The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-02-07
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR FEBRUARY II.



36--Memory Verses, 49-51-C ommen-
tary on the Days Lesson.
I. Jesus received as prophet Tvs. AZ.
49,. 43. After two days" The two
days mentioned in verse 40 "Galilee,
The centre of life and activity in Palestire
at that time. 1t contained 100000 Of peo4
pie. There was large foreign population.
and the Jews were more ready to receive
the gospel than in the south IA. His .
time Jesus regarded Jerusalem and Jul
dea, IN a very important sense. as His
country not simply His birthplace, but
the place of His Fathers house and king-
dom, it being the metropolis Of the Jews.
They had already manifested hostile feel
ings toward Him, and therefore He turned
His footsteps northward John 3;25l. This
proverb which Jesus here uttered He re-
peated at Nazareth and was there rejected
by His own kinsmen His "own country
then, meant Nazareth, where de had
grown up. Read Luke 4;24; Mark 6;2sI
country Of Galilee. He had. accomplished
His journey from Judea. His stop in Sa-
maria was for two days only. Received
Him." This does not mean that none res
jected Him, but where He went lie was
welcomed. His first miracle there, nearly
year before, was still In their memory
and it was only few weeks after that
the Passover, and there witnessed other
miracles and display of His authority IN
cleansing the temple
Ill. The nobleman's request Tvs. 46, 47)a
49, Again into Cana" Where His disci-
ples witnessed the first display of His DOW.
Messiah was confirmed. Very likely az
was again entertained in the home Of Nss
thanael. A certain nobleman." Litefles
lone belonging to the king" Herod ANTI
pas was king at this time and this man
was probably some high officer Of Herod's :.
court. Some think he was Chuza, Herod' q
steward or chamberlain, whose wife, joan
ma, ministered to Jesus (Luke 8:3). The
miraculous healing of the nobleman's som
resembles the healing of the centurion's
servant (Matt. 8:5 and Luke 7:D, but
must not be COMPOUNDED with it. son was
sick. !" Very sick with fever ". So
Disease and death come alike to high and
low. There is misery in palaces as well as
in novels. "Capernaum.o A city on the
northwest coast Of the sea Of Galilee.
Soon after this Jesus made Capernaum
AZ. when He heard. ? Probably
through the reports of those who had BEEN
messed the miracles there. Capernaum
was not more than twenty miles from
Cana, and the news would quickly spread
that Jesus was again come to Galilee-
Went unto-besought." Here we see his
tender affection for his son; he spared no
pains to get help for him. We also see his
great respect for our Lord; he came him-
self. when he might have sent servaDts
and he besought Him, when, as man I'M
authority, some would think he might \
have ordered His attendance. The greats
est men, when they come to God, must be-
come beggars. Point Of death Times
OF sorrow and deepest need lead US to
Christ When no earthly power can aid
US we turn to the One who has all power
and love.
III. Jesus demands faith Tvs. 48-5O).
48. Except We see. Not only did they
demand miracles, but miracles performed
in striking manner. How totally uniik0
80 lately come, who embraced the divinity
Of His teachings without demanding wonl !
ders.. This nobleman came purely abs
sorbed in his dying son, anxious for tha
bodily miracle, but thoughtless Of the df5
vine claims of the Saviour of sinners. TN
is this selfishness of spirit that Jesus now
rebukes. The words of this verse areS as it
were, an ejaculation, a thinking aloud of :
Jesus. He sees that to awaken this mani
He must more than heal his son; He must
to that sign add an additional wonderC +
He must SO heal him as to arouse the man
This discussion of faith was as loss of time
to him. He cannot stop to answer the re-
buke, to argue the case or to defend his
character. 1t is his son alone that fills his
thoughts. But his earnestness shows be-
lief In Christ's power which viii soon
cause him to acknowledge his child's Sa-
viour as divine.
So "Go thy way" This. would be a
great test to the mans faith, but he was
ready for it. sDThy son hveth." The heal
ing is granted, but without Jesus leaving
Cana. Until now the father had believed
on the testimony of others. Now his faith
is to rest on better superior the per-
sonal contact which he had just had with
the Lord Himself. The man believed"
This is an instance of the power Of Jesus
to convince the mind; to soothe doubts;
to confirm faith, and to meet our desires.
Had our Lord gone with him, as he
wished, his unbehef could not have been
fully removed. God always bestows His
gifts in that way in which His glory is best
promoted and our eternal interest secured.
1.-THE word-spoken.H Before this he had
believed in Christ's power to heal, now he
believes in His word and acts accordingly.
". Faith rewarded Tvs. $3.50. 81.
nsa 0s e %st HIM fF0 w Ians t. f fstRSer
was descending the hillsides with trust and
peace, they were ascending them with glad
news" Thy son livetho Meaning the
same that Jesus meant when He used the
same words-that he would recover from
thls sickness, WITH the pfoSpecI OF lengLp-
ened life. 3d. Then enquired he" HA
faith was rewarded. He had believed the
word and received its ful6llment. 1t was
his delight to consider the works Of God, Z
and to note the beauty and harmony be-
tween His word and His work AT the
seventh hour Definite time. definite
work This was either ] o'clock p. M, 1a0sk
cording to the Jewish reckoning. OF q
o'clock p. M, according to one Roman
reckoning The latter explains best why
the nobleman did not 90 home the same
night.
3d. ''The father knew" Everything
was clear to his understanding. 1t WAS
while he was beseeching the Saviour that +
his prayer was answered. though at the
time he knew it not. Mortals can tell
more of what they have experienced than
they can claim by faith. The dligent COM
pairing of the works of Christ with His
words viii be of great use to confirm our
faith. As the word Of God. we'll studied,
will help us to understand His proyidences,
so the providence Of God, well observed,
will help us to understand His word.
s'Himself-whole house Believed in the
divine claims OF Jekus. This is the earliest
mention Of Household faith" 81. "Sec- i
ond miracle" Not the secord miracle
Jesus had wrought (chap 80; v. 45), but
the second in Galilee.