News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-01-24
THE [. S. S. LESSON.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
JANUARY 81.
Lesson Text: forgiveness and Hea l
ing" Mark. III, 1-12-Golden
Text: Psa., CHI, s.
Commentary.

l. "And again He entered into Caper-
naum." The joy of the leper who had been
healed led him, Notwithstanding the COM
mand of the Saviour, to blaze abroad the fact
of his being healed, and such multitudes
focked to Jesus that He had to leave the city
and withdraw into the wilderness, where
Luke tells us He prayed luke ", l5). ana
Mark says that even there they came to Him
from every quarter. Mark i. Az But now,
after some days, He returns to Caparnaum,
and the news of His return is soon spread
abroad. How is it that to day He seems to
be hid in the homes and lives of SO many who
profess to have received Him? Why is 1T not
clearly manifest that He is In us if indeed He
is! Let each ones heart reply.
2. And traightaway many were gathered
together, insOmuch That there was no room
to receive them Every time that we meet
in Jesus's name, whether in church or Sunday
school or prayermeeting, He is In our midst
according to His promise in Matt. xviii, ~,
and He has all power In Heaven and on
earth; but because we do not come in a deep
sense of our nee to draw from His fullness
we often go away from His presence as IN
blessed as these fharisees. To know His
power we must know something of our own
sinfulneSs and emptiness and be as teachable
as Mary who sat at His feet. duke K, 3D.
"And He preached the word unto Them"
As after His resurrection He expounded unto
them in all the Scripture the things concern
ing Himself both from the law, the prophets
and the psalms luke XIV, q, 44l, so in all
His preaching and teaching He is always
quoting or referring to or explaining the
words of Moses and the prophets concerning
himself. MAY it be impressed upon us that
He spoke not His own words, but being filled
with the same Spirit who had spoken
through the prophets He spoke as the Father
commanded Him. The highest attainment
of teacher or preacher is to have Matt. X,
90, fulfilled in them: at is not we that speak,
but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh
in you.n
s. land they come unto Him, bringing
one sick of the palsy, which was borne of
four" While these blind, self-righteous
] harisees and doctors, who might be healed
if they only knew their need, are listening
to His wonderful words, here is a case for the
manifestation of His wonderful power-a
case of realized and manifest need. A man
who is a paralytic, who has lost the power of
helping himself, is brought by four friends
to Jesus, which was certainly the very best
thing they could do for him.
4. They could not come nigh, X = X
they uncovered the roof, x + Il they let
down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy
lay" Luke v, 10, says they let him down
through the tiling, with his couch, into the
midst before Jesus. Here is zeal and deter
mination sure to accomplish its end if it be
at all possible to be accomplished. If those
who are troubled lest they have not come to
Jesus in the right wa would consider the
manner of this coming and its results, they
would surely find rest N that point; and if
we who are teachers or preachers were as
jealous in bringing others to Jesus, would
we not see very great results!
B. when Jesus saw their faith,n When
we consider the record in Heb. XII, and in the
history of the Kings of Judah who relied upon
God, NAV we not with good reason ask our
selves: DO l act as if l had faith in GodIn
He said unto the sick of the palsy: Son,
thy sins be forgiven thee" Matt. TX, 2, says
that He also added: BE of good cheer
What over there IS i'll a word of encourage
ment, and how many we might drop by the
way as we Journey on if we were not so self
absorbed, but more filled with the Spirit of
Christ who went about doing good, so for
getful of self; AMI then how kindly He adj
dresses the sick man-nO word of rebuke
either to him or his friends because of their
seemingly rude intrusion and sudden inter
ruption of His discourse, but a most kindly
and encouraging greeting. How is it He can
be so patient under all circumstances Be-
cause there is no self in Him and He lives in
communion with God. But why does He
say: Thy sins be forgiven thee" when the
man was brought for physical healing? Was
this palsy the result of sin? 1t looks like it,
and Jesus eing n skillful physician at once
removes the cause of the disease. While all
sorrow and sickness and suffering is the re-
suit of the sin that entered the world through
Adam, it is often the case that individual
sickness is caused by the sin of the person
thus afflicted.
6. 1.-The scribes sitting there were reason
ing in their hearts" They were His enemies,
they did not believe in Him, they knew Him
not, How hard it must have been for Him
to teach or work miracles in the presence of
such unbelief and hatred; but so inspiring is
the faith of these four that He is refreshed
and lifted above these discouragements. Let
us have faith in God. Let us cast down
reasonings, and every high thing that ex-
and bring into captivity every Thought to
the obedience of Christ.
