Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-05-02
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON FOR MAY s
SECURED EXCLUSIVELY BY THE
BANNER FOR IT'S MANY
READERS
ACCORDING TO THE
INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Text of the Lesson, John xiii, LIZ.
Memory Verses, 14-15- Golden
Text, Mark X, 44-Commentary
Prepared by Rev. ID. M. Stearns-

The last evening Of the most wonder
full life ever lived on this earth had
come. The living and true God In
human but not sinful flesh had been
on earth over thirty-three years, thirty
years In the humble Nazareth home
and over three years In His public
ministry. filed with the Holy Spirit
going about doing good and healing all
that were oppressed Of the devil, for
God was with Him (Acts x, 3S). This
was the passover that He had SO de-
sired to keep with them before He suf-
fered duke xxi, 10, 16. The time
had come to which He had looked for
ward before the world was Il Pet. 1,
2O), and, Notwithstanding all their
blindness and unbelief He was still
loving this little company whom He
had chosen to be His disciples. There
Is lot Of comfort In the first verse of
our lesson, with which l have In my
mind Jer. XXI, 3, and rejoice In the
fact that He still loves this bit of His
property, although He knew IL so thor
'oughly before l ever heard Him say
that He loved and gave Himself for
me Gal II, 20). Peter and John hav-
ing made ready the passover feast In
the upper room to which the Lord
Himself had directed them, He sat
down with the twelve, saying as He
took part with them that He would
not eat Of 1t any more nor drink of
n ffTtff ~ h.. win h. IL, Il.
of God should come. Then He insti-
tuted the supper by which we COM
memorate His death till He shall come
again. Some time during the evening
there was strife among them as to
which OF them should be accounted the
greatest-I suppose In the kingdom of
which He had spoken-and He had to
teach them again that lowliness was
true greatness and He was among
them as one who served duke xxi,
7-30; Matt. Xxx, 2S). Verse reads In
the revised version during supper" in
stead Of supper being ended" and
that the devil had already put it into
the heart Of Judas Iscariot to betray
Him. In Luke xii, 1-6, we read that
before the feast Judas had been to the
chief priests and had agreed with them
to betray Him unto them. Yet here
he is at the table with the others as
If he was true disciple and none of
the others had any suspicion that he
was not. See verses 1890.
What desperate hypocrite the devil
can make Of a person when he is al
lowed to take controll IL we allow his
suggestions to enter our hearts he will
soon enter In himself oversees 2-27).
How infinitely patient was our Lord
to tolerate the presence Of such a one
and to wash his feet with the others,
as He seems to have done, knowing all
the time how devil possessed he was!
The key to His great humility, His
grace to do the lowliest things and to
be patient with the devil himself and
to bear such insult and injury as came
upon Him Is seen In verse 3. He knew
who He was, that He came from heav-
en- and was going back home and that
the Father had given all things into
His hands. He was not aiming to be
somebody, for He was the only real
somebody that ever lived. Real great
ness can stoop gracefully to lowliest
service. but 1t is impossible to those
who are aiming at greatness. Only as
we believe that we really are what
God says we are, because Of our being
redeemed by the precious blood of
Christ, can we walk worthy of such a
high calling. We are not aiming to be
children Of God and joint heirs with
Christ, for such We are by our receiv-
ing Him John 1, II; John iii, 1, 2;
Rom. viii, 10, III. But being such by
free grace we should bold ourselves
ready for any service by which we can
glorify Him. His sevenfold act Of
verses 4. ., as He rose from the supper
and prepared to minister to them Is
suggestive of perfect humiliation In or
der to perfect service. This act Of
ministry in the matter Of water for
their feet was within the reach Of any
OF them, but people who are striving
for greatness, as they were, are not
apt to think that any lowly service Is
In their line. Water for the feet was
an act Of common courtesy, as In Gen.
xviii, 4, and implied In Luke vii, A.