Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-04-03

/ And there are gathered together unto
Him the PhariSees and certain OF the
scribes. who had come from Jerusalem,
2 and had seen that some of his disciples
at their bread with defiled, that is, I'M
washed, hands. 8 (For the PharlseeS,
and all the Jews, except they wash ther
tradition of the elders; and when they
come from the marketplace, except they
battle themselves, they eat not; and many
other things there are, which they nave
received to hold, washings OF cups. ana
pots, and brassen vesSels.) And the
Pharisees and the seribes ask him, why
walk not thy disciples according to the
tradition of the elders, but eat their
bread with defiled hands? And he said
unto them, Wen did Isaiah prophesy of
you hypocrites, as it is written,
This people honoreth me with their lips,
But their heart is far from me
But in vain do they worship me,
Teaching as their doctrines the pre-
cepts of men.
s Ye leave the commandment of God
and hold fast the tradition OF men, y
And he said unto them. Fun wen 40 We
reject the commandment OF God, that We
may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses
said Honor thy father and thy mother;
and, He that speaketh evil of father or
mother, let him die the death: II but we
say, If a man shall say to his. father or
his mother, That wherewith thou might
est have been prof1ted by me is Coroan,
that is to say. Given to God; II ye no
father or his mother: 10 making yold
the word of God by your tradition, which
we have delivered; and many such like
things we do IA And he called to him
the multitude again. and said unto them
Hear me all of you. and understand: 10
there is nothing from without the man,
that going into him cannot detile him; but
the things which proceed out OF the man
are those that defile the man. II And
when he was entered into the house from
the multitude, his disciples asked him
the parable. Is and he saith unto them,
Are We SO without understanding aisoE
Perceive ye not. that whatsoever from
without goeth into the man. 1t cannot
deEae him; 10 because 1t goeth not into
out'into the draught? This he said. max
ing all meats clean. 20 And he said. That
which proceedeth out of the man. tnat
deiileth the man. Il For from within
out of the heart of men, evil thoughts
proceed, fornications thefts, murders,
adulteries, % coverings, weaknesses, de-
ceit. lasciviousness. an evil eye. railing
pride fooiiShness: % all these evil things
proceed from within, and deflle the man.
"a And from thence he arose. and wnt
away into the borders of Tyre and Sldon:
And he entered into house, and would
have no man know 1t; and he could not
be hid. rs But straightway woman,
whose little daughter had an unclean
spirit having heard of him, came arr
fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman
was Greek SYrophoenician by race.
And she besought him that he would
cast forth the demon out of her daugh-
ter. 27 and h said unto her, Let the
children first be filled: for it Is not meet
to take the child's bread and cast II
to the dogs. % But she answered and
said unto him, Ye, Lord; even the dogs
under the table eat Of the children
crumbs. 20 And he said unto her, For
this saying go thy way; the demon is
gone out of thy daughter. 80 And she
went away unto her house, and found
the child laid upon the bed, and the
demon gone out.
81 And again he went out from the
borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon
unto the sea of Galilee. through the midst
of the borders of Decapolis. 81 And
they bring unto him one that was deaf,
and had an impediment In his speech;
and they beSeech him to lay his hand
upon him. 33 And he took him aside
from the multitude privately, and put his
touched his tongue; Sd and looking up to
heaven he sighed, and saith unto him,
Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 80 And
his ears were opened, and the bond Of
his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
sc And he charged them that they should
tell no man: but the more he charged
them, so much the more a great deal they
published it. And they were beyond
all things Well he maketh even the deaf
to hear, and the dumb to speak.
Our lesson this week presents to us
Jesus as the Emancipation 1t shows him
engaged in the work of setting men free
It illustrates and confirms his promise,
''n therefore the Son shall make you
free, ye shall be free indeed" John 8;S6).
1. Jesus Frees Men From the Bondage
Of TrIfies (Vss. f-23).
In this case it was matter of wash
ings, of ablutions. There was a very
strict custom among the Jews of wash
ing before and after meals: and the dis
ciples of Jesus, through hunger or in
advertence; had sat down and eaten a
meal without first washing their hands
So the Pharisees, who were the severe
and punctilious opponents of propriety in
all such matters, leveled the machine
gun of criticism against Jesus for VIC
lating sacred custom and doing his best
to lead the nation astray.
But Jesus always went back of Gus
tom. He always pierced through to prin-
cipIes He told his critics that their
wonderful etiquette was not important, as
they supposed it was, for 1t was not of
divine origin at all, but human Tvs. y,
There was no real reverence for God In
all these washingsI Their conduct in
other matters proved that,-their treat
ment of parents, for example. whom in
the face of the fifth commandment they
could rob of the necessary provision of
old age under cover of this same "tradi-