Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-05-31
JESUS FIRST TRIAL.
LESSON TX, SECOND QUARTER, IN
TERNATlONAL SERIES, JUNE 2.

nit Verses 90, 56-Golden Text, John
XIV, 25-Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
Stearns.
compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per.
mission of II. Hoffman, publisher, Philadel
phia.l
So. "And the chief priests and all the coun-
Gil sought for witness against Jesus to put
Him to death; and found none" After the
arrest they bound Him and led Him away to
Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas the
high priest, and if we accept the r. V. Of
John xviii, "a, it would seem that the CONVEX
sation and shifting of Jesus recorded in John
xviii, 1923 took place before Annas after
which he sent Him bound to Caiaphas, where
we now find Him in the presence of the
priests and council who are seeking evidence
against Him that they may have some plausi-
BILE reason for putting Him to death. A good
while before this they had determined to kill
Him Matt. xii, IA; John xi, 53), but lacked
opportunity because His hour had not come
John vii 30, viii, POI, but now that His
hour had come John xiii, |; xvii, y and He
had suffered them to take Him, they felt that
they must have some semblance of right in
what they were about to do. To find some
real evidence of guilt on His part was the
hardest work they ever undertook, for He
from sinners; His life and teaching had been
open to all, and nothing inconsistent with His
public teaching had ever been said in secret
Heb. vii, &c; John xviii, 20). Every sacri-
flee had to be without blemish and as He is
about to become a sacrifice for that nation,
according to the very words of Caiaphas, I'M
Willingly spoken John xi, 1859, they are,
without knowing it, proving Him to be the
Lamb of God without blemish and without
spot, a fit sacrifice for their sins and for the
sins of the world.
So. MANY bare false witness against Him.
but their witness agreed not together" This
also was foretold concerning Him, for it is
written in the Psalms False witnesses are
risen up against me, and such as breathe out
cruelty" and again, "False witnesses did
rise up; they laid to my charge things that l
knew not" Dps. xvii, IL; xxxv, H.
81. And there arose certain and bare
false witness against Him." Matt. XVI,
60, says, AT the last came two false wit
nesses," who remind us of the two men, sons
of Belial, whom Jezebel caused to testify
against Naboth that he might be put to death
Il Kings xxi, 80. 1t is the same principle
all through the Bible from the days of Abel
to the days Of John, and inasnuch as the
devil is the author of it, and he is still at
large, we may expect to find it prevailing till
the Lord come and the devil is shut up and
sealed in the bottomless pit. THE wicked
watcheth the righteous and seelieth to slay
him; the Lord will not leave him in his hand
nor condemn him when he is judged" Ps
xxxvii 81, 33).
So. I'VE heard Him say, will destroy this
temple that is made with hands, and within
three days | will build another made without
hands" Just what He did say was, Destroy
this temple and in three days l will raise it
up" John ii, 49,, and John says that He
spake of the temple of His body; but they
make Him to say that He Himself would de-
stroy the temple, which had at that time
been forty-six years in building, and in three
days build another They cast the same
thing at Him as He hung upon the cross
Mark XIV, 90, not knowing that they were
then destroying the temple, and that in
three days it would be raised up Observe
two things here: If we are members
of His body, let us not think it strange if our
words are ofttimes perverted and we are
made to say things which we never said nor
intended to say, but rather let us count it
another privilege of fellowship with Him in
His sufferings; then consider as members of
/ His body the resurrection whieh awaits that
body, when perhaps we may see in an actually
restored temple at Jerusalem some new light
upon Hos vi p After two days will He re-
vive us; in the third day He will raise us up,
and we shall live in His sight" We shall
know if we follow on to know the Lord
| So "Neither so did their witness agree to-
gether" The law said that a man could not
be condemned nor put to death at the mouth
Of one witness, but that it must be by the
testimony of at least two or three witnesses
Deut. xvii, q; xix, 15) and yet up to this
time they cannot get two witnesses to agree,
so they had no case
GO. And the high priest stood up in the
midst and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest
thou nothing; What is it which these wit
ness against Theei" The high priest thus
gives evidence of his feelings against the one
on trial, which he has now allowed to over
come him and cause him to act and speak in
this unjust way; he knew that according to
their own law there was no case against the
prisoner, for nothing had been really testified,
inasmuch as no two of the witnesses agreed.
I'll. but He held His peace and answered
nothing" Nothing being confirmed against
Him, there was nothing for Him to reply to;
the law was on his side, and in the presence
of these furious, murderous hypocrites, He
majestically holds His peace.
G2. And Jesus said, | am" To keep ST.
! fence In the lace OF sucn u question WOULD De
to deny that He was the Christ, therefore He
now replies in the momentous words of Elk.
iii, a. When Moses wished to know what he
would say to the children of Israel as to who
sent him, he was instructed to say Il AN
hath sent me unto YOU" concerning which
some one has written:
When God would teach mankind His name,
He calls Himself the great Il AM
And leaves n blank -; believers may
Supply those things for which they pray.
Many scholars will remember how he sale
Il am the living bread am the light of the
world am the door, am the good shep
herd-I am the resurrection and the life, etc
There are at least twelve such titles in Johr
and seven in Revelation and often wher'
you read II am He," it is simply II am, fol
''he" is in italics, which means that it is moi
in the original See John viii, "a, IS; xiii
10; xviii, &, s.
"And we shall see the Son Of Mar
sitting ON the right hand of pow
er, and coming in the clouds o
heaven What a contrast this will be. Se'
Him in this lesson standing apparently help
less and friendless before an unjust Judge