The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1899-02-22
THE yABBATH SCHOOL Lesson.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR FEBRUARY 26.


vii., 37-Commentarv on the Days
Lesson by the Rev. ID. NJ. stearns.
IA. "Now about the midst o: the feast
Jesus went up into the temple and
thought" II was the feast of tabernacles,
and His brethren who did not believe In
Him had In n sort OF sneering way advised
Him to go up to the feast. His reply was:
"My time has not yet come" so they went
without Him, but He went up later, and as
He taught the Jews wondered at His
knowledge and His teaching. as He had
not been to their schools. His reply to
them was, "My doctrine is not Mine, but
His that sent Me- (verse 16). He took no
credit for His words or works. He sought
no glory for Himself.
2s. "Then cried Jesus in the temple ms
He taught, saying Ye both know Me, and
ye know whence am, and am not come
OF Myself, but He that sent Me Is true,
whom ye know not" They had said, We
know this man whence He is, but when
Christ cometh no man knoweth whence He
Is (verse 27). They knew that He was from
Nazareth and Of humble parentage. and
that was all they professed to know, but IL
they had been honest they would have
said, We know that Thou art a teacher
come from God (John ILL.,, ~.
20. But know Him, for l am from Him,
and He hath sent Me-" He said again,
''As the Father knoweth Me, even SO
know I the Father" (John K, 15) and
again, ''No man knoweth the Son but the
Father; neither knoweth any man the
Father save the Son and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal Him (Math. XII, 27). In
His prayer He said, 30 righteous Father,
the world hath not known Thee, but 1
have known Thee, and these have known
that Thou has sent Me" (John xviii, 25).
80. "Then they sought to take Him, but
no man laid hands on II i'm because His hour
was not yet come" Many q time would
they have taken Him, but they could not
touch Him till the appointed time. When
they did finally take Him, Ii was because
He allowed them to, and when He died He
freely gave up His life. He laid 1t down OF
Himself; they could not take 1t from Him
(John X, 18).
81. "And many OF the people believed on
Hin and said, When Christ cometh will He
do more miracles than these which this
man hath done?" While some believed and
some believed not and many who pro-
fessed to believe turned back and walked
no more with Him Chapter vi, 66) He kept
steadily on bearing faithful testimony and
doing the Fathers works and will, sure
! that all whom the Father gave to Him
would come unto Him (chapter vi, 37) and
that He would see OF the travail OF His soul
aud be satisfied Usa. ILL.,, 1D.
80. "The Pharisees heard that the people
murmured such things concerning HIM.
and the Pharisees and the chief priests
sent officers TO take Him." They might
have remembered that u certain king OF
Syria did his best to take Elisha, but in
vain, or.that Ahab did his best to find Eli
jah, but also failed; that Sennachorib would
have taken Jerusalem, but could not.
When will the enemies OF God stop imagin-
Ing vain things? Not till the antichrist,
yet to be manifested, Is destroyed, and
satan shut up In the pit, and even after that
there shall be enemies OF God until satan
is finally cast into the lake Of fire and the
kingdom comes.
33. "Then said Jesus unto them, Yet q
little while am / with you, and then 1 go
unto Him that sent Me-" The time was
| short until He would give Himself up and
lot them tnko Him and kill Him, but even
in death Ho would go to the Father, and
| after the resurrection He would in His
glorlhed body ascend to the Father. For
| more than thirty years He had willingly
absented Himself from His home in glory,
bearing all manner of humiliation and
scorn for our sakes, and soon He was to
become our sin Offering, bearing our sins
In His own body on the cross.
"a. "Ye shall seek Ne and shall not find
Me, and where l am thither ye cannot
come" In chapter WILL, 81, He says: 'T
90 My way, and ye shall seek Ne and shall
die In your sins. WHITTIER go ye cannot
come" In verse "a OF the same chapter
He says, "If ye believe not that am He.
ye shall die in your sins" Now is the
time to seek Him, for 1t is written, '5eek
ye the Lord while He may be found" and
all who truly seek surely find Elsa. w., 8;
Jer. xxx, 49, Math. VIII, 81, but IL the sim
ner will not yield to the seeking Saviour
for He is always seeking ever since He
sought Adam hiding from Him in Eden
then there Is q possibility of the experience
Of Prov. l., 2S: "Then shall they call upon
Me, but / will not answer. They shall seek
Me early, but they shall not find Me-"
35. "Then said the Jews among them
| selves, Whittier will He 90 that we shall
| not find Him? VIII He go into the dis
persed among the gentiles and teach the
gentiles2" II they believed Him to be pos
! sessed OF devil, as they said, they could
| not think of His going to heaven to leave
them, but even II He should possibly be Il
good man and go TO heaven surely they
would find Him, for were they not all going
that way, at least In their own opinion?
| Anything more that u mere man they could
| not see Him to be and so they understood
Him, not because they would not receive
Him.
SO. "What manner of saying is this that
He said, 'Ye shall seek Me and shall nos
| ind Me, and where 1 am thither ye cannot
| Gomez" 1t is not strange that these unbe-
levers could not understand His word, for
| even the disciples are heard saying on tho
night before His cruciaxion; "What is this
! that He saithl A little while. We cannot
| tell what He smith" (John XVII, lS).
81. "In the last day, that great day OF
the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, III
any man thirst, let him come unto Me and
drink" Had they considered their own
| Scriptures they might have thought Of Isa.
| w., /, or Jer. H., IS, or the rock that Moses
| smote, but they were blinded. Their
hearts were hardened, their ears heavy
| Qsa. vi, 10Y because they would not see
nor hear nor believe (Acts xviii, 24-27).
The fountain OF living water was now in
their midst, and yet they would not drink,
| for they preferred their own cisterns. In
| chapter 8 we learn how to be born OF
water and the Spirit, in chapter we learn
| that we may be wells of water, but here
we learn that We may bs rivers OF water.
bringing health and life wherever we go
| (Ezek. xviii, 9). Most saved people are
| content just to be born again, few are
| willing to be we'll. burfewer still care to be
| rivers. 1t Is for us to say how much OF the
Word We are to have In us (Eph. W. l8:
| Col. ILL.,. 16).-Lesson Helper.