The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1894-12-08
THE LESSON STORY.

The weeks which followed the preach
ing to the multitude in parallels from the
boat, were replete with important occur
rences. The sitting of the tempest; the
restoring of the maniac at Gadara, the
farewell feast of Matthew on his entrance
into the apostolate; the raising of Jairus'
daughter from the Inconsistencies which
presages the final sleep; the giving of sight
to two blind men,-these are among the
events which crowded this period.
Meanwhile the enemies of Jesus are
active and relentless. While their willy
schemes against Jesus have hitherto been
in every case thwarted, their hatred spurs
them to new schemes of revenge.
Jesus can see the cross nearing. He
can, he knows, prolong his life only at the
price of surrender to the world-power
The necessity is upon him,-yet his self
abnegation has made his necessity glad
liberty,-to follow the path which leads to
the cross.
1t is now time to develop to its next
stage his life-plan. He has chosen his
Twelve, through whose lives, rather than
by a temple or by written words,--he has
purposed to convey his living Gospel to
the world. The Twelve have been for
months his daily pupils. They have not
yet it is true, learned the breadth of his
Gospel. Neither have they risen to its
spiritual heights. But they have made
beginning. They have seen and felt the
power of the Gospel. The time has now
come when the are to be Gospel witnesses.
There was an urgent need among the
people in Galilee. They were as sheep
without shepherd. They were at this
time enduring special Roman expressions;
they were forsaken by the authorities in
Jerusalem. Time did not admit of Jesus
going to all places himself. There was
need of deepening the popular conviction
that God the Father was real and near;
there was need of increasing the popular
expectation of further revelations. A hus-
bandman sends laborers to garner his
ripened harvest. So Jesus sends to the
eager Galileans the best witnesses of him.
self the world contains.
1t is our lesson to-day to note the in
structions which Jesus gives to the Twelve
as he sends them on their mission; to OBJ
serve especially what is of permanent i'm
port and continuous application in his
counsel.
1. The Marching Orders of the
Twelve,-vs. SIS.
We need to supplement Matthew's &C
count with Marks at the very beginning.
He began to send them forth by tao and
tao. He would have them know the
strength and JOY of fellowship. He would
preserve them from the danger of diseour-
agement in loneliness. He would have
them be helpers of each other We are
not told how the Twelve were divided into
the six pairs. Whether the most like or
the most unlike were placed in companion
ship we can only conjecture.
&c not into any aOay Of the GentileS and
enter not into any city 0fkhe SamarihaHS.
Why such limits to their missionary work
Two good reasons may be given. 1. The
short time did not admit of wide human
ministry; the end of the personal life of
Jesus was approaching. 2. The Twelve
were not at this time so deeply grounded
IN tne GOSpei anu SO thoroughly ShbuCu
with its spirit that they could adequately
present the Gospel to the Gentiles or to
the Samaritans. When duke 9 $3.50
even James and John asked permission to
bid fire come down from heaven on the in
hospitable Samaritan village it was demon
strated that the disciples needed further
discipline in the Gospel before they could
enter on their worldwide mission.
Asye 90, preach, saying, The Kingdom
0fheaven is at hand Christ, the Anoint-
ed of God, was in their midst. Heavens
kingdom invited the incoming of all
through Jesus the Door
The Kingdom of God" or the "King
dom of Heaven" is a hgurative phrase
based on the earlier development of socie
ty. The phrase need not be misleading
it win always be truthful But the mod
ernizing and Americanizing of the phrase
into "The Republic of God, may be help
ful to its right Interpretation. The Divine
government over mankind is the aggregate
of selfgovernment.
AT hand as near as the right hand to
the body. not an arms length AWAY The