Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-02-28
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON TX, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, MARCH I.

DRY verses, I'd SO-NsOluen Text, Luxe
tx. 35-Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
stearns.
IS. "And it came to pass as He was
alone praying His disciples were with
Him, and He asked them, saying Whom
say the people that am2" 1t is probable
that between the last lesson and this we
are to think of the feeding of both the
5000 and the 1000, His walking on the
sea and His visit to the coast of Tyre and
Sidon, and now He is away north near
Cesarca Philippi, or Dan He had been
hearing from home and sending word
thithcr-in other words. He had been pray
ing--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 Il confession from His
disciples for u purpose. If we tolerate a
care as to what people think or say of us
OF have an ambition to- have a name
among me-, we have not the spirit of Him
who empti Himself for us and made
Himself OF no reputation, coming here
mot to be milistcrcd unto, but To minis
ter and TO give His life IA rau,nm for
many" The MESSAGE Of Jeremiah to l}a-
ruch is always fitting, "~ccl,cSt thou great
things for thyscIf, seek them not" (phil.
ii, :, 8; Math. Ky, Is; .Jor. XIV ~.
49, They answering said John the
Baptist, but some say Elias, ana others
say hat one OF tho old prophets is risen
again. Compare verses Z ana y. 10
know God in the greatest thing, but we
cannot know God apart from Jesus Christ
(Nlath. Xl, "a, ana when we thlnk we
know Him we may well apply TINS word
TO ourselves, III any man thlnketh That
l.. I, /.
ne khoWeth anything ne khuWeth nothing
yet as ne ought 10 KNOW u Cor. VIII, ~
AT best we know nut In part now; NOT
Till then shall we know rs we are known
II Cor. XIII, y, ~. Inc natural man can
not Know inc Things OF 900 AT All Il COR.
II, l4), but even the spiritual man Is OFT
times so calnal That he cannot discern
spiritual things
20. lie SAID unto them, But whom say
ye that am: Peter answering sad, Inc
Christ OF God, or as IN Math. XVI, 10;
John vi, 69 me Christ, the son OF the
living God. Matthew says that Jesus re-
pied to this Blessed arr thou, simon
Bar-Jona, Tor flesh ana Dlood ma II not re
Nealed II unto thee, put my father' Whlch
Is III Heaven. II Is surely nlesseu 10 DC
taught OF God Tor VINO teacheth llke
linn! GOD XXXNl, x before Jesus lelt
Ills disciples lie salu that the spirit Whom
nc would send woulu tcach tneln all
Things ana gulue theh INTO all truth ('oEn
XIV, 20; XVI, l5).
II. ANA Hestraltly charged thein' ana
COMMANDED them TO tell no man thau
thlng. In Main. XVI, ~, IL Is written that
lie sald that they were 10 tell no man that
lie was Jesus the Christ In the begin
nlng OF HIS ministry lie salu very plalhly
10 the woman OF Sainarla that lie was the
Christ (Iohn ~, 20, 2o) Dut now that they
nave rejected HIM, the next sign that he
Is the Christ VIII he HIS resurrection from
the deau we VIII never know I'LL IL Is TOO
late how much we nave lost by not SIM
ply believing HIS word. We thus grieved
the spirit ana hinder him from telllhg us
What ne would IKE TO- H. on uho o'her
haha' we are hiieu WIN the spirit we
sha,l near ms voice anu hlo" wien l" DC
sun ana when 10 speak
~ saying The son OF Man must sur
Ter man. thlnSs' ana De reJected Oh the
elders and chief priests and scrlbes aud be
siam, ana be raised the thlrd DAY Ihere
Is evidently some connection between thls
ana His lorblddlng them to say that he
was the Christ On several different occa-
slons lie told them as plainly as TINS that
He must die and rise again the third day,
lleve that He meant Just what lie said
ana they could not put any other meaning
upon ms words, therefore they lost IL all
23. Ana lie SAID to them all, II any
man VIII come after Me let nm uony
himself ana take up his cross daily ana FOL
low Me. The true Christian lie Is the
Christ life, the HE OF Jesus made manifest
IN our mortal flesh On Cor w. IL, ll(
and this means the dying unto self AWAY,
the constant reckoning d' al OF the self
llic' the OLD man. the carnal MIND which
must be put off and kept otf-not put of
and ON as we would our clothes. Christ
never lived unto Himself In any way,
either as to His will or His glory or His
pleasure (.lohn VI, 80; viii, so; Rom. XIV,
! ~. 10 take up the cross is not to wear
some kind of pretty cross, for there is no
such thing as pretty cross recognized in
/ scripture, but II IL just to die constantly
! to ones own will and way and pleasure.
mot |, but Christ.