Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1899-02-15
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON VII. FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, FEB. 49,

Memory Verses. O-11-GOlden Text
John vi. 35-Commentary Prepared
by the Rev. ID. NJ. Stearns.
copyright. 1898. by d. M. Stearns.l
1, 9. ga great multitude followed Him
because they saw His miracles which He
did on them that were diseased. The true
disciples followed Him because they be.
lieved Him to be the Messiah, Israel's de.
liverer and King, but the majority of PEG.
pie saw no beauty in Him; they only saw
q wonder working man who could heal
them when they were sick or feed them
when hungry. He had crossed the sea,
perhaps to be more alone with His Father,
for He was so misunderstood By men, even
by His disciples, but His Father under
stood Him perfectly. The n'~'ti:udes,
however, would not let Him alone, their
needs were so many and Fl was so able to
meet them.
8, f. '"And Jesus went up into noun.
tain, and there He sat with His disciples,
and the Passover, feast of the Jews was
NIGH" The Passover was q feast Of the
Lord, but it had become q mere feast of
the Jews, anything but an honor to God.
To Him all was very real; the animals
slain by His own hand to provide coats OF
skins for Adam and Eve (Gen. Iii, 21);
the lambs by whose blood the firstborn
were saved in Egypt; the sacrifice He was
soon to offer Of Himself--all were to Him
very, very real, but to them religious
ceremony, q weary form.
s. when Jesus then lifted up His eyes
and saw great company come unto Him,
He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we
buy bread, that these may eat?" He was
full of compassion for the multitudes.
who were as sheep without a shepherd
As to their spiritual condition, their teach
ers, the scribes and Pharisees, would nei-
Their enter the kingdom themselves nor
suffer others to enter. Whatever religious
rites they performed the object was to be
seen of men (Math. xiii, s. 13).
6. "And this He said to prove him, for
He Himself knew what He would do"
Mans thoughts and ways are very earthly.
The Lord needs none of them. His are as
far above ours as heaven is higher than
the earth lisa. ", %. He intends to I'LL
this earth with His glory, and He knows
just how He will do It, 1t was all plain
to Him from the beginning. He will
complete His body, the church, He will
make Israel all righteous, He will subdue
all things unto Himself, and He will let
us be partners with Him In His kingdom
and in all things tending to 1t, but He
needs no suggestions from US as to how Is
shall be done
z. "Philip answered Him, Two hun
dred pennyworth of bread Ia not sufficiens
for them that every one of them may take
q little" Therefore the matter of feeding
them was wholly out Of the question, the
money necessary was not to be had, and
II they had tho money where was the bread
to be found? So to Philips mind the idea
was simply preposterous. He did not
know his Lord, nor did he know Him
even up to the night before He was cruoi-
fed John xiv, 81.
s, 8. "One of His disciples, Andrew.
Simon Peters brother, saith unto Him,
There is lad here which hath five barley
loaves and two small fishes, but what are
they among so manys" We look around
and find that we have just SO much, just
the veriest trifle of what Is necessary for
the work, SO little that it IL not worth
considering, and so we, like Andrew, feel
that it Is folly to think of it, These things
are written for our instruction. May We
learn from them and from other Scrip
lures to have faith In God, to dwell with
the King for His work Il Chron. iv, 23),
sure that what the King purposes He is
able to carry out. All power in heaven
and on earth is His.
10. "And Jesus said, Make the men sit
down. Now, there was much grass in the
place. So the men sat down, In number
about 5000" All suggestions, encourag-
ing or discouraging, are now ended. The
Lord, who knew just what He would do,
takes the matter In hand and begins to
work. He is tho author and finisher of
every good work. He Is the only Creator,
the only Redeemer, there Is mono but He,
and none like Him. He says, will work,
and who shall let 1t or turn 1t back? lisa.
xiii, 13). All the disciples have now to
do is simply to watch Him and obey His
orders He fed millions for 40 years. He
gave them flesh to the full without kill
ing single OK or sheep.
IL. "And Jesus took the loaves, and
when He had given thanks He distributed
to the disciples, and the disciples to them
that were set down, and likewise of the
fishes, as much as they would" He
might have rained bread from heaven as
He did in the wilderness, but He took
what was at hand, and looking to His Fa-
ther that He might work He multiplied
1t, as He did the oil and meal for the
prophet and those with whom He lodged
and the oil for the widow that her debt
might be paid Il Kings, xi. IA; II Kings
Nv, y.
IL. "When they were filed, He said I'M
to His disciples, Gather up the fragments
that remain that nothing be lost" While
He provides abundantly He will have moth
ing wasted. Filled and OVERLOOKING but
all to His glory, and that many may DO
benefited. An abundance of wine at the
feast In Cana and much over an album
dance to eat ON this occasion and much to
spare, but nothing wasted, nothing lost.
Whatever He gives us Is that He may be
glorifled. How sad when He has to soy
"the God In whose hand thy breath is and
whose arc all thy ways hast thou not
glorified" dan. v, 23). When He per-
ceives In us q real desire to glorify Him
We shall be abundantly filed.
10. Therefore they gathered them to-
gether and filed 10 baskets with the frag-
ments Of the five barley loaves which re-
manned over and above unto them that
had eaten" People filed and baskets
filed, and He did 1t oil without any help
from man. How wonderfully He used
the lad and his loayes Years ago pray.
cd that might DO like one of those loaves,
fullv In His hapIa 20 ha h1aeaaI "a H.,