xxx, 5. and xix
entire; Il Cor v. 10, and parallel passages.
With the closeof the prophecy on the Judg-
ment, change appears. that lesson most ap-
propriately ends the comprehensive lessons;
thereafter it would seem that Christ consid-
ers His mission as a teacher at m end, and
ssts the example of making fnaI arrange
ments for death, ipdulgfng in last words and
scenes with His companions In Lesson Xxx
the beautiful and simple ceremony OF the
Lords Supper IS instituted
At the regular supper He announces tie
approaching tragedy and thrills the hearts
Of His disciples With the astounding state
ment. One Of You shall betray nfe Then
that curious episode occurs ia which the Ear
viour quietly intinlates to the disciple near
Him as 70 who the traitor is. and ..imrnekli-
ately after the devil entered in judas
The time bad now rome when Jcsrs must
enter into experiences who're His disciples
could not accompany Him On the Mount
Of Olives He sill more explicitly declares
lis approaching death. but Is plain that the
disciples did not set understand lis mission.
They stil entertained the idea OF an
earthly kingdom. Of delivera.soe from the
rule Of the Konans they thought ST had