Evening star., 1924-09-13
Sunday School Lesson

the great emancipation of humanity. He
offered freedom through His atoning
blood to those who were ensaVed
through the cordage Of sin. He has be-
slowed His power upon men, VINO nave
been imprisoned for preaching the gos-
pei, so that their bonds became a
source Of blessing. Bunyan, shut up In
Bedford Jail, had a vision of Christians
progress. Judson slept peacefully in
heather prison upon pillow contain
ing the translation of the Bible into the
Burmese language. All who have suf-
fered persecution for righteousness have
had the blessing of freedom that our
Lord gives to all. His gospel has been
the source of the political, social and
religious freedom that characterizes the
present civilization.
Promises Practical Help
His third plank promised the re
covery of sight to the blind" Jesus
pointed to His restoration of the sight
of the blind as a proof of His Messiah
ship to the disciples Of John. The open
ing of mems eyes. that they might see
the grandeur of this world is nothing
to the opening Of the eye Of the soul
go that the beauty and glory of the
Lord can be seen. Those to whom He
has given spiritual vision have a mis-
sion to enlighten them, whom the god
Of this world hath blinded the minds of
them which believe not" We can hasten
the hour when they shall see Jesus If
we tell men how our eyes were opened.
His fourth plank promised help ito
them that are bruised" by the calling
chains of sin that cut so deeply and
sorely into the soul. The gospel an
tiseptic heals such wounds. The for
giveness of sin does not remove the
consequences of our transgres ssions.
1t will help US to mend our broken
lives. 1t will make our scars testify
to Gods power.
His fifth plank brought on crisis
and resulted in His being driven out
of Nazareth. His declaration con-
cerning the day of the Messiah was
welcomed but He when He claimed it
was fulfilled in Himself and that He
was the hope Of His nation, it result
ed in His being rejected by them.
Driven From Nazareth.
Prejudice kept them from accept
ing His claims. The power of fa-
miliarity prevented them from seeing
in Him the Messiah. They misjudged
Him by His family and trade. The
Master understood the cause of their
attitude. He cited the familiar prov
erb that He used at Jacobs well
in reference to Judea. If He had
claimed to be great man or assert
ed that He was genius, they would
have accepted His word. His claim
to be the Messiah. and a nonpolitical
one. started a controversy. Christ
met their de emands that He should
demonstrate His power among them,
as He had done in other places. by
citing the example of Elijah and
Elisha, both of whom performed their
he hay
He defeated them in debate.
Stung by defeat in argument, they
sought to overcome Him personally
by driving the Master from Nazareth.
In their frenzy, they led Him to the
brow of the hill, outside of the viii
lage limits, determined to destroy
Him. They could not carry out their
plans, for His hour had not yet come.
The Master overawed them and
passed through the ranks of His re-
jcctors. Nazareth had a great oppor-
tunity opened to it, but when they
refused to accept Jesus. He passed on
to give His message to others. The
miraculous demonstration of His
power ought to have brought them to
their senses so that they would have
recognized Him and recalled Him.
He had come to His own and they
had refused to accept Him so He
went on about HIS mission ScnoidTS
differ as to whether Nazareth ever
had another opportunity. No man
ought to allow Jesus to draw near
unto him without accepting His mes
sage of good news and His redemp-
tion that alone can save men and ma
tions. A new era of peace and good
will awaits upon the acceptance of
the Lord Jesus and the practice of
His practical principles by all men.