The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1904-01-22
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON ", FIRST QUARTER, iNTERNA-
TIoNAL SERIES, JAN. "a.
Text of the Lesson, Luke Nv, 1880.
Memory Verses, IL, 10-Golden Text,
John 4, I1-Commentary Prepared
by Rev. ID. NJ. Stearns.

man OF SoTTOWs anu uCludluleu Will
grief. and we hid as il were our faces
from IL i'm: He was jespised and we es-
teemed Him not" He was in the
world, and the world was made by
Him, and the world knew Him not.
He came into His own and His own re-
ceived Him not lisa lii, 3; John /,
10. IL. He knew it would be so and
yet He came, and became son of man
that we might become sons of God.
For Us He suffered and died. with Him
we must die and suffer if we would
reign with Him (Heb. ii, 14-1S).
Having met the wild beasts and the
devil in the Wilderness, and having
overcome by the word of God, He re-
turned in the power Of the Spirit to
Galilee, but not until he returned to
where John the Baptist was baptizing
and John had pointed Him out as the
Lamb OF God, and Andrew, Simon,
Philip and Nathaniel had become His
disciples 1t is probable also that He
changed the water to wine at Cana,
went TO Jerusalem 10 the Passover,
cleansed the temple, met Nicodemus
the nobleman'S son at Capernaum be-
fore the incidents of our lesson oc-
Cured at Nazareth. See John i, 49, to
iv, 81.
That He had been brought up at
Nazareth would not add to His reputa-
ton. Judging from John /, 4G. Let all
such as live at some Nazareth take
that mars or makes us, else Adam and
Eve would never have fallen. The eX-
preston brought up is sometimes
translated feed" or "nourish" Matt.
vi. %; Luke xii, "a; Rev. xii GID and
may suggest in addition TO physical
growth nourishing by God with His
word and spirit. and training or edu-
cation by His providences.
1t was His Sabbath day custom al
ways to be in the place of worship on
that day. even though the spiritual
benefit, apart from that derived from
the reading OF the Scriptures, may have
been very small. If the statement i'm
plies that it was also His custom to
read the Scriptures, then we are in
II
young man always taking part in the
services rs He unrolled the scroll of
the prophet Isaiah He found what we
call Isa. Xxi. /, and He must have read,
according TO Neh. viii, s, distinctly,
giving the sense and causing them to
understand the reading. He read
very brief portion, stopped in the midst
g 81 ~
rolled up the scroll, gave it to the min
ster. sat down and began 10 say. This
day is this Scripture fulfilled in your
ears" Verse 2D. He evidently had no
difficulty in finding the place. but this
is matter which is not easy TO a good
many believers today. As 10 the pOr-
ton He read, is it not complete sum
mary of the glorious gospel of the
blessed God? IL Tim. i. H. Glad Ii
dings for the poor. the broken hearted,
the captives. the blind. the bruised
lisa. lvii. 10; Xvi, >; Matt. V. 3; iX, p;
Ps. XXXiv. Is; Ii, Il; Luke viii, p; il,
80; Kill 10; Rev. iii. IL. The accept
able year is still with us-it Is still true
that now is the accepted time, now is
the day of salvation" III Cor. vi. .:
John V, 25l. The glorious truth is
worthy of every ones acceptation that
Christ Jesus came into the world 10
save sinners" II Tim. /, 15). AS He
took His seat all eyes were fastened on
Him. Was it because Of the way He
read. or was il because OF what He
left unread? Had He read the next
sentence He could not have said that
it was then fulfilled, for the day Of
vengeance is not yet. Redemption for
Israel and vengeance upon her enemies.
SO often associated in Scripture, will be
ut His second coming lisa. XXXiv, :;
Xxxv. 4; xiii, 1; Luke xxi, 24-2S; III
Thess i. 1-10D. Only the first words Of
His discourse are given, but as one has
said, 1T must have been rich In matter
and sweet in manner" He was full OF
grace and truth, full Of the Spirit, and
it was the Father who spoke through
Him John i, II; XII, 40.
He sees the unbelief and enmity in
their hearts. and He reminds them that
in the days of Elijah and Elisha not
many benefited by the teaching or the
miraculous powers of Gods servants
He knew that Nazareth considered
Him Joseph's son and that His towns
people would not receive Him. but it
was in the plan that lie should thus
offer Himself to them
What great blessing was within the
reach of Nazareth that day. but what
blindness possessed her! She knew not
the time of her visitation. God. the
God of Israel had been in her midst
unknown. His glory yelled i'm human
form these many years; and now He
reveals Himself MS Jesus. their brother
the long foretold Messiah of Israel. but
they will not receive Him, for to them
He is only "Joseph's SON." oh. how
great and all important the question,
What think We of Christ-whose Son
is HeF Matt. xxi, 42) They would
have killed Him, but His hour TO die
had not yet come and no man could
take His life from Him Gohn Y, 1S).
From the time mat the devil was told
that the seed of the woman would CON
quer him he ever sought to destroy