The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-04-06
IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
SUNDMSOlOOL
LESSON
By Z. o. SELLERS, Acting Director Of
the Sunday school Course of the Moody
Bible Institute, chicago)
Copyright. 1918. Western Newspaper Union. }
LESSON FOR APRIL 7.
JESUS SETS MEN FREE.

shall make you free, We shall be free In
~deed.-John 1886.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR
TEACHERs-Matt. 1913; II Cor. s:17, IS;
Gal. 5:1-&.
PRIMARY AND JUNIOR ToP1C-Je-
sus and the deaf man.
MEMORY VERSE-He hath done all
things well, he maketh even the deaf to
hear and the dumb to speak.-Mark 1887.
SENIOR AND ADULT ToPIC-Chris-
tian liberty.
This lesson deals with the last Of
those four events which mark the
crisis in the life of our Lord at Caper-
naum. 1t occurred just before the third
period of his Galielean ministry and
the time of his final departure for Jeru-
salem. We have seen what the atti-
tude Of Jesus was toward the law Of
his nation. In this lesson we see his
attitude toward the rabbinical tradi-
tons of the people which were b
opinions Of men and not the law OF
God. Just so many today look upon
the forms and ceremonies of the
church as being verify the law Of God.
Moreover, these traditions were made
q pretext whereby men evaded the
law. So today we find men very relig-
ious and punctilious in their churchly
duties, who fail miserably in their ap-
plicatlon of the moral code to conduct.
The analysis falls into four general
divisions: One, the accusation, wv.
1-5. two, the answer, wv. 6-13) three,
the application, wv. 1929, and four,
the illustration, wv. 24-37).
1. The Accusation. wv. 1-5). The
growing hatred of the Pharisees, led
them to make long journeys from Jeru-
salem that they might spy on Jesus
and find q pretext for accusation.
While they were studying him, they re-
vealed their ideas of the kingdom of
God. They took special notice that
the disciples of Jesus ate without
washing their hands. We must not un-
derstand this to mean so much the re-
moval of deflement, as the neglect of
q ceremonial observance over which
the Pharisees were punctilious, wv. 3,
~. Verses three and four illuminate
certain traditions to which the Jews
adhered t~enaciously. Thus exempli'
fed we can see that their ideas of
mans relation to God were largely Q
, matter of external ceremony. Purity
!, to them was an outward matter largely
governed by the traditions of men, "
A..
u. The Answer ". 6-13). The an
swer of Jesus reveals the very oppo-
el&o gIaoI M ha0fno hu nalIinp the
Pharisees hypocrites. A hypocrite Is Q
play actor-one who hides behind a
mask. Applying the prophecy of
Isaiah, Jesus plainly tells the Pharisees
that they are hiding their true charac'
ter behind the mask Of ceremonial
cleansing. Such play acting is but q
poor imitation Of the real heart con-
; dition demanded of God, (Psa. 81 10Y
Their hearts were far from God, even
, though with their lips they protested
to serve him. The love we express to
God consists not in ritualistic worship,
but in doing his will from the heart.
r III. The Application, ". 1929,
a Jesus takes advantage Of this discus
. sion, and, turning to the multitude, up
q on whom the Pharisees would bind
!. g~rievous burden of c~eremonialism ant
e falsehood (Matt. % AZ, warns then
that 1t is not so much that which en-
n tiers into a man that defiles him, al
q that which issues from him ". 15). l
r seems quite natural that in their per
g plexity the disciples should ask Jesui
what he meant by that. In his repl!
Z wv. 1929, Jesus shows very clearl!
: that 1.-THE issues of life" prov. 4:23)
reveal the corruption which is within
(See Matt. II IA, 80; Gen. 6:5; james
4 3:10-12). If the heart be not cieansed
a what will it avail If we wash tn
!, hands? What then is the application
for this present day? Clearly we arr
= taught the danger of lip service with
: out a change of heart. Substituting
!. good for the best is sin. Forms ant
|, ceremonies are good and have theil
place they are significant for they ar,
= important teaching factors; but the!
\ must not be substituted for a pur,
heart. We must beware lest we hid,
behind such a mask.
n There is here also plain teaching a
to Jesus estimate of the P~entateucl
T. and ~inferentially of the prophecy o
# Isaiah. He specifically calls it 9Th
Word of God" Surely we can accep
his estimate as contrasted with tn
tradition of the elders or the ICON
sensus of modern thought"
n Less talk and more walk,
Less wishing and more doing,
10 Less preaching and more practicing,
Ie Less organization and more OF the spiri
II Finally, we have two illustration
" as to how Jesus sets men free. "a
Jesus silence appears to deepen faitl
in the pleading Syrophenician womaI
". 24-30).
ID We have the cure of the dea