The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-09-09
CHRIST AND TIE BLIND MAN.
International Sunday-School Lesson FOL
Seutemher n 1901

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International Sunday-School Lesson for
September l3, 1891.
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rJght ~ tho wor,d
TINE Oc,oh,r . n o, p.ohob,v rho nov+
Snhhnth af,er tho faast y, ,ohornacIes ou- last
lesson.
PLAcE.-Jerusaiem, near one of the gates OF
the temple. ..ss-a..
JEsus.-Nearlv thirty.threc wears old, about
six months before his crucldxion
RuLERs.-Tlb,r ius CAESAR. emperor OF Romo
d6th; Pontius PLATE governor of Judea ath).
Herod Antipas over Galilee l33dD.
CIRCUMSTANCES. our last lesson Jesus
was discoursing with tho Pnarisees in the
temple and thew had taken ,p stones to kill
him when he nassed QUIETLY ont among the
thronqs The events Of This lesson took place
soon after probably ON the sabbath following
". lD.
HELPS OVER HARD PLAcEs.-1. "As Jesus
passed by:" not the same verb as the one
translated "passed by in the last verse of the
last chapter. Hence 1t need not refer to the
same occasion. "Biind from his birth.' and
therefore more dinicult to cure 2. ''Who did
SIM" Whose sin was the occasion of this
great sorrow? The Pharlsees taught that each
trouble was the punishment of some particular
sin. This NAM" of course blindness from
birth could not be the punishment for the
mans own SIN. rnerefore, was ~ IN conse'
this man sinn.d - This vas No, On account ot
any sin of either the man or his parents. It
does not mean that they never had done
wrong; such eviis as blindness are the results
trnnhia t ,ar ~. you CIV Jnno. inS o h"
acter by the amount of trouble. SWorks Of
Gods" His works of love, goodness salvation;
that these might be shown in the mans spir'
w sna nG mus a,So pe pe.eaieu 70 DINERS
lasts. 6. II am the light Of the world" what.
ever darkness is in the world, Of that Christ is
me corresponding light, whether it be the
uraxitv 81 sSriUm OF ., FOL as
used some means to awaken the mans faith
and test his obedience Q. Some said, This
is he:" 1.-THE opening of the eyes would nat
uraiiy enanse .ne whole countenance." II we
neishbors will remark tho d u in ms
H. "siloam:' a pool probably south of the
temple mount. 80. Cast him OUT" excom-
a nun y MN: 90 VINO IS he!" ne haa nov
voice 90 .Worspirad uy u. o as Ga " So Iohn
always uses this word.
LESSON COMMENTS.
John tells of the miracles Of the Mas
ter chiefly for the sake Of their spiritual
teachings. We must bear this in mind
as we study this Gospel. This is true
with regard to the story Of to-day.
That which characterizes this miracle
above all others is the persistent adhe-
sion Of the blind man to one expert
mental fact. To all objections and evil
suggestions of the Pharisees, he has but
one final answer, and that is: >"Where.
as was blind, now / see." No argu-
ment could make him abandon this po-
sition. In encountering the Pharisees,
this man was pitted against the shrewd-
est men of his day. His scholastic prep
aration for such an encounter was Of
the poorest kind. They could have
asked him thousand questions to
which he could have given no reply.
They could have perplexed him with
subtle reasonings and casuistries, that
he could not have rebutted. But there
was one point on which all their argu-
ments were vain. However they might
talk, they could never beat him from
this one position, that once he was
blind, and now he could see. There he
was impregnable. Experience of the
power OF Jesus was something about
which there was no possibility OF de-
ceptlon. 10 the question: How dc
you reconcile Divine sovereignty and
human free will?" he could have given
no answer Had they asked him about
the "origin OF evil,' he would have beer
powerless to reply. The question Of
the perseverance OF the saints would
have been conundrum to him. But
when the question turned on his own
experience, he at once replied conf.
IDENTIFY: Zone thing l know. Whereas
was blind, now see." os ,yv. ~
This is most instructive. For there
are many in our times who are in the
same position with this man. JUS
imagine Jerry Macauley, or Bendigo
the prize fighter, called up before such
men as Tyndall or Darwin or Huxley,
and questioned about their theological
speculatlons' near Iyndal say;
Jerry, how can you reconcile prayer
Win natural law Poor Macauley
would nave TO reply: u cannot recon
Gle 1t" "WeH, says Darwin, show
can you explain Genesis in the light of
modern science? Again Jerry would
DC al ms wits end Come now, says
spencer tell us what you know about
Jesus NOW Jerrys lips open, u