Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-12-04
CHRIST is CRUCIFIED.
LESSON X, FOURTH QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, DEC 6.

iii, tS-Commentary by the Rev. d. NJ.
Stearns.
iCompiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by
permission of ii. S. Hoffman, publisher, Phil
adelphia.l
II. And He bearing His cross, went
forth into place called the place of
skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Col
gotha
The other gospels tell us of one Simon, a
Cyrenian who was compelled to bear the
cross, but it is evident from this account
that Jesus started for the place of cruel
iXion carrying it Himself
IS. "Where they cruciied Him, and two
Others with Him, on either side one and
Jesus in the midst"
Consider well the meaning of the words
"They cruciiied Him." make it all as real
to your mind as if you saw it, see the nails
driven through His quivering flesh into the
wood, note the Intense pain, and yet you
cannot realize 1.-THE of it, People now
rejoice to have found what they consider
painless way of executing criminals by
electricity-what contrast to the awful
cruelty of crucifXion
10. "And PLATE wrote n title and put it
on the cross And the writing was, Jesus
of Nazareth the King of the Jews"
PLATE once asked Jesus, "What is
TRUTH" xviii 3S), but whether intention
ally or not he wrote the truth when he
wrote this title
20 This title then read many of the
Jews; for the place where Jesus was cruel
fled was nigh to the city; and it was writ
ten in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin"
These three languages represented the
whole known world, and thus it was indi-
Gated "a ipl on
was the king of the Jews was also a mat
ter of interest to the whole world
81. "Then said the chief priests of the
Jews to plate, Write not, The King of the
Jews; but that he said, | am King of the
Jews"
% "Pilate answered, What have writ
ten | have written"
90. "'rhen the soldiers, when they had
crucified Jesus, took His garments and
made four parts, to every soldier part
and also His coat; now the coat was with
out seam. woven from the top through
out"
"a "They said therefore among them
selves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for
it whose it shall be; that the Scripture
might be fulfilled which saith, They parted
My raiment among them. and for My
vesture they did cast lots. These things
therefore the soldiers did"
See this prophecy in Ps. xxi, Is; remem
Der that it was written about 1000 years
before its fulillment, and bow down and
humbly worship God, to whom all things
are known from the foundation of the
world (Acts XIV, lS); who declares the end
from the beginning, and from ancient
times the things that are not yet done lisa
XVI, 10). Observe also how literally the
fttlE laI Of
his clothing for which they cast lots; then
see in Ps. XIII 81, %, how the same person
so i'll treated shall yet be the ruler of all
nations, and all the world shall worship
Him. Expect as literal fulfillment of all
this.
%. Now there stood by the cross of
Jesus His mother, and His mothers sister
Mary the wife of Cleophas. and Mary Mag
dalene."
Let us, as far as possible, take in this
awful scene. See the two malefactors who
were crucified with Him, one on either side
and Jesus in the midst Verse 49,; see the
people passing by, wagging their heads and
railing on Him; see the chief priests mock
ing him and saying, Let the king of Israel
come down from the cross and we will be-
lieve him." see the soldiers hooking him
also and haunting him, and one of the
thieves who were crucilied with him also
rallied on him. Then see this little COM
pany of loved ones powerless to help him,
and with breaking hearts witnessing all
this. Surely the words of Simeon to Mary
have now come true, "A sword shall pierce
through thy own soul also"
&c. "When Jesus therefore saw His
mother, and the disciple standing by,
whom He loved, He saith unto His moth
hah ~
AS in the upper room with the apostles
at the passover, with suffering enough be-
fore Him to overwhelm Him, He forgot
Himself and sought to comfort them; so
now in Undesirable agony of body and
soul He can yet forget Himself enough to
make provision for the temporal welfare
of His mother, and give her new son who
will in some measure take His place.
81. Then saith He to the disciple Be
hold thy motherl And from that hour
that disciple took her unto his own home"
If his mothers sister was Salome, the
mother of John and James and wife of
Zebedee, as we would infer from Math.
xvii, So; Mark cXv, 40; then she stood by
and heard the charge of Jesus concerning
His mother. Happy John to have the
privilege of being son to Mary instead of
Jesus. Happy Salome to welcome such a
sister to her home, if John still made his
home with her. But neither son nor sister
could ill the aching void in Mary's heart
resurrection and reunion in glorified bodies
is the only cure-till then it must be faith.
2S after this Jesus knowing that all
things were now accomplished, that the
Scripture might be fulfilled, saith,
thirst"
The three hours darkness from the
sixth to the ninth hour would seem to in
tervene between the last verse and this,
during which he probably uttered the cry,
my God, my God, why hast Thou for
saken Mef' And now the end has come,
but there is yet another Scripture to be
fulfilled, for till heaven and earth pass
away, one jot or one little shall in no wise
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled
(Math. " 49, AS we think of His actual
physical thirst may we not also consider
His thirst for the souls of men seen in this
His great work of atonement. In connec-
ton with thirst read also Ps xiii, 9; lisa.
Xviii, 81; ", |,
20. Now there was set a vessel full of
win nd II IA