The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1896-02-26
1,HE sabbath SCHOOL LESSON.
Li.TEENhTIONAu LESSON FOR
MARCH I.
Lesson Text; "Jesus the Mcssiah,"
Luke ix., 1S-27-Go,den
rcxt: Luke ix., 80
Commentary.

19. rAnl Il came to pass ma He wns alone
PRAYING His disciples wore with Him. and He
asked them. saying, Whom sny the people
that amp IT is probable that between the
las, lesson and this we are to think OF the
feeding of both the 5000 and the i000 His
walking on the sea and His visit TO the coast
OF Tyre and Sidon. and now He il away north
near CasareH Philippi. or Dan. He had been
hearing from home and sendingword thither
in other words, He had been praying-and
then He asks this question. not that He cared
what people thought Of Him or whom they
thought He was. but He was leading on to
confession from His disciples for purpose
II we tolerate care rs 60 what people think
or say OF us or have an ambition TO have
name among men, we have not the spirit of
Him who cmpticd Himself for US aud made
Himself Of no reputation. coming here mot
to be ministered unto, but 10 minister and TO
give His life ransom for many" The mes
sage OF Jeremiah to Baruch is always fitting,
"Seekest thou great things for thyseif, seek
them not (Phil. H., 7, g. Matn xx., 2S; Jer.
XIV. 81.
10. "rhey answering said. John the Bap-
tist. but some say Elias, and others say that
one OF the old prophets Is risen again"
Compare verses and 8. To know God is
the greatest thing, but we cannot know God
apart from Jesus Christ (Mnth. xi., 27), and
when we think we know Him we may well
apply this word to ourselves. 'If any man
thinketh that he knoweh anything. he
knoweth nothing yet rs he ought to know"
q Cor. viii.. p. At best we know but in part
nowi not till then shall we know rs we are
known q Cor. xiii, 3. 12). The natural man
cannot know the things OF God at all I Cor.
H., 14), but even the spiritual man is Oft
times so carnal that he cannot discern spirit-
ual THINGS.
go. "He said unto them, But whom say
ye that am? Peter answering, said, The
Christ OF God" or as in Math. XVII, 16; JOHN
vi, 90, "The Christ. the Son Of the living
God" Matthew says that Jesus replied to
this, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-iona, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but My Father which Is in Heaven"
II l. surely blessed to be taught Of God for
"Who teacheth like HimP" Dob xxXvi., 22.)
Before Jesus left His disciples He said that
the spirit whom He would send would teach
them all things and guide them into all
truth (John XIV, 2G; xvi, l3).
81. "And He straitly charged them. and
commanded them to tell no man that thing"
In Math. xvi, 20, it is written that He said
that they were to tell no man that He was
Jesus the Christ. In the beginning Of His
ministry He said very plainly to the woman
Of Samara that He was the Christ (John iv.
%, 2G), but now that they have rejected
Him, the next sign that He is the Christ will
be His resurrection from the dead. We will
never know till it is too late how much we
have lost by not simply believing His word.
We thus grleved the spirit and hinder Him
from telling us what He would like TO. If,
on the other hand we are filed with the
spirit, we shall hear His voice and know
when to be still and when to speak.
22. "Saylng, The Son OF Man must suffer
many things, and be rejected Of the elders
and chief priests and scrlbes and be slain,
ind be raised the third day." There Is evil
IDENTIFY some connection between this and
His forbidding them to say that He was the
Christ On several different occasions He
told them as plainly as this that He must die
and rise again the third day, but they re-
ceived It not. They did not believe that He
meant just what he said, and they could not
put any other meaning upon His words,
therefore they lost it all.
90. "And He said to them all, II any man
will come after Me, let him deny himself and
take up his cross daily and follow Me-" The
true Christian life is the Christ life, the life
Of Jesus made manifest in our mortal flesh
(II Cor iv., 10. ~, and this means the dy-
ing unto self, alway, the constant reckoning
dead of tht self life, the old man, the carnal
mind which must be put Off and kept Of
not put of and on rs we would our clothes.
Christ never lived unto Himself in any way.
either as 10 His will or His glory or His
pleasure (John vi, 3S; VIII, so; Rom. Xv., 81.
To take up the cross is not to wear some
kind of a pretty cross, for there is no such
tnlnS as pretty cross recOSnlzeu IN scrip
ture, but 1t is just TO die constantly to ones
own will and way and pleasure. mot l, but
Christi -
~. NFor whosoever will save bis life shall
lose 1t, but whosoever will lose his life for
Ny sake, the same shall ssye i. -
Our life may be said to ye tfat which takes
up our attention, which chiefly occupies our
minds and our time, that which interests US
most. We have to engage in many and
Yariel forms Of business, but even in these it
may be our main thought to glorify God,
and thus God and not business will be our
life. We shall be able to say, 'For me to
live is Chrisr.e
%. "For what is n man advantaSed il he
gain the whole world and lose himself or be
: cast away" Let man live for his business,
or his home, or for pleasure, or for himself
In any way and not receive Christ, and he
and all his life will be truly lost, for he that
hath not the Son Of God hath not life. The
word "cas,away' in this verse is wholly diff
ferent from that in / Cor. ix.. ~. There 1t re-
iers to service rejected (see II. W, but here
evidently to the loss OF the soul.
20. "For whosoever shall be ashamed of
Me and My words of him shall the Son OF
Man be ashamed when He shall come in His
| own glory and in His Fathers, and Of the
holy yangels." The one who prefers his own
life to the daily dying to self certainly pre-
fers self to Christ and may be said to be
.
In His kingdom. His coming in glory here
referred to is His com.g with His saints q
Thess. ill.,, 10; Col. ill.,, A., they having pre-
vlously met Him on His way q Thess w.,
1919 and received their rewards and posi-
tions In His kingdom.
27. "But i tell you OF truth there be
/ some standing here which shall not taste OF
death till they see the kingdom OF God" In
asmuch as in Matthew, Mark and Luke this
statement is Immediately followed by the
record of the TRANSPORTATION. that event was
/ doubtless the fulfilling OF this statement.
Jesus with Moses and Elijah suggest the Son
OF Man gorifled, associated with all the
saints both risen and translated, and the
, apostles Suggest Israel in the flesh all right.
eous. Such will be the centre OF the millen-
nial kingdom, al the close Of which satan
will be loosed and then completely over
thrown.-Lesson HELPER.