The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1910-04-15
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL,
Lesson III. - Second Quarter,
For April II, 1910.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES,

Text Of the Lesson, Matt. vi. 1.1a
Memory Verses, 4, 5-Golden Taxt
John v, 36-con1mentary Prepared h,
Rev. .. NJ. stsarns.
After the commission Of last lesson
both Jesus and His disciples departed
and went through the towns preachips
the gospel and healing everywhere
See verse l. with Mark vi. ~. 1s. Ipke
*, 6. We may imagine the result from
such a passage as Matt iv,. d. In
Luke vii, 1918, we read that after
Jesus raised the widows son to life
the people glorifed God. saying that q
great prophet is risen up among us
and that God hath visited His people
And this rumor of Him went forth
throughout all Judea and throughout
all the region roundabout. And the dis.
clples OF John showed him of all these
Things. This explains how. according
70 verse Of our lesson, John heard i'm
the prison the works of Christ. we
learn from chapter xiv that John was
| put In prison because he had fearlesslv
rebuked sin in high places, danger
GUS thing to do IL ones own comfort is
considered when the powers that be
are In league with the devil So MI.
caiah, son Of Imla, found IL when for
speaking the truth he was put in pris.
ON and fed on the bread and water Of
affiiction. Zechariah, son of Jehoiada
was stoned to aeath because he testi-
ned that the people were In trouble be.
cause they had forsaken the Lord III
Chron. xviii, %, 26; xiv, 20, 2D. The
hatred OF the world. however. is not
strange, for the devil is the god of this
age. and he is the great adversary Of
God and man. But when one is suffer.
Ing for righteousness sake and our
God' whose we are and whom we serve.
seems not to hear us and sends no de-
llverance then 1t becomes very perplex-
ing to any but the strongest faith. See
Joseph as slave and prisoner, Martha
and Mary with sick and diving broth.
er and John the Baptist seemingly
neglected and forgotten. In reply 10
Johns question by his two disciples
Jesus in that same hour wrought many
miracles and said to the messengers.
"Go and shew John again those things
which ye do hear and see" Cyerses
S-6; Luke vii, 20, 21). He also said as
much as "Do not be offended. John. If
1 DO not come to see you, and do not
think 1t strange IL / do not release
you. We must remember His words |
In John xvi, 1-3; lisa. |, 10.
The messengers from John having
departed. Jesus said to the multitudes |
concerning John that he was the one |
foretold by Isaiah and Malachi as the |
messenger who would prepare the way |
OF the Messiah lisa. xl, 8; Nal. fiji. II. |
He also said that among them that |
are born Of women there hath not |
risen a greater than John the Bap- |
list (verset Ill. We remember that |
Gabriel said. "He shall be great In the |
sight of the Lord, he shall be /
filed with the holy Ghost, he |
shah go before Him in the spirit and /
power Of Elias" duke /, 15-1D-not /
great in the sight of men, but ready to
testify or suffer or die that God may
be glorifed. In connection with Johns
greatness our Lord added, HE that
is least In the kingdom Of heaven is
greater than he" (verse III. This has
perplexed many because, perhaps, they
have not noticed that Jesus did not
say "the least in heaven" but the
least in the kingdom Of heaven. or
kingdom Of God luke VII. 2S). which
means the kingdom to be set up on
this earth when Jesus shall be king
over all the earth. When the kingdom
comes John himself shall be greater
than he ever was when here i'm humllia.
ton. The least in the glorifed body,
like Jesus Himself q John iii, p, shall
be greater than the greatest here in
mortal body. There is more light for
US upon this in due time. but let us con-
slider the greatness OF being like Him
and SO continually behold Him as to
be more like Him now.
The kingdom suffering violence (verse
l2) evidently refers to the violence
which John was now suffering and
which Jesus, the King, was soon to
suffer at the hands Of the rulers. See
Luke xvi, 16, r. v. They killed the
herald and also cruelty murdered the
King. They they violently pressed
against the kingdom and caused its
till He shall come again
n His glory. Stephen summed 1t up
n his discourse when be said, ''Ye
tiff necked and uncircumcised In heart
ind ears, ye do always resist the Holy
Q Ghost-as your fathers did, so do We.
Which OF, the prophets have not your
athers prosecuted? And they have
lain them which showed before Of the
coming Of the Just One; or whom We
AVE been now the betrayers and MUIR
lerers'' (Acts vii. 81. 52).
John the Baptist came in the spirit
md power OF Elijah, and had they re-
eived him and the Messiah whom he
leralded the kingdom would have
ome (verse IA; but, having acted as
hey did. the real Elijah must come to
lerald the return of Christ In glory
Matt. xvii, 1913. Let those receive
t who can.
They said that. John had a demon,
nd Jesus they called glutton and a
and a friend OF publIcans
nd sinners. We must not therefore
hink Ii strange if we receive similar
reatment and are numbered with trans
ressors. reviled and prosecuted for
lis sake. We must consider Him who
injured lest we become weary. He
n 1