The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-01-26
FORolv.NES AND HEALING.
international Sunday school Lesson 70,
JANUARY -, 1889.

| Especially arrany ed from = . Quarterly.l
LESSON TEXT Mark 2:l-l2.
| GOLDEN Texr-Who forgiveth all their
iniquitics. Who healeth all thy diseases
! CENTRAL TRuTu-Jesus Christ forgives
the sins OF all who come TO Him in faith.
| TIME-Summer Of A. ID. Is. Some days
after the last lesson.
| PLAcg-The city Of Capernaum in Cali
| lee.
| PARALLEL ACcouNTs-Matt. 9'l-S; Luke
5l1-26 Jesus between 81 and y years old
| Near the middle Of HIS ministry.
| INTRODUCTION Not long after the heal
| ing OF the lcpcr, in our last lesson, Jesus
returned to His home IN Capcruaum,
where the miracle of to-day's lesson was
| performed,
HELrs OVER HARD pIACEs-l. Entered
| Cdprrnaun: on tue return from His first
tour of Galilce. In The house either His
own home Matt. 80 or that of Peter. p
| The Uorri! the word OF message from God.
3. Sick OF ue patsy: palsy is short for par
dlusiS, disease Of the nerves which de-
stroys the power of motion or Of feeling,
or both.
| Tho palsy is disease which deprives the
| part affected Of sensation or the power OF
|
| or the moler nerves, or both,
| are attacked. A fearful form Of
this disease is known in Eastern
countries. The term pdisH or paralysis, is
used by the ancient physicians IN much
| wider sense than by our modern men Of
| science. 1t Included not only what we call
| paralysis, which is rarely very painful, but
also catatlcpsy and tetanus, i. e, cramps and
10 oil h,., sru<,
ton of the muscles IN the whole or part of
the body, and Is very dangerous. The eff
fects upon the parts seized are very violent
and deadly. For instance, when a person
is struck with IL, if his hand happens TO be
extended, ne !. unable to draw it back
! The c. amps in Oriental countries is fear
! full malady, and by no means infrequent 1t
is caused by the chllls of the night. The
! limbs when seized by it remain mmovable,
sometimes turned in and sometimes out, in
the same position as when they were first
seized. The person afflicted resembles a
man undergoing the torture, and eXpe-
riences nearly the same exquisite suffer
ings. t. COHId not come ltgh INTO HIM for
the press, or crowd, which filled not only tho
room but the court or area around which
the house was built The crowd extended
.
root: the common houses, such us this prob
ably was, We're low, with Hat roofs, covered
with tiles OF earth, and with no starways
from the street to the roof. What these
four dld was not uncommon in the East.
The bed: A small mattress, or blanket per-
haps, upon low hight frame. 5. Their
faith: the faith OF the man aud his friends.
Jesus saw their hearts, and they proved
han. fn,tb ht- All Ig,
Si,S be Jorgtyen: his first need and desire.
q. Serbs: leading men and teachers among
the Jews. These had come up from Jerusa-
lem and elsewhere duke 5:l0 to see what
Jesus was doing. T. Bias hem,sS: evil
speaking OF God and religion; acting as If
He could do what God only does. o.
Whether IS edSir 10 say: not which is easier
TO do, but to prove the truth of what you
say AS, for instance, it is not as easy to
speak Chinese as French, but 1t is easier
for one who is ignorant to sag that he can
speak Chinese. for few could detect his pre-
tensions; but mulutudes could detect his
prctensions 10 French. 10 BIT that pc may
k,ao,C. by a Divine act which they could see
He proves The reality of the other Divine
act they could not see.
CoMMENTs-l'his sick man received from
inc saviour tUO UlItS. Ills UOuN WAS ilcdltN,
and his SINS were pardoned Which of these
two gifts did the multitude appreciate most!
Was 1t not probably the gift of healingt
That they would see with their bodily eyes.
1t was something tangible. All through the
life of our Master on earth, men rushed
after HIM to receive bodily healing They
came from altar for tins purpose, and at
times the crowds were so great that they
"a
for this kind of blessing. Now ask again
what was the chIef errand that brought
Jesus from Heaven to earth! Did He como
mainly to heal msuS bodies or feed their
stomachs with loaves and fishes! To ask
tins question is TO answer 1t. He came to
seek and save lost sinners. That was HIS
chief crrand on earth. HIS healing of the
body was only IL kind of type of HIS larger
healing of the soul II any one had asked
Jesus that day which gift was the greater,
the bodily healing or the pardon Of sins,
can we doubt for one moment what His
answer would have been! And if
now, after 1900 years, this healed man
could come back from the other world, and
we should ask him which of the two gifts
he received that day was the more valuable,
can we doubt what ne would answer. For
most, but soul healing brings blessings for
eternity. Alas that the people Of those days
did not realize this! We nowhere read Of
their rushing TO Jesus for pardon and
purity. No crowds surrounded Him, say
ing: "UHdt must lCe do 10 be sarcdin So to-
day, men would travel far for temporal
blessings, who would not spend half an
hour in seeking Gods forgivng grace.
Whoa these four friends came for the
sick man, how strange it would have been
had he said: "Oh, let me d'onei am WeH
enough OF as am. Besides, Hnte arc plenty Of
pcOUle ,chD are DOrSe Mhn dm.n Yet this is
exactly what many sinners do and say when
their brothers or friends want TO talk to
them about Jesus, and carry them TO Him
in prayer. They repel them and say "NO;
let me alOnel | am as well as many whom
] see around me. | am satisfied with my
condition" The great difference between
this palsicd man and the sinner is, that he
knew ne was sick, while the sinner thinks he
is well. Not until the sinner confcsses that
he needs Saviour is there any hopo for
Lim.-HeU. A. r. Scha9D'r.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
1. 1t is great blessing TO have Jesus in
our homes.
2. Sin is like paralysisa weakness OF