The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1904-05-31
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON x, SECOND QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JUNE 5.

Luke xiii, 4 - Commentary Pre-
pared by REV. ID. Nj stcarns.
copyright 1904. BY American Press Association
| After the passover and the institu-
ton of the supper in the last lesson our
| Lord spoke to the eleven the wonderful
words Of John xiv to xvi and prayed
as recorded in John xvii. Then He
went forth over the brook Cedron with
His faithful few to the Mount Of
tOliyes and into the garden OF Gethsem-
ane, cast off by His son Israel eek. IN,
| %, 23). This was foreshadowed in
David when He, with His faithful few,
crossed the same brook, east out by his
son Absalom Oh Sam. XIV, %, 30), but
in that case the wicked son was slain.
while here in our lesson the righteous
King is to suffer in the stead of His
enemies, the just for the unjust q Pet.
! Iii, IS; Rom. V, 81.
| The agony and conflict in Geth-
semane, the sleeping disciples, the be-
trayal and arrest of our Lord, Simon
Peters blunder with the sword. the dis
ciples all fleeing, Jesus before Annas
land Caiaphas, the false witnesses, the
blindfolding, hooking, shifting, spit
| ting, Peters denial-these are some OF
| the events and incidents of that awful
night, but who can tell what they
meant to Him who was the center Of
/ all, the Lamb of God, oppressed and
afflicted, brought as a lamb to the
slaughter and as a sheep before her
shearers, opening not His mouth Qsa.
/ lib. The morning came, the morning
of earth's darkest day, and the council,
having condemned Jesus to death, bind
Him and lead Him away and deliver
Him to Pontius PLATE, the governor.
The King Of the Jews, rejected by His
own people, treated by them ais an.
evil doer and condemned to die, silent
and suffering, He allows them to act
their pleasure.
| About the time that our Lord was
brought before PLATE Judas brought
the thirty pieces Of silver, testified to
the chief priests and elders that Jesus
was innocent, threw down the money
| in the temple and went and hanged
himself (Matt. xvii, -.
| For more full account of all that
passed between PLATE and the Jewish
rulers and Jesus see Luke xiii, 4-16;
John xviii, %, to xix, 10. 1t is possible
that as PLATE, the representative of
| the great world power of that time,
asked Jesus, "Art thou the king of the
JewsY he may have thought Him to
| be some poor, harmless, weakminded
person, for even now when some true
believer speaks of Jesus as the King of
the Jews, soon to return and sit on
David's throne, asserting that he also
expects to reign with Him, he is apt
to be considered by many very re-
| ligious people to be an ignorant, weak
minded person, Notwithstanding such
Scriptural statements as Luke i, 80.
33; Rev. v, 9, 10; Col. iii, 4.
| Having confessed before the high
priest and before PLATE that He is the
Christ, the King of the Jews Mark
xiv, 81, 62; XIV, p, He has nothing
more to say, SO now to chief priests
and PLATE He answers nothing, but
lpatiently awaits their disposal of Him.
1t was the governors custom to re-
lease to the Jews at the time Of the
passover prisoner, .whomsoever they
desired, and, having d notable prisoner,
murderer named Barabbas, he asked
whether he should release Barabbas or
Jesus, the King Of the Jews. He prob
ably thought that they would surely
choose Jesus, but he knew neither their
murderous hearts nor the God Of Love
who was overruling all these things
(Acts iv, 81, 2S). The chief priests
moved the people to ask for the release
|of Barabbas, and when PLATE asked
what he should do with Christ, the
King of the Jews, they cried, Cruelty
Himr' and as plate again asked.
"Why, what evil hath He done?" they
cried the more exceedingly, Cruelty
Him.
1t appears from a harmony Of the
gospels Zone being before me as /
write and quote from one or the other
Of the evangelists) that PLATE inter-
coded for Jesus and offered to set Him
free not less than seven times on that
eventful morning. Peter says that Pr
late was determined to let Him go
(Acts ill., 49,. In John xviii, 3S; xix,
A, 6, we hear PLATE say three times,
II find no fault in Him." Pilates wife.
because of a dream which she had,
sent this message to her husband;
"Have thou nothing to do with that
just man" Matt. xvii, 19). There
seemed to be no one against Him but
His own nation, and they SO hate Him
that they prefer murderer to the
Holy Lamb of God.
So PLATE. willing to content the peo-
pie. yet acting contrary to his own con
science and against his wife's entreaty,
released Barabbas, the murderer. and
delivered Jesus. the innocent one, to be
crucified But since PLATE held Him to
be innocent and washed his hands Of
the affair Matt. xvii. pa. why
scourge Him? 1t is all too awful to
read, but what must the actual oc-
currence have been? Was it at this
time. as the blowers plowed upon His
back and made long their burrows. that
the cruel thongs flew round His face
also and made His visage to be so
marred more than any man? ops.
cxxix, 8; lisa. Iii, 14) do not know,
but have often wondered
People are daily choosing a mur-