Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1917-04-25
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson v.-Second Quarter, For
April 20, 1917.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Text Of the Lesson, John xii, 1926.
Memory Verses, II, 13-GoIdsn Text.
John xii, 13-commentary Prepared
BY Rev. D. M. Stearns.


by Rev. D. M. Stearns.
The first part of this lesson is the
record of the so called triumphal entry
into Jerusalem. but it was really one
of the saddest days Of His life. for as
He beheld the city He wept over 1t.
because they knew not what He longed
to do for them duke xix. 41-4D. By
riding upon the ass colt He literally
fulfilled the prediction in Zech. TX, 8.
and the time draws near when He will
Just as literally fulfill the next verse
and speak peace unto the nations and
have dominion over all the earth. Then
shall He make wars to cease in all the
world, and the nations shall learn war
no more (Ps. XVI. 8; lisa. ii. a. Then
shall Zeph. Iii, 14-17. be literally full
filed. THE king of Israel, even the
Lord. is In the midst Of thee; thou shalt
not see evil any more" Then shall all
the world indeed go after Him verse
19). for when the Lord shall make bare
His holy arm In the eyes Of all the ma
tons all the ends Of the earth shall
see the salvation Of our God and shall
turn unto the Lord, and all nations
shall worship before Him lisa. lii, 8, 10;
Ps. xii, 81, %: lxxxvi, 81. All that
He was prevented from accomplishing
at His first coming shall surely be full
filed at His coming again.
The desire of the Greeks to see Jesus
and His reply are all suggestive of the
time of which we have just been speak
ing and of the age Of suffering through
which we are still passing because of
the rejection of Him and His kingdom
and its consequent postponement. He
is the wheat that had to die in order
to bear fruit. and His followers must
be content to travel the same road
verses 20-26i Instead of praying to
be saved from the hour TO which He
had now come. His prayer was, Ia
Their. glorify Thy namer' And the Fa-
Their answered from heaven. Il have
both gloriiied it and will glorify IL
again (verses 81. PSI. To the people
the voice sounded like thunder. but to
Him the words were clear verses %
30,. Put with this the other two testi-
monies of the Father from heaven
This is my beloved Son. in whom
am well pleased" and, This is my be-
loved Son, in whom | am well pleased:
hear We Him" Matt. iii. IL; xvii. 81.
and may we become so well pleased
in Him that the Father may be well
v,lo in, yhan tyla
God. which is the one thing we are
here to do Il Cor. X. 81; Pet. iv. III.
Because the rightful King is rejected
the devil continues to be the prince Of
this world. the god OF this world. and
the whole world lieth in the wicked
one verse 81. xiv 80: xvi. IL: IL Cor.
iv, 4; John V. 10. r. W. Having to
contend with such adversaries as the
world. the flesh and the devil. we can
better understand His sayings: I'VE
shall hear of wars and rumors of wars:
nation shall rise against nation and
kingdom against kingdom, and there
shall be famines and pestilences and
earthquakes in divers places. Sse that
We be not troubled. In the world. trib-
ulation in me. peace" (Natt. xiv. 8, 4;
John xvi. 49,: Luke xxi. 25. 26l. The
past two years of these things in an
unparalleled degree convince us that
we have entered upon the closing years
of the times of the gentiles. and. while
His followers have always been ex-
pected to be ready to lay down their
lives for His sake. In these perilous
last days. when the food Of the church
is being so thoroughly leavened and
the world In so many forms Is being
welcomed by the processing church. it
is necessary to be very. very peculiar
in the eyes of many and absolutely re-
fuse to listen to any discrediting of
any part Of the Word Of God. or to
making light of anything taught there
In. or to have any fellowship with any
thing in the church which is purely of
this present evil age and not Of God.
We must learn to say with new en-
phasis. ITO me to live is Christ" and
all that is not directly from Him and
for Him we cannot touch. 1t must be
fully and always mot I, but Christ"
mot /, but the grace Of Cod the self
life reckoned dead that the life Of Je-
sus may be made manifest dPhil. |. 21;
Gal. ii, 20: Cor. XIV. 10; ii Cor. ivl.
Bear with me for saying 1t SO often
But when we consider that He never
pleased Himself. never sought His own
will or His own glory. how can we fol-
low Him except by similar renuncia-
ton of self? Anything like preferring
the praise of men more than the praise
Of God cannot be tolerated verse 49,.
and desire to be thought original in
anything we say or do is wholly ruled
out by the fact that He said only what
the Father told Him to say. and all
His works were wrought by the Fa-
Their in Him oversees 40. so; xiv. 10).
We may not expect all people to be-
heve all we say. even though the mes
sage lie wholly Of God and He in some