Crawford avalanche., 1898-02-24
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
SERIOUS SUBJECTS CAREFULLY
CONSIDERED.

A Scholarly Exposition Of the Lesson
Thoughts Worthy OF Calm ReAec-
tion-Haif an Hour's Study of tho
scriptures-Time Well Spent.
Lesson for Feb. ~.
Golden Text.-"Come unto me, all ys
that labor and are heavy laden, and will
give you rest."-Matt IL: 2S.
The lesson this week is entitled "Warn-
ing and Invitation" and III from Matt.
IL: 20-30.
Introductory.
Chapters IL aud IL of Matthew's gos-
pei are given to ''events showing the atti-
tude of various persons toward the gospel
and teaching concerning the spirit In
which the gospel must be received" Dur
TOM The connection of these several
events and sections of teaching with one
another is not close: they are simply
grouped together by the evangelist, with
out much regard to their chronological
relations, but with respect to his general
purpose in the book. fCr
Explanatory.
How sorely the spirit OF Jesus must
have been tried to call forth these stern
words. We must believe that he spoke
more in sorrow than in anger. He loved
those cities, in the neighborhood of which
he had spent his life, and among which
he had done most OF his work. To "up-
braid" them can hardly mean that his
mood and tone were those Of a scolding
man, or one who feels a personal slight.
Rather he was pronouncing with deep
sadness the doom which those unhappy
communities had brought upon them
| selves
ChOrazin and Bethsaida are not promi-
nent in the gospels, though they were in
| the immediate vicinity of Capernaum,
Bethsaida to the east, at the point where
the Jordan empties into the northern end
OF the Sea of Gallee, Chorazin probably
| to the west or southwest Jesus must have
| preached and wrought in many towns and
villages of which the gospels say nothing.
; Galilee was very densely populated re-
| gion in his day. We should not forget
4, that the ministry of our Lord, short as it
| was, furnished material for dozens or
scores Of narratives like our gospels.
| Where we have the record of day here
and day there, complete chronicle
| would fill many volumes.-Tyre and 81
| don, the two great Phoenician cities on
the sea coast, northwest of Galilee, were
famous and prosperous Notwithstanding
| frequent difficulties in the past with the
| great world powers. They were not Jew
| ish cities, but were the seat of a culture
| very much advanced. Probably Jesus
tnkes them as an extreme example of ap-
parent Indifference and worldliness, with
which to compare the incredible ingrati-
tude and unbeief of the Galileans.
"And thou, Capernanm, which art ex-
alted unto heaven: Better texts read,
| as in the revised version. "And thou, Ca
pernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heav-
en-" The presumption of Capernaum is
| rebuked.-"Shalt be brought down to
hell': that is, shall be utterly destroyed.
Hades is the place of the dead. The COM
parison Of Capernaum to Sodom is more
| forcible, more awful, than we are likely
| to appreciate unless we remember that
Sodom was the proverbial expression for
the basest wickedness and shamelessness.
This verse introduces an entirely new
| section, as suggested above. Whether the
two are to be connected is question
largely Of opinion. Some writer's think
that verses 20 and 20 refer to the mys-
| terry of divine providence as shown in the
| great privileges granted to the cities of
Galilee and neglected by them, while
Sodom had no such light to save her from
| doom. That may be; or it is possible that
this is an isolated saying of Jesus, which
Is brought in here by Matthew as showing
the attitude of n very different class Of
men towards the divine message.
| Jesus is not only the source Of knowl-
edge; he is also the source of power and
| of rest. For notice that he does not
promise immunity from burdens to his
| followers: he promises lighter burden
and an easier yoke. The yoke is to make
the burden easier. Ii is not in this connec-
tion, the mark of subjection. This prom
| ise meant much to the Jews of Christ's
time, for their yokes and their burdens
were heavy. The twofold yoke was that
of political subjcction to Rome and spirit
| ual subsection to the vast system Of petty
restrictions laid upon conduct by the ira
dition of the scribes. These, in addition
to the common burdens of human life ev-
erywhere, helped to add TO the widespread
WEAKNESS and sadness of the time. The
| release from such weakness was to come
not from any new philosophy-the world
was tired of philosophics-bu from
| person. That person must be more than
human, else he could not have within him
| self any lasting source of satisfaction for
| the lasting needs of men. One such per-
son has lived, and but one. What other
man in all the course of history could
| have uttered these words without bias
| phemy and folly? What other being could
have fulfilled the promise so unerringly
and bountifully?
Teaching Hints.
Warning and invitation went side by
side in the teaching of Jesus. So they
| should in ours. We have no right to
| speak woes of our own against the un-
| righteous, or to give invitations of our
| own to the needy. But to both we can
and should echo the words Of Christ.
Great privilege constitutes great respon-
sibility. Capernaum, that had been high
| est in privilege, was to be brought lowest
| in judgment.
The gospel is first Of all not system Of
| doctrine, but an invitation to the service
| of person--Jesus Christ. Doctrine fol-
| lows in its due place, as n statement Of
! the consequences which follow the accept
ance of such an invitation.
Next Lesson-"Jesus and the Sabbath"
Matt. II: 1-13.
A Wise Precaution.
The 'Kolnische Zeitung" relates this
L AZ. 80 tho Lot Oh.