NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.
By W.
CHRIST'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM.
(March 4.—Matt. 20:17-29.)
THE other accounts of the events recorded in this lesson are found in Mark 10:32-45 and Luke 18:31-34. Luke does not record the request for the two sons of Zebedee. As they were going up to Jerusalem, where Jesus was to be offered as a sacrifice for sinners, he tried to prepare the minds of his disciples for the terrible trial before them; but they could not comprehend his words. Jesus told them everything that should take place,—that he should be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests and scribes, who would condemn him to death, and then deliver him to the Gentiles, who in turn would mock him, and scourge him, and spit upon him, and finally put him to death by crucifying him, and that on the third day he should rise again. But although he told them only what had been written by the prophets, "they understood none of these things; and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken." Luke 18:34. It was not until all these things had been accomplished, and Christ had "expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself," that they could understand. So difficult is it for preconceived opinions to give way for truth. "And the third day he shall rise again." More needless controversies have been waged over the length of time that Christ lay in the grave, than over almost any other Scripture event. In answer to the request of the scribes and Pharisees for a sign, Jesus had said that no sign should be given them but the sign of the prophet Jonah: "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Matt. 12:40. Taking their stand on this text, some will claim that it wasn't fulfilled, because from Friday, when Jesus was crucified, till Sunday morning when he rose again, was not three days and three nights; while others claim that he must have been in the grave seventy-two hours, and that therefore he must have been crucified earlier in the week than Friday. Neither position is correct. THE simple fact of the matter is that Christ was crucified on Friday, the preparation day, the day before the Sabbath, and that he rose very early in the morning of the first day of the week, and still he was in the heart of the earth three days and three nights, in the sense in which Christ spoke those words. Christ said that he should be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights; he also said that he should be crucified, and "the third day should rise again." Therefore we must conclude that these two expressions mean the same thing. When the two disciples on the way to Emmaus recounted the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ, they said: "To-day is the third day since these things were done." Luke 24:21. That the expressions three days and three nights, and the third day, were used interchangeably with reference to the same period of time, is proved by a passage in the book of Esther. When Esther had decided to go in before the king, she sent to Mordecai, saying: "Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day; I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king." Esther 4:16. And the record says that "on the third day" Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, etc. Esther 5:1. THE blindness of the disciples, and their slowness to believe that Christ did not intend to establish an earthly monarchy at that time, are shown by the fact that immediately after Christ had told them of his soon-coming sufferings, the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus, saying, "Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on the right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom." Matt. 20:21. Mark says that James and John made this request (Mark 10:35-37); but from Matthew's account we are to understand that they made the request through their mother. IN this request we have an exhibition of pride and ambition for position. It was this same spirit that caused the fall of Satan in Heaven. Isa. 14:12-14. The same ambition instilled by him into the heart of Eve, resulted in the fall of our first parents. When Satan said to Eve, "In the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like God," she took of the fruit. It is evident, therefore, that such a spirit must be entirely banished from the hearts of those who will share the kingdom of Heaven. If places in that kingdom were distributed as they are in earthly kingdoms, confusion and ruin would ensue. JESUS did not say whether James and John should or should not occupy the places which they desired; but he showed them what they must pass through. "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be bap107tized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able." Bold language this. They were bold because they were ignorant. They had no idea of what Christ was about to endure. If they had realized it, they would probably have been less confident; for we find that when they were brought face to face with the sufferings of Christ they forsook him and fled. Yet afterwards they did drink of the same cup, and were made partakers of his sufferings, even as Christ foretold. What made this change? Simply this: They had learned of Christ. They had learned that Christ's kingdom was not temporal, but eternal, and that the way to it lay through tribulation. IN Matt. 20:23 the translators have made an unnecessary insertion. They have supplied the words, "it shall be given to them," in the sentence: "But to sit on my right hand, and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father." It seems that a plain translation of the Greek, without supplying anything, would be much better. Then it would read thus: "To sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but for whom it is prepared of my Father." That is, he could give it to none, except to those for whom it was prepared, and that meant those who were prepared for it, through self-denial and suffering. WHEN the ten heard the request that James and John had made "they were moved with indignation against the two brethren." This would indicate that they had the same spirit that the two brethren had. They wanted to occupy as high places as there were, and they were indignant to think that these two had been trying to get ahead of them. James and John would have made admirable politicians, with the same spirit that they then had; they would not lose any opportunity to advance their own interests. "But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Matt. 20:25-28. Here we have the road to true honor and greatness laid out before us. Paul taught the same thing when he said: "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another." Rom. 12:10. And again when he wrote: "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." Phil. 2:3. THE wisdom of this world would call that foolishness; but the wisdom of this world would therein exhibit its own foolishness. Actually, the plan laid down by Jesus and Paul would, if carried out, result in the greatest possible good for all men. As it is now, each man looks out for himself, and for nobody but himself. In order for a man to build himself up, it is often necessary for him to pull somebody else down; and thus the whole world is peopled with Ishmaelites. Now in such a case it is evident that a man can get no more than his own strength or wisdom will bring him, and often not so much as that, since others may prevail against him. But where the divine rule is followed, everybody gets far more than he could if each one were looking out simply for himself. If there are a hundred men in a community, and each one esteems every other one better than himself, and seeks the honor of others, each man will have the strength of a hundred put forth in his behalf. Each one forgetting himself, would find his interests advanced far more than they could be if he had devoted his entire attention to himself. So it appears that the manner of life necessary to fit one for Heaven, is really the best for men's temporal welfare, if they would but follow it. For "godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." 1 Tim. 4:8.