The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-15
International SundaySchooI
 Lesson
First Quarter. Lesson VII. Feb 10, 1soe
 John fY. A3-H4.
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First Quarter. Lesson VII. Feb 1e, 1908. John iv, 43-54.
 Jesus Heals the NObleman's Son. GaIilee was a populous, commercial, and comparatively unconventional ois- trict It was more in touch with the great world of art and traffic. An in- fusion of foreign elements in It's popu- lation and it's distance from the seat Of national ecciesiasticsm had liberaiiz- Ing influence. All tended to make it favorable field for Jesus's ministry. Here He spent most of His time. work ed most of His miracles. preached most | of His sermons.
 One obstacle stood in His way. He was Himself . Galilean. He diagnosed the case when He said prophet is not honored in his own country. Famtl- iarity with him breeds contempt of him. But Jesus had forestalled this by His brief career at Jerusalem. His honor was anexotic transplanted from Judea to Gaiilee. The Galilean pilgrims brought His fame back with them. So He was received"
 At the very scene of His first miracle came an importunate appeal for the working Of another. A fathers heart, wrung by anguish, forgetful of rank and station, makes it's pitiful appeal, What recks # if he is kings ofhcerf Shall he stand upon any ceremony
 
 Thus early in His career Jesus an- nounces a Fundamental principle which shall guide Him in the use of miracu- lous power. His signs and wonders are not wrought to extort faith from oth- CTS. On the contrary, 1t shallSbe faith that extorts them from Him. The faith tn e nobleman shows in his journey of twenty miles, and in the language of his appeal. The strength of his faith is further manifest in the way it en- dures an unexpected and severe test. Healing in absentia was not so much as dreamed of. Yet, when Jesus spoke the word the man believed" and went There was no dubious hesita- ton. or further appeal for, Jesus's own presence.
 But on the morrow the nobleman'a. faith was destined to sweep out in a wider circle to embrace the Miracle worker in a new and diviner office When. by comparison of hours. 1t was discovered that the moment of the child's recovery was identical with that in which Jesus uttered the word of power, 'aThy son liveth," then the nobleman believed His Divine nature and Messiahship. In this faith his whole house shared. So we have the lovely spectacle of the first converted family.
 It has been affirmed by several au- thorities that St. John had a philoso- phy of his own in harmony with which he wrote his Gospel. He certainly had a method in the selection of incl
 dents. miracles, and discourses which he recorded. In this instance of the nobleman, a story which bears the
 stamp of evident truth. the evangelist gives in epitome the history of the gen. eration. growth. and ffuitage of faith.
 There is the sense of imperative need, the patent snsuf1ciency of the human resources, the quest of power, the cry of the soul uttered in action, 70, that I might find Him of whom Moses and the prophets have spoken" The mira cle is a notable instance of not quench- ing the smoking flax. It has been said that Jesus lit up the little spark of faith in the breast of the noblernan into a clear and enduring flame, for
 the light and comfort of himself and | his house.
 Jesus had just been sgnominiously thrust out of Nazareth. His own city. It must have been, humanly speaking, | gratifying under the circumstances to have this recognition of His power on ! the part of the nobleman of Capernaum. In a time of unfaith here was one who
 showed faith in Him. It is true 1t was
 not as high type of faith as that | shown by the Samar:tans. It required
 a sign for its confirmation. The nobIe-
 ness of the Samaritan faith was that | it required no other sign but Jesus's | self However. it was possible for the | Galiiean faith to evolve into q type similar to the Samaritan. And it did. The sweet humanness of this narra- tive captures the heart. It Is a voice | of nature. One can not but exclasm, ''It must be trueI The nobleness of
 the nobleman is iK his affection for his son. His trouble gave him feet. He could not be rebuffed
 "The Goliean Spring" is the apt re- signing of the opeing of Jesus min | istry in the north country. He sought and saw His opportunity. He sowed His seed with tireless and tragic diI- | igence. The harvests of that sowing
 are still being reaped.
 The Teachers Lantern.