The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-02-03
THE sUNDAY-sCHoOL LESSON


Jesus emerged from the wilderness. leaving be-
hind him that naked and arid mountain of
malediction rising precipitously from scorched
and desert plain and overlooking the bituminous
waters OF the Sodomic sea-" In that awful soli-
tude He had tasted and been with the wild
beasts forty days There He had met and foiled
the tempter There His messianic character and
work had fully dawned upon His consciousness
There He evolved His plan and the principles
Of procedure to which He faithfully adhered to
the very close of His career. He came
back TO the vast concourse still attending the
ministry Of John the Baptist at the fords Of the
Jordan as to a human quarry. from which He
could select living stones the foundation of
that spiritual ediice He designed TO rear Nor
was he disappointed. He found FIVE out of twelve
of the apostolic college there. When
John saw Him he gave Him a joyous welcome.
No shade of jealousy crossed his noble heart He
unequivocally cast the full weight of his phe-
norenal influence upon the side of the new
Teacher. crying, Behold Gods Lamb. much
more precious than Aarons, a Lamb that taketh
up and beareth away the collective sin of
world! On the morrow, Jesus reap
peared. John repeated his significant exclama-
tion with even increased emphasis. 1t IL
he had said, Whoever wishes to leave me now,
and follow this greater Teacher is at full liberty
to do so.' Two of the choicest spirits among his
converts, John and Andrew, take the hint, and
tist to follow the lowly Jesus. The Naz-
arene hears their footsteps. and. turning, en-
courages them with look and word. They are
drawn to Him, as iron to the magnet. Under the
fresh-cut boughs of pilgrim booth, or in the
cool depths of grotto they sit at His feet
and learn of Him. their hearts burning within
them He unfolds to them the principles of His
kingdom. Then and there was kinded in the
human soul of Jesus that love which made John
evermore His bosom companion. An
drew coveted his brothers superior abilities for
the service of his new-found Master. He rested
not until he had communicated to him his mo-
mentous find and had brought him to Jesus.
The next day he the addition of the fourth
disciple in the person of Philip who showed the
spirit of true convert by Immediately bringing
another to Jesus in the person of the guieless
Israelite Nathaniel bartholomew - In
connection with this call of the first disciples
two miracles of knowledge present themselves
one knowledge of the future, the other a
knowledge of the past. He knows that the
vacilating Simon will be transmitted into the
immobie rock He knew all about Nathaniel
secret struggle in his hg-tree oratory-an expe-
rence Nathaniel knew God only could be aware
of, which brings him logically to the conclusion
that he is standing now in the presence of the
Son of God
THE TEACHERS LANTERN.
This. with that of Matthew w. 1S-z2 consti-
tuted preliminary or probationary calls from
which the disciples We're arterward dismissed to
attend to their worldly affairs, and while doing
so in their old and familiar environments, and
free from excitement of mover situations. think
what they had and heard. Their third
and last call Is recorded in Luke v, LII. These
calls progressive. The Guild of
Andrew and Philip is the happiest and most
significant name ever given to young people s
society. 1t is aim and method all in The
aim Is to bring 10 Jesus. The method is that Of
personal invitation and appeal. The la
mented j. o. Peck, one of the most successful OF
pastor revivalsts. employed this method. DR..
His main reliance upon the most cour-
ageous Of all methods-personal appeals in pri-
vate. There he argued. pleaded conquered. and
the outward demonstrations, upon which SO
many rely exclusively, were but the gathering
in of sheaves." 1t about the tenth
hour John could never forget the precise time
of day when he went I'm to the Lords humble
shelter and heard Him speak man never did
So 1t was quarter of o'clock in the evening
when Wesley first felt his heart strangely
warmed. But this precision of memory
need not trouble any who lacks 1t. AS some
one suggests, because you cannot name the par
| ticular hour when you learned to read does not
| vtiate the fact of your ability to read. Many
can read their heavenly titles who cannot say
when they first began to read them