The Green Forest tribune., 1917-06-08
INTERNATIONAL. .SUNLlAYS0H)OL
 LESSON CBy E. 0. SELLERS, Acting Director of the Sunday School Course of the Moody Bible Instttute)
 (Copyrght. 1917, Western Newspaper Union.)
LESSON FOR JUNE 10
JESUS cRUcIFIED.

Slns--I Cor. l5:3.
 We are compelled to omit a consider ation of that dark, despicable trial ID Pilates judgment hail. Pilates weak kneed subservience to custom and the cry of the politician is one of the black est pages in history. His scourging oL the man whom he, himself, declareu innocent, is practically withoGt paIaF Tel. After the moeling and the ScouIs ing, Pilate said unto the people ''N2e hold the man" (v. 5, and later in sar- casm he said to the same people. Be hold your king (v. 14). TeacRerS. should emphasize at the beginning and all through this lesson that Jesus suffered and died for the sins of all men, ours as well as those of his own day.
 |. The cruciflxion of Jesus (yy, 1922. It was about nine o'clock in the morning when Pilate gave his infa- nous order that Jesus should be cru cified It was indeed a sorrowful pro- cession which moved itself along the 'Via Dolorosa7 (the Sorrowful Way), consisting of the Roman soldiers, the tottering, physically exhausted man of Galilee, and, Luke adds, "sorrowing women" They took him to the place A of skull, a hill about sixty feet high, at the foot of which was the rock hewn sepulcher in which his body vas { later laid. The place was called ID Hebrew "Golgotha," the Aramaic for skull. Calvary is the Latin for the same On either side of him were crucited the robbers, which was an evident effort to add to his shame as well as a salutary warnffs,to the Pass over pilgrims. Over the CT. Pilate wrote a title on 8 wooden table
 lowing the usual custom, this
 nailed at the head of Jesus, setp forth his crime. The words it b. were, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" as though Pilate would take malicious revenge upon the mob which had made him perform q deed he had i, sought to avoid. Literally this sign meant "This man is the kingliest O all Jews, and see what they have do to him." In response to Pilates qr1 tioning, Jesus said, ''I am the King ofW the Jews" Pilate knew that he was innocent and sought to let him go free, but, rather than incur the hatred of the Jewish authorities, he yielded to their demand for his blood, and became party to the murder of the Son of God. Men today take a part in his cruci- fixion rather than surrender wholly to him, and pay the price of open con- fession. "They crucified him." How these words laid the pride of men in the dust. Human nature is the same today as it was two thousand years ago when the worlds hitterest hate was wrecked not upon a bad man but upon the best man, the p@rfect man, the Goldman. The pain Jesus suf. fered on Calvary was no imagination. He suffered it all for us Qs;R. B ;6), but the physical suffering was not the most severe agony he bore CPS. 69 :20i Matt 27 :46l. The crucifxion of Jesus was part of the eternal purposes Gods love and redemption
 II. The Worlds Darkest Hour ( 23-3O). Each of the Gospel writers fers to the part the soldiers took in casting lots for his garments They were unconsciously fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 22:18, and it was from their number that one of the su preme testimonies to the character of Christ came (See Matt. 27 :54). The first three evangelsts tell us of the throng of pilgrims who passed along the highway from the north, close al hand, and who wagged their heads in opd rnorI-ary of tbn opnuv of the one who was being crucifed.a But there were others who were spec tators of this event, a group of Christ lovers (y. 25). Joseph, Mary's bus band, had doubtless died long befores The sister here spoken of was pro-, ably Salome. the mother of John, tn. evangelist Mary, the wife of Cleophas, who was the mother of James the Less and of loses and also Mary Mag. dalene, the grateful one. Jesus, look. Ing upon this company, remembered the coming loneliness of his mothe and her lack of protection. Turninf to John(, the evangelist, he tenderl commits the mother to his keeping (y F 2~). Of the two malefactors wer, han- ag by his side one gave himself Up to the CDrlSJ. 1ne OtueF uSSh uQ- fepentant. To the one who was Ire sentant, Jesus made ready answer, and held out a lC ying promise of Para disc.
 "It is finished" These are remark. able words. He had finished his suf. q gering; he had finished that for which he came into the world when he bel gan his ministry; he had finished thet mission for which his father h7d sent him into the world; he had finished and fulfilled the prophecies conceri ing his suffering and death he hae completed the work of the redemption the atonement was finished, and tan's power was finished; the Mosa law was finished as far as its claiBp upon the believer were concernt (Rom. 1O:4; Col o:13; Eph. 2:15 a, 16). Outwardly It seemed to be S tan's supreme hour. It was the world darkest hour, but in that hour, Chris on the cross, struck the death knell oi Satan, and won his mightiest victor. three days later when he arose froc the dead. Rowing himself in submis sion to the father, he gave up hi spirit. It was not wreSted from hin by Satan, the cenqueror but he freeF 1 gave it up willingly. He was the c2s queror of Satan (Heb. 2:14; Ck