The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1890-02-28
ESUS VISITS NAZARETH.

ssON TX, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, MARCH 2.
ut Of the Lesson. Luke ". i0-SS-Con'
init Verses Is-al-Goldsn Text. John \
iI-Commentary by tho Rev. d. n.
etesr0s
bmpiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per.
mission of II, s, Hoffman, publisher, Philadel'
phia.
l8. "And He came to Nazareth, where He
ID been brought up" After the temptation
the wilderness he returned to where John
rs baptixing, and John pointed Him out a.
he Lamb Of God. Andrew and Simon,
Philip and Nathaniel are the first to follow
Him. Having returned into Galilee, He and
His mother and His disciples attend mar
riage at Cana, where He works His first
miracle He visits Capernaum and soon after
Journeys to Jerusalem to keep the Passover.
There He cleanses the temple, receives Nico-
demus by night and tells him Of the necessity
Of the new birth. On His way homo He stops
ut Samaria and talks witt = ,l,..' at the
we'll. He ret. .ps to Cana i ,lilre le had made
khe water into wine, and there He healed the
hobleman's son who was sick at Capernaum.
All these events intervene between the last
lesson and this one, and are consecutively
Recorded in John l, 10; iv, "a. Then He came
to Nazareth, his native town, and as His Gus
hoE ees, He went into tae synagogue ON the
eshsatk asy Esthsasslv question, "Can
there any good thing come out OF Nazareth"
kJohn l, 49, seems to imply that Nazar-
18th had very poor reputation, and
yet in this unenviable place the Son
Of God lived thirty years. The power OF .
holy life must be within us, not around US. :.
II. "There was delivered unto Him the
book Of the prophet Isaiah" He did not open
It carelessly, but no doubt with the greatest
reverence. Whether He read the regular
portion for the day or not we are not told;
but He unfolded the roll till He found what
we call lisa. Xxi, l, and then He read and He
surely read according to Neh viii, 8: "Dis-
tinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them
to understand the reading"
l8. "The Spirit Of the Lord is upon me-"
As in Gen. i, l., 20, so here we have in few
words the doctrine of the Trinity. The Son
Is reading, and He says that the Spirit of the
Father is upon Him, for presently He will tell
us that these words concern Himself. This Is
the fourth reference to the Spirit in this chap
ter. Jesus is said to be full of the Holy
Spirit, to be led by the Spirit, to have re-
turned in the power Of the Spirit into Cali
lee, and now He reads from Isaiah words
concerning Himself, that the Spirit Of the
Lord is upon Him. Without being filed, led,
controlled by this same Spirit, we are simply
'nobodies" in Gods sight, and can do nothing
pleasing unto Him.
HE hath anointed me to preach the gospel
to the poor" In lisa. Xxi, l, we read "Good
tidings unto the meek" indicating that "the
poor" does not necessarily refer exclusively to
the poor in this worlds goods, though as a
rule they are more likely to receive the glad
tidings than the rich luke xviii, "a, but to
the meek or poor in spirit lisa. lvii, Is; Xvi,
.; Matt. v, 81.
HE hath sent me to heal the broken heart
ed" Steir says that "a broken heart is the
foundation of all true theology" and the fol-
flowing texts Indicate that such hearts are apt
to be-very near and dear to God Ps x1xiv,
IS; Ii, II; cxlvii, 81.
''To preach deliverance to the captives,"
such as the Gadarene demoniac, and the wo-
man bound by Satan eighteen years duke
vii, 27S xiii, 10y, and the multitudes Top
pressed and led captive by the devil at his
will
Recovering Of sight to the blind" Those
both literally and spiritually blind, the latter
being in much the worse case Matt. *, ~;
Mark viii, 81 John tx, l4O, Al; Rev. iii, II;
Ps cxix, 49,.
''To set at liberty them that are bruised"
This may refer more to the bodily Affections
inflicted by Satan, as Luke tx, 80, and the
other cases, such as those mentioned under
"Captives," while the captives may refer
more to the minds and wills controlled by
Satan, and may also have a much deeper
meaning.
10. ITO preach the acceptable year OF the
Lord" Can there be anything not included
in this wonderful commission to this most
wonderful man whose name is Wonderful"
Qsa tx, g; Judg. xiii, Is, marg). Is it not all
included in one Of His far reaching sayings,
"Come unto Me all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and l will give you resta"
Thank God the acceptable year has not yet
passed, but even today it is true that Nov
Is the accepted time, now is the day OF saliva
tion." The hour in which the dead shall hear
the voice of the Son of God, and they that
hear shall live, still continues, and whosoever
- will may take freely Matt. ri, %; Cor, vi,
2; John v, 25).
81. 'This day is this Scripture fulfilled in
your ears" While all eyes were fastened on
Him, He began His discourse with this start
ling statement, which was equal to saying:
''These words which have just read to you
from the prophecy of Isaiah were written, not
about himself, but about me, who now sit here
- before you, and whom you have known SO long
as simply the Son of Mary, the carpenter Of
your town Mark vi, 81 I am the Messiah
whom Isaiah foretold."
%. "And all bare him witness, and won
dered at the gracious words which proceeded
out of his mouth. And they said: Is not this
Joseph's son?' His full discourse is not given,
but as one has said, His words must have
been erich in matter and sweet in manner"
%, "a "Verily say unto you, No prophet
is accepted in his own country" We have q
similar saying to this effect, "Too much ia
miliarity breeds contempt" When we read
that at one time Neither did His brethren
believe in Him" John vii, s., and at anotht.
that His friends said, HE is beside Himself"
mark iii, 2I, we do not wonder SO much that
His townsmen did not receive Him, for if the
hearts of those nearest to Him failed to re-
ceive Him, why be astonished at the resti
Is, 81. ga woman that was a widow. Naa-
man, the Syrian" In reply to their desire
,;ol,< 10 hoA