Cleveland County herald. (Rison, Ark.) 1888-current, 1918-05-16
SUNDlllIISC[lOOL
LESSON
(By REV. +. b. FITZW AFTER, D. D.,
Teacher of English Bible in the
Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.)
LESSON FOR MAY 1o
JESUS THE DIVINE SERVANT Elk.
ERCiSING KINGLY AUTHORITY.

| Observation-Disclosures 21:12-T: Luke 10:
Is; 20:S; compare John 2:13-17; John 12:12-
Is
PRIMARY ToPIc-Jesus riding into
the city.
LESSON MATERIAL-Mark 11:1-10
MEMORY VERSE-Hosanna; blessed is
He that cometh in the name of the Lord.
| Mark lie
JUNIOR ToPIC-The King entering tho
capital city.
LESSON MATERIAL-Mark 11:1-1o
INTERMEDIATE TOPIC-Jesus and
the temple.
LESSON TExT-Mark 11:15-1s; compare
Luke 2:22-3S; John 2:13-17.
For wHITSUr~DAY LESSON: LES
| SON TEXT-JohI~ 16:7-14.
| GOLDEN TEXT-He shall guide you
| into all the truth.-John 1918.
|. Jesus Officially Presented to tho
Jewish Nation as King (vv. 1-11). This
should not be designated the 'tri-
umphal entry" for 1t was only in out
ward appearances. The shouts were
empty and meaningless. 1t was the
promised King publicly offering him
self to the nation.
| /. The preparation wv. 1-6).
| ID Two disciples sent for the ass
| wv. 1-3).
He told them just where to go to
find it, and how to answer the own
| er'S inquiry. This shows how perfect
| ly the Lord knows our ways. His
matchless gaze beholds all that we
| think or do, by day or night. 1t also
| shows that God uses unlikely and in
| significant things in the accomplish
ment of his purposes. The providing
| of this animal was the working out of
the Divine plan according to Christ's
! foreknowledge.
co Obedience of the disciples wv.
| 4-6).
Without asking why, they go at his
! bidding. The command may have
| seemed strange and unreasonable, but
! they rendered explicit obedience. The
! true disciple will render full and glad
| obedience, no matter how strange or
unreasonable the command may seem.
2. The entry into the city of Jerusa-
| lem wv. 7-10).
(1) The disciples put their garments
upon the ass and set the Lord upon 1t
". y.
This act showed their recognition
of him as their king e Kings 9 -.
(2) The multitude.
Some spread their garments in the
way; others who had no garments to
spare, cut down branches and strewed
them in the way, which was just as
acceptable unto him. To give what we
have and do what we can, is all that
the Lord demands of us. This entry
was in fulfillment of a prophecy ut
tered some five hundred years before
Czech. 9:9).
(3) The Lords action ". 10).
Upon entering the Temple, he looked
around upon all things; but as it was
eventide he withdrew to Bethany with
the twelve.
II. Jesus Exercising His Royal Au-
thority fvv. 12-19). l. The barren fig
tree cursed wv. 12-14). The fig tree
is typical of the Jewish nation. The
fruit normally appears on the fig tree
ahead of the leaves The presence Of
leaves is the assurance of fruit. This
was an acted parable of the Lords
Judgment on Israel for pretension Of
being the chosen people without the
fruits thereof. It indicated the spirit
ual state of the Jews.
2. The Temple cleansed wv. 15-19).
For the various sacrifices In the
Temple, many oxen, sheep and doves
were needed. Many persons came
from the distant parts of the land;
therefore II was impracticable for
them to bring their sacrifices with
them. so they brought money and
bought the animals needed. This priv
iiege the law had granted to them
Deut ID :2426), for the exchange was
necessary. When evil men used 1t as
an opportunity for gain, 1t became an
offense before God. It defiled his
house. He made himself scourge Of
cords, and drove out the money chang
ers. overthrowing their tables and
pouring out their money. By this act
he declared himself to be the Lord Of
the Temple and one with God. That
which God intended to be house Of
prayer for all nations was being made
"den Of thieves"
~. Jesus Authority Challenged wv.
27-33). They challenged him to show
by what authority he accepted the hon.
ors of the Messiah, and who gave him
the authority to cast out the money
changers. This placed Jesus in d.
lemma. He responded by question
which placed them in counter-dilem-
ma.
Since John was his forerunner,
the divinity of his commission rested
upon that of John. They were power
less to discredit John, because the peo-
pie accepted John as such. If they
had accepted Johns message. they
would have been prepared to accept
his. They cowardly confessed that
they did not know. The agnostic Is al
ways a coward. These rulers had no
affection for Jesus, so they rejected
him and sought to destroy him. 1t Is
the same today. The reason men re-
ject Jesus is not because OF intellectual