The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-05-04
The
Sunday=SChOO
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM
MENTS FOR MAY is.
Subject: Growing Hatred to Jesus,
Matt. 12:22-32, 3S-42-Com-
nit Verse Al.

nit Verse Al.
GOLDEN TEXT.-"He that is not
with Me is against Me; and he that
%gathereth not with Me scattereth
abroad."-Matt. 1890.
TIME.-Midsummer. A.. D. 2S.
PLACE.-Galilee.
ExPOSITION.-I. The Unpardon-
able Sin, 22.32. Again we see on one
hand the awful power of demons and
On the other the gracious power Of
our Saviour, setting men entirely free
from the power of the evil n ".
22). Satan shuts the eyes and mouth
of many a man to-day, but Jesus has
! power to open the eyes and enable
the dumb to speak. The multitudes
at once saw in Jesus power to open
eyes and lips the evidence that He
was the Messiah. The old Testament
prophets had foretold that the Mes
siah would do these things Us.
29:18; 1878, A.. The Pharisees in
their unwillingness to yield to the
truth had another explanation: it was
Beelzebub, the Prince of demons.
casting out demons. The Scribes and
Pharisees had come down from Jeru-
salem to discover something to find
fault with and accuse Him (cf. Mark
3:2, 6; IL; Luke SIT, FL; Matt.
21:15, 16). They did not accept the
natural and true explanation because
their own hearts we're wicked, and
they were unwilling to give the in
heritance to the real heir John 1913,
20; 1h:47, 4S; Mark 12:O. This
was not the only instance in which
this accusation was brought against
Jesus (Matt. 9:34; John 7:20; S:4S.
So; 1920, If such charges were
brought against Jesus, His true dis
ciples must not expect to escape
Matt. 1O:25). These charges broke
the heart of our loving Lord FPS.
69:2O). 1t was for our sakes that He
"endured such contradiction of sim
ners against Himself" Us. 1913, A..
He did not meet these outrageous
charges with anger and invective, but
lovingly sought to open the eyes OF
those who brought them that they
might not be lost forever. The Phari-
sees had not made these charges d.
rectly to Him, but He had read their
thoughts (Matt. 1925; Luke 11:17).
and by knowing their thoughts had
proved Himself divine. He exposes
the utter folly of their charge Tvs.
rs, 26). AS 1t was not by Satan's
power that He cast out demons, He
| showed them that 1t must be by the
Spirit of God ". %; Luke 1920.
He who could thus put forth the
Ginger Of God" s~d bring Satan's
power to naught must Himself be d.
vine. Satan is a strong man mark
1927; Luke 11:21, 22), but Jesus is
stronger, He has power to bind the
strong man and take his goods out
Of his hands ". 29). The one who is
under Satan's influence is a slave,
bound and guarded by the strong maj
Luke 11:21(. If n Is under the
mighty power of Satan, there Is only
One to whom we a. look for deliV-
erance. There are but two classes, of
persons in the world, those who are
with Christ openly, intellectually,
and those who are against Christ ".
| 800. All sins but one are pardonable.
| No matter how often a man has
| sinned or how grievously, he can find
pardon. if he will only receive the One
who has borne our sins in His W
body on the tree Il Pet. 1924; Acts
1O:43; 1880. The one sin for
which there Is no pardon is the BIAS
phemy against the HOLY Spirit. The
context clearly shows that the BIAS
phemy against the Holy Spirit is the
deliberate attributing to the Devil
what we know to be the work or the
Holy Spirit. One who does this will
become so hardened and so blinded
that he will never come to Christ. and
thus will never find pardon. If any
one will come to Jesus, He will re.
ceive him John 6:37), and If there
fore one does come to Jesus, it is
proof that he has not committed the
unpardonable sin. Jesus statement
is proof positive that the doctrine that
ali men will ultimately be forgiven
and saved (if not in this age, In a
| future age) is absolutely untrue.
II. An Evil and Adulterous Gener.
alton Seeketh After a Sign, 3S-42.
The Scribes and Pharisees next de-
manded a sign, some miracle to prove
that He was the Messiah. They were
not honest seekers, for if they really
desired a sign, Jesus had already
given abundant signs that He was a
! Teacher sent from God (cf. John
1927. Many to-day are asking proofs
like the Pharisees of old, deliberately
shutting their eyes to the proofs that
are round about them on every hand.
Their seeking a further sign was a
revelation of the wickedness of their
own hearts, that they were in an evil
and adulterous generation (39). To
such a generation Jesus Woul give
no sign but the great ell conclu-
sive sign, that of the resurrection.
Incidentally Jesus indorses the story
of Jonah as being actually historic
and not a mere allegory. If the story
Of Jonah being three days and three
nights in the belly of the sea monster
was an allegory, then, according to
Jesus himself, the resurrection OF
Christ is also an allegory. Jesus an.
ticipated by centuries and exposed the
theories of the modern destructive
critics. Infdels have made merry
over the story of Jonah, and the great
! fish. trying to show how impossible
it was for a whale to swallow q man.
The Bible nowhere says it was q
whale (see R. V. margin), but even
if it had, there would have been no
scientific impossibility in it; for it has
been proven in recent years that a
certain species of whale can swallow
a man alive. This objection. like all
infdeI objections, is founded on ig-