The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1910-03-31
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson I.-Second Quarter, For
April 3, 1910.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

Text of the Lesson, Matt. tx, 1884.
Memory Verses, %, 29-GoIden Text,
Mark tx, 23-Commentary Prepared
by Rev. D. N. Stearns.
This lesson gives an account of four
different acts Of healing upon five diff
ferent people-the rulers daughter.
twelve years Of age; the woman twelve
years sick, the two blind men and the
demon possessed dumb man. Matthew.
Mark and Luke record the first two,
but Matthew alone tells Of the others.
All are equally easy to Him to whom
nothing is difficult when there is conf
dence in Him. The principle Of verse
% holds all through, According to
your faith be it unto you But we
must always remember that these
were samples of the kingdom which
was then at hand, but BE iG,:e of His
rejection postponed till He shall come
again. AS understand it. we cannot
expect kingdom manifestations iii this
age of His rejection except as He may
But as the age draws to a close. which
it is rapidly doing, we may look for
greater signs as the kingdom Of
| heaven again draweth nigh May we,
like Stephen, be full of faith and Of
| the Holy Ghost. full Of faith and
power
The other accounts of the first two
| hoalings are found in Mark and
Luke viii. There we are told that the
mans name was Jairus; that he was Il
ruler of the synagogue: that he fell
down at Jesus feet and besought Him
greatly, for his little daughter was
lying at the point of death. and she
WAS his only daughter Jesus arose
and followed Jairus. and SO did His
disciples, and much people also fol
lowed Him and thronged Him. Con-
slider the anxiety Of the fathers heart
and his expectation, for, although he
| had not heard the words II will come
and heal her" viii. y. was not the
Lord Jesus Christ with him, and
was not that assurance enough for
Jairus?
But in the throng that pressed upon
Him there was one desolate heart--a
woman who had been ailing for twelve
years and. having spent all that she
| had upon physicians, was nothing bet
tered but rather grew worse. She.
having heard of Jesus. had such conf
dence in Him that she said within her
self, IF l may touch but His clothes
| shall be whole" She accordingly
pressed through the crowd behind
Him, touched the border of His gar
ment and was instantly healed of her
illness of many years.
Most gratefully and gladly would
she have slipped away without trou
| bling Him further, but He had more
| for her than she had dared to expect
| He had Il personal word for her heart
full of peace and assurance. Before
she could get away Jesus. knowing all
| things, asked who touched Him, for he
knew that virtue had gone out of Him.
| The disciples We're surprised ut His
question. seeing so many touching Him.
| but the woman came with fear and
| trembling fell down before Him and be-
| fore all the people declared why she
| had touched Him and how she had been
| Immediately healed Then came to her
| the added. unexpected blessing in His
precious words to her heart: "Daugh-
ter. be of good comfort thy faith hath
made thee whole. Go in peace and be
Whole of thy plague" Instead Of the
unrest she might have had because
she had, as it were, stolen a blessing,
she had His own word Of peace"
Then she might have had some symp
toms of 4 recurrence Of her trouble.
and the devil would be sure to be on
| hand with some unrestful suggestions.
| but now she had not only an expert
ence, but His infalliEle word that she
| was healed, and had He not called her
daughter" and wasn't that worth
while? Let all secret believers confess
Jesus Christ publicly and see what ad
ditional blessing will surely come to
them.
But all this delay has seemingly
made Him too late to help the little
girl, for before He reaches the house
messengers come. saying that she is
dead. AS soon as Jesus heard it He
said to Jairus. Fear not. believe only,
and she shall be made whole" duke
viii, JW. And quickly it is even SO. and
she is alive and we'll and eating like
any well child. Only the father and the
mother and Peter, James and John We're
present at theraising to ife-just seven,
including Jesus and the little girl, the
unbelieving scorners all without, Let
us be most surely believers, knowing
the certainty of all His words duke
i, Ia. He is never too late. and moth
ing is too hard for Him who created
all things.
Two blind men follow Him into the
next house, into which lie enters, beg
ging Him to have mercy on them. His
one question was, believe We that I
am able to do this?' Their affirmative
reply brings His According to your
faith be it unto you," then His touch.
and they see like other men; yet. I'M
like many, they see Jesus, their healer.
and start forth to spread abroad His
fame.
The next case is a dumb demon pos
sessed man, and by a word he is heal
ed. No wonder that the multitudes
said. at was never so seen in Israeli"
for one like this had never been seen
before. Whether we touch Him or He
touches US or speaks the word. His
power is manifest. May we all touch
Him in the consciousness of our help.
lessness and need, as the long suffer-
ing woman did. and not indfferently,