The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1924-09-04
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1924.
JESUS HEALS A NOBLE
MANS SON.
THE FAITH OF JESUS.
John 4:4b-54.
l am the way, and the truth, and the life
John 4:6.

The contrast between Jesus and
others is in His stupendous faith in
His own ability. In any other it would
appear as the most colossal case of
swell-headedness upon record, but in
Him it is accepted as entirely natu-
raj. Take the Goden Text and hunt
for any trace of modesty in the re-
mark; the self-faith of it is simply
staggering. Other cases are as vivid:
Il am the door" rules out every other
entrance in the most daring style i'm
aginable. AS he faced sickness of
the greatest deadliness it was with
out any hesitancy inbelief that it must
go at His command. Physical forces
were the same and He simply ordered
the servants to pour water in and
pour wine out with the assurance that
it would happen. Facing His own
death He declared, 81 shall rise
again." Turning to dying thief He
said, This day thou shalt be with Me
in Paradise" Looking out at the Ro-
man world and the sure end of Jeru-
salem that He was certain would fol-
low its rejection Of Himself He an
nounced, when the Son Of Man shall
come in His kingdom" Either colossal
egotism or colossal power marked all
the attitude of the Man of Galilee
And Luke says that He came in the
power of the Spirit into Galilee as the
result of Samaria.
But the sting of defeat was in His
heart tho His faith had been restored
by the draft of living water that He
had had from woman's well. A
prophet hath no honor in His own
country" was the phrase He used to
explain what had happened during
those months of intense wooing of
that City of His desire. But He
would still lay siege to it from
another angle and had come into His
land Of Beginning Again. Galilee the
turbulent, the cosmopolitan, might
furnish what Judea had refused and
He would be baked if there were any
chance and if there were none then
thru even His death He would break
a way. They had seen the skurrying
crowd of money grabbers at the feast
and had been delighted at the sight so
that many a chuckle had greeted the
stories about it as it had been told
and it had lost none of it's piquancy in
the telling. So the reception was as
sured even among those who did not
know Him personally. But it must
have been something of an ovation in
that home of His relatives in Cana
where the incident Of the wedding
would be so we'll remembered.
THE FAITH IN JESUS
The news of His arrival spread
quickly enough and reached the ears
of watchers in a Capernaum home.
John is a master at the use of con-
trast for he places Nicodemus side by
side with the woman Of Samaria and
Herod who had imprisoned John be-
side this official of his who may have
been Chusa of his own household.
Just now there was sickness and bit
ter anxiety over his son. Everything
that was known had been done only
to see the little face grow more
pinched and the flush of fever mors
pronounced. But Jesus was within
reach and perhaps-what chances we
will take for those we love! 1t was
something that had not been done but
might He not be able to bring help?
Could father tear himself away from
that tossing form and from that de-
lirious cry? Why not send instead of
go? But He could drive faster than
a slave. And tho Is heart protested,
haste was the important thing as he
flung himself into his chariot and be-
gan the dash into the hills for a
twenty-five mile ascent to seek Jesus.
What his thinking was during that
wild ride only those who have fought
off death from some dear one can
know but it was dusty and haggard
face and figure that flung itself at the
feet of Jesus and with tears begged
for boon for his boy. He had no
other hope and felt that it was des-
perate chance but he would not fore
go that; "Come down and heal my
boy" And Jesus was brusk enough
to make one imagine that He had no
intention of relieving the anxiety of
the petitioner Except We see signs
and wonders We will not believe"
offered little comfort to the seeker.
But it was the basis of the friendly
reception for Galilee had the Jerusa-
lem report upon which they credited
Him with wonderful power. And this
Official wanted Him to travel to Ca
pernaum and use some incarnation
that would relieve the sick. And
Jesus might have gone, probably
would in any case, but He was daring
the man to climb up out of the pit
of signs into the open air of faith. He
had travelled far from the cynicism of
Herod's court, would he travel far