Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1918-01-10
LESSON FOR JANUARY IS
JEsUe aEelMs Hls WORK.
.EssoN TFxT-Mark -.

LESSON TEXT-Mark 1:12-22
GOLDEN TEXT-Repent ye, and believe
in the Gospel
TEACHERS Matt. 4:1-11; s.fs-22. Luke 4:
434-3s
PRIMARY ToPIc-Jesus chooses four
helpers
MEMORY vERsB-come ye after me-
Mark LII.
INTERMEDIATE TOPIC : Overcome
temptation.
MEMORY verse; Cor 1913.
SENIOR AND ADULT TOPIC-IIow Je-
sus faced his task.
!. Introduction wv. II, 13). Mark de-
votes little or no attention to the early
incidents of the life of Jesus, and only
suggests the events Immediately fol-
lowing his baptism. Indeed, for the
record of the Temptation and the Ser
mon on the Mount, we have to look to
the other Gospel writer's. In teach
ing the lesson we must not, however,
overlook making some reference to
these two outstanding events in the
life of our Lord.
II. John the Baptizer wv. IA, 15).
This section not only disposes Of John
as having been put into prison, but
Immediately plunges Jesus into his
public ministry. Jesus entry into
Galilee was part OF his connection
with John, inasmuch as he withdrew
himself to that place (See John ALB,
and made Capernaum his headQuar-
tiers Matt. 4:13). The message here
recorded as proclaimed by Jesus was
the identical summons which John the
Baptizer had uttered. Jesus speaks
of this new kingdom as beirg already
come, referring, of course, to his own
person and ministry, but in its actual
establishment it was not really ''at
hand" until he shed his blood upon the
cross and the Holy Spirit descended on
the day of Pentecost, when there was
opened the fountain for sin and I'M
cleanliness for the world at large.
III. His Helpers Called. wv. 1920.
In this record, we have the call of
four of his helpers: Simon, Andrew
his brother, James and John his
brother, the latter being the sons of
Zebedee. Luke tells us @ :3) that
Jesus was teaching. Those called
were certainly at work and God al
ways issues his call to those whose
time and effort are being occupied,
even though perhaps for selfish pur-
poses. There is no place for an idler
in the spiritual kingdom This call
was to "e0Gc 70 after mo- ". 40,
the purpose being that they might he
come FISHERS of men, Notice he be-
gan upon the common, familiar ground
Of fishing, something mutually and
thoroughly understood, and led Them
from that to spiritual truth. In this
we see a good pedagogical hint and
wise suggestion to the preacher and
teacher. viz, that we must begin to
teach our lessons through the medium
of past experience and of present in
terests. Simon duke $50 appears to
have been a doubter when Jesus
called him. Nevertheless, he was will
ing to try Christ at least once, and so
at his word, he let down the net. The
evidence of obedience is found inverse
10, and Matthew (4:S) also Luke Is:
11) tells US that when they left their
nets, "they left ALL
w. His Helpers Trained wv. p,
22). The result Of this call was (see
v. 21) that as they went into the city
they entered into the synagogue,
where Jesus taught them. The infer
ence Of course, Is plain. Whenever
God calls man into his kingdom, he
begins at once to teach him the du-
ties and responsibilities of the king
dom. Notice that in becoming fishers
of men, then began close at home.
Brother sought brother. This was not
the first time that Jesus had called,
these brothers. (See John l 40, Al.
In the call, as accorded by st. John.
we are led to believe that John (the
lnmeltioned disciple) first sought an
interview with Christ. The question
Of harmonizing the various calls which
Jesus gave to his disciples is an in
teresting one ana one which has given
rise to a good deal of discussion. The
one recorded in the first chapter Of
John occurred in Judea; this one oc-
Cured in Galilee AS to whether this
is the one recorded in the fifth chap
ter of Luke, there seems to be gen
eral opinion that it is not the same,
though we can with profit compare
the two callings in teaching this les
son. The probabilities are thai there
were three calls: First, the one re-
corded in John / 30 AZ; second, that
one recorded in Matthew 4:18 %; and
the third and last was that which oc-
cured just before their appointment
to become apostles, the one recorded