Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1904-02-03

OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURE SECTION
an the synagogue. Mark l:2l- ~
Healing IN Seser ;..;:....'.... Luke ;3l-S1
usaiiiine IN Peters house. Mark :29-3i
teaLng IN Peters house. 4:sS-s9
Ii'aiittns at the door,. Matt SIG II
ied!lhS at the door. Mark -, "a
1iSTaIIng at the door. Luke AGO Il
last lesson N4'
Place. - Capernaum. a beautiful and
CnrlRing city on tie Sea OF Galiiee LAKE OF
Gennesarep.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
Jesus and the four fishermen. Peter.
andrew, James and John, left the { i
ing grounds together and went to the
city OF Capernaum, which was full Of
men, women and children-for their
work was hencefOrth TO be in the busy
world OF men. They were TO be- mis-
sionarteS, home missionaries at first.
then foreign missionaries. ''On the
Sabbath day" Jesus experience in the
synagogue at Nazareth was on the pre-
ceding Sabbath. What must have been
Ills feeling as He entered the synagogue
mere? And taught" Jesus taught a
great deal in the synagogue during His
early ministry. Its service was more
informal than that of the temple at
Jerusalem. the seat of the stitfest and
most orthodox Judaism. Though in
struction in the law was the main OBJ
1ect OF the synagogue, its services were
In the hands Of laymen, not priests
tGeikie), and were more like our PRAYER
meetings than our church services
Amid the dull. mechanical tendencies
which were turning the heart of Juda-
b.
Deen often center of life and rallying
pace OF freedom. Dean Chadwick
Iaught them as having authority"
lhis is one OF the most illuminating sem
fences in the whole story of Christ's
lie. The meaning is not simply that
he spoke as If confident that He was
right-the scribes were doubtless conf
dent they were right-but rather that
lie did not back up His teachings by
reference TO the standing authorities
'(Moses, ,etc), but spoke the truth that
lie telt TO be true in His own soul, de-
pending on the truth itself to make,its
own impression. His was a message Ill
rect from God.
Another surprise was in store for the
synagogue audience that day "A man
with an unclean spirit" The belief
In demoniacal possession was common
among Jews and Gentiles in the time of
our Lord, and it long obtained in the
Christian church. BUTT has been point
ed out that most. if not all. the phencm-
era associated with this belief are now
diagnosed as forms OF disease-insanity
epilepsy. hysteria. etc. "-Adeney. We
should add what psychologists call dis
eases OF personality, double conscious
ness etc. If the unfortunate in this
lesson was diseased rather than pos
sessed of a foul spirit. why cid Jesus
speak as il there was a spirit? QJ Be-
cause the man believed it was devil
that was troubling him. (2) Everyone
else believed so. too. 90 The best way
10 meet an insane person is to meet
him where he thinks he is. ca Christ
was not mere to correct all msn's er-
roneous beliefs, ii would have done no
Sood ana immense harm. 1t would have
been going off on n tangent Whether
the man was an epileptic or possessed of
the kind of devil that the Jews believed
in, was a 'matter of indifference so far
as the kingdom was concerned. The
point is that Christ healed the man.
=
His main purpose. Come out Of him"
Everyone saw that the man was cured.
What is this" What does all this
mean referring to the whole service.
n ne" teachlng unclean spir-
its obey him The two mar
vels OF the day. Both equally unlocked
for-thc former a moral miracle. the
latter physical; both revealing an inn
perial spirit exercising sway over the
minds and bodies OF men. Bruce.
Note the effect in verse %.
And straightway:" No time was
lost. How full of service for others
the Masters days were, Game into the
house of Simon" Jesus was the guest
OF His new disciple. "A fever" Very
common in the low, hot cour try abou,
the lake; commonly believed. like in
sanity, TO be the work OF evil spirits.
Luke says Jesus rebuked the fever as
he had done in the case Of the man in
the synagogue at even" The Sab
bath ended at sunset. Picture To yopr-
self the scene. No painter has ever
been able TO do IL so well as we can in
our own minds. Remember the Mas
ter's commanding presence. but that He
was at the close of a hard day. sur-
rounded by the poor and the needy. not
the unsympathetic Pharisees, and radi-
antly happy in being able to minister IN
them whom He considered as brothers
and sisters. Suffered not tn
speak, because they knew Him. How
did they know Him? Explanations arc
plenty. but not such as explain. The
intuitions Of deranged persons are fire..
quently amazingly keen and true. and
can hardly be explained. CD rist did not
want TO be proclaimed the Messiah as
yet. particularly by these people who
we're physically or mentally unsouno.
The time was not ripe.