Golden Text.—“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name.” Phil. 2: 9.
LESSON I.—Jesus Visits Tyre and Sidon.Mark 7: 24-37. Golden Text: “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.” Heb. 11: 6. Real faith in Christ is not turned away by apparent indifference, nor even by humiliating comparisons. The true child of God will accept any position assigned by the Master. He knows his unworthiness. Another point in the lesson is, that salvation is not limited by any national or social lines. Whosoever will, may come and receive eternal life.
LESSON II.—Peter Confesses the Christ.Mark 8: 27-38. Golden Text: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matt. 16: 16. This is the confession that all must make in order to secure salvation. But a mere mouth confession is not sufficient. There must be heart belief (Rom. 10: 9), and obedience to His will (Matt. 7: 21; Luke 10: 25-28). The life must be a continuous confession.
LESSON III.—Jesus Transfigured.Mark 9: 2-13. Golden Text: “A voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.” Verse 7. The transfiguration was a miniature representation of the kingdom of glory, in fulfilment of the promise of Christ made six days before. See Verse 1 of lesson chapter. Here was the glorified King; also Elijah, representing those who shall be translated when the Lord comes in glory, and Moses (who had been resurrected, Jude 9) representing those who will be raised from the dead at that time. See 1 Thess. 4: 15-17.
LESSON IV.—The Mission of the Seventy.Luke 10: 1-16. Golden Text: “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth laborers into His harvest.” Verse 2. As with the mission of Christ Himself, that of the twelve, and also of the seventy, was to be characterized by good works in addition to the verbal proclamation of the Gospel. And legitimate Gospel work is the same to-day. See Matt. 5: 16.
LESSON V.—Prayer and Promise.Luke 11: 1-13. Golden Text: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find.” Verse 9. The petition commonly called the Lord’s Prayer was not given as a ritual for parrot-like repetition on all occasions, but as a sample of comprehensive brevity, and showing daily needs. The Lord does not tire, as earthly parents often do, of having His children ask for things they need, or will use for His honor.
LESSON VI.—Watchfulness.Luke 12: 35-48. Golden Text: “Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching.” Verse 37. The oriental dress was worn loose when in the house or at leisure; but when traveling it was girded up. The girded loins signified activity, or readiness for action. “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1: 13.
LESSON VII.—The Prodigal Son.Luke 15: 11-24. Golden Text: “Come, and let us return unto the Lord.” Hosea 6: 1. Every sinner is a wanderer from his Father’s house, spending his substance in the recklessness of sin and folly. The Father’s love is reaching out for him, and watching for the first sign of an inclination to return. “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
LESSON VIII.—Jesus Teaches Humility.Mark 10: 35-45. Golden Text: “For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” Verse 45. Jesus won His exalted position in heaven by first humbling Himself (Phil. 2: 5-9), and the disciple can succeed only by following in His footsteps. “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Luke 14: 11.
LESSON IX.—The Passover.Matt. 26: 17-30. Golden Text: “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Cor. 5: 7. At this last feast of our Lord with His disciples before His death, Judas the traitor was pointed out and left the company forever. His covetousness (“which is idolatry,” Col. 3: 5) led him to perdition, as it will every one else who yields to it. At this feast, also, were instituted the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, in commemoration of the death of Christ, and the ordinance of feet-washing, a memorial of His humble life.
LESSON X.—Christ’s Trial before Pilate.Mark 15: 1-15. Golden Text: “Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this Man.” Luke 23: 4. Here was the world’s official declaration that Christ was unjustly put to death, which corroborates the scripture which says: “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3: 18. The apostate people of God could not see what was clear to the mind of a heathen judge. “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matt. 6: 23.
LESSON XI.—Christ Crucified.Mark 15: 22-39. Golden Text: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” 1 Cor. 15: 3. Thus He magnified the law and made it honorable (Isa. 42: 21); that is, He vindicated its claims. Had He designed to abolish it as having outlived its usefulness, His death would not have been necessary in behalf of those who have lived since its abrogation. But He died for our sins, and “sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3: 4. So firmly established is the law that not one jot or tittle could be repealed. Matt. 5: 17, 18. The penalty of sin is death (Rom. 6: 23), and “all have sinned” (ch. 3: 23); therefore all must die, or some acceptable substitute must die in their stead. This Jesus did, and all who accept Him by faith acknowledge the just claims of the law upon them. Verse 23.
LESSON XII.—Christ Risen.Matt. 28: 1-15. Golden Text: “Now is Christ risen from the dead.” 1 Cor. 15: 20. No fact of history is better attested by evidence that in any ordinary case would be deemed not only competent, but overwhelming. “He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve; after that, he was seen of about five hundred brethren at once; . . . after that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of me [Paul] also.” 1 Cor. 15: 5-8. He is now “at the right hand of God,” making intercession for all who will “come unto God by Him.” Rom. 8: 34; Heb. 7: 24, 25.
