Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1904-01-07

M VI
y IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD y y
W -" = v
W What the chreh Fok Are Thinking About and Doing. "
M News From Vahocs Lsnd. Suggestive Words From Many Men. ny
81 %
Y ..~Sunday School Le..on and Yovne People, Topic. n "
w Comments BY William 7. Ea. W
W "
Sunday School Lesson and Yount Peoples Topic....
Comments BY William T. Ella.


physiological subtleties or rabbinical
hair-splitting. rs We're those of Judea.
Therefore the sheer that the latter nae.
for anything that came out of Nazar-
eth.
The strong sanity of the later con-
duct of Jesus, when his clear. vigorous
and inciSive views went straight to the
center of everv problem, may be aSso-
ciated With this phase of his boyhOod.
Jesus was not y son of the schools. but
a nan of the world. He got much of
his wisdom from that tried old school
master. experience. There is nothing
like contact with actual life for keeping
Il man free from extravagances. and
sound in judgment. Nazareth helped
make Jesus a world citizen. He prob
ably spoke at least three languages
Hebrew. Greek and Aramaic. the last
being the common speech of the coun-
try.
SOME AsToNlsHED DivlNEs.
\ boys first flight into the big world
Is a memorable experience. h he
was twelve, Jesus. having become "a
son of the law" thenceforth entitled
to take his place in the home and the
synagogue With the men, was taken up
to Jerusalem to the Passover Feast.
For II ountr boy to go to the city
is exciting; but for Il Jewish boy. with
the consciousness and imagination OF
this one, to go up to the city ut ms
ancestor David. the city of the great
temple. the city that was The center OF
Jewish religion. history and
was an yer indeed. The impression
of that first vision of the city with
its temple never faded from the MEM
DRY of Jesus. Did he look forward to
that day when its waywardness would
bring tears to his eyes?
And such crowds. Sometimes two
million Jews came UP to this anniver-
saly of the passing over of the homes
OF the Hebrews by the angel of death
on the night when all the tirst-born of
Egypt were slain. The thrill of the
throng entered deeply into the Sensi-
tive soul of the boy from Nazareth.
Most of all. though, he was interest
ed in the great temple and its services.
low much he wanted to Ques-
tions thronged his mind that could not
be answered at Nazareth, he want
ed eagerly for the opportunity to ask
questions of the famous doctors of the
law gathered here.
When this opportunity came. the
boy grew so engrossed in it that he al
lowed his home company to depart
without him. Let it he said here that
there is no warrant for the common
impression that the boy Jesus was In
structing these learned divines. Far
from 1t. He was not "a boy preach
err" or a precocious prig. His part was
the part of the learner: he was asking
questions, and answering the queries
of the rabbis.
How clear was his consciousness of
his WI supernatural origin and mis-
sion we cannot know. Assuredly he
a some CLEAN of it. On their face.
however, these questions to the doctors
need not nave represented more than
the accumulated p~uestionings and
broodings of a deeply spiritual nature.
What We're the questions he asked?
Had thel to do with the promised Mes
siah? We cannot know. but we may be
sure that, whatever their nature, they
were asked in q modest. teachable Spir-