Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1896-04-02
NUMBER 81
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON /, SECOND QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, APRIL 5.


Text of the Lesson, Luke xiv. I-1e Easter
Lesson - Memory Verses. 6-s - Golden
Text, Luke xiv, 6-COmmentary by the
Rev. Z. NJ. steaTns.
When we are having bat one lesson in
each chapter it seems a pity to pass a
chapter by, but as the Resurrection j. the
greatest topic I'D Scripture, including al
others, We feel led t0 choose thp Easter les-
son. III any prefer chapter xiii-faE not To
notice the corruption suggested by the
heaven. and the hypocrisy which shall IL
due time find its home where there Is
weeping and gnashing of teeth. Before
the door l. shut let all enter who will hy
truly receiving Him in whom alone is sal
yation.
i. They came unto the sepulcher,
bringing the spices which they had pre-
pared. In Mark xvi, 1, we find that 10
was two Of the Marys and SalOme who did
this Verse 10 Of our lesson mentions
some others. Their service was truly low
ing one, but ID was not a work Of faith,
and therefore in measure fruitIess, for
without faith II H. impossible t9 please
Him" (Heb. XII, 81. The order III I Thess.
4 ? l. Work of faith, labor of love, pa
thence Of hope" If we Keep Gods order
in our service, ala will be well
?. "And they found the stone rolled
away from the sepulcher. - Mark xvi. 3,
says that they talked among themselves as
to who should roll away the stone from
the sepulcher; for Mark xv, As, AZ, says
that they saw the burial of His body and
the stone rolled unto the door Of the sepul-
cher. The apparent Or real difficulties will
vanish as we move On In love to Him con
strained by His love 70 IT,. These women
were ready To minister at Hi death, but
they had also ministered to Him III HIg
life Mark XIV, 40, s1).
3. "And they entered Ia and found not
the body Of the Lord Jesus. They were
looking for a wrong thing in a wrong
place through lack Of knowledge because
of lack Of faith. They were as unsuccess-
full as were the people who looked for the
body Of Enoch or the so men who looked
three days for the body Of Elijah Heb ri,
5; III Kings, ii, I'D. There will be some
more unsuccessful searchers some of these
days when all the dead in Christ shall
have ieft their graves and the living saints
shall have been caught UP with them to
meet the Lord in the air I'll Cor. XIV, 23, 81,
81; Thess. iv, 1919.
4. "Behold two men stood BY them in
shining garments. From the story Of
the angels who came with the Lord to
visit Abraham (Gen. xviii, ?, %; xix, ID,
all the way through the Scriptures they
are always spoken Of as men and never az
women. only mention this TO show how
unscriptural arc our pictures Of angels
Heb !, l4- IL very comforting concerning
the ministry 0f angels, and r. ciii, 20,
2l, il very inspiring, making IT, long to
be like them in service and I'm obedience.
D. "Why seek ye the living among the
iead?" For ''the living the margin says,
Him that hyeth. The previous verse
says they were much perplexed, and now
we read that they were afraid and bowed
down to the earth. Unbelief always pro-
duces these things, while joy and peace
come By believing (Rom. XIV, 13). Our
departed friends who have died in Christ
are alive and well, although their bodies
rest I'D the grave. They are with Christ, /"
present with the Lord, " and id l. u very
weak faith or 10 faith that cIings t0 the
tomb a. if they were there
9. "He il not here, but H. risen; remem-
Der how He spake unto you when He was
yet in Galileen The words of the Lord
are very plain words, easily understood if
simply believed, for Through faith we
CHeb. xi, b. As to both law
and prophecy being very plain, see Deut.
xvii. s; Hab. ii, ?. Now we cannot re-
member the words Of the Lord If we have
not received them, if we have not laid
them mp in our hearts.
z. "The son of Man must be delivered
into The hands of sinful men and be cruci-
fled ana the third day rise again He had
said iust these words to them over and
over again (Math. xvi. I'D: xvii, 23; TX,
19) and He had meant just what He said
and it had all come to pass exactly as He
had said, 80 that their whole difficulty was
that they had failed 70 take Him at His
word
s. And they remembered His words"
So we, in the morning of His coming
again. will remember His words and see
everything fulfilled exactly Us it is writ
ten We would therefore do well To re-
member them now and hold them fast and
be ever saving for our own encouragement
and for the encouragement of Others Be
OF good cheer, for / believe God that 10
shall be even as IL was told me
9. "And returned from the sepulcher and
told all these things unto the eleven and
to all the rest. Read Math. xviii, 5-s, for
further details OF the angels message to
the women. You will see that they depart
ed quickly with Gear and great JOY and did
run to bring H's disciples word To run
errands for Jesus bringing glad tidings
of His resurrection and coming glory, j. q
good cure for sorrow. in was as they thus
went thar Jesus met them ana suffered
them tn hold Him by the feet and worship
Him He meets these who rejoice and
work Righteousness.
10. tit was. Mary Magdnlene and Joan
na, etc. Tt would seem that Mary Mag
dalene got somehow and for time sepa-
rated from the other women (she will ex-
plain it all 10 us when we see herr and
that the Lord appeared to her the very first
and spoke to her, but would not allow her
to touch Him, for He had not then ascend
ed to His Father in His resurrection body
John *, 10, l7), but before He met the
other women whom He allowed To touch
Him He must have asDended and returned.
The movements OF the redeemed and glori-
fed bodies may be a. quick a. lightning
( (Ezek Il TAD.
IL. And their words seemed to them a.
idle tales, and they believed them not y
When Paul at Rome faithfully expounded
the Scriptures, some believed and some be-
lieved not (Acts xviii, %, 24). They were
natural men to whom Paul preached the
gospel, and, as always, some received it
and some did not But these ia our lesson
We're saved people, the apostles and Others
and of THE apostles the Lord had said that
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