Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-05-30
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON FOR JUNE SECOND.

JESUS BEFORE THE COUNCIL.-MARK xiv,
55-65.
NOTES.-The mock trial recorded in
this lesson took place in the palace of
Caiaphas the High Priest, somewhere
between two and five o'clock. 1t was an
irregular meeting, illegal, and it had to
be adjourned until the Sanhedrim had
formal meeting to pronounce the SEN
tence of death.-"1'hec chief priests and
the 1ChOle council" Virtually the San
hedrim. ''iSOught 10itness against" -
They were bound to kill him somehow,
and wished the outward show of legali-
ty.-''And found none" No tlOo wit
neSSes testified the same thing. The
Jewish law was plain upon the point
testimony of one man (Deut. xix, 15).
al 1OW destroy this temple. Later
it became a national offense to bring
this new and magnificent HerOdian tenn
pie into contempt. This was a capital
charge against Stephen. See John ii,
10 for what Jesus really did say, and how
instead of having the accused spirit of
hostility, he was always ready to restore
and purify it.-"H High priest stood Up
In the mt,lst"- Either in his official
place or came forward and confronted
Jesus face to face.-"Again the high
priest asked him. attempt the
high priest makes a last resort to make
Christ criminate himself is pitiful. Je-
sus was to be killed by fair means or
foul" -"Rent has clothes. "A public
symbol of grief and anger Oh Kings,
xviii, 37).-"Spd on him."-A mark
of the greatest contempt. -"COre1 his
face" Compare Matthew. Here is the
explanation why he was asked to prOph-
esy who smote him. He was blindfold-
ed and could not see. This was anOth-
er mark of man condemned to death.
- 'Receiced him 1oith blOlOS." Mote
the reading of the Revised Version in
comparison with the Authorized.
IRstTuctiOn-Th hatred that sinless-
ness inspires in some hearts is the natu-
raj outcome of antipathy. Depravity
and sin hate purity and holiness. a
sneer against the right is sure proof
of an unsound heart.
The ninth commandment, or rather
the violation of it, plays an important
part in this lesson. A falsehOod is none
the less one if a priest of the Church ut
terS it. CanOnical robes cannot make
wrong right. Truth is of higher author
ity than man. 1t is of God. And he who
speaks it thinks it and acts it is so far
GOd-like person.
But false witnessing is more common
in our daily lives than We imagine. A
ScOwl at the mention of an honest neigh
Dor may be as detrimental to him as a
downright lie. In point of morals it
becomes one. One such malicious move
ment of the eyebrows needs another to
bolster it up and then another, until the
expression is turned into hate. False
witness may not only be direct but cir
cumStantial.
Note Caiaphas waiting with malig-
nant impatience for Christ to condemn
himself since none other could do it!
Note the dignity of the Master! 1t is
not Christ before the high priest, but
Caiaphas before Christ. Christ is the
judge.
This is the great official declaration of
Christ. In this solemn moment he as
sumes his full MeSsiahShip. To doubt
it now is to side with the Sanhedrim-
Silence is not always the best. While
it can be construed into the affirmative,
more often it becomes a eOwardly sign
of the negative. When such moment
when silence seems ambiguous, then do
you shame all opposition by vigorous
and decisive stand for right.
Christ used no double meaning in his
declaration. 1t has become too much
habit to pay more respect to clever and
delusive epigrams than to the eternal
thought that ought to underlie each use
of the tongue. Our English language
has Saxon words enough to express just
what we mean, and tersely too, without
playing on equivOeal harmonies.
1t has become popular in some ''sets'
in society" to dispute the claims of
Christ and set up ethics of ones own.
This is done mostly for the sake of a
novelty. Probably THE CHRONICLE
reaches few of such. But such de-
parture is as old as the religion of Christ
himself, and has been abandoned over
and over again.
Christ in accepting the buffets of the
priests incarnated the willingness to re-
ceive adverse criticism. But it must be
honest, sober, thoughtful and reverent.