Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-05-25
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON vill. SECOND QUARTER, III
TERNATlONAL SERIES, MAY 20.

TERNATiONAL SERIES, MAY 26.
Text of the Lesson. Mark xv. 2:-35-Mcm-
ory Verses. 2J-a5 Golden Text, Rom.
Y, Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
Stcarns.
o. And they bring Him unto the place
Golgotha, W .ch is, being interpreted, The
place Of skull" After pilate scourged
Him aud delivered Him TO otheir cruel pleas
ure the soldiers crowned Him with thorns,
smotc Him and did spit on Him, mockingly
bowed their knees To Him and finally led
Him ont To cruelty Him. Think on these
things until you see Him bearing all that
for you and your whole heart cries out, II
am Thine. O I.ordr' Then cheerfully, not
by compulsinn, like Simon the Cyrenian,
bear the crsiss after Him (verses l6-2l)
Happy Simon, Blessed burdcn But where
was Simon Peter,
%. And they gave to drink wine min
gled with mSrrh, but He received il not. !"
On the way TO Calvary He spoke to the
weeping ones Of the coming days of sorrow
because of this national rejection Of Him.
To reject Christ brings unutterable misery.
Matthew, Mark and John call the place Of
crucihxion Golgotha. Luke alone calls it
Calvary. In Rev. XII s. il is spoken of as
part of the great city where our Lord was
crucified. See in the wine and myrrh (com-
pare Math. xvii, 34) fuliillment Of Ps.
Xix, 81. Blu: lie would not accept it.
| "a See in this verse n literal fulfillment of
Ps. xxi, IS, for every detail of His humilia-
tion and sufferings was accurately foretold
and fulfilled to the letter. So shall IL be
also with every detail of the predictions
concerning His coming again. AS He would
not be s,upefied by the drink offered to
Him, may we not shrink from suffering
with Him this little while.
25. And it was the third hour, and they
cruciiied Him." About o a. IN. He endured
the agony of having both hands and feet
pierced with the cruel nails ops. xxi, l6).
He was the fulfiilment Of all the sacrifices
that had ever been offered at that morning
hour Naked that he might be clothed; a
king, yet not thread of the trappings of
earth's glory; all for us.
~. Over the cross by Pilates orders
there was written in Hebrew and Greek
and Latin (the three languages which rep
resented all the worid) Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the jews" and PLATE would
not alter it, though the chief priests asked
him to John xix, 1920 IL was "A title
which was, and will yet be manifest to be,
Of interest to all the world. Are you inter
ested now on the line of Isa. lxii 6, Z. See
R.V.
"a Two evildoers were crucified with Him
and He in the midst John xix, 1sl. He
could not choose His company any more
than Joseph could in the prison, but He
could glorify God even under such circum-
stances, and He did. Even these were such
as He would choose to save, and for just
such He was then dying 1t is faithful
saying that lie came into the world to save
sinners Il Tim. i, l5).
IS Long years before il was written con-
cerning Him, And He was numbered with
the transgressors'' lisa. lii, 12), and here
was part Of the fulfillment. In His life
time, while going about doing good, He
was told that he had devil and that He
was glutton and winebibber John viii.
-: Luke vii, 3i).
20. The passersby could not let Him
alone, but rallied on Him and perverted His
words and repeated some of the very words
which satan used in the temptation, IF
Thou be the Son of Cod (Math iv, 8;
xvii, 40). IL looks as if all the dogs Of hell
were let loose upon Him (Ps. xxi, 16), yet
He meekly bore it all and answered not.
| 80 Save thyself and come down from
the cross" On one occasion Simon Peter
told Him to pity Himself, but He told
Simon that that was satan talking through
him and added that there was no way for
Him or for His followers but by the
cross (Math. xvi, 22-24, margin).
81. lie saved others; Himself he cannot
save" Thus said the chief priests, and
they said better than they intended. for He
I
chose not to save Himself that He might
save us. As to His being unable TO save
Himself if He wished TO, that of course was
a lie, for His own testimony was as to His
life. NO man taketh it from Me, but lay
it down of Myself John X, ls). See our
privilege in l John iii. Is.
32. They mockingly called Him king of
Israel and said that if lie would descend
from the cross they would believe on Him.
Contrast the testimony of Nathaniel to His
being king of Israel and his reception Of
Him John i, 49, Even the thieves reviled
Him, although one of them afterward be-
lieved and was saved. Between people
and priests and soldiers and thieves il was
surely mountains of mockery, and no fol-
lower of His seemed bold enough to COM
fort Him with word of loyalty to Him.
33. Even the sun refused To shine on such
a scene, and for three hours there was great
darkness. We think of the darkness of
Gen. i, ., and Ex Y, 81. -, and the outer
darkness of Math. XIV, 30; Judg xiii, but
the darkness of our lesson was unique.
Never in all earth's history was there or
will there be again just such day. II
was the Creator of all things suffering for
| His creatures that He might redeem them
| from destruction.
"a. After six hours ON the cross He cried
out in the words of PS. xii. /, forsaken of
His Father for our sins, for He was made
sin for us III Cor. V, 2l. See His seven
sayings from the cross in Luke xiii, "a,
43; John xix, -; Math. xvii, i6: John xix,
-, 30; Luke xiii, IS. Mark gives but this
one, for in this gospel Jesus is peculiarly
the suffering servant. He was forsaken for
us that we might never be forsaken. even
as it is written, II will never leave thee nor
forsake thee Heb. xiii, 81
81. Behold lie calleth Elias So thought
some of the ISLANDERS by. They understood
neither Him nor His words, and it is even
so still He had at one time to say to His
disciples, How is it that ye do not under
stand:" MARK viii, 2l) And il was but a
few hours before that he had said to Philip,
Have l been 80 long time with you, and
yet hast thou not known me, Philip"
John xiv, -
80. As one ran to give Him drink, prob
ably because of His cry, Il thirst" John
xix, 2sl another hard heart said, Let alone;
let Us see whether Elias will come to take
Him down" They could not understand
one willing to die if lie had power to save
Himself They were believers of satan's
doctrine, "All that a man hath will he give
for his life dob ii, ~
81. And Jesus cried with loud voice,
and gave up the ghost" Notice also the
loud voice of verse 81 He was in His full
strength, but died of broken heart, as was
foretold in Ps Xix. 90, and manifest in
John xix, "a So it was finished, and COM
mending His spirit TO God G.uke xiii, 49)
He died. Compare Acts vii, 50, and believe
that absent from the body" means pres
ent with the Lord I'll Cor. V, 81 il only we
are redeemed by His blood
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