The Republican., 1920-11-11
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.
Especially Prepared for The Republi-
can BY DR.. U. s. Wright.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER Ia


The Power and Authority of Jesus.
Matt. 8, 9.
And Jesus went about all the cities
and the villages. teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the pospel
of the kingdom and healing all manner
of diseases and all manner of sickness.
THE STIRRED COMMUNITY.
Recently Piedmont, w. Va, has been
the center of excitement that reached
far beyond its borders in every direction.
In the tabernacle where Mrs. McPher-
son was preaching there was the con-
stant coming of the blind, deaf, para
lyzed, tubercular and many more seek
ing her prayers and amounting for heal
ing. Men threw away crutches, per-
sons carried up the steps ran down
them and the crowds grew large and
the excitement more intense. Special
trains were run, trucks were loaded
with eager throngs, trolley cars were
hlled to their capacity and all the talk
was of the wonderful things happening
among the diseased. And this is the
day OF hospitals and multiplied agen-
cies for healing that have done so much
to relieve the sick of the horrors con-
nected with hurt bodies. Put the same
appeal into land where these were un-
known and where the simplest remedies
waited upon superstition and one may
gage what must have been the excite
ment In Galilee as Jesus made His way
thru her cities and towns preaching the
Gospel of the Kingdom to be sure but
there was far more talk of the cures he
wrought than of the message that they
were meant to carry. Matthew gath
ers up in these two chapters events
running thru seven or eight months of
the year % and one can see the deepen
ing hatred of the rulers, the deepening
popularity among the people and the
deepening sense of messiahship on the
part of the Disciples. Each day brought
some new revealing of Christ's power
and increasing multltudes thronged Him
as this year of popularity passed so that
there was only need that it be noised
about that He was IN any place and
Immediately there was an open high
way to the spot so that there would be
no time even to eat bread on the part
of the Twelve.
THE SCOPE OF POWER.
Christ is revealed as the Master of all
realms of life. In the storm which
swept the lake with sudden and un-
exampled fury the Man of many tasks
lay sleeping while the Disciples fell in
to utter panic. His first task was with
them to allay their fears and bring
some order out of the confusion that
more than the tempest threatened the
safety of the boat. Then He rebuked
the winds and the sea and they hushed
into stiffness. Small wonder that the
hardy fishermen were amazed! The
Master of all natures forces was on
board and the things that He had made
obeyed His word. On the far side the
sea when He reached shore the shrek
of madness was the first greeting as
the wild, nude figure rushed toward the
boat. Nothing is more terrible than the
mind possessed by utterly alien ideas
that makes the person more demon than
human. There can be no question of
Christ courage after His facing such
an onslaught unmoved. His word re-
stored the rightful owner to possession
of the human house and showed Him
Lord in every field of that realm which
we dub psychic today. Once more cross
ing the lake He was pressed by crowds
as the call of the distressed Jairus was
answered. Coming into the home where
death had preceded Him was forced to
release it's spoil and child radiant with
life received food from the hands of the
rejoicing parents. Disease, danger,
demons or death mattered not at all to
Him who held them all under His con-
troll and could overcome any of them
with word. There is no realm where
He is not master and Lord.
THE USE OF THE POWER.
Jesus always subordinated the con-
troll of physical forces to spiritual pur-
poses. Healing and all other manIfes-
tations of power were Incidental to
the far greater work of revealing the
Fatherhood of God expressed in sacri-
fetal love for all men. He refused to
pose merely as healer tho this must
have been one of the causes for the
crowds that followed Him. He did
plan for the saving of the world. He
did build an organization for propaga-
ton in the convinced Twelve. But
healing a few lepers left the scourge
untouched. Setting the impotant man
to carrying his bed thru the Jerusalem
streets on the Sabbath did nothing for
the five porches that still bore their
weight of pain. Stopping funeral
procession in Main put no grave-digger
out of business. Peter and John found
a man at the Temple gate lame from
birth and he was but one among many
untouched by the healing hands of
Jesus. Healing was not Christ's chief
business tho He seems to haye given it
freely and generously withoutE Econdi-
tions as opportunity presented. y 1t was
mans life that He sought to lift and
bless, his whole life included in the
body but as with that Capernaum par
alytic the cure was used as a witnes for
far greater power than bodily healing
HIS commission to the church included
the ministry to the whole life of man
and we have seen greater things done
in this field than Jesus ever attempted
for we have banished whole disease and
freed thousands from their clutch where
Jesus healed few cases merely. And
it is where the church has gone that
health has come. That there is ma
terial agency has no bearing in the