The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-05
Sunday School Lesson for March 6.
Jesus and the Sabbath.
Matt. XII; Ills
BY j. E. GILBERT, ID. D., Ill. D.,
Secretary of American Society of Religious Education

INTRODUCTION-All harmonists agree
that the events of today's lesson oc-
CURED prior to those of last Sundays
lesson. The record Is made by two other
evangelists MARK ii, 2S-3S, and Luke vi,
1-5), with somenha greater brevity, but
with substantial agreement. Matthew
alone mentions the reference which Jesus
made oversees and y to himself and to
the prophets, valuable as helping to sus-
| tain the Messianlc claim which 1T was
| the chief purpose of the first Gospel to
! set forth. In studying our lesson we
must remember that Jesus, during His
| earthly ministry, was reformer. lie
| found the Jewish nation attached to GUS
toms, but destitute of vital goodness. The
| people conformed to legal requirements
and boasted of that conformity, SEEM
| ingly thinking that thereby they made
| themselves religious duke xviii I'D, and
| they even construed the letter of the law
| to increase its severity. In order to pre-
pare for the spiritual elevation of the
| people Jesus was obliged to oppose this
legal narrowness and bigotry. Sabbath
| observance was one of the items requir-
| ing instruction.
| OCCASION.--Jesis and His disciples
| were on a journey, returning to Caper-
| naum after successful ministry in the
neighboring vlleges. They passed
| through Cornfield, what We would call
| a wheat fied--their corn was not like Que
maize. This walk was allowable to the
distance of two thousand yards, a Sab
bath days journey (Acts /, 1O. The dis
| ciples became hungry. There is no evil
dence that Jesus felt any need for food.
| He may have been supernaturally sus-
| tanned, or lie may have suppressed any
| discomfort ey perienced. It is certain that
| lie had power over bodily conditions
| iI. NKhi Ta
His way, the disciples plucked the ripen-
| ed grain, rubbed it in their hands, blew
| away the chaff, and ate. (verse L. This
| was no trespass, but a liberty allowed TO
| travellers under the law, Oeut Nxiii,2)
| a very wise and gracious provision it was,
| in that country with its peculiar modes
of travel and its system of public inns.
| The disciples evidently felt that there
was no improperly in their conduct,
probably they had done the same thing
many times.
| CRITICISM.-Instant the Pharisees
| gathered about our Lord. They had fol-
lowed Him wherever He went keeping a
| constant espionage upon His actions. III
the synagogues, in the feasts, in the
cities, at the seashore and in the fields,
they watched, reproached, tempted and
insuted Him. on the slightest preteXt
| they sought to arraign Him at the bar of
public opinion and to destroy His grow
ing influence upon the masses. Now they
| think they have lighted upon n heinous
| offense and they openly declare that the
| disciples had done what was unlawful
| (verse p. Their charge rested upon the
| teachings of the rabbis who had inter-
Cepted the law of Moses and perverted
and destroyed 1t, saying that to pluck
corn was reaping, and to rub it was
threshing. These derivativo rules. as they
| were termed, were held in higher esteem
than the original word of God (Matt. XIV
81. Thus had they set up human stand
ards for the government of men and had
| condemned the innocent, a form OF crit
cism not altogether unknown in the
| church of our time.
| PRECEDENT.-The reply of Jesus was
| in two parts. lie first appealed from the
| teachings of the Jewish doctors, on