Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-03-17
BY E. F. WALKER. o. o.

NA0 Aoiu ueeply spiritual lesson,
In the latter part of the sixth chapter,
was too strong for His hearers, who re-
garded them as hard sayings, and ex-
pressed the opinion that no one could
receive them: the idea of feeding on
the Son of man. of eating His flesh and
drinking His blood! Even His. disciples
those who We're numbered among
His followers-so said, and from that
time many of them went back and
followed Him no more. Certainly they
were devoid of true spiritual life and
dtscernment: and this is the explana-
ton of their detection. To the twelve
the Master said, "wil We also GO
away| Had they, so done, He would
not have changed the course of His
ministry; for He consulted not man,
but the will of His Father; and He in
quired not as to what man wanted, but
what He knew man to need. Simon
Peter. speaking for the twelve, respond
ed, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou
hast the words of eternal life" And
this apostle made clear and strong
confession OF the faith and assurance
that Jesus was the Messiah and the
Son Of God. Yet Jesus pointed out that
even among the twelve there was one
ward betrayed Him for money.
EXPLANATORY
Time; A. D. 80.
Place: Jerusalem.
Then spake Jesus unto them, say
ing, ! am the light of the world:-The
word for world is cosmos, and means
the organized world, frequently refer
red to the race of man; and this is
tNrI af II
the light which lighteth every man
that cometh into the world. He that
followeth meas a disciple, learning
of Him, and as an imitator. walking
even as He walked-shaiI not walk in
darkness,-Of\ death, sin, ignorance,
under the dominance OF the prince Of
darkness in the way that leads to the
outer darkness-the blackness of dark
ness for ever-but shall have the light
Of life. Living light in company with
the living water and living bread.
When ye have lifted up the Son Of
man,-The word for lifted up generally
is used in the sense of exaltation; but
John uses 1t only in the sense of cru
cifixion-lifting up on the cross. And
doubtless this is what Jesus had in
mind, as afterward. speaking of the
death that He was to experience. He
calls it lifting up from the earth. The
master all the while knew that He was
to be put to death by crucifixion; and
He knew that this was in the DEGREES
Of God, in order to the salvation OF
man: even so must the Son of man
be lifted up" he said to Nicodemus;
and He knew that the Jews would be
responsible for that lifting up-then
shall ye know that am he,-That is.
the Son of man, which designation the
Jews gave to the Messiah. The pas
sion of Jesus on the cross furnishes
the proof in the fulfillment of pro-
phecy, and even in the divine demean-
or of the crucified, that Jesus is all
that He claims to be. The Roman Of
ficer had to acknowledge as he lookol
upon Jesus on the cross, Certainly
this is a righteous person; truly this
is the Son of God'-and that do moth
ing of lf;-Jesus was ever in
sistent that He was not independent of
the Father in His own life and official
mission-that He came not to do His
own will, but the will of Him that sent
Him-that His doctrine, His work, His
life, Himself, were one with the Father.
And, as not before, this conviction
would be forced on the people after
they had done their worst with Him.
Indeed their lifting of Him to the cross
of Calvary was to prove to His exaI-
tation to the throne high above all
principality and power and every name
that could be named-but as my Faith
err hath taught me, speak these
things Thus the word which He
spoke was to be magnified as the doc
trine of God; these should be recog-
nized as greater signs of Christ's divin-
ity even than the mighty works which
He did.
And he that sent me Is with me: the
Father hath not left mo alone;-It is
a mistaken notion that men have in
their Interpretation of the different
dispensations of the Father, the Son,
and the Spirit--that one of the divine
persons with draws and leaves to the
other the dispensation of truth and
grace, and power. While the persons
Of the Trinity are ever distinct, they
are never separate. The Father sent
His Son into the world, but the Faith
er was ever in the world with His
Sonl the son sends His Spirit into the
world but He declares to His own,
10, am with you always. even unto
the end of the age'--for do always
those things that please him.
Then Jesus said to those Jews which
believed on him,-We must always
consider to whom the Lord speaks, If
we are to have a proper understand
ing Of what He says. The same words
spoken to one class of persons may
bear a different meaning when spok-
en- to another class. Here He is speak
ing directly to the Jews which believ-
ed on Him because of the word only,
not to a class who We're convinced by
His wor6s--whose faith was founded
on outward evidence-lf ye continue in
my word, then are ye my disciples in
deed.-A true believer is one who ac-
cepts all that Christ says as the truth
of God, and who conforms his conduct
to that truth, and who continues to
f.sU1- y