News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-06-06
THE [. S. S. LESSON.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
JUNE 8.
Lesson Text: Jesus Before PLATE"
Mark xv., I-2O-GoIden Text:
John xix, documentary.


| l. "And straightway in the morning
Here is the word ''straightway" or 'immedi
atelyn found so often about forty times in
/ this Gospel: Just the word for faithful ser
want who delights to do quickly and thor
oughly whatever there is to be done; but this
time it is written concerning the servants OF
| Satan that they also are quick to do his bid
| ding The disciples of Christ could not watch
one hour with Him in His agony but here
| lre disciples of the devil eagerly watching
| and working all night; is there not some
| thing like it to-day when Christians complain
| if the service is little over the appointed
hour or hour and half, but two or -four
| hours is none too much to spend at an enter
tainment or evening party, and Satan thinks
| it not too much to keep his places
for the destruction of soul and body
| open till midnight, or even all night
| What night it had been for our deal
| Lord; the agony in the garden, the betraya
| by a professed friend, the arrest and
| the being bound and led away to Annas an6
| thence to Caiaphas the examination anC
cruel treatment before Caiaphas, the three
fold denial recorded in each of the foul
| Gospels of that disciple who had said thai
though he should die with Him he would mo-
deny Him, was it not enough already tx
| break the Saviour's heart? But it is only thu
| beginning of His sufferings. 1.-THE chief priests
q
| scribes and the whole council" 1t would
seem from this that the examination and con
| demnation of last lesson was not before q
full council, but now that all had assembled
they seem to concur in what had been done
or if any such as Joseph or Nicodemus pro-
tested, it is not recorded perhaps because
they saw it was useless. "And bound Jesus
and carried Him away, and delivered Him tt
Plate" Luke xxxiii., l, says: THE whole
multitude of them arose and led Him unto
Plate The Jews could not carry out the
sentence of death which they had pronounced
upon Jesus; that must be done by the
Roman Governor, therefore He is taken be-
fore Plate.
O. "And Plate asked Him: Art Thou the
King of the Jewsw 1t is possible that as
PLATE, the representative of the great world
power of that time, to which the Jews were
then in subsection, looked upon Jesus and
asked this question, he may have thought
Him some poor, harmless weak minded per-
son; Just as now when some true believer III
Jesus still speaks of Him as King of the Jews,
soon to return and sit on Davlds throne, as
Serting that he also expects to reign with
Him luke l., 30; Rev. ", 9, 10, he is consid-
cred by many religious as well as by many
worldly wise people a very weak minded
person. o Believer, be steadfast; believe
God, no matter what people think or say of
you.
3-5 "JesIls answered nothing" In the Re
vised Version this statement is omitted from
verse 8, and in verse it reads: Jesus no
more answered anything" He had confessed
privately to Plate John xviii, 1880 and
now publicly that He was a King, but He
has now nothing more to say, and to the va
rious accusations of the chief priests He
answers nothing. Aswe fix our eyes upon
Him for there is none other worth looking
att thus gTandly silent in the presence of Jew
and GENTLE authority, let us not forget that
He is not only King of the Jews, but He is
- 80 r.r~p nraA
Lord of Lords. (Rev. XIV, g. margin; xix,
16).
6-8. "Now at that feast he released unto
them one prisoner whomsoever they desired -
Matt. xvii, Is, says that this was his custom.
Plate had already said to Jesus that he had
power to cruelty and power to release These
verses of our lesson tell US of certain
prisoner named Barabbas, who was then in
prison for instruction and murder, whom
Matt xvii, 16 speaks of as a notable
prisoner. Consider these two, Plate the
Roman Governor, and Jesus, of Nazareth, the
latter apparently in the power of the former,
who for the time being seems to have the
power of life or death; but forget not the
words of Jesus after His resurrection: "AH
power is given unto Me in heaven and in
earth, and again, Fear not; am the First
and the Last, and the Living One; and was
dead, and behold I am alive foreverInore. and
l have the keys of death and Of Hades."
Matt. xiii, IS; Rev. l., IL, 49, r. W Seeing
from all fear of the greatest earthly powers
and from the fear of even death itself.
