Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-01-05
international gessalrs.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON ~, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 16.


NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 16.
Text of the Lesson, Math. iv, 17-25-Mem-
ory Verses, l7-2O-Golden Text, Math.
ty. 1s-Commentary by the Rev. d. NJ.
stearns.
II. From that time Jesus began to
preach, and to say, Repent for the king
dom of heaven is at hand. The expires.
sion from that time" is said to be found
in this gospel only here and In chapter
xvi, 81, this beginning the section about
His nature and person, and that about His
work and ours rs His followers. The her.
aid being imprisoned (verse 12) Jesus Him.
self begins to show Himself, and first as a
light in Galilee to fulfill the words of
Isaiah in chapter *, l, g. and as surely as
those were literally fulfilled so shall the
words of verso Z of the same chapter be,
and the kingdom that was at hand in the
days Of John and Jesus, but now post
poned because of the rejection of the King,
shall yet be established upon the throne OF
David in the person of Jesus Christ the
Son of David, and Of the increase Of His
government and peace there shall be no
end The zeal Of the Lord Of Hosts will
perform it. Behold, king shall reign
in righteousness, and princes shall rule in
Judgment. And the work of righteous
ness shall be peace and the effect of right
eousness, quietness and assurance forever. "
1S. "And Jesus walking by the sea OF
Galilee. saw two brethren, Simon, called
Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a
net into the sea, for they were fishers. I"
In John /, 35-42, we read of the first meet.
ing of Jesus with these two, how that one
day when John the Baptist cried, BE
hold, the Lamb Of Godl" two of John s
disciples followed Jesus and being invited
by Him abode with Him that day. One
of the two was Andrew (the other prob.
ably John, who wrote the gospel), who
found his brother Simon and brought him
to Jesus, and Jesus called him Ccphas, or
Peter. 1t was the day after that on which
Jesus found Philip and Philip found Ma.
thanael, who said to Christ, Thou art
the Son of God, Thou art the King of Is.
rael," and to him Jesus spake of the Won
drous significance of Jacobs ladder.
Me, and will make you fishers Of men,
1t would seem that after the events just
referred to as recorded by John, Andrew
and Simon, although having evidently re.
ceived Christ as the Messiah, returned to
their occupation as fishermen. This was
in accordance with what Paul afterwartl
taught, "Let every man abide in the same
calling wherein he was called" Il Cor
vii, 2O). Our Lord glorified the Father
first as o carpenter in Nazareth. When
we receive Christ, we must first glorify
tion.
20. And they straightway left their
nets and followed Him." The time may
come when if He sees us faithful at homo
in ordinary things, He may call us out to
follow Him more fully. The whole Chris
tian life should be u steadily increasing
following Him." as He more and moro
fully reveals Himself unto us. We aro
saved when we receive Him John /, l2)
for salvation is not giving up this or that
but wholly receiving. We repent or turn
round, forsake idols and welcome Him and
have eternal life as u gift from. vi, 23).
Then day by day He more and more takes
the place of even lawful things, and they
lose their hold upon us until Christ is all.
81. And going on from thence, He saw
other two brethren, James, the son Of Zeb-
edee, and John, his brother, in a ship with
Zebedee, their father, mending their nets,
and He called them" AS we have said,
John was no doubt the other disciple Of
the Baptist who followed the Lamb Of
God that day with Andrew, and as Andrew
found his own brother and brought him
to Jesus, it is more than probable that
John found his own brother and brought
him to Jesus. Perhaps the words "Ho
first f1ndeth his own brother" (John i, Az
may indicate that Andrew was just lit.
tie ahead of John in this brother finding
business. If the so called brotherhood of
Philip and Andrew conflne themselves to
winning souls, they will be blessed of God,
but when they step aside to the social and
entertainment business they are no longer
in the service of Christ. He came to save
%. "And they Immediately left the ship
and their father and followed Him." Tho
following Him of these four at this time
was soon followed by even more whole
hearted following as recorded in Luke V,
II, when they forsook all, ships, nets, fish
and everything and followed Him. This
also after the resurrection was made to
mean even more to Peter, when he was
told to follow Jesus, regardless of even
what John might do (John xxi, 22). Thus
the life becomes an ever increasing sepa-
ration from the nearest and dearest unto
Him alone, and we sing with a meaning
perhaps undrcamed Of before I'll go with
Him, with Him, all the way.
90. "And Jesus went about all Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, and preach
ing the gospel of the kingdom, and heal
ing all manner of sickness and all manner
of disease among the people" When the
kingdom shall have fully come and God
shall dwell with men on earth, there shall
be no more death, neither sorrow, nor cry
ing, neither shall there be any moro pain
(Rev. xxi, 4). The inhabitant shall not
say, I am sick; the people that dwell
therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.
They shall obtain JOY and gladncss, and
sorrow and signing shall flee away Elsa.
xxxiii, "a; xxxv, 10y. AS Jesus preached
the kingdom He also manifested some
thing of the nature of it rs it had been de-
scribed in the writings of their prophets.
"a. "And His fame went throughout all
Syria, and they brought unto Him all sick
people, y - and He healed them" So we
read in chapter xii, 10, "Grcat multitudcs
followed Him, and He healed them all. I"
The manner of the disease mattcred not,
for He had all power. 1t had been writ
ten by the prophet, 1.-The eyes of the blind
shall be opened and the ears of the deaf
shall be unstopped, then shall thr lame
man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the
dumb sing" lisa. xxxv, 5, 81. 1t had also
been written of the Messiah that He should
do these things, bind up the brokenhcart-
ed, proclaim liberty to tho captives and
the opening Of the prison to the bound
lisa Xxi, y.