Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-10-29

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the slaughter, and as u sheep before IL
shearers Is dumb, 30 he opened not hi
mouth. lisa. 6:7 X. v.
The golden text selected for Thu
lesson ia apt to convey to US a wronl
idea of the closing days Of our Lord'l
life. Jesus did not die as a sheep II
the shaQbles. His was not the death
Of n slaughtered In weakness. He
was led" that is true: he wal
Slaughtered" but not until his hour
had arrived and he permitted 1t to be
so. His death was a victory, not q
defeat.
In Gethsemane Jesus made his final
dedication of himself to his victorious
work of redemption.
!. The B~etrayIng Judas, w. Al.
SO. In this hour of conservation Judas
enters. guiding the mob into the sa.
cred precincts of our Lords retreat.
1t has been suggested that perhaps
this act Of betrayal was In order to
p~recipitate the Messianic claims OF
Jesus and compel him to an
earthly triumph. II so, was not the
motive Of Judas a selfish one, that he
might profit thereby? The baseness
Of his unholy compact ia soon to be
revealed to Judas and to the world.
The kiss of Judas delivered Jesus into
the hands of lawless men according
to the determinate counsel and fore
knowledge of God. Acts 2:23. This
furnishes US the background, the at.
mOsphere, In which to consider this.
the first Of his several trials.
WIekednsss Of Judas.
II. The e%lunderIns Peter, w. 51.5s.
"a Peter and the sword. w. 5l-55.
Peter had knowledge and zeal, but
used his zeal not according to knowl.
edge. Jesus had warned him. only to
receive the assurance that he was
mistaken. The words Of Jesus here
recorded are q calm assurance of the
fact that these events are not being
controlled by man but by God. The
w%ickedness of Judas is being worked
out In the plan of redemption, II
fighting were the program. what would
Peters puny sword amount to? For
the asking Jesus could command 12
legions Of angels. yet even such a
force could not be used in human re.
demption. One man, the Goldman,
must die, Rom. Sis. Notice the Mas.
ter's acceptance Of the Scriptures, v.
81. II by the sword he were to es-
cape, how could these be fulfilled?
Matthew adds ". 55) that all of this
come to pass" that the words of the
prophets be fulfilled. (2) Peter and
the maid. w. 56-5S. That Peter should
follow Hafar" or at all, Is evidence OF
his affection for Jesus and of his de.
termination to see the end. There
was perhaps an element Of pride also
in his going, for the others had for.
sock him and fed" They seem to
have realized that his enemies would
now surely destroy Jesus and further
that he was determined not to accept
any deliverance.
III. The Biased, Brutal judges, w.
1858. This Ia one OF earth's most
Irregular and illegal trials. The
and the council had one single
determination, which was to find
Jesus guilty. They did not seek to
discover the truth, but rather to car.
ry out the sentence of death previ.
Dusly determined upon.
False Testimony.
A careful reading of what Christ
'eally did say and what these wit.
1essss swore that he said. reveals the
'alseness of their testimony. v. 81.
Zee also John 2:s. II am able to de.
troy the temple of God. and to rebuild
t in three days were not his words.
What he did say was. Destroy this
emple and ! will raise 1t up" He
poke these words Of himself about
hose who should destroy him--his
claimed the power to raise
hat body again within three days.
At this point the high priest did
mother illegal thing In administering
he legal oath, Il adjure thee" ". $50.
'ot alone was the time and place of
trial illegal, but SO was this act
the part Of the high priest. But.
hat all might once more know the
ruth, Jesus replied Thou hast said"
nd adds. "Henceforth ye shall see
he son OF man sitting at the right
and of power and coming on the
louds Of heaven" ". 64). This add.
lon augmented the high priests an
or and gave him argument for the
efinite accusation Of blssphemy. and
pom this charge he makes his appeal
the council. They readily voted a
erdict of guilty ". 66). Once dc.
Jared guilty Jesus is heaped with the
asest Of in~dignities wv. 81. 8S).
Judas with his b~aseness and treach.
ry; Peter and his laundering devo.
on; the disciples and their blind fear
, they fed away; and at the end Of
all. this revelation OF the supreme
epravity OF the rulers: what an ap-
alling combination. see Isa, 81.
With all of this dark background
lere is, however. an evidence Of the
race Of God. Jesus voluntarily and
18th determination, submission and
atience. endured these indignities for
, and with calnness and strength
his onward way to Calvary