8. ''Pilate answered them, saying: Will ye
that l release unto you the King of the
Jews% Matt. xvii, II, says that Plate
asked them whether he should release Barab-
bas or Jesus who is called Christ? By con-
sulting harmony of the Gospels it appears
that Plate interceded for Jesus and offered
to set Him free no less than seven times on
this eventful morning, this being, the sixth
time; thus putting the responsibility of His
death upon the Jews. Peter says that Plate
was determined to let Him go tActs Ill, 49,.
10. He knew that the chief priests had
delivered Him for envy" So Joseph was
hated and envied by his brethren and Moses
was envied by Israel. Gen. xxxvii., S, IL;
Ps cvi., 49, Wrath is cruel, and anger is
outrageous; but who is able to stand before
envyF prov. xvii, A.
IL. 'But the chief priests moved the peo-
pie, that he should rather release Barabbas
unto Them In the account in Johns gospel
we find Plate saying three different times
threw down the money h" satd he had be-
trayed innocent blood; and now the wife of
The Roman Governor teStifieS that He is q
Just man; there seems to be none against Him
but HIS own nation, and they SO hate Him
that they prefer a murderer to the Holy
Lamb of God. Surely their choice indicates
their hearts; as Jesus told them, they are fair
without but foul within, outwardly religious,
but IN their hearts murderers; Barabbas
would feel at home with them.
IL. What will we then that shall do unto
Him who We call the King of the Jewsg'
This is Pilates seventh intercession on behalf
of Jesus Plate asked the Jews to tell him
what to do; he had before him an innocent
man, for he had proved it and testified it, and
the only right thing to do was to release Him
and protect Him from this furious mob.
There was something still better for Plate to
do, and that was to receive Him as his
Saviour, and become His faithful follower;
that is the one thing for you to do, dear
reader, if you have not already done SO.
ID. And they cried out again, Cruelty
Him." According to Jewish law, if Jesus
was guilty of blasphemy, as they said, He
should have been stoned to death LEV. XIV,
49,; but in Ps xxi, TO, it was written, they
pierced my hands and my feet" and in this
cry that He should be crucified, they were
unconsciously calling for fulfillment of
Scripture; and as it was written that not
bone of the passover lamb was to be broken
Eek. xii, 46), this also foretold that He should
not be stoned to death. All Scripture must
be fulfilled
IA. 'Then Plate said unto them, Why,
what evil hath He doneF lisa. hii., 8, says:
deceit in His MOUTH They could find no
evil in Him, for there was none He was
holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from
sinners. They cried out the more exceed
ingly, Cruelty Him" They had long ago
determined that He must die; they could not
tolerate His holiness their sinful lives could
not bear the light they would not repent and
receive Him as their salvation therefore he
who was murderer from the beginning takes
possession of them, and their conduct tells
whose children they are John viii, AZ
10. And SO Plate, willing to content the
people, released Barabbas unto them, and
delivered Jesus when he had scourged Him.
TO be cruc1fied." Matt, xvii, "a, rs, SAYS
that before Plate did this he took and washed
his hands, saying: am innocent of the blood
of this just person, see We to it, And all the
people replied: His blood be on us and on
our children
1920. "And the soldiers led Him away,
& = led Him out to cruelty Him. Be
tween these two sentences comes all the his
tory of Jesus in the hands of the soldiers in
the common hall called Prsetorium-thes mil-
ing, the hooking, the splitting, the browning
with thorns-but who can describe it? There
is a-pretense of justice at the Jewish council
and in Pilates Judgment hall but here there
is none. But, o Lord Jesus, why should it
be; why all this prolonged and heaped up
agony of the garden, the scourging the crown
of thorns, the buffeting before Thou didst come
TO the cross? Was it not on the cross that
Thou didst bear our sins? Then why all this
before the cross? Was it to teach us when
resisting the devil to overcome by earnest,
agonizing prayer, when the Word does not
overcome him, remembering that Thou didst
say. concerning certain kind: ''This kind
Matt. xvii, 2D? Was it to teach us when i'll
treated, wronged, oppressed, insulted, to re-
member that we have not an High Priest
who cannot feel for u.s. but that Thou vast
in all points tried as we are? And that crown
of thorns-was that to teach us that Thou
didst bear the curse resting upon the very
earth itself Gen ill.,. 49, that Thou mightest
redeem it, too in due time? Then, Lord