The Elbert County tribune., 1918-04-05
LESSON FOR APRIL 7.
JESUS SETS MEN FREE.

LESSON TExT-Mark 7:1-37.
GOLDEN TExT-If the son therefore
deed---John 1886.
DEVOTIONAL READING-Psa- 72:1-17
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR
TEACHERS-Matt. 15:1-31, II Cor. 3:17. IS;
Gal. 5:1-H.
PRIMARY AND JUNIOR ToPIc-Je-
sns 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 1881.
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 dme 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-
tions of the people which were the
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
a 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-
plication 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. 14-23)., and four,
the illustration, wv. 24-3D.
1. The Accusation. (vv. 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 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 defilement, as the neglect o.
a ceremonial observance over which
the Pharisees were punctilious, wv. 3,
~. Verses three and four illuminate
certain traditions to which the Jews
adhered tenaciously. Thus exempli-
fed we can see that their ideas of
mans relation to God were largely a
matter of external ceremony. Purity
to them was an outward matter largely
governed by the traditions Of men, ".
~.
II. The Answer ". 6-13). The an
swer of Jesus reveals the very oppo-
site ideal. He begins by calling the
Pharisees hypocrites. A hypocrite is
play actor-one who hides behind
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
poor imitation of the real heart con-
dition demanded of God (Psa. 81 :1O).
Their hearts were far from God, even
though with their lips they professed
to serve him. The love we express to
God consists not in ritualistic worship,
but in doing his will from the heart.
III. The Application, ". 1929.
Jesus takes advantage Of this discus
sion, and, turning to the multitude, up
on whom the Pharisees would bind a
grievous burden of ceremonialism and
falsehood (Matt. 23:4), warns them
that 1t is not SO much that which en-
ters into q man that defiles him, as
that which issues from him ". 15). 1t
seems quite natural that in their per-
plexity the disciples should ask Jesus
what he meant by that. In his reply
wv. 1929, Jesus shows very clearly
that "the issues of life" (Prov. 4 :23),
reveal the corruption which is within.
(See Matt. IL :34. 35; Gen. 6:5; James
3 :10-12). If the heart be not cleansed,
what will it avail If we wash the
hands? What then is the application
for this present day? Clearly we are
taught the danger of lip service with.
out a change of heart. Substituting
good for the best is sin. Forms and
ceremonies are good and have their
place; they are significant for they are
important teaching factors; but they
must not be substituted for q pure
heart. We must beware lest we hide
behind such mask.
There is here also plain teaching as
to Jesus estimate of the Pentateuch
and inferentially of the prophecy of
Isaiah. He specifically calls it 1.-THE
Word of God" Surely we can accept
his estimate as contrasted with the
tradition of the elders or the "con-
sensus of modern thought"
Less talk and more walk,
Less wishing and more doing,
Less preaching and more practicing,
Less organization and more of the spirit.
Finally, we have two Illustrations
as to how Jesus sets men free. (a)
Jesus silence appears to deepen faith
in the pleading Syrophenician woman
". 2430).