Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-05-16
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON FOR MAY NINETEENTH.
THE LORDS SUPPER MARK NV, p -26.


NOTES first day Of unleacened
bTeGd-This feast lasts seven days and
begins next day after the passover sup
per-When they had sacrificed the
pdSSOCer-The lamb for the passover
feast, always held on the 14th of Nisan.
-ThGt thou nldyeSt eat the pGSSOrer-
There were required for this banquet a
paschal lamb that had to be purchased,
then killed in the temple, and then
brought to some chamber and cooked.
Besides this main dish was the usual ac-
compartment of bread, wine and bitter
herbs. Undoubtedly in the crowded con-
ditiOn of the city the room was the most
important and the hardest thing to find.
-I'1CO Of his diSciples.-Peter and John.
10 into the city.-One might suppose
that our Lord would have preferred the
seclusion of Bethany. But no; the true
Paschal Lamb must be sacrificed in the
Holy City-A man bearing pitcher
| of ICGter.-ThiS was an unusual sight in
! the East where women do all the water
carrying. This might have been the slave
of some secret disciple of Christ. Imagi-
nation might suggest Joseph of Arima-
| thea as the possible host of Jesus on this
evening -GOOdmGn Of the hOlLSe.-NOt
| good man, a term of praise. 1t is an old
| English word meaning master of the
house.-IHe master SUjth.-The teacher.
Ills IIIpIIoo U1IaIU U1IIo 1TouSCno1ueT Wdo
one of the many secret disciples of Christ
oil n1r oh
| Ny guest chGmber.-NOt the pronOun
my. This chamber was prepared only
for this use. The lamb and supper were
ready They made reGdy-They super
intended the final preparations -Eren-
ing.-At dusk after sunset. et.-1hey be-
gan to be SOr7O1Cful-The parallel pass
ages plainly show that what with MUIR
muring and quarreling all the disciples
were sinking imperceptibly to themselves
to the level of Judas. ChriSt's announce
ment of his betrayal was Intentionally
vague. These disciples needed an awak-
ening. Hence each one with a sense of
real guilt asked surrowfully, "Is it ]? -
-Dippeth ICith me in the dish.-ThiS
was the way they ate, each dipping his
bit of bread into the sop or gravy in a
common dish. Knives forks and plates
were unknown.-I ICiU no more drink
Of the fruit Of the cine.--He will have no
more social meals with them When |
drink it 7aelO.-NOt new wine, but a new
kind of drink at a new kind of supper
4 hymn.-Either the cXvth or cXviiith
Psalm.
INSTRUCTIONs-The prompt and court
ly hospitality with which the request of
the Master was met interests us at once.
How much of this exuberent response
was due to the ardent nature of the Ori-
entail host? And how much to the eager
devotion of the secret disciple? We must
think it was an enthusiastic follower who
so handsomely replied to the "Where is
nv guest chaml er" of the Lord.
Christ came in the evening with the
twelve. This may have been an act of
expediency; wise precaution to avoid
interruption or arrest. Christians are not
debarred from the usual human privilege
or duty of elf-prOtectiOn. To trust God
does not necessarily mean to trust man.
The pathOs of the scene portrayed in
verse eighteen is very great. Zone of
you one of my nearest, my dearest, my
chOsen-shall betray me to my doom. We
can imagine the trembling lip, the break !
ing tones with which these grieyed and !
gentle words were uttered.
No personal resentment against Judas !
is to be found in the Lords manner or /
address, Too solemn for passing anger or
individual injury, the awful cOndemna- |
tiOn rings through all time and may well
Startle all vicious souls.
Self-examinatiOn is the first requisite |
to the partaking of this sacred bread and |
wine. is it | ?" should be the tremulous |
watchwOrd of every communicate. HUI |
mility in the fear of fault, however secret, !
is the true spirit to have. 1t is the most |
hopeful sign.
In the East the rites of hospitality are
most sacred. 1t is crime to betray him |
at whose table one has partaken of bread.
On this occasion Christ was the host.
Christ is the host at every table to-day.
To eat with him and then betray him is
as traitOrOuS now as it was i'll the year
80 A. ID.
The beauty of the Sacramental service
founded upon this, its first sOlemniZatiOn,
is something which what we call 1.-THE
world" may not be able to feel, but must
respect. Christian ancestry and Chris
tian training give us the instinct of
reverence: but no delicate nature, either
within or without the Church, can regard
without high emotion the sight of silent
groups with bowed heads and humble
hearts which throughout Christendom,
on sacred days, sanctify the memory Of a
life visibly ended two thousand years ago,
but supreme over ours to-day.