The Tupelo journal., 1908-02-28
Jesus Feeds the
Five Thousand
Sunday School Lesson for March I, 1908
Specially Prepared for This Paper
Specially Prepared for This Paper

TIME.-A year after the last lesson on
the healing at Bethesda. Early in the
third year of Jesus ministry, soon after
the martyrdom of JOIN the Baptist. The
Passover this year, A.. ID. %, began April
16. At the time of this lesson the peo-
pie from Gahlee and beyond were on
their way to Jerusalem.
PLACE.-An uncultivated grazing re-
gion on the outskirts of Bethssida duke
S:10), called the Plain of Butaiha. it
lay IN the northeast shore of the, Sea
of Galilee, at the foot of the mountains.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
V. 5. Jesus then lifted up his eyes,
and saw a great company come unto
him" And he had compassion on
them because they were as sheep not
having a shepherd" Mark 6:34l.
Their bodily hunger and disease were
but types of the deeper hunger aud
the deadlier disease of sin.
He showed his compassion in two
ways. Cd He welcomed them and
spake to them of the kingdom of God"
(2) Them that had need of healing
he healed" duke Gid.
The whole world is a weary and
hungry multitude, and Jesus has COM
passion ON them lisa. Abb. SSH, 2;
Nal. 3:17; Eph. pa, 5; John 3:16;
Psalm 103,. etc..
The fields are white.
In every land there are many per-
sons ~unreached by the Gospel so far
as bringing their hearts and lives to
Christ.
In many lands there are millions
who never even heard of the Gospel,
and yet who need the blessings which
Christianity has brought us.
What are these among so many?
And still we ask the same question,
as we stand in the presence of the
evil to be overcome, the work to be
done, the multitudes to be converted
to Christ, the power of the enemy. If,
indeed, these" were all, if there were
no Holy Spirit, no omnipotent Christ
working in and through them, then
our efforts would be but ito dam the
Nile with bulrushes." or irrigate Sa-
hara with a garden hose.
What a little boy can do. A name
less, poor boy, but his record is i'm
mortal. Thank God there is o lad
everywhere! No scene or incident IS
complete to me without a boy in the
foreground. 1t is the glory and charm
of life that he is always in evidence.
The real h~elpfulness of the average
boy is one of the sublimities of the
universe"
He distributed to the disciples, as a
matter of convenience, and as an OBJ
ject lesson both to them and to the
people. The divine gifts were con-
veyed through human instrumentality,
as in the case of spiritual food.
The organization was % that of the
people in companies; (2) the apostles
as distributors of the bread, and work
ers together with God.
There are organized societies in
each denomination for the extension
of the Gospel to those in need at home
and abroad. Every church and each
individual in them should sustain
these organizations to their utmost
ability. The Sunday school should
also give to the great UNCONVENTIONAL
societies regularly, and usually in the
months in which the collections are
taken up in the church. Note also 9TH
er organized methods of extending the
Gospel. rs the Young Peoples Mis-
sionary Movement (156 Fifth avenue,
New York;; the Christian Endeavor
movement; both of which are marvel
Gus INSTRUMENTATION organizations
OF great power and usefulness.
1t is said that the Women's Boards
Of Missions are the most effectually
organized societies in the world for
the spread of the Gospel, excepting
only the Jesuits.
laymen's Missionary Movement
A movement has been started within
a year to organize the laymen of each
church in each denomination for
awakening interest in missions, pro-
viding a means of obtaining from
each layman an increasing noun
given to missions, and thus secure
groups Of laymen to promote cam
paigns of intelligent and generous in
terest in foreign missions, with spe-
cial reference to the men of the
church, the expense of these move
ments to be borne whenever possible
by such groups of men, so that the
funds of the boards shall not be
drawn upon"
The Young Peoples Missionary
Movement, organized by the home
and fOroipp micciO ,arv hoorde &c @ho
Protestant churches of the United
States and Canada, less than five
years ago, represents the best de-
velopment of cooperative educational
work on the part of these boards. Last
year, there were more than 60, 900
young people Systematically studying
home and foreign missions. 1t is pro-
posed now to extend the work which
has been so successful among the
young peoples societies of the
churches to the Sunday schools.
Practical Points.
Jesus saves to the uttermost. not
only reaching to the uttermost depths
of degradation, and to the uttermost
wandering from God, but to the utter
most length of time, and to the utter
most degree Of salvation, the highest
ideal, the highest condition of good
ness and blessedness.
The wonderful supply was based on
that which the disciples already had.
little as this was. (
The missionary enterprise has been
the salvation of the church. A selfish