The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-10-04
LESSON FOR OCTOBER q
JESUS WALKING ON THE sE.
LESSON TExT-Mark s.S-a.

good cffeers II 10 /, be not afraid
thew han. r
The miracle of the feeding Of II.
i've thousand marks a crisis IN Il.
hfe OF Jesus. John 6:15). The human.
hy OF Jesus is shown in that as M,
as he had performed that miracle n
FIRST sends away his disciples, than
sends away the multitude, while NJ
departs into a mountain to pray" Ia
pray the prayer of Thanksgiving. "a
pray for strength to Withstand thIs
new temptation, fJohn 6:t4. 15,. a
pray for those whom he had feS.
and surely TO pray for his chosen ones
that they might understand him ana
his mission.
Jesus had taken his disciples into
the mountain for their own good
MARK s:S1) and now he sends them
away hest they yield to the adyice
the opportunities, Of the crowd and
consort with them In their desire h
make Jesus a temporal rather than
spiritual king. Such a course would
have precipitated matters. But In hs
solitude as he prayed, Jesus wa
watchful of his own.
He had sent them into tn. storm
to avoid a greater danger, wosld he
not watch over them? So with many
q testing in our lives. They seem
severe. but how little we know Of the
greater danger we have missed. he
saw ". 49, their distress long before
they saw their relief (v.49). Jesus
knew the need of prayer. Jesus knew
the need of solitary prayer as he must
pass this crisis, SO 1t was that while
he fingered In prayer they were d.
tressed tin "the fourth watch,"-nM
daybreak. Once before mark i9
they had been with him In a great
storm while he slept. Now they an
alone, but Jesus is not asleep. Though
seemingly alone yet he was helping
them through prayer Heb. 7:25l and
when the proper time arrived he went
when the rescue Il Cor. 1913. Tbs
helplessness of the disciples and the
stress of the storm is heightened when
we consider the fact that these wers
fishermen Injured by exposure to such
storms. To further test their faith
he made as though "he would have
passed by Them" ". 49,. So Il %
that testings and sometimes such ca
tastrophes as that Of the Titanic
would teach man his real weakness
before God, But though verse 4S re
vealed a dark situation the dawn q
help was at hand.
NJ Considered Test.
II rs not strange that they did na
recognize Jesus. He often comes \
us In ways we do not at first recos
nize, in ways that at first terrify Us
but he does not leave US long tn sus
pense. We read, he "straightFay
rescued them 1T Is !; be not afraid.
he them first who 4
that Is near, 1T is l." They recognize
the tones Of his familiar voice ano
then they were ready for his words
OF confidence, BE not afraid 80 Goa
speaks to us In the hour Of ou
darkest trial. saying 10, am Fln
you always;-"be not afraid
From the parallel account By NAV
thew (Matthew ID: 1886 we fead O
Peters attempt to walk upon the Y
ter. His rash and Ill considered les'
Of the reality of Jesus presence Inea
we see him as he too compares nun
self with the angry storm and tshils
his eyes of Of Jesus begins TO sihh
Peters sharp, piercing cry; his eieai,
definite, appeal is at once answelsa
and Jesus leads him safely back inN
the boat l
How different is the picture ohcs
Jesus was in the boat, and nov soos
they reached the goal toward Wnio1
they had been struggling, tJohn VI
2t). If any n is at sea, II any W,
is f~ruitlessly toiling against VIVA sls
wave, only let them take Jesus y
board and soon they will reacn
safe landing place.
The disciples were amazed a@
their hearts were hardened wv y
BY, and this even after the creat"
miracle of feeding the five thousanu
why so? 1t is evident that s"s
those nearest to him did not app,s
bend the true meaning of this mifsVs
on the contrary their hearts were na
e. g., blind. This is gwen
a reason for their amazement 10 ~
of this miracle, at his vi@o
the storm. This would not ""
occurred had they as yet fully aler
stood the feeding of the multitude y.
are told that the next day Jesua y
braided the multitude because o. ~
very same lack. John 6:22, eye
the disciples did not follow ha
for the loaves. still they had nos
tered into that deep spiritual oon0's
tion of Jesus that would have ss,S
them from amazement at any o.
acts.
Spiritual Application.
The real Interpretation OF onfis
miracles is not that we are
amazed at the material hianifesua
but that we are to 9 the spifH4'
and application.
1t was a different reception
received when they reaohed ueha.
saret wv. 1856. There he Is recos
nized at once. There they foVs
him with their sick ones ana nm \,
with a few deft strokes shows y
picture OF a vast deal Of healing. ~
Is disappointed, for we read 'na
many as touched him were ma
..r
In this lesson we see Jesus arr.
Ing his disciples. We see the disc'p
Dbeying that direction even thousr
led them into contrary winds.
see him as he walks into them DIms
.l RntfE NIL ~