The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-04-12
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson ll.-Second Quarter, For
April IA, 1912.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

WbS NSFSSSy Gsg &o-GgiuoN
Text, Mark ii, 27--commentary Pre-.
pared BY Rev. D. N. stsarns.
The record OF today's lesson, two
Sabbath day incidents, the disciples
plucking corn and a withered hand
restored in the synagogue, is found in
Matt. xii and Luke vi, as well as in
Mark, SO that it must concern Him
not only as the Jewish King rejected,
but also as the perfect servant, and as
the Son Of Man, to whom all things
will yet be subdued. To understand
Him and His words and works we
must consider Him as Nathaniel spoke
Of Him, "the Son Of God, the King Of
Israeli (John !, 49), as 'the King Of the
Jews whom the wise men sought
Matt. ii, p, and as the Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Ever
lasting Father, the Prince Of Peace,
who viii yet sit upon the throne OF
David and whose kingdom shall know
no end" Qsa. tx, 9, z; Luke 1, 80, 33).
The late DR.. Weston in his Genesis
Of the New Testament" says that the
Jewish Sabbath was the one peculiar
and distinctive ordinance Of the ma
ton. Other nations practiced circum-
cision and had temples, offered sacri-
flces and performed religious rites, but
the Sabbath was the Jewish national
flag. In it they claimed a peculiar rela.
ton to God as their Creator, Redeemer
and Rest, and, IL by this mans treat
ment OF their Sabbath they are to be
deprived Of their distinction from other
nations, what is the use of being Gods
people? Considering this, it is not so
surprising that the immediate occa-
sion Of the determination by the Jew
fish rulers to put Christ to death, as
stated in all the gospels, was His rela.
ton to the Sabbath. He claimed to be
greater than solomon or the temple
or the Sabbath (Matt. xii, 8, 8, 42), but
they would not so receive Him. They
honored Him with their lips, but their
heart was far from Him Qsa. xxx, IS;
Eek. xxxiii, 81; Matt. XIV, z, 81. They
had a form Of worship without any
power. Jehovah, whom they professed
to worship, was in their midst, and
they knew Him not.
Matthew says that as the disciples
passed through the corn6elds they
were hungry, and Luke says that they
rubbed the ears OF corn in their hands
and did eat. Our Lord Himself was
an hungered on other occasions, as re-
corded in Matt. iv, 2; XXI, Is. Concern
ing Israel it is written that He suffered
| them to hunger Deut. viii, 81, but it
was to prove them and teach them.
The wicked are ever watching the
righteous and seeking to slay them
ops. xxxvi1, 32), and here they are
finding fault and ~oondemning the dis
cipIes, and the Lord, too, because
they knew Him not, nor the Scrip
lures, which they protested to eyer-
ence. He referred them to their own
Scriptures, saying, fHave We never
read what David did when he had
need and was an ~hungered2 Verse 25)
There is no word Of condemnation
here for David and his followers. He
came not to condemn, but to show
mercy, hence His quotation from the
prophets in Matthew's record, II will
have mercy and not sacrifice" Matt.
xii, z; Hos. vi, 81. The rest OF the
verse In Hosea says that the knowl-
edge Of God is better than burnt offer
ing. The primary idea In sacrifice is
that God gives to us, not that we give
to Him, for In the first sacrifice the
Lord gave to Adam and Eve redemp-
ton clothing which He Himself pro-
vided, a foreshadowing OF Christ low
ing the church and giving Himself for
it, purchasing it with His WI blood.
We cannot give anything to God nor
offer Him acceptable service until we
have received mercy from Him as the
One who saves sinners. Before ever
sin entered this world God set apart
one day in seven as a time when man
might be free from all work and give
himself up wholly to becoming ac-
quainted with God, for there is moth
ing that can compare with knowing
God Ger. tx, %, 24). The Lord Of the
Sabbath gave to man in His own Inn
age a day on which he might special
" bless him by the revelation Of HIM
self as the source Of all being and
blessing and life and love and peace.
The man in the synagogue with the
withered hand was strongly suggestive
Of the condition Of the nation and Of
their inability to do anything for God
until they would accept Els mercy.
In the record, in Matt. xii, IL, II, He
uses the illustration of the necessity
OF rescuing a sheep from a pit, even
on the Sabbath day, but He speaks
Of the owner Of the sheep doing this,
saying, what man shall hare one
sheep" not see a sheep. He loved
these Maynard sheep. He came to give
them life. He was as ready to heal
them as He was to restore that wither-
ed hand, but they would not let Him,
and the hardness Tor blindness-margin)
OF their hearts was a grief to Him.
Note the cry from His heart concern
ing them, Eve would not" I'VE will
not,'' "Tf thou hadst known CMatt.
xiii, 81; xii, 3; John Y, 40; Luke
XIX, Al, ~. Instead Of having any
thing like a penitent spirit, a conyic-
tion Of sin, their proud hearts so rebel
led against Him and His teaching
that they went away and took counsel
how they might kill Him. For Els
love they gave Him hatred, they knew
\ Rva-- 80 AN---..A1 -mL A--M ..~LX-