The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-03-29
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR APRIL 2.

oA IL Lays LessOus
1.-The shepherd and the sheep Tvs.
l-6). In these verses Jesus lays the
foundation for the discourse which was
to follow. With the external drapery
Of this parable the hearers Of Jesus
were perfectly familiar. Theirs was
a sh~eep-growing country; docks were
their main dependence.
II. Christ the door Tvs. 49,. z.
Then said Jesus" Jesus was talking
directly to the men who had excom-
municated the former blind man, and
the application of His words was to
them as spiritual thieves Snd robbers.
They had reviled a poor man instead of
protecting him. Verify, verify" This
emphasized the Importance of what He
was about to say. Jesus now proceeds
to explain the illustration He had made
use of in verses 1-6. Il am the door,"
The sheep-folds, Of the East are mere
enclosures surrounded by a wall Of
loose stones with thorn-bushes upon
the top, but usually an efectual bar
rier against the wolves. There is only
n door. "The sheep" True Chris
tians.
o. DClOIe NS. IuOSc VIII SdUuS
pretending to be pastors or guides to
the people. The scribes and Pharisees
claimed to be instructors Of the people;
claimed the right to regulate the affairs
Of religion; whose only aim was to pro-
mote themselves and Cypress the peo-
pie. Thieves and robbers" These
false teachers, who rejected Christ and
who were devouring the sheep. Did
not hear" Many did hear and
follow these false prophets, but
1.-THE sheep those with true spir-
itual insight-detected their hypocrisy.
9. Enter in" Through faith in Christ
we enter into the fold-the visible
church. "Shall be saved" Safe from
the robbers that seek to destroy; safe
from false teachers; safe from the sins
that would ruin; safe from the troubles,
dangers and temptations Of life. go
in and out" We must Ego; in" to trust,
to rest. to think, to pray, before we
can 'go OUT toNdo effective work for
the Lord. Find pastures" Satisfac-
ton for every need of the.soul. 49,
III. The thief and the hireling Tvs.
1919. lla .,.
10. Thief: Any opposer of the
Gospel. "To steal,'' etc. False teach
ers steal the hearts and affections from
Christ. Their heresies kill and destroy
4 all spiritual life. "Life-abundantly'
(R. W Christ is able to give His peo-
pie abundant life. Many are seeking
more" life; what such need is "life"-
the Christ life, the abundant life. ii.
See on verses II, Is. II. "An hire
ling" The hireling is the one, who
labors simply for his wages, with no
love or concern for the work. 1.-The
wolf" The wolf is the enemy of souls
in any of his manifold DISCUSSES. such
as persecution, heresy, worldly living,
or a low standard of morals. Is. Gar
eth not" To him the welfare of the
sheep is nothing; he is chiefly solicitohs
for his W safety, his own gail. and
worldly honor.
Nv. Christ the good Shepherd Tvs.
14-1S). IA. lam the good Shepherd"
Jesus, as the good Shepherd, was fore
told by. God in the prophets, His char
acter was that of a divineIys appointed
shepherd. His purposes, His teachings,
! His works, His miracles, His methods
of work, all were those which must
/ belong to a good shepherd Of Gods
people. Know My sheep" In the
East in q flock of hundreds each sheep
would have and would know its own
name. So Christ knows US, and loves
us as individuals. Am known Of
NINE" There is a mutual affection
between the shepherd, and. the sheep.
There is a mutual affection between the
Father and the Son; one is parallel
with the other. AS the Father knows
the Son, so does the Shepherd know
the sheep; as the Son knows the
Father, so do the sheep know the Shep-
herd. , .... .
Is. Lay down My life" The ORR
entail shepherd must face storms, hard
ships and. dangers for his sheep; he
must find them when lost and must
often fight with wild" beasts and rob-
bers in protecting them. Our Shepherd
gives up His life for US John 3:16;
Titus PA: John 4:10). 16. Other
sheep have L" The Gentiles who were
soon to be brought into His church.
The good Shepherd sweeps the world
with His thought. Here is the univer-
sal relation Of Jesus to sinners of all
nations and tongues. SHALL become
one flock" (R. W One flock not in
creed or name, but in what is far more
essential-one in Christ. One in hes ,
n in purpose, one in the servic' #
God and man.
II. Because I lay down., Not be-
cause I have laid it down, as though
the love of the Father were caused by
the earthly love and sacrifice of Christ,
but because 1 lay it down. That is, be-
! cause Christ's Spirit is one of self-sac-
rifcing love, manifested by, but not
alone embodied in, the incarnation, He
is loved by the Father (see Phil. 20;
Heb. 1:9). Take it again." His ris-
ing from the dead was as necessary as
His dying, for by His resurrection He
secured the fruits Of His death (com-
pare Rom. 4:25). Christ died in order
to rise to a more complete life, and to
raise men with Him. This purpose
evoked the love of the Father Compare
1882: Phil 20; Heb. 1:9l. IS. mo
man" His death was entirely v0lun-
tary. Men killed Him, but He had full
power to escape from them had He
wished. No one imposed upon Him the
duty of leaving Heaven, Of coming to
the world, suffering and dying. He
chose to do it,. that He might save
men. Have l received" While He
did it voluntarily, it was in accordance
with His Fathers expressed will.
This is the divine law of salvation.
Rnre Optical Operation.
One OF the most delicate operations
known TO eye specialists was success
fully performed a few days ago at the
Hahnemann Hospital, in Philadelphia,
Ii rrnS that of nrnffinr the thin Skin