Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-03-31
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.

I existed in that land. He was moves by
the spirit of the Master when ne left
his home that he might teach the mes
| sage of cleanliness to those who could
by the benefit of medical science pre-
serve the sight of m~ultltudes.
The healing of the blind man created
a sensation among the citizens who a
few hours before had laughed at the
strange sight presented to them by the
blind man as he moved toward Sloan
in obediance to the divine
The changed appearance or the mans
face. that was rejecting the influence
of the glories of the city, temple ana
palaces, that now burst upon his sight
for the first time as he returned see
ing. filled the people with
ment. Some doubted whether he couId
possibly be the veteran beggar. He
settled the debate by stating that I
am he" In answer to their questions
as to how he was cured he gave his
first public testimony to me Master
Jesus had healed him., using clay. Evil
IDENTIFY he had no previous knowledge
of the Christ. He lie not know where
He could then be found. the only
he had been blind. he now could see.
He had no theory to explain his ex-
~perience. He only knew Jesus las a
man. the gracious dispenser or mar
velouS power.
1t soon became known to the reli-
gious leaders how Christ had manifest
ed superhuman power. He mad disre-
garded the Sabbath day II the laws
had performed manual by wet
ting the clay with saliva and applying
it to the blind mans eyes This miracle
was one of seven that the Master per-
formed on the Sabbath day. While
others quarrel about His acts as being
those of Satan the Lord Jesus, when
ever questioned. indicated His use of
the Sabbath day. The Jewish religious
authorities differed as to how they
hould explain the miracle they clam
ed that if it was done on the Sabbath
day God could not have done 1t.
Some insisted that man had not been
born blind. The parents identified the
man as their son and proved his blind
ness, but they dodged the religious
controversy by referring the author
tiles to their son for specific informa-
ton concerning how he was cured.
In the argument that followed be-
tween the Pharisees and the healed
man the latter revealed something of
the cautious spirit of his parents. yet
he affirmed with absolute certainty the
fact of his cure. His professed faith in
Jesus as a prophet, which the Pharisees
refused to believe that would
commission. gave courage to the wit
ness. who appears to have had the best
of the argument. although the Phari-
sees had the advantage of position, cul-
ture and dialectical skill. They ap-
pealed to their theory and he to the in
vincible fact. He pressed home with
p~itiless logic the fact that in his mind
the greatest miracle is not that he
could see. but that they, the religious
leaders of Israel. could not give a sat
isfactory explanation of the Christ
when the ordinary Jew knew well that
God did not hear sinners. They were
beaten in the argument. and. in their
anger, excluded him from the syna-
rl.. h~ no
ginning of the new religious society.
The man who had been born blind
was the first one to be communicated
for his faith in Christ. 1t was not until
after the Lords death that others were
excluded from the synagogue services.
The man had taken risks for the un-
Healer, n Jesus Immediately
risked His life by approaching the
lonely and friendless one. to open up
his eyes of faith with the question::
"DoSt thou believe in the Son of God?"
The mans mind was open and ready
for an advanced step. The Master then
reveals Himself unto him as the true
Messiah. The scene closes showing
the development of the mans faith in
the Christ from being the man called
Jesus to that of a prophet. and, finally,
worshiping Him as the Son of God. The
marble courts of the temple had no
greater glory for the man born blind
than what he saw in Jesus as he wor-
SHIPPED Him with all his heart. His
blessed experience of sight and his bit
ter experience of spite had prepared
him to acknowledge Jesus as the Son
of God. the Light of the World.
The last part of the lesson Is a rec
ord of judgment upon the Pharisees,
who. although they claimed to see
clearly, were made blind by their
p~retudices. pride and desire to make
facts fit into their theories and theo-
logical teachings. They ought to have
been convinced by this miracle and be-
come followers of the Light of the
World. They would ave done so only
they were unwilling to Learn that the
supreme business of life, as Jesus
taught His disciples, is unselfish serv-
ice, and that the time to perform that
service is now. Men need to initiate
the example of the man born blind, who
had never heard of one born blind re-
ceiving his sight, obeyed Christ and
was healed of his affection, courageous
ly confessed Him and then came to wor-
ship Him as his Lord. The man that
follows the Light of the World will not
walk in darkness, but will have the
light of life.