The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1917-01-19

The words II see" or "behold" occur
fifteen times in this first chapter. JOhr
was q witness to the Son Of Man. This
term, s.son5 Of Man." occurs eighty
times in the gospel. The words Come
and see" or their equivalents, occur
nine times IN this lesson. This is o
great invitation lesson. 1t would be
interesting II the scholars would tell
what the voices are which say,
Come" and those which are urging
them to "stay" away from God. Beth.
nbara was probably two miles FROM
the fords Of the Jordan. where Johr
baptized. Jesus was thirty years old
Just entering upon his ministry. Tt
bertls Caesar was the emperor and
Pontius PLATE the governor of Judea
!. Tho Son Of Man Attracts Men
wv. 35-S9I moi by LIS ethical teachings
nor alone by his works and his churac
5ter, but what he was and inspired In
others attracted lnen 10 Jesus (John ~: .
~. Crowds still gathered around the
baptizer Who Changed The hearts OF
men as by q SPELL" John, the Bap.
tier, brought terror to men. He broke
through the crust Of self-lighteOuSnes
and Indifference, and compelled men
70 see, their need Of forgiveness and
OF q new life, bur the time had come
when John must step aside, and Jesus
TO inerease," TO begin his ministry.
Fonr successive days are noticed IN
this chapter. Andrew ". AO),. and
doubtless the apostle John, who wrote
ibis account, We're the two disciples
q. 35) 10 WHOM John. lie Baptlzer
s1ealls. 1t IS interesting to note The
dlsErelt liiuds OF men who were ct.
ttactea to Jesus; the aggressive Peter
the reflective Thoalas. Tie practical
Iuies. He h$l what the souls OF
men needed, pnt they followed him.
Aware of thciT questioning, Jesus
tafns to atliem With the question:
hat think Ycf'; the hlst recorded
words OF his public ministry. This is
q grcat testing question Ut every mans
He. What IS tie aim and purpose OF
Your life? Jesus The kingdom Of God,
scofacss, riglitecI sauss. usefulness or
on the other land selfishncss, worlcli.
ness, success, ambition. money, pleas.
pregsTiiese disciples who had listened
: 70 this testimony Of the bamizcr re.
lllied that they wanted 10 know where
lie dyeit, iirWylEs that they would
Ike TO talk with M:n aud discuss the
problems which were arising in their
minds. Three steps Of Christian expe.
arc here suggested. These two
disciples heard, thoT looked and they
followed. Other steps must cone
shortly, but we must first look at Jesus
% the Lamb IL we lrc to follow him
as our,-exaIaplc. w must believe
What he has done (Rom. 8 :2i) before
swe can ask what would Jcgus do or
Try 10 initiate him. II is By following
THAT we demonstrate that wn have real.
" V looked unto him and been saved.
4 1.-the Son Of Man Cares for His
Own. (yy. 39-42>. The Instruction
which they received from abiding with
him impelled them, as we have already
iindicated, to go out and spread the
good news. The greatest act in the
lie Of Andrew was the bringing Of his
brother Peter to Jesus. Jesus changed
sPeter's name, and give him proph.
ecy of his future life and career. lie
saw the possibilities within him,
though it took much instruction, bitter
Experiences, prayer and long abiding
with Jesus before he attained to those
possibilities. 1t is this passage which
gave rise to the organization Of the
Brotherhood OF st. Andrew, which has
adopted, first, the 'Rule OF Prayer"
that of daily prayer for the spread of
Christs' Kingdom among young men;
second, "The Rule OF Service" to
make an earnest effort each week to
bring at least one young man within
the hearing Of the gospel of Jesus
+ Christ. On the morrow Jesus would
so forth to Golilee, that is to the East
side, across the Jordan river, and on
theway he found Philip. It was Philip
who asked tho question, "Sllow us the
Father and OF whom the question
was asked as to the resources suffi.
cient to feed the hungering multitude
(Johr 6:5). John, the Evangelist,
alone tells us about Philip. Philip saw
not only the resources of Jesus, but he
saw union Of the law of the prophets
" 45, in this Jesus, and therefore
could and did invite his brother to
Jesus.
Christianity would soon eli the earth
II Christians would put forth the per
sonal effort here suggested.
Nathaniel ". 49, repeated proverb
Of the country, aCan any good thing
come out Of Nazareth" Philips reply
was: "Gome and see" and to his
imazement Jesus reveals not only his
character but his supernatural power;
whereupon Nathaniel's reply was:
Thou art the Son Of God, the King
of Israel" e. 400. Jesus, seeing his
faith, promised that he should sec stiu
greater things wv. 80, 51).
Everybody in this lesson who found
Jesus seemed to go at once for some.
one else, and though some were scep.
deal, yet their seeptieism ended, even
as Nathaniel's. In following him.
AnMtnAI aEuonu urAno MANA.