Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1900-02-22
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
THOUGHTS WORTHY or CALM
REFLECTION.
A Pleasant, Interesting, and Instruct
i've Lesson, and Where 1t May BE
Found-A Learned and Concise Re-
view of the Same. M

The lesson for Feb % Is found in Luke
4: $780, and has for its subject Jesus
Rejected at Nazareth"
Passing through Samaria after the con-
yersation with the woman at Jacobs well
and the two days work that followed it,
Jesus reached Gallee in the early spring
OF the year %. He had been absent some
nine or ten months, since his departure
early in the preceding year to be baptized
by John. In Galilee he speedily aroused
attention. Taking up his temporary resi-
dence in Capernaum Matt. A: 49, he
made preaching tours from that point
through the country to the west and
south, region then thickly populated
and prosperous because OF it's commercial
activity. His message-the burden of it
was the same as that of John: Repent
ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand" Mark adds that lie said Repent
We, and believe in the gospel Mark /:
14). He was heartily received. John
tells us that the Galileans had seen the
things that he did in Jerusalem at the
feast, and therefore heard him gladly.
Luke "a: 15) says that he was "glorifed
of all" At this time he preached chiefly
in the synagogues, whereas later in his
ministry he seems to have taught mostly
in the open air. The reason is evident;
while he was still popular the synagogues,
centers of the established religious life
of the villages and towns, were open to
him, the learned rabbi. Later when the
religious leaders began to see the trend
of his teaching and the wide difference
between it and their own, he could no
longer count upon being welcomed to the
buildings under their control
1t is probable that the healing Of a
nobemans son who lay sick at Caper-
naum by Jesus, who was at Cana John
4: 1864, occurred at this time. A some
what similar incident, the healing Of
centurion's servant Matt. 8: 5-13, Luke
Z: 1-10) has been identified with this by
some writers, and therefore placed later
in the ministry; but the differences are
greater than the resemblances. The same
is true of the two reflections at Nazareth
the one in our lesson, and the other
narrated in Matt. 10: 54-5S and Mark g:
1-6. These two reflections also have been
identified by some, but on insufficient evil
denee. 1t is very natural that there
should have been two reflections. Jesus
would not easily give up city that had
been his home for so many years. Naza-
of the southern end of the sea of Galilee,
a hill town, with beautiful views of the
surrounding country. To Jesus it was
home.
Explanatory.
"As his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day: the syn
agogue of town like Nazareth would be
quite large building, though simply
built; consisting mainly of the audito-
rum, for the synagogue was place for
reading and instruction, having no sub
stitute for the altar, because only at Je-
rusalem would an altar have any mean
ing. The reading desk was raised plat
form in the center, something after the
fashion of a band stand on a picnic
ground.
The reading of the lesson for the day,
when not passed in rotation from one
citizen to another, was offered TO some
visitor or guest. Up to this time so far
as we can infer Jesus was respected and
admired by the better class of the people
of Nazareth. He had lived among them
blameless life, doubtless full of kind
deeds. That some were jealous and sus-
picious is certain. But on his return at
ter long absence, his fame having pre-
coded him, there would be curiosity to
hear him on his first public appearance.
The passage for the day was not chosen
by the reader. 1t was part of regular
course, somewhat like the daily Bible
readings now used whereby the Bible
may be read through in year or two.
That the passage for this day should be
the one most suitable in the whole Old
Testament for this particular occasion
was no mere coincidence; we must look
upon it as part of the divine plan which
guided every step of Jesus life. The quo
tation is from Isaiah 81: IL. That it re-
fers most of all to Christ is evident, but
this does not shut out any other meaning
referring to a prophet OF the writer's age.
How beautifully true these words were
of Christ. He had been Amounted for
seryice-that is what Messiah" and
Christ mean. His first task was to
preach good news to the poor-a class to
which the religious leaders OF his time
paid little attention. He was to heal the
broken hearted; who cared for the brok-
en-hearted among all the multitude of
scribes and Pharisees? He was to preach
deliverance to captives, and recovering OF
sight to the blind that did not lend a
hand in the bearing of and liberty to the
bruised. Evidently his mission was to
the needy; not to flatter the rich and pow
erfu in their sleek content by giving
them some new moral philosophy to argue
about or to command, but to help those
who needed help.
When Jesus sat down, this indicated
that he was about to expound the scrip
ture he had just read. This was a Gus
tom followed by any learned man who
happened to be present at the synagogue
service and to be invited to assist. What
privilege those Nazarenes had that day,
and how grossly they rejected IT,
The prophecy, given originally to COM
fort the exiles in Babylon by promising |
release and prosperity, is now more large |
ly fulfilled than it had been at the end of
the captivity. 1t has now meaning |
which the ancient prophet probably did |
not fully understand. There are captives |
now to be delivered who are bound by no |
political chain, but by sin; blind in spirit |
as well as blind in body TO be given sight. |
Jesus anticipates the probable objec- |
tons of the people. They have heard of |
wonderful cases of healing in Capernaum |
like that of the nobleman's son; will he |
not repeat these miracles here at Naza- |
reth and so prove his right to honor? No, |
he will not; for already he perceives the |
hatred and envy in their hearts, |
in the presence of which no mighty work |
can be done. From this point his ad
dress turns to denunciation, like that OF |
Stephen before his judges. He is careless
of tho result Not anger but a righteous