The Washington herald., 1914-01-03
SUNDAY School LESSON
January 8, 1914.
JESUS AND THE CHILDREN
LEssoN-sfark ix.nl: I. Is-iG
GOLDEN TEXT=l Peter '. 8
~ @. CAMPBELL MORGAN. o. D..
Ths Greatest Living Ninistsf-

WOuio not tnat any man snouio hHou
II. 2D For he taught his disciples. ant
said unto them, The Son Of man II
delivered up into the hands Of men ant
they shall kill him; and when he II
killed, after three days he shall rise
again fs9 But they understood not thu
saying. and were afraid to ask him.
| Cs0 And they came to Capernaum
and when he was in the house he asked
them, What were ye reasoning in the
way? cd But they held their peace
for they had disputed one with another
in the way, who was the greatest tSo)
And he sat down, and called the twelve
and he saith unto them, II any man
would be first, he shall be last of all
and minister OF all. (36) And he took
. little child. and set him In the midst
of them; and taking him in his arms,
he said unto them. CID Whosoever shall
receive one Of such little children In my
name, receiveth me: and whosoever re-
ceiveth me. receiveth not me, but him
| that sent me.
(ss) John said unto him, Master. we
| saw one casting out devils In thy name
and We forbade him, because he fol-
lowed not U.S. (ss) But Jesus said. For
bid him not: for there is no man which
shall do a mighty work in my name,
and be able quickly to speak evil OF me.
(40 For he that Is not against us Is for
us. (fD For whosoever shall give you a
cup Of water to drink, because ye are
Christ's, verify i say unto you, he shall
In no wise lose his reward.
d9 And they brought unto him little
children that he should touch them: and
the disciples rebuked them. 90 But
when Jesus saw II. he was moved with
Indignation. and said unto them. Suffer
the little children to come unto me: for
bid them not: for of such is the king
dom Of God. Q0 Verify l say unto you.
whosoever shall not receive the king
dom of God as q little child, he shall
In no wise enter therein ds) And he
took them in his arms. and blessed
them. laying his hands upon them
The Narrative.
In order to the Interpretation OF the
opening declaration Of our lesson that
they went forth from thence. and
passed through Galilee: and He would
not that any man should know it." We
need to remember the things Immediate
ly preceding. These were the crisis at
Caesarea Philippi, the TRANSPORTATION ex-
perience. and the casting out of the
demon from the boy.
From this time our Lord began to
give Himself to the special instruction
of His disciples. and Mark thus records
His desire for privacy. and declares this
to be the reason of that desire. IL Is
evident that on the journey into Galilee
His coming death and resurrection con-
stituted the subject Of His teaching. On
the journey in the intervals OF such
teaching they had been arguing as to
who was the greatest
On their arrival at Capernaum, know
ing that this had been so. the Lord
called the twelve to Himself. and talked
to them about this matter. He first laid
down in simple and explicit terms the
law of greatness in His Kingdom as He
said, IF any man would be first, he
shall be last OF all, and minister of all"
Then by q remarkable action He gave
them an illustration Taking a child.
He first set him in the midst OF the
disciples, and then taking him in His
own arms, declared that to receive such
a child in His name was equivalent to
receiving Him; and moreover. that to
receive Him, was to receive the Father.
1t was in this connection that John
told Him that the disciples had forbid
den one whom they had found casting
out devils in their Masters name. be-
cause he followed not them. II is not
easy to decide whether the interruption
is evidence that John was not paying
attention to his Lords teaching. or that
It was intended as a confession of fall
troduced the answer of Jesus with the
word But" which would seem to sug-
gest that il was intended as a rebuke.
He then proceeded to show them what
their attitude should be towards those
outside their own circle, who were
doing mighty works in His
name Then apparently returning to
the child. perhaps still in His arms. He
uttered some Of the most striking words
as to their responsibility about such lit
tie ones, and their consequent RESPONSE
biIity concerning their own conduct
After these things He returned to
Judea, and Pharisees came to Him con-
cerning the matter of divorce. Having
replied to their inquiry, children were
brought to Him, and repulsed by the
disciples. 1t Is important that We OBJ
serve that Mark tells us He was moved
with Indignation, an indignation caused
by the disciples mistaken idea that the
children ought not to be permitted to
Him.
Having rebuked them, and in the
words of rebuke uttered the great char
ter of the children. and having declared
that only as a man receives the King
dom of God as a child can he enter
therein, He took the children In His
arms, and blessed them.
The Teaching.
In our lesson there are two lines Of
The first has to do with the true
character of discipleship. and the sec
ond with the place Of the children In
the Kingdom of God
By His action and His words the Lord
declared that within His Kingdom the
true condition OF greatness is that hu-
mility which is capable of receiving
children. Unless these words are to be
robbed Of all their meaning, the test
abides until this time a severe one; and
many who by all the standards of men
occupy positions conspicuous within the
Christian Church are in the mind of
the Master far from being the greatest
therein.
We learn, further, that the condition |
of influence Is that of the cautiousness
which fears to cause a child to stumble. |
the particular paragraph Is
not included in the lesson, it is well to
notice that the teaching which declares. |
'whosoever shall cause one of these |
little ones that believe on Me to Stun |
Die" goes straight on until 1t is COM
oleted by the declartion, Salt is good;
,ut IL the salt have lost its saltness, |
xherewith will ye season IL? Have salt
mother"
'or entering the Kingdom is that of
is reception with the simplicity Of a
.hild.
The place Of the children He revealed |
,y two actions. and the teaching con-