The Yale expositor., 1908-05-01
OUR HEAVENLY
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Sunday School Lesson for May 3, 1908
Specially Prepared for This Paper
Specially Prepared for This Paper

disciples was spoken the evening before
his crucifXion.
PLACE.-An upper room in Jerusalem.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
The world and everything in 1t, is
bundle of needs. Everything is hun
cry. The ground greedily drinks in
the rain and the sun. The tree
stretches its hungry roots into the
soil and its hungry leaves into the air
Your house is focus for incoming
supplies. of coal, and food, and a
thousand luxuries Every man is hun.
CRY for bread, and air, and knowledge,
and love.
This sense Of need in man Is a
good thing. Without it, there could
be no life, no growth. When a child
is not hungry. its parents justly begin
to fear for its health. When the soul
does not see its needs, it is in a sad
condition.
Perhaps the chief cause of the dis
ciples' trouble was Christ's predicted
departure into the Great Unknown.
See John 1886. All that have seen
their dear ones slipping from sight unr
derstand that one Of the principal hui
man needs and desires is to know
whittier they have gone, and If there
is to be a reunion.
Christ answered that question for
them and for us.
1. By revealing heaven as a place,
his Father house. Heaven is a home
like place, familiar and dear, with
lights shining for us in the windows,
and the Father waiting for US at the
open door.
2. BY revealing heaven as a place
of private, personal abodes. not vast
caravansary. In it ARE many man
sions," 'abiding-places," mansions"
coming from manere, to remain. These
are permanent homes. not transient
abodes like ours on earth.
3. By revealing heaven as a large
place. with many mansions-room for
all. Heaven will contain immense
throngs without being crowded. It's
children will be as the grains OF sand
that bar the oceans waves, or the
stars that begem the vault Of night.
Yet there is room! The many man
sions are not all tenanted."- F. B.
Meyer. ....--.
4. By revealing heaven as a pre-
pared place; prepared, moreover, by
the one best able to make it delight
full. since he is the creator of all de-
lightful things on earth, and thor.
oughly knows our tastes and desires.
5. By revealing heaven as the place
OF communion with Christ That was
the purpose of his going. which sad
dened his disciples-to make ready a
place to which he could bring them
for a fellowship without any more
parting.
6. By insisting that what was left
unrevealed concerning the hereafter
Is 10 be thought of as joyful and not
grievous. III It were not So" if heav-
en- were not this warm. loving, home.
like, beautiful place, 81 would have
told you," would have warned you and
prepared you.
1t Is not enough to know the truth
about God, or be in the way to God, or
even to have the divine life in us; the
human soul longs after God himself.
Our Lord met this need by disclos-
ing the final, supreme truth, that he
was God: IF We had known me, -
recognized my true nature-"ye
should have known my Father also"
For Christ was the complete image Of
the Father. But this answer did not
satisfy Philip. He wanted some mar
velous vision of God such as Moses
saw on Horeb. Perhaps of all the
disciples Philip was the least recep-
tive and the slowest to comprehend
the thoughts and spiritual beauty of
the Master. He was the materialist Of
the company. ]. G.. Green
hough.
Christ emphasized the great truth,
his oneness with the Father.
1. BY reminding Philip of the long
time he had been with Christ-for he
had been among the first disciples
and OF all the evidences he had seen
of Christ's divinity.
2. By specifying these evidences,
beginning with "the words" he had
spoken, the wonderful parallels, the
beatitudes, the model prayer, the SER
mons, the private conversations
words so gracious, wise, and powerful
that they must come from God.
3. BY naming also the works he had
done, the long series of convincing
miracles, showing such a mastery of
nature, disease, and death as only God
could possibly possess.
4. BY a personal appeal: Believe
me" when tell you that / am in the
Father, and the Father In me-" Christ
here turns to all the disciples, for
believe" is in the plural. and urges
them to consider his credibility. Was
he the kind of man to lie? to indulge
in empty boasts? to be guilty Of what.
II false, would be a horrible bias
phemy?
The character of Christ, even more
strongly than his miracles, proves the
truth of his claim to divinity.
n, /. ..orptn. fu tkok 49,.