The Yale expositor., 1908-01-17
JESUS AND HIS
FIRST DISCIPLES
Sunday School Lesson for Jan. 10. 1908
Specially Prepared for This Paper

LESSON TEXT.-John 1851. Memory
| verses 35-37.
GOLDEN TEXT.-"we have found
him. of whom Moses in tn. law. and the
| prophets. did write Jesus of Nazareth,
John 1:45
TIME.-The next two days after our
last lesson. The last OF February, A. ID.
"a. or early i'm March Jesus was about
80 years of age
PLACE.-Bethabara Or. " "Bethany'O,
a ford OF the Jordan. probably the
! Abarah ford IL miles south OF the Sea
of Galilee rs miles southeast from Naz-
areth. The traditional place was the ford
near Jericho.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
Among the crowds Jesus walked, to
all appearance a common man. The
methods by which he began his work
and gained his first disciples and fol-
lowers are very suggestive and help
full. From such small beginnings grew
the Christianity which we see to-day,
and the visions yet to be realized
V. 80. John stood, and two of his
disciples" One of these was Andrew
Of Capernaum ". 40), the other, UNI
named, is universally regarded as
John the apostle.
V. SO. And looking upon Jesus"
'gazed at, fixed his eyes on. contem-
plated" (Exp. Greek Test with intense
interest. Jesus as he walked" by
them. Behold" see, an exclamation,
"the Lamb of God" Gas in " 29), the
one, who by his sacrifice, would take
away the sin of the world, the TAX
ing away of which was the bringing in
of the kingdom of God. This was the
work of the expected Messiah, the Son
of God.
What we seek" is the test OF life.
For what port are you steering on
the ocean of life?" That will tell you
the port you are likely to reach. 1t
may be laid down as a general princi-
pie, not only that whatsoever seeketh
shall find, but also that they shall find
what they seek, seek first, as
the main purpose of their lives; not
all they seek for, but of the kind they
seek for. The answer each person
makes to this question both tests and
determines his character and his des-
tiny.
V. SO. Come and see" r. ", Come
and we shall see" A welcome Jesus
| tAAtuuS W all WHO WISH " ~ W MN.
And a promise that they shall not
come in vain. A minister once put over
the bell TO his study door: Don't
touch that bell" Another motto was:
The man that wants to see me is the
man | want to see" And abode
with him that day" The remainder of
the day. 1T was about the tenth
hour" Four o'clock in the afternoon,
according to the Jewish and the usual
Roman reckoning. There is no reason
why they should not have remained
into the evening. even as Nicodemus
came to Jesus in the evening Thus
they could have several hours OF
sweet communion and conversation
with Jesus.
The result, as appears from what
follows, was that they were con-
vinced that Jesus was the Messiah and
were filled with the impulse to spread
the good news.
Abiding with Jesus.-This interview
was not the end, but only the begin
ming of a lifelong abiding with Jesus,
which transformed their hearts and
lives.
V. 40. Zone of the two was AM
drew" A Greek name meaning man.
ly." The other was doubtless John
the apostle, who never mentions his
own name.
V. Al. "He first findeth," or better
as r. ", "He findeth first" The COM
mon version implies that the first
thing he did after leaving Jesus was
to find his brother, which is probably
true. The r. V. implies that both be-
gan Immediately to seek each one his
brother, and that Andrew found his
first. This implies that John also
found his brother James.
V. AZ. Thou shalt be called
Cephas." Aramaic, the modified form
of Hebrew which was the common
language of Palestine, for "a stone"
or rock" which John interpreted for
his Gentle hearers into Greek. "Pe.
tros," Peter" This was a revelation
to Peter and prophecy.
"To draw out the latent gift, to dis
cover the unexpected capacity, to be-
lieve in the pupil even when he does
not believe in himself-this is the
test of the teacher"
v. 43. THE day following" the in
terview of Jesus with Peter. II is
quite possible that that interview was
on the evening of the same day that
Andrew and John had discovered
Jesus the Messiah.
Why Did Jesus Not Remain in the
Wilderness Like John?-(D The
wilderness was not the place for his
work. (2) In Galilee was his home
and that of his followers. CD Here
they could earn their living by their
accustomed work. (4) Here they
could reach their friends and acquaint
ances. 60 The Galileans were less
prejudiced, more open to new Ideas,
less bound by customs; so that IL he
could gain a foothold there, and train
a few disciples, he could more easily
begin his work.
L.. r.