The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1926-01-14
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
Prepared Especially For The Repub-
LEANS Readers by Rev. U. S.
Wright, ID.
tCIIMDAX La NIIIARY IL 1Qo6

ever DeIleNetH OH Hill SiiOuiu iiOt
perish, but have eternal life.-JOhn
3:16.
THE MEETING.
Under the stars and the open sky
two men met. There is nothing so
strange about that; it has happened
in every century thousand times,
both before and since. How does 1t
become worth while to study this par
ticular case? 1t does not all lie in
the skill of the teller tho that has a
place. Johns passion was the accep-
lance of his Lord. His purpose was
the winning of verdict from the
Ephesian hearers and DR.. Robinson
suggests that the Gospel is made up
of sermon notes from the preachers
addresses. Certainly the story of
that night told fifty years after its
occurring loses nothing of vividness
by the passage of years. Swift, sure
strokes bring the figufes into bold re-
lief. Youth and age are there; Juda-
ism and Christianity face each other;
form and spirit stand opposed; assur-
ance and hesitancy contend for mas
terry; man and God bring their high
est to that roof picture, and the re-
sulting story has dominated the
thinking of all the years since.
Jesus had been busy about Jerusa-
lem and tho it may or may not have
included the cleansing of the temple
"a thing about which scholars differ,
since John uses it as much for per-
suasion as for history, and could in
that case have mentioned the one of
the other Gospels-it brought Him
into the notice of the Jewish leaders
in such fashion that he was the ques-
ton mark in the conversation of the
day. War talk was everywhere, and
the Jews could not tell where to place
this enigma from Nazareth who had
refused to join the revolutionists
| there but whose present attitude to-
ward the seething popular discomfort
with Roman rule was not determined.
Coming on top of the Baptizer's flu
ror there was eager questioning as to
what course He might take. 1t was
something of this inability to place"
Jesus properly that brought this
night scene.
THE MAN.
Nicodemus embodies the best of the
products of the Jewish faith among
its scholars. Fisherfol and an ideal Is
raelite had given testimony concern
ing Jesus; now it is an aristocrat, and
so that John is picking his witnesses
from all classes. For all classes were
impressed by this Son Of Man. Nico-
demus took the scholars time for the
interview, and the semi-darkness I'M
der the pale stars and silvery moon
invited condolences. He was counting
an uninterrupted hour and one that
held only himself and his Host. Cour-
teous and perhaps bit patronizing
toward this unknown starter of
tongues, one can only conjecture his
reason for coming. Probably it lay in
the region of his interest in the mat
tiers that might affect the welfare of
the city and nation and he wanted to
get a cline" on what Jesus had in
mind. At any rate with his fine old
face, his gray hair, his dignity and
courtesy, he presents an unusually at
tractive figure. One is surprised at
the bruskness of Jesus. There is no
attempt to meet courteous phrase
with courteous phrase. Bluntly He set
him outside the Kingdom and told him
he was not even in sight of it. And
that to a member Of the Sanhedrin
and certainly one of its best. Was
Jesus stirred by something of conde-
scension upon the part of this men,
Der of select society?
THE MATTER.
Jesus was concerned with life; Mic
odemus with it's clothes. He was
coming to consult tailor over new
pattern for Judaism, but met a sur
geon who demanded major opera
ton before fitting the cloth. There
would have been no objection if the
statement had been, "the Gentiles
must be born anew" Jesus began the
interview with shock, there was no
other way of entry into the mans
mind. He is a bit testy in his startled
query that is not so much query as
indignant denial. 1t is as if he said,
"You speak in riddles, Sir" But he
was awake enough, reused and shaken
out of all his self-complacency with
which he had so conventionally at
tempted to begin the interview. There
is no teaching possible without
reused mind, and that this master
| Teacher now had. He began the ex-
PLANTATION of the way into the new life
through the gateway of birth. 1t is
the following of the inner urge of
light that carries the grub up from
the oozy bottom of the pond, up the
swaying stalk and out into the sun
i