Z. "Vho can forgive sins but God only"
III Cor r 3 mar rim WhV- of course no
one can, but here in this house, and in this
Man, was God manifest in the flesh, and they
knew it not. There they sat criticising, CON
demning, sitting in judgment upon Him who
will one day be their Judge, but now desires
to be their Saviour and their King. Will
they not say in that day: ooh, if we
had only known" Well, if they had only
compared the words and deeds and vel
known history of this Man with the testl
mony or their prophets they might have been
convinced that this was He of whom the
prophets spake.
8. Jesus perceived in His spirit that they
so reasoned within themselves" Some one
has called this mind reading extraordinary"
and it is. How could He tell what they were
thinking about in their hearts, just for the
same reason that He could forgive sins, Le-
cause He was God. And while on this sub
ject of thoughts let me suggest to Christians
who are tormented with fearful and unbe-
lieying thoughts which they hate, but which
keep coming, that they will find a remedy
III Luxe XIV, cO70J: Jer. xxx, ii.
2 whether is it easier to say to the sick
of the palsy: Thy sins be ~forgiren thee; or
to say: Arise, and take up thy bed and
walk" Either would require more than
human power, and either result would prove
Him more than man; and yet a physician
might h-~l by skill and medicine the disease,
while only Col could forgive sins: and in
this case, sin being evidently the cause of
the disease, the cause must be removed if a
cure woull be effected. As to the words
nS21 If WAS aS p0SV To GaU tho nnn n, tho
other. but there must be the power behind
the words.
10. The Son of Man hath power on earth
to forgive sins" Now, if only God can for
give sins, who is this Son of Man! In the
Eighth Psalm He is spoken of as having
dominion, and all things put under Him. In
the Holy Spirits commentary upon Ps. viii,
in Hen. H., we find that this Jesus is the Son
of Man; and in /. Cor. XIV, where He is called
the est Adam, it is said that He must reign
till He hath put all enemies under His feet,
and that the last enemy to be DESTROYED is
death. Then in Dan. vii, -. we are told
that it is after the Judgment of the ma
tons, and the destruction of the disappearing
Antichrist that the Son of Man is to receive
His kingdom and dominion over all the earth
which shall never be destroyed. The Son OF
Man, then, is the man holy, harmless, unde-
filed and separate from sinners, who by viz
tue of His perfect holiness is qualified to bea
s;n offering. the sinners substitutes; and who
by virtue of His sacrifice soon to be COnsum-
mated is authorized to proclaim the forgive
ness OF sins to all who come humbly to Him;
and who because of the dominion given unto
Him shall cleanse this whole earth from
every result of Adams sin, of which thor
ough cleansing these miracles of healing are
but a fOretaste.
II. Il say unto thee In the DAYS of
Moses and the prophets it was THE Lord
spake," or "ThuS saith the Lord" but here is
the Lord Himself, His glory yelled, but His
power and majesty flashing out from the
body of His humiliation: what shall it be
when we see Hin in His glory, and having
become like Him. shall be commissioned to
administer with Him the affairs of His king
dom! "Arise, and take up thy bed and 90
thy way into thine house, His sins has been
cancelled by the first word to him in verse 5,
and now by another word the life bloot
courses with fresh vIgor through his veins
and arteries, muscles and nerves again re-
sumo their functions, and healed both as to
soul and body the man is ready to go forth
whole.
l.. Immediately he arose, took up the
bed, and went forth before them all" A
thorough work, quickly done, and manifest
to all. Just as quickly will this same Sa-
viour forgive to-day the sins of all who truly
come to Him. and just as quickly can He
give you a whole body, too, if He sees that
i'll a sound body you can and will best glo-
rify H M. What a praise meeting the five
of them and their friends must have had. A
little while ago he and his couch were
carried by the four friends, but
now he carries his couch and no
doubt feels strong enough to carry his
friends too. What glorious power, and this
mighty Son of Man says to each believer:
"Lo, | am with you always" Oh. for the
faith of these four that we might bring TO
this Mighty Man all paralyzed ones and see
them rejoicing in the possession of life
abundant, instead of living the sickly, help
lpSS 6anpnHpnt hVaS that CO nanu sapm RI