The Tupelo journal., 1906-06-29
JESUS AND THE
CHILDREN
Sunday School Lesson for July I. 1906
Specially Prepared .or This Paper.
Specially Prepared .or This Paper.

verses z, s.
GOLDEN TEXT.-"It is not the will
of your Father which is in Heaven thai
one of these little ones should PERISH
Matt. 1914.
TIME.-Autumn A. D. 20, not long after
his TRANSPORTATION.
PLACE.-A house in C~apernaum, prob
ably Peters.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES. - The
fatherhood of God: Matt. $50, IS, AZ; 90
s, 9; I'll; 23:9; Luke 1872: John 1:12; Acts
2:33; Rom. GA; S:14-21; ! Cor. $50, 2 Cor
s:17, IS; Gal. IA; 1926; 4:4-7; Eph. Is; Heb
l2:5-1O; Jas. III: 1 Pet. 1:2, IA, II: John
81, 2; Rev. 21:7. The characteristics of the
children of God; obedient, humble, etc.
Matt. 1925; Mark 9:33-37; Luke 2:51, 81
9:46-4S; Rom. 5:19; Heb. SIS; l Pet. ia
Christ's loving care for children: Matt
1912; 1871, 1885,; Pills, 16; Mark 1913
Is; Luke 17:2; 1S:15-17; John 21:5. Christ's
care for those whom the children SYM
bolize. Lux 1872; 15:4-7; John 1928
q :15-17; 2 Pet. 3:9. The relation of chill
dren to the Kingdom of Heaven: Matt
1914; Luke Gas, etc. What the child IN
the midst teaches us in resard to ambi'
ton, obedience, trust, humility, etc. Matt
1873, A; 2O:2S; Mark s:a3-S7, AZ; Lux s:46-
IS; John 13:1-16; l Cor. 14:20.
Comment and Suggestive Thought
V. /. AT the same time Or. V. III
that hour came the disciples unto
Jesus" with the question that per-
picked them. Putting the three account
together, the conversation would bs
something like this:
Jesus-As / was walking before you
(as in Mark 10:32) on u way from
the mountain l overheard you earnest
ly arguing among yourselves (for III
their earnestnesS they raised thell
v~oices). What question interested yor
so much?
The disciples are silent (for they
had been %disputing as to who was the
greatest; and they were ashamed OF it.
in the presence of J%esus).
Jesus knew, but it was wise to lead
them to express their thoughts. duke
The disciples, or some of them, then
ask Jesus: who, then, is greatest in
the kingdom of Heaven" Not, What
elements of character make true
greatness? But who shall have the
highest places? (See Matt. 2O:21.)
Jesus-You have utterly mistaken
the nature of the kingdom of Heaven
and what is greatness there. will IL
lustrate.
V. 2. Jesus, then, called a little
child (who may have been playing
near, or attracted to the wonderful,
loving jesus, and set him in the midst
| of them" "set him by his side (R. V.
Luke; and then took him in his arms
(Mark) in loving embrace.
V. 3. AND said" THE task OF
| Jesus is not merely to communicate
instruction, but to rebuke and x
else an evil spirit, therefore he does
not trust to words alone."-Exp Greek
Test. Except we be converted, better,
| as in r. ", turn" And become as
| little children" Not s%inless, for no
| children are sinless. They all need to
be saved from being lost, as we see
a little further on Tvs. II, 14).
V. 4. "Whosoever therefore shall
humble himself ESQ as to be) as this
little child" is in this company, his
natural, u~nassuming self. The same
is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven"
| for he has most of the heavenly spirit.
D. tlOSo SltC1l lCSS1NS oAfS ooSA
little child the representative OF
childhood, shall recognize and welcome
him, shall see in him the beauty of
his character, and take it to heart,
model his conduct after this ideal,
representing all that the spirit of am
bition in it's struggle for place and
power is apt to trample under foot
V. 6. "Whoso shall offend" Better
| R. ", cause to stumble" block their
| way to the kindom of Heaven. The
Greek verb is derived from s~kandalon,
| allied to scandal" which meant orig
| inally "the stick in a trap on which
| the bait is placed, and which springs
| up and shuts the trap at the touch Of
any animal.
V. 7. ''Woe unto the world" Not a
wish, but a l~amentation, a warning, 4
| statement of fact. Because of Of
| fences" Occasions of stumbling" in
the way of becoming good, and espe-
| cially in the way Of children.
V. 8. 9. If thy hand or thy foot Of
fend thee dead thee into SIM, cut
them off" The meaning is, If objects
deal as the right eye, and useful as
the right hand-honors, possessions.
eniovments-stand between us and the
| righteous heavenly spirit, not merely
tempt us, but cause us to fall into sin,
if we are unable to battle with and
overcome the temptation, we must give
| them up rather than the heavenly life
v. 10. "Still the subject is the child as
the ideal representative of the insig-
nifcant; apt to be despised by the am
bitious."-Expos. Greek Test.
VS.. lila. Compare Luke 1891; 10:
10. The point of the parable lies in
the great care for those who are insig-
nifcant and of little value in the eyes
of men.
V. IA. Even So" AS the good shep-
herd did so much for the lost and
| HELPLESS sheep. at is not the will OF
your Father which is in Heaven" He
desires that all shall repent and be
saved.
Practical Application.
The lessons which Christ teaches us
by means of the children are the les
sons we most need to learn, and are
too often apt to be ignored. He is
ever setting the child in the midst, and
all Christians must learn the lessons.
The child symbolizes all men in their
relation to the Heavenly Father. The
child symbolizes all that are poor.
weak, neglected, lowly, in relation to
the church. The church will succeed
in it's work for the kingdom of Heaven