The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-03-04
SABBATH SCHOOL,
INTERNATIONAL LESSON Foh
MARCH I.
Lesson Text: "Jesus the MESSIAH"
Luke tx, 1S-27-Golden
Text: Luke ix., 90
Commentary.

10 uAnJ il came to pass rs He was alone
rroviuo His disciples we're with Him. and He
asied them, saying, Whom say the people
| that T amp" It is probable that between the
last lesson and this we are to think OF the
fnaIinr of both the 5000 end the 1000, His
walking on the sea and His visit to the coast
: of Tyre and Sidon. and now He Is away north
near Casarea Philippi, or Dan. He had been
hearing from home and sending word 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 q
confession from His disciples for a purpose.
Ii we tolerate a care as to what people think
or say of us or have an ambition to have q
name among men. we have not the spirit OF
Him who emptied Himself for US and made
Himself Of no reputation, coming here ''not
to be ministered unto, but to minister and to
give His life ransom for many" The mes
sage OF jeremiah to Baruch Is always fitting,
''Seekest thou great things for thyself, seek
them not" (Phil. H., 7, 8; Math. Xxx, %; Jer.
XIV. s..
19. '.TheY answering said, John tho 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 (Math. XII, 27), and
apply this word to ourselves, ''1f any man
thinketh that he knoweth anything, he
knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know"
I Cor. viii, p. At best we know but in part
now; not till then shall we know as we are
known Q Cor. xiii, 9. 12). The natural man
cannot know the things of God at all II Cor.
III, 14}, but even the spiritual man is Oft
times 80 carnal that he cannot discern spirit
ual things.
- D,,I
We that am? Peter. answering, said, The
Christ of God" or as in Math. xvi, 16; John
vi. 80, 1.-The Christ, the Son OF the living
God."s Matthew says that Jesus replied to
this, blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but My Father which is in Heaven"
1t is surely blessed to be taught OF God for
':Who teache,h like Him?" (Job 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, 26; xvi, 1S).
81. sand He straitly charged them, and
commanded them to tell no man that thing"
In Math. XVII. 20, 1t 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 Samaria that He was the Christ (John iv.,
25, 26), 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.
from telling US what He would like TO- II,
on the other hand, we are filled with the
spirit, we shall hear His voice and know
when to be still and when to speak.
%. "Saying, The Son of Man must suffer
many things, and be rejected Of the elders
and chief priests and scrlbes and be slain,
and 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 rs 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.
%. "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
III Cor. iv., 10. ~, and this means the dy-
ing unto self, alway, the constant reckoning
dead OF the self life, the old man, the carnal
mind which must be put off and kept off,
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 (John vi, 38; vii. so; Rom. xv., 81.
To take up the cross is not to wear some
kind Of pretty cross, for there Is no such
thing as pretty cross recognized in Scrip
ture, but it Is just to die constantly to ones
own will and way and pleasure. "Not /, but
Christ"
"a. "For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it, but whosoever will lose his life for
My 10 fba Qa mo shall ap We n "
Our life may be said to be that 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
varied forms OF business, but even in these ii
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 Christ"
25. "For what is man advantaged 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 'castaway'' in this verse is wholly diff
ferent from that in I Cor. ix., II There 1t re-
fers to service rejected (ses R. w., but here
evidently to the loss of the soul.
26. ''For whosoever shall be ashamed Of
lA6 anu MY WOEuS VI ulu oilat luC COu VI
Man be ashamed when He shall come In His
own glory and in His Fathers, and of the
holy angels" The enc who prefers his own
life to the daily dying to self certainly pre-
fers self to Christ and may be said to be
ashamed OF Christ. Such can have no part
in His kingdom. His coming in glory here
referred to is His coming with His saints q
Thess. ILL.,, IS; Col. ill.,, 4), they having pre-
viously met Him on His way q Thess. iv.,
1919 and received their rewards and posi-
tions In His kingdom.
81. 'But 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 glorifed, 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 mtllen-
nial kingdom, at the close Of which satan
will be loosed and then completely over
thr3wn.-Lesso on Helper.
>.,,c& Nv Tic roIIaMcD oNv