The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-08-26
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
AUGUST 80.
Lesson Text: "Christ at the Feast. u
John VIII, 31-44-Golden
Text: John vii. 81.
Commentary.

ndLu uoHtt lue leSSOnS OF CnS QtCn CQapCer
were based upon the incidents connected
with one Of the feasts Of the Jews; those in
the sixth chapter were associated with the
mamma and the passover feast; these are in
connection with the feast of tabernacles
which points us forward to the coming
kingdom Of Israel and the time of blessing
upon all nations. 1t was about the midst Of
the feast when Jesus went up to the temple
and taught. He was up to this time de-
spised even by His own brethren (verses 3-5),
but He kept quietly on, seeking not His own
glory but the glory of Him that sent Him.
Many believed on Him, but the sincerity Of
their faith would be proved by their con-
tinuance.
80 1.-The Pharisees heard that the people
nnurmured such things concerning Him; and
the Pharisees and the chief priests sent
officers to take Him." Always batting Him,
and always seeking to kill Him, but unable
to touch Him till His work was DONE Pro-
seed Of Abraham, they made it manifest by
their conduct that they were not truly Of
God nor Of Abraham, but rather Of their
father, the devil.
80. 'Tben said Jesus unto them, Yet a.
little while am with you, and then I go un-
to Him that sent Me-" Over thirty times In
this Gospel He speaks Of the Father send
ing Him. He says that the Father spoke
through Him and did the works which were
wrought by Him. In all things He honored
the Father, for He was the brightness. Of
His Glory, and the express image Of His
person" Heb. j., 3. he says to us who be-
ieve in Him that as the Father sent Him so
He sends us xvii, 1Sl. What strength is
here for every true servant Of Christ.
"a. "Ye shall seek Me and shall not find
Ne rx,hara thitbar oa,-at
come" Now, He had before said that "He
that seketh fndeth" (Math. vi, 81, but there
is no contradiction. We must only take His
sayings in the light Of all His other sayings,
"Ye shall seek Me- and find Me, when ye
shall search for Me with all your heart''
Uer. xxx, 13). This kind of seeking never
fails. "They shall seek Me early, but they
shall not find Me- prov j., 2S This is the
seeking of those who hated and despised
Him just like these Pharisees.
35. Then said the Jews among themselves
Whittier will He 60 that we shall not find
Him? Will He 60 unto the dispersed among
the Gentiles and teach the Gentilesn OF
the earth earthly, they understood not heav-
emily things. That He came down from
heaven they did not believe, and therefore
His going to Him that sent Him they could
not understand. That many Jews were
o(aLlSA GU oDi Sau aillOhE Viz aooiOho ID cfl-
dent from the Acts Of the Apostles, for we
find Paul always preaching first to the Jews.
and the epistles Of James and Peter were
written to such lsee Jas. l., i; I Pet. l., H..
That they will yet be gathered out from the
nations and home to their own land is clearly
evident from lisa. Ii, l2, and many other
prophecies.
26. What manner of saying is this that
he said, Ye shall seek Me, and shall not find
Me. And where I am, thither ye rannot
come" II He could find His way to any
part of the earth, why could not they follow
Him if they saw fit! Such seems to have
been their thoughts. Anything beyond the
earth they neither knew nor thought much
about.
81. 'tIn the last day, that great day of the
feast Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any
man thirst, let him come unto Me and
drink" For seven days was the feast con.
tinued, and many sacrifices were offered
every day, but the eighth day, the last day
of the feast, was a special day LEV. xviii,
81; Mum. xxx, $3.50. It. Of all the days,
pointed to the perfection and power Of resur,
rection for three and eight are the great
resurrection numbers The last words OF
this verse were probably uttered by Jesus al
the time of the pouring out Of the water,
from ths aSS pool ss 6f soan Whls The people
cried, with joy shall ye draw water out OF
the wells Of salvation" lisa. xii, 81.
49, HE that believeth on Me, as the
Scripture hath said, out Of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water" TO the woman
at the well He said, The water that shall
give him shall be in him q well Of water
springing up into everlasting life" tiy., 14
but this Is even in advance Of that, for here
He speaks of rivers Of living water going
forth from the inmost being Of the believer
1t is like tho waters of Eek. Xvii, Is, which
issued from the house OF God.
SO. But this spake He of the Spirit
which they that belieyeth on Him should re-
ceive." From beginning to end of Scripture
and from the Garden Of Eden to the new
heavens and earth, the spirit is the mighty
worker, Or as some one has SAID, "the E1
ecutivs of the Godhead."
'For the Holy Ghost was not yet, be
cause that Jesus was not yet glorified." The
Holy Spirit, while in all ages the great
worker, had up to this time not been given
as He was at Pentecost, and the reason Is
mentioned in this verse.
40. MANY Of the people therefore, wheI
they heard this saying, said. OF truth th
is the prophet" They seemed to consider
this prophet thus foretold TO bs differen!
person from the Messiah, but If they hac
considered Deut. xviii, 19, in the light Of tht
probability of His being that prophet, they
would have seen good cause for some trem
bling on their part. : :. ~--. -
Al. "Others said, This Is the Christ. Blu
some said, Shall Christ come out Of Galilee?'
They now think it possible that He may bt
the King OF Israel, the Son Of David, as fore
told in II Sam. vii, IL, 13; Isa. k, 81. Tha
the Christ or Messiah was understood to bt
the King of the Jews, and so looked for, i
evident from Math: IL, 2, 4; Mark x{- 81
etc. But they could not think thai HI
should come from Galilee, or, as Nathanae
put it, "Can there any good thing come out
of Nazareth chapter l., 4G)? They evident
ly did not thing Of 1sa. tx, l, =, and OF ths
light that was to shine in Galilee OF the ma
tious.
AZ. 'Hath not the Scripture said tha
Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out
of the town Of Bethlehem where David was.
Yes, truly, this was all plainly written ir
Ps. cxx1ii., II; Mic ", 2, and other passages,
but not any more plainly than the state,
ments concerning Gahles and Egypt in tt:
passages referred to in the previous verse.
their difficulty was just the difficulty OF as
many to-day; they take such SCRIPTURES as
seem to suit that which they wish to believe.
but they will not take any interest IN thai
which seems to conflict with their ideas.
10. so there was a division among the
people because of Him" 1t seems strange at
tirst sight that He, the Prince Of Peace,
should cause division among people; and yet
that is one of the very things He came for
A. And some Of tham would have taken
Him, but no man laid hands on Him.
When those sent to take Him were aske;
why they did not bring Him their answe
was, "Never man spake like TINS man
stood up for Him, saying, "Doth our Law
Judge any man before it hear him and kno'
what he doeth" (verse sly? But he and to
officers were only despised because OF thei
respect for Him.-Lesson Helper.
THE TWO young women who accom-