Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-01-18
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON ~, FIRST QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 20.

Text of the Lesson, John vi, 25-35-Mcm
ory Verses, 33-35-Golden Text, John
vi, 31-Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ !
Stearns.
%. "And when they had found Him or
the other side of the soa they said unto
Him, Rabbi when camest thou hithcrS'
After the feeding of the 1000 He sent tbs
disciples away i'm ship toward Caper
naum, while He Himself we. into g
mountain alone Tho wind blew hard,
and the disciples toiled all the night. Then
in the morning watch He came walking
IN the sea and stilcd their fears with: " II
Is l. BE not afraid They received Him.
and Immediately the ship was at the land
L picture possibly of the present condition
If things both in reference to the churcl
ind Israel and the contamination in refer
sncc to both when He shall come in the
morning. The next day many people
crossed by boat to Capcrnaum, looking fol
Jesus, and here begins our lesson.
26. Jesus answered them and said,
Verify, verify l say unto you yc seek me
not because yc saw the miracles, but he
cause We did cat of the loavcs aud were
filed. The double verify is found only
in this gospel and some % times. Eact
one is surely worthy of double attention
for it is literally amen, amen.
%. Labor not for the meat which per
ishcth, hut for that meat which endurctl
unto everlasting life, which the son O
Man shall give unto you, for Him haiti
God the Father scaled Food and raj
ment, which most people think So much
Of are given wholly secondary place hi
the Lord, who cXhOrts all to seek first Iii.
kingdom and righteousness, giving the as
surancc that thus all other things shall
be added (Math. vi, 33). This eternal life
is the lift of God (Rom vi, 23) and II
none other than Jesus Himself, who be-
comes life eternal to all who will receive
Him.
2S Then said they unto Him, What
/ shall we do that we might work the work.
| of God?" There seems to be tendency
| III the natural mind to want to do some
thing to obtain life Consider the ques
lions of tie lawyer and the rich young
ruler in Luke Y %; xviii, is, and how the
! Lord led one to consider his inability tC
keep the law. and the other his unwilling
ness to follow Jesus because of the cost
Man, because Of his inherent sinfulnrs
and sclhshncss, is unable to attain to TIT
only standard which God las set up ah'
when he sees himself rs he is he no longo
asks, What shall l do? as if he had th
power to do anything.
20. Jesus answered and said unit
them. This is the work of Cod that y
believe On Him whom He hath sent.
In chapter -, we have believing dciine'
as receiving. Therefore we understand tb
Lord to say in this verse of our lesson tina
the one thing required by God is that "
receive Him whom God hath sent. 1t
written in John V, II, He that hath tn
Son at life. and he that hath not the So
of God hath not life" Therefore it is clca
that the one essential is to have liic AIN
this can be had only by receiving Christ
30. They said, therefore, unto Hin
What sign shuWcst thou, then, that W
may see and believe Thee: What dos
thou work." This sounds strange a
coming from those who had seen Hil
feed more than 5000 people by mirnci
on the day previous, but was simply
proof of the truth of what He had said
that they sought Him simply because the
had been fed, and not because they WEI
interested in the miracle. There are man
people today who are religious and mor
and interested somewhat i'll holy thin,
who still ask, How can | be sure th'
Jesus is God? Where is the conyincin
proof? 50 that it seems hopeless to try
do anything with or for those who are n'
willing simply to believe, and thus rccci'
. Him.
81. "Our fathers did eat mamma in II
desert as it is written, He gave the
bread from heaven to eat 80 they TIN
back to Moses and the mamma, as if Mos
had given the mamma in the wilderncs
not knowing perhaps that Jesus had a
ready said, Had We believed Moses
i a., fpr ia tl
. Me" (John Y. 46). Oh, ii their eyes h;
l. only been opened to see that the one WI
delivered from Egypt, who divided the It
v who gave the mamma, who brought Il
y water from the rock, was actually in the
l. midst ready to be their saviour! Is
while they searched the Scriptures TIN
] knew not Hisl of whom they spakc
30. "Thcn Jesus said unto them, Ncril
W verify say unto you Moses gave you Il
y that bread from heaven, bus My Faith
Il giveth you the true bread from heaven
They were intent upon contrasting m'
d with man, just like those who now :
only the human instrument and talk co
d tinually of this preacher or that preach
and this ones views or that ones view
. instead Of seeing God and considering Iii
a as the giver of every good and perfect II
a Moses would have had them sec God, al
> Jesus would have them see God, and
i with every true disciple of Jesus now.
\ that sceketh honor for himself is not
: God.
33. For the bread Of God is lie viii
comcth down from heaven and giVcth j
in unto the world" What an eXpressi
an symbol Of Christ is bread He is light n
life; lie is the vine, and the door, and
in good shepherd, but rs bread we think
!, His death and resurrection, and how
must actually receive Him as truly as
81 receive bread for our daily life. He M
become part of our very being, rs
bread becomes part Of our very body, Il
we must continually feed upon Him, CIV
as He says in verse 81, las the living /
Their hath sent Me, and l live by the /
ther, so he that eateth Me, even hc sh
live by Me"
81 "Thcn said they unto Him, Lol
evermore give us this bread" Like I
woman at the well who said, sir q
me this water" not thinking of anythi
beyond the natural bread or water for {
body The natural man cannot disco
spiritual things, for they are foolishn
unto him q Cor ii, ~. There is IA In