The National tribune., 1894-11-22
SUNDAY MEDITATION
JGIs
A Study of the International Sunday
u ID
School Lesson, >! Appointed fOr Dec.
3, 1894. ,e-.

School Lesson Appointed for Dec.
Q, 1894 ,s ca
Subject: The Compe ndation of st. John
Baptfst by Christ, ST., Luke, y: 24-2s.
Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from tho Holy Scriptures as
indicated above.I g. 8yi
INTRODUCTION
We shall get more out of this lesson II
we consider only the one paragraph which
relates to our Saviors defense Of st. John
Baptist.
st. Matt, II: I'll; st. Mark, 1:2; St
Luke, Z: 24-2S. 1t will be of use to read
st. Matt, H. 1-6. This lesson is the direct
product of said paragraph. The account by
st. Luke is the fullest. Both should be
studied together. All students should have
a Harmony OF the Gospels
Time.
We date June, A. d. 81. St. John Bap-
fist had been arrested and imprisoned about
eight months before this. Malachi, from
whom Jesus quoted (St. Matt, 11:1O),
wrote 424 years before our lesson.
race.
Our Savior was in the vicinity of Cana in
Galiiee. (St. Luke, 7:11.) The prison in
which HerOd incarcerated the faithful
preacher was a department of the castle at
Macherus. This was a fortress in the south
ern part of Perea, east Of the Dead Sea.
The distance between Macherus and Main
was about so miles. Jos. Ant. H. 5, 1, q
Occasion.
st. John Baptist heard Of the wonderful
works performed by Christ. He wanted to
get the particulars and specially he was
eager to find whether Christ and the Mes
siah were identical. He sent two Of his
disciples to learn all they could about the
matter. They saw his wonderful deeds and
set out to tell ST. John Baptist the story.
Our Savior apprehended the multitude
might get unfavorable ideas of ST. John
Baptist, aud so made point to explain, re-
moving every false impression any may
have gotten. In particular it might seem
that ST. John lacked faith, because waver-
ing and apprehensive as to the true charac-
ter of Christ, and hence Christ took particu-
lar pains to magnify the stability of the
character of St. John Baptist. "There is
another point of possible meaning here
which should not be passed over. The
dream of the Herodian house was to use
the popular expectation of Messiah for its
own benefit. The question of st. John
may have appeared to the multitude as the
preliminary to transferring his allegiance
from Jesus to Herod. 1t was to guard
against this that the rock-like firmness and
ascetic life of the Baptist may have been
thus recalled to their memories
Were this the case it was well Jesus at
once remove such a.thought. Perhaps this
suggested to- Christ the illusions
to the condition of ST. John Baptist, as
showing he was prisoner of Herod, and
not courtier; dressed most humble, not
" gorgeously apparelfed. st. Luke. 1880
Jesus would pay special honor to John
lest the multitude should think that this
application showed that, he had failed in
to his Lord. Jesus hastens to
restore the authority OF John which his
embassy had endangered So writes Lange.
Definitions.
1. What went ye out to see? (st. Matt,
IL. Z, and st. Lu., 7:24q) We remember
how the multitudes went out from all the
region round about Jerusalem, Judea, etc,
to hear st. John Baptist
2. See. Rev. Samuel Danforth, who was
a Puritan minister of Massachusetts Bay,
preached sermon in 1910. His text was,
What went ye out to see?" He COM
mented thus: He saith not, whom went
ye out to hear, but what went ye out to
see ?--theasasthai. The phrase agrees to
shows and stage-players: plainly arguing
that many of those who seemed we'll
affected TO John, and focked after him,
were theatrical hearers, spectators rather
than auditors; they went not to hear, but
to see!"
3. Reed. "Not reed planted in the mo-
rass of weak and watery faith, and
quivering in the wind of doubt. Not a
reed but rock. Not man of soft and
effeminate disposition" DR.. John Hall
says: A paraphrase will set ont the mean
ing: Do you think because John asks this
that he is a mere reed, wind-shaken,
weakling, a creature of Impressions? The
thing is absurd. No answer is needle d."
Trench writes: :" A thing of nothing; a
worthless, poiseess person. So the Jews
John the Baptist after while,
whom at first they so much admired. But
he soon grew stale to them, and then they
sighted him. John, 5:35.
And did not the Galatians do the Ike by
St. Paul? Once they could have come at
him."
"Reed shaken by the wind" Is the real
thought in the word reed, or in the word
shaken? Is the idea st. John Baptist was
nothing more to see in point of significance
or importance than a mere reed? Or is the
idea that ne was tickle, wavering mortal?
Views:
a. He was mean, insignificant-emphas
on reed. Grotius, Beza, Campbell, Wetstein,
Schleus, Fritz. Bloomfield
rather inclines to this view as being the
most simple.
b. He was inconstant Whitby, Mac
Knight, Kuinoel.
A. Wind. Figurative for favor, popular
ity, fiattery.
5. Soft. Soft in touch because fine in
texture.
6. Raiment st. John Baptist dressed in
most rude way, (St Mt, 3: A. but courtiers
are "gorgeously apparelled." (St. Lu.,
7:25.)
z. Kings courts. In contrast with a