Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-05-30
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
JUNE ..
Lesson Text: "Jesus Before the
Council" Mark XIV, 55-00-
Golden Text: John xv., 20
commentary.

55. And the chief priests and all the coun-
Gil sought for witness against Jesus to put
Him 10 death; and found nonen After the
arrest they bound Him and led Him away to
Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas the
high priest and If we accept the r. V. Of
John xviii, "a, it would seem thatthe CONVEX
sation and miting of Jesus recorded in John
xviii, 1923, took place before Annas, after
which he sent Him bound to Caiaphas where
we now find Him in tho presence of the
priests and council who are seeking evidence
against Him that they may have some plausi-
bic reason for putting Him TO death. A good
while before this they had determined to kill
Him (Matt. xii, IA; John XII, 53), but lacked
opportunity because His hour had not come
John vii, 80; viii, 90; but now that His
hour had come John xiii, L; xvii, y and Ho
had suffered them to take Him, they felt that
they must have some semblance of right in
what they were about to do. To find some
real evidence of guilt on His part was the
hardest work they ever undertook, for He
was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate
from sinners; His life and teaching had been
open to all, and nothing inconsistent with His
public teaching had ever been said in secret
Heb vii, 2G; John xviii, 20. Every sacri-
fee had to be without blemish, and as He is
about TO become sacrifice for that nation,
according to the very words of Caiaphas, un-
Willingly spoken John XII, 1853, they are,
without knowing it, proving Him to be the
Lamb of God without blemish and without
spot fit sacrifice for their sins and for the
sins of the world.
| 56. "Many bare false witness against Him,
but their witness agreed not together" This
also was foretold concerning Him, for it is
written in the Psalms: "False witnesses are
risen up against Me, and suck as breathe out
| cruelty" and again, False witnesses did
| rise up; they laid to My charge things that
knew not" (Ps. xvii, II: xxxv., 1D. II
we would be His faithful followers we must
not be surprised if things are laid to our
charge that we know nothing about, and if
we sometimes have false witness borne
against us; but rather count such treatment
privilege and rejoice in being partakers OF
| His sulferings that when His glory Is O.
voaled VIC may be glad with exceeding joy.
q Pet. iv., II, 13). We are not told who
| these false witnesses were, but they may
have been some who had professed at one
time to be His followers; perhaps some of
those who went back and walked no more
with Him. John vi, 66) There are many
false witnesses in our time and we need not
go outside of our church members to find
them; the question for the reader is: "Am
in all my daily life true witness for
Christi"
ST. "And there arose certain, and baro
false witness against Him." Matt xvi, 90,
says: 'At the last came two false wit
nesses" who remind us of the two men, sons
of Belial whom Jezebel caused to testify
against Naboth that he might be put to death
Il Kings xxi, 7-14. 1t is the same principle
all through the Bible from the days of Abel
to the days of John, and inasmuch as the
devil is the author of it, and he is still at
large, we may expect to find it prevailing till
the Lord come and the devil is shut up, and
sealed in the bottomless pit.
s.. 1--WE heard Him say, will destroy this
! hot 10 do hor nd within
three days I will build another made without
hands," Just what He did say was: destroy
this temple and in three days I will raise it
up" (John H., 10, and John says that He
spake Of the temple of His body; but they
make Him to say that He Himself would de-
Stroy the temple, which had at that time
been forty-six years in building, and in three
days built another; They cast the same
thing at Him as He hung upon the cross
Mark xv., 29), not knowing that they were
then destroying the temple, and that in three
days it would be raised up. Observe two
things here: Ii we are members of His body,
let us not think it strange if our words are
ofttimes perverted and we are made to say
things which we never said nor intended to
say, but rather let us count it another priv
lege OF fellowship with Him in His suffer-
ings; then consider, as members Of His
body the resurrection which awaits that
body, when perhaps we may see in an actually
restored temple at Jerusalem some new light
upon Hos. vi, 2: "After two days will Hero
vive lis; in the third day He will raise us up,
and We shall live ill His sight"
SO. Neither so did their witness agree to
gether." The law said that q man could not
be condemned nor put to death at the mouth
of one witness, but that it must be by the
testimony of at least two or three witnesse;
Deut xvii, 6; xix, 15l; and yet up to this
time they cannot get two witnesses to agree
SO they had no case.
60. "And the high priest stood up in th'
midst and asked Jesus, saying: Answeres
Thou Lothing? What is it which these wit
ness against Thee" The high priest thu
gives evidence of his feelings against the ont
on trial which he has now allowed to over
come him and cause him to act and speak il
this unjust way; he knew that according t
their own law there was no case against tn
prisoner, for nothing had been really testfie'
inasmuch as no two of the witnesses agreed.
61 "But He held His peace and answere
nothing" Nothing being confirmed agains
, Him, there was nothing for Film to reply to
the law was on His side, and in the presenc
of these furious, murderous hypocritcs Fl
majestically holds His peace; las sheep be
fore her shearers is dumb, so He opened no
His mouth"
". "And Jesus said, I am" To keep 81
knce in the face of such question would b,
to deny that He was the Christ, therefore II,
now replies in the momentous words Of Ex
iii, H. When Moses wished to know wha
he would says to the children of Israel as t.
who sent him, he vas instructed to say g
Am hath sent me unto you" concerning
which some one has written:
III When God would teach mankind His namc
He calls Himself the great 81 AM"
And leaves blank -; believers may
/ Supply those things for which they pray.
"And ye shall see the Son of Man sitting
on Che right hand of power, and coming y
the clouds of heaven What CONTRAST rh1
will be- See Him in this lesson standing ap
parently helpless and friendless before an un
just judge, and think of Him when He shal
como in His glory, and sit upon the thron
Of His glory, and before Him shall be gath
cred all nations. Matt XIV, 81, 32.)
63. Then the high priest rent his clothes
and saith: What need we any further wit
nessesF' Apparently Jesus is guilty of bias
phemy and this holy u high priest is full O
righteous indignation; but in the eyes Of tn
God of Israel, Jesus, tho Christ, the Son o
the Blessed, the Son of Man, has spoken th
truth, and this rending of garments and ap
parently holy wrath is all Of the devil, unde
the cloak of religion and zeal for God.