Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-08-17
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON viii, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, AUG. 10.


Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ. stearns.
30, 36. Again the next day after John
stood and two of disciples, and, looking
upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold
the lamb of God" During the time of
fasting and temptation OF our Lord John
had gone on preaching and baptizing and
preparing the way of the Lord. Then on a
certain day he saw Jesus coming unto him
and said, behold the lamb of God which
takcth away the sin of the world (verse
300 The opening verses of our lesson tell
us of the day following. This cry of John
Is the answer to lsaacs question asked so
long ago, Where is the lamb for Il burnt
offeringf" (Gen. xxi, ~
81. And the two disciples heard him
speak, and they followed Jesus" John
was not seeking to draw people TO himself
but to prepare them for and point them to
the Lamb of God. When he heard later in
his ministry that all were following Jesus
he said, This my joy is fulfilled. He
must increase, but must decrease (John
Iii, 20, 800. We do well when our testi-
mony leads men to follow Jesus. Let us
live to point Him out.
IS. "Then Jesus turned and saw them
yer They say unto Him, Rabbi, where
dwellest thou?" We may imagine Him
saying to us every time we go to church,
or prayer meeting, or Bible class What
seek yer" Let us acquire the habit of
asking ourselves, What am l going forH
And may our hearts ever say, II would
see Jesus, II would know Him" (John
xii, 81; Phil. iii, 1O)
80. He saith unto them, Como and see
They came and saw where He dwelt and
abode with Him that day, for it was about
the tenth hour" If the reckoning is the
same as in chapter xix, H. then it was
cbout 10 IL. m, and they had several hours
with Him. We wonder what home was SO
fortunate as 70 have Him for a guest, and
where He entertained those two that day,
but it Is more important for us to open
our hearts to Him and have Him abide
with us continually.
40. Zone of the two which heard John
speak and followed him was Andrew, 81
mon Peters brother" The other was
probably John himself as he would not be
likely to mention his own name. From
Math. iv, IS; Luke V, 10, we gather that
these four, Simon, Andrew, James and
John, were partners as fishermen, and all
left their boats finally to follow Jesus and
become fishers Of I9en about the same
time
II. He first flndcth his own brother ST.
mon and saith unto him, We have found
the Messias, which is, being interpreted,
the Christ" The result of that call upon
Jesus was that Andrew (Which signifies
manly) became n true mana manly man
indeed, for he henceforth lives to bring
men to Jesus and make Jesus known to
men and begins with his own brother.
40. And he brought him to Jesus. "
That is the one thing to do-not bring him
to church OF prayer meeting merely or
to n truth or doctrine, but to Jesus as a
living person. Andrew brought him to
Jesus, who was to die as a sacrifice, but we
bring people to Jesus, who has died and is
alive foreverInore and has all power REV
j. Is; Math. xviii, 1S). Jesus, who knows
all men and what is in man (chaptcr H.
"a, 25), told him who he was and gave him
a new name. Compare Gen. xvii, 3; xxi,
rs.
40. Tho day following Jesus would go
forth into Galilee and findoth Philip and
saith unto him, Follow me-" Either di-
rectly by the Spirit, or by the Spirit through
the word or some person, God is ever seek
ing to draw people to Himself. He began
in the garden OF Eden and has been at it
ever since.
II. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, tho
city of Andrew and Peter" See how Je-
sus recognizes earthly friendships and
continues as friends in Himself those who
had been friends before, if they arc only
willing to have it so. Special mention is
made of Philip in john vi, 3, z; xii, 81,
%, and xiv, s. o. He seems to have grown
in the knowledge of Jesus very slowly
and to have been of a reasoning calculat-
ing turn of mind.
40. "Philip flndeth Nathaniel and saith
unto him, We have found Him of whom
Moses in the law and the prophets did
write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Jo-
seph." Philip certainly did well in at
once seeking another If, from that day
on, every believer had promptly brought
another soul to Jesus think of the result
46. And Nathaniel said unto him, Can
there any good thing come out of Naza-
rethy Philip saith unto him, Come and
see. 1t is not a question of place or cir
cumstances, but it is person with whom
we have to do, about whom we have TO
speak and whom we must show unto the
people. 1t would seem from this that MAJ
areth was not a place that it was an honor
to hail from, another proof that Jesus
made Himself OF no reputation (Phil. ii, -.
H. JESUS DIN -Nettlltl coming TO MN
and saith Of him, Behold, an Israclite in
deed, in whom is no guile" What tes-
timony from the searcher of hearts! Ma
thanacl must have been true vorshiper
up to the light he had one who walked
uprightly, wrought righteousness and
spoke the truth in his heart (Ps. XIV, %
one who walked with perfect heart in a
perfect way ops. CT, y. Jesus will surely
make Himself known to those who thus
sincerely seek to know God. Consider the
gentle Cornelius (Acts y, - and sec how
GUd enlightened him (Acts Y, A., 4s; XII,
III.
IS. "Nathanael saith unto Him, Whence
knowcst Thou me? Jesus answered and
said unto him, Before that Philip called
thee, when thou vast under the fig tree, |
saw thee" The eyes Of the Lord are in
every place, they run to and fro through
the whole earth, to show Himself strong
on behalf Of those whose hearts are perfect
toward Him prov. XIV, 3; II Chron. xvi,
o. We might safely infer that Nathaniel
under that fig tree was engaged in study
ing the prophets and in prayer
40. "Nathanaol answered and saith unto