The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-02-21
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR FEBRUARY rs. =,

Memory Verse, 5-Toplc: Forgtvef8s - I
of Sin-Commentary. ~
/. The multitude gathers to hear
Christ Tvs. I. y. i. And again" Ar
the close of the missionary tour in Cali
lee. Into Capernaum." (which wa
His home or headquarters. After
some days" Some days after the leper
had been healed and the eXcitement
had quoted down. ut was noised."
The news spread very rapidly. I'm
the house." Either the house which
He occupied with His mother and His
brethren (Matt. 4:13), or possibly that
of st. Peter. When Christ Is in the
house, /. Good men will be attracted
to it. Q. Bad men will be benefited in
It. 8. Divine benediction will rest
upon it. a. Benefcent ministries will
flow from it. 2. MANY were gath.
cred" The audience included Pharp1
sees and doctors of the law who had
come from the towns OF Gaiilee, Judea
and Jerusalem duke 5:17l. They had
come to inspect and criticise this newS
Teacher. 1t was like the gathering of
Israel on Carmel to witness the issue
between Elijah and the priests Of Baal.
about the door," There was atgreat
%concourse Of people SO that the house
and court were both filled. Preached
the word" The doctrine Of the Son
Of God. They had come partly to crit.
else and partly out Of curiosity, ana
now Jesus seizes the opportunity to
preach the Gospel. Z
II. A palsied sinner brought to-
Christ Tvs. 3, ~. 9. "Come unto HimK
Access to Jesus seemed impossible.
There were many obstacles in the way,
Should they have waited for. a convent
lent season? No. They must fore
their way to Christ. Bringing one.
He was young for Jesus calls him SON
but he was full grown for it requiredJ
four men to carry him. There are
many so weak and discouraged that
they cannot go to Jesus without assist
ance; we shonld always be ready TO
help such. Sick Of the palsy" ]. 1t
takes away the sense of feeling. 2. 1t
weakens the will SO that when men
would do good evil is present. with
them. 3. 1t produces a fixed condition
of evil. with intense suffering. Borne
of four" Each one holding a corner
of the pallet" or bed, which was mereA
~ a thickly padded quilt or mat. There
was cooperation in this wori. n
could not have done it; it needed four.
In the union Of hearts and hands there
is strength. f.. "The press" 1t
seemed quite impossible for the crowd
to make an opening sufficiently large
for them to pass through. "Uncovered
the roof" Luke say, through the
thing" Broken it up" Oriental roofs
were made of different kinds of mate
rial. Luke says they let this q down
through the "tiling." They appear to
have broken up the thing or thin stof
slabs, sometimes used at this day.
III. Christ forgives sins Tvs. SO. 81
"Saw their faith" Many Of the gifts
of healing and restoration were OBJ
tanned through the faith and prayers OF
the friends Of the sufferers. See Matt.
S:13; Mark $3.50; John $50. Jesus
saw" their faith. Real faith actsJ
Christ always notices and comments
faith. son" He spoke with tender
ness. Matthew adds, BE of good
cheer" Thy sins are forgiven" :R.
W Our first great need is the forgive
ness Of sins. Jesus rightly puts this
ahead of the healing Of the body.
6. Certain of the scribes." The,
scribes We're the leaders of the nation,
the t~heologians. Reasoning in their
hearts," Our word dialogue is de
rived from the same Greek word. 4.
"Blasphemies." But God only" They
rightly understood that all sins arg
sins against God, and therefore only
He could forgive them. See Psa. 51:4.
Nv. Christ heals disease Tvs. SID
s. Jesus perceived" Jesus knew their
thoughts Matt. 90. When Bar Cocay
declared himself Messiah, the rabbinsI
quoted Isa. 11:3, and examined him to
see if he could reveal the thoughts OF
their hearts. He failed and they slew
him. why reason ye?" Matthew
says, "WherefoTe think ye evil?" 3.%
whether it g easier to say" etc. Some
think that in these expressions Jesus is
merely asking which is the easier claims
to make. But He evidently means
more than that and uses the term ITO
say with the farther thought OF do
ing" He then shows that He has the
power to forgive sins by at once neal
ing the palsied man.
10. THAT We may know" "Son OF
Man." This is the title which ChrisfH
most frequently applied to Himself,
sometimes interchanging it with the
"Son Of Cod" This title is never APP
piled to Christ by the writer's OF the
Gospels. Jesus appropriated to Him
| self the prophecy of Daniel Matt. rs!
63, g.; Dan. 7:13). 1t is applied to
Christ more than eighty times in the
New Testament. Power on EARTH
They were thinking Of God as being in
| Heaven. and Jesus calls attention to
| the fact that there is power on. eartf
now to forgive sins. II. Arise"
Here is the test. Christ shows His1
ability to forgive sins by His ability to-
heal. -,
-. "He arose" "Before them ALL"
This thing was mot done in a corner"
|. Christ's miracles were performed in the
most public manner and were never
questioned by those who witnessed
them. Amazed" Luke adds. "They.
were filled with fear" "Glorifed Cod.
They had a high degree OF reverence
for God and were filled with admira-''
ton for His power and goodness. "On
this fashion" Christ's works are
without precedent. He acts independ-'
emily and advises with no one They
had seen three marks of His divinity:
/. Forgiving sins. 2. PerceivingI
thoughts. 8. Healing disease. The
works Of Christ are astonishing the,
world to-day. He is the same mighty.
Ss,yinur and ia still able to forgive. ;,