LESSON IX.—SABBATH, MAY 27, 1899
CENTURION'S SERVANT HEALED, AND WIDOW'S SON RAISED.
1 “After He had ended all His sayings in the ears of the people, He entered into Capernaum. 2 “And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and at the point of death. And when he had heard concerning Jesus, he sent unto Him elders of the Jews, asking Him that He would come and save his servant. And they, when they came to Jesus, besought Him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him; for he loveth our nation, and himself built us our synagogue. And Jesus went with them. And when He was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying unto Him, Lord, trouble not Thyself; for I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof; wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto Thee; but say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under myself soldiers; and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. And when Jesus heard these things, He marvelled at him, and turned and said unto the multitude that followed Him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole. 11 “And it came to pass soon afterwards, that He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples went with Him, and a great multitude. Now when He drew near to the gate of the city, behold, there was carried out one that was dead, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And He came nigh and touched the bier; and the bearers stood still. And He said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother. And fear took hold on all; and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet is arisen among us; and, God hath visited His people. And this report went forth concerning Him in the whole of Judea, and all the region round about. 18 “And the disciples of John told him of all these things. 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to the Lord, saying, Art Thou He that cometh, or look we for another? And when the men were come unto Him, they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto Thee, saying, Art Thou He that cometh, or look we for another? 21 In that hour He cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and on many that were blind He bestowed sight. And He answered and said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good tidings preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall find none occasion of stumbling in Me. 24 “And when the messengers of John were departed, He began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face,
Who shall prepare Thy way before Thee. 28 I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none greater than John; yet he that is but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 And all the people when they heard, and the publicans, justified God, being baptised with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God, being not baptised of him. 31 Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? 32 They are like unto children that sit in the market-place, and call one to another; which say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not weep. 33 For John the Baptist is come eating no bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold, a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35 And wisdom is justified of all her children.” NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further. 1. Going down from the “mount of blessing” to Capernaum, who met Christ there? For what purpose? Luke 7:1-5. (Matt. 8:5, 6.) 2. What strong plea was offered in behalf of the centurion? Verses 4, 5. See note 1.11 3. When Jesus was on His way to the centurion’s house, who was sent to meet Him? With what message? Verses 6-8. 4. Hearing this, what did Jesus say to those following Him? Verse 9. See note 2. 5. When the centurion’s friends returned to his house, what did they find? Verse 10. 6. The day following, where was Christ leading a large company? Verse 11. See note 3. 7. Drawing near the city, what sort of procession did they see issuing from its gates? Verse 12. See note 4. 8. What moved the Saviour to speak to the woman? With what words did He comfort her? Verse 13. 11. Hearing the general rumor of Christ’s wonderful works, what did John’s disciples do? Verses 17, 18. (Matt. 11:2.) 13. While the men were in the presence of Christ, what did they behold? Verse 21. 14. After they had seen this, what gentle message did Christ send to John? Verses 22, 23. (Isa. 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6.) 15. As soon as John’s messengers were departed, what did Christ say of him? Verses 24-30. (Matt. 11:7-11.) 16. What consistent rebuke did Christ then administer to the people of His day? Verses 31-35. (Matt. 11:16-19.) 17. After pronouncing woe upon those cities wherein He had wrought, what prayer did He then offer? Matt. 11:25, 26. (Matt. 16:17.) 18. What gracious invitation did He then offer to all? Verses 28-30. See “Desire of Ages,” p. 331. (Jer. 6:16.) 1. He sent elders of the Jews.—Several items serve to make this an interesting account. The centurion was counted a heathen by the Jews, but while in command of the Roman post at Capernaum, he had been so favorably impressed with the Jewish religion as to build for them a synagogue at that place. No particular favor was asked for the centurion, but his anxiety was for a servant,—a slave, generally considered as a thing rather than a person. Mommsen says that all the miseries of negro slavery were a drop in the ocean compared to the slaves of those days. Yet this man’s tenderness for his slave prompted him to send to Jesus, whom he had never seen, for relief for his beloved slave. Matthew sets forth the centurion as making the appeal, on the principle that the Jewish elders represented him. Compare Matt. 20:20 with Mark 10:35 for a similar case. 2. “I have not found so great faith.”—Here was a strange saying. One regarded as a heathen was found to have more genuine faith than was in all Israel. And on what ground? Simply that of believing that the word alone was able to produce the desired result. In this artless faith was a confession that Christ had godlike power, and was, therefore, able to heal the sick by His word. This was greater faith than any one among the Jews possessed, even tho that people professed to be then expecting the Desire of Ages. It was indeed a marvelous faith. 3. Nain,—the fair, the beautiful,—was more than twenty miles from Capernaum, on the northwest slope of Little Hermon, in full view of Tabor and the heights of Zebulon. 4. The only son.—To die childless was counted a terrible calamity among the Jews, and to have their offspring entirely cut off was regarded a direct punishment for some sin. This woman was already a widow, and was following her only son to the grave,—a most wretched affliction. 5. A great prophet.—It may be well to remember that Shunem, the place where Elisha raised the “great” woman’s son, was a village on the opposite side of the very hill upon which Nain was situated, and that the plain of Jezreel, the scene of the greatest events of Elijah’s life, stretched out in full view of the place. It was perhaps the memory of these great prophets that called to the lips of the people that another great prophet had arisen among them. 6. Art Thou He?—John had been in prison for a long yet indefinite time. Herod had relaxed his severity enough to permit visitors to see the prisoner frequently, as if almost ashamed to keep the innocent one in confinement. Thus he could hear of Christ’s doings, which caused him much thought. John’s ideas of the Messiah were evidently those held in common with all the Jews,—that of establishment of pure theocracy on the earth. The thought was therefore most natural, If He is the Messiah, why does He not assume the throne of David? Why does He leave me to languish in prison, who went before Him to proclaim His coming? Why am I set aside, apparently forgotten, and my work permitted to drop? (On this point see “Desire of Ages,” p. 361.) These very thoughts were calculated to bring despondency, unless he remembered the lives of Moses and Elijah, who had been over the ground before him. No wonder, then, that he had, and even ourselves have, temporary seasons of depression, when looking at ourselves, and the seeming lack of appreciation which follows one’s pathway.