LESSON XII.-SABBATH, MARCH 24, 1894

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 12, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 19.

LESSON XII.—SABBATH, MARCH 24, 1894.

HONORING THE SABBATH, AND PRONOUNCING BLESSINGS.

Lesson Scripture, Luke 6:1-26.

Now it came to pass on a Sabbath, that he was going through the cornfields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
But certain of the Pharisees said, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?
And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read even this, what David did, when he was an hungered, he, and they that were with him;
How he entered into the house of God, and did take and eat the showbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which is not lawful to eat save for the priests alone?
And he said unto them, The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.
And it came to pass on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught; and there was a man there, and his right hand was withered.
And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath; that they might find how to accuse him.
But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man that had his hand withered, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst.
And he arose and stood forth. And Jesus said unto them, I ask you, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? to save life, or to destroy it?
And he looked round about on them all, and said unto him, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored.

But they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God.
And when it was day, he called his disciples and he chose from them twelve, whom also he named apostles;
Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew,
And Matthew and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon which was called the Zealot,
And Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, which was the traitor;
And he came down with them, and stood on a level place, and a great multitude of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;
And they that were troubled with unclean spirits were healed.
And all the multitude sought to touch him: for power came forth from him, and healed them all.
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.
Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
Woe unto you, ye that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you, ye that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets.

BEFORE beginning the sixth chapter, we must be sure that we have a pretty good idea of the fifth. The following outline of topics will help us: (1) Jesus teaching from the boat, and the miraculous draught of fishes; (2) cleansing the leper; (3) healing the palsied man; (4) the call of Levi, and the feast at his house. In this lesson we have, first, the charge that the disciples broke the Sabbath, and Christ's defense of them; second, the healing of the man with the withered hand, on the Sabbath; third, the choosing of the twelve; fourth, the healing of the multitudes; fifth, pronouncing blessings. As verses 1-11 pertain to the Sabbath, we could say, The Sabbath; disciples chosen; multitudes healed; blessings.

As the disciples passed through the fields on the Sabbath, what did they do?
What charge did the Pharisees bring against them?
What case did Jesus cite in their defense?
What did Jesus say of his own relation to the Sabbath?
As he was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, who was present?
For what purpose were the scribes and Pharisees watching?
Did Jesus know their purpose?
What did he say to the man with the withered hand?
When the man arose, what did Jesus say to the Pharisees?
What did he then say to the man?
What took place as soon as the man stretched forth his hand?
How did this manifestation of power and mercy affect the Pharisees?
How did Jesus show his dependence on God?
What did he do as soon as it was day?
Whom did he choose?
When he came down to the plain, who came to him?
For what purpose did they come?
How many of them were healed?
By what were they healed?
As he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, what did he say of the poor?
What of those who hunger?
What of those who weep?
Is it a terrible thing to be persecuted for Christ's sake?
How are we to feel at such times?
What conditions are deplorable?

NOTES.

1. THE Sabbath is a memorial of God's power, and consequently of his mercy and goodness, for none of his attributes can be separated. It is evident that God's love to his creatures is shown in creation. This would ever have been manifested if there had been no sin. Since the fall, God's love is still shown by the things that are made, for they manifest God's power to redeem. In the same place where we are told of the greatness of God's works, and that he has made them to be remembered (literally, "He hath made a memorial for his wonderful works"), we are told that "the Lord is gracious and full of compassion." Ps. 111:3, 4. The measure of God's power is the measure of his mercy. The Sabbath was made for man in his innocence, but it is no less an institution of mercy to him in his fallen condition. By it we know God's power to sanctify us to himself. Eze. 20:12. Since, therefore, the Sabbath is the memorial of the merciful God, it is evident that acts of mercy are always proper on it. Therefore the Jews, who would even endanger life rather than do anything that looked like work on the Sabbath, did not keep the Sabbath at all. They violated the very essence of the commandment.

2. "AND he said unto them, That the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath." What does this mean?—Simply that the Sabbath is the Lord's day. Let it be borne in mind that the day here called the Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, the day which the Jews professed to keep. The Holy Spirit inspired this writing, therefore "Sabbath" is the inspired name of the seventh day of the week. Christians know no religion except that of the Bible, and they know nothing of the Christian religion except what the Bible tells them; therefore they must call the seventh day, and it only, the Sabbath. But how did it become the Lord's day?—He made it. It was Jesus that created all things. See John 1:1-3; Col. 1:13-17. Now the One who created the heavens and the earth in six days must necessarily have been the One who rested on the seventh day, and who blessed and sanctified it. Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11. Therefore Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, by virtue of his power as Creator. The Sabbath—the memorial of his wonderful works—is the mark of his power, and consequently it is the mark of his right and power to redeem. Notice in Col. 1:13-17 that we have redemption through his blood, because by him were all things created. Redemption is creation (see Ps. 51:10; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10); therefore, as long as redemption is a thing to be remembered and rejoiced in, so long must the Sabbath be kept and delighted in.

3. "THEN said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?" They did not answer, because they could not without convicting themselves. For of course they could not say it was lawful to destroy life; and if they said it was lawful to save life, they would acknowledge that Jesus was keeping the Sabbath, and that they were not obeying the law of the Sabbath.

4. THE law of God is his righteousness. Isa. 51:6, 7. But Christ is the righteousness of God. God's righteousness is inseparable from his life, for his life itself is righteousness. His life is the standard of right, and whatever is out of harmony with the life of God is wrong. Paul says of the heathen that they are "alienated from the life of God." Eph. 4:18. So that God's life is the law for man. But God was in Christ. Christ came to this earth simply to reveal God to men, to show them how God lives. Therefore the life of Christ, being the life of God, is the law of man. This the Father showed when he said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17), and again on the mount of transfiguration, "Hear ye him." And yet the Pharisees were presuming to measure Christ's life by the law, and to condemn him. He, the Author of life, the Giver of the law, and the living embodiment of it, was condemned by men, because he did not live according to their perverted ideas of it. What presumption! There are lessons in this that may be studied a long time with profit.

5. "He said unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he did so; and his hand was restored whole as the other." In the very act of stretching it forth it was healed. Faith is shown in acting before the thing is done as though it was done, and the faith that so acts makes it a reality. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." Heb. 11:1.

6. The mercy of God, which leads to repentance, only hardens some people. The Pharisees, although they would not answer Jesus when he asked them if it was lawful to save or to destroy on the Sabbath day, showed what they actually thought of the matter, by exhibiting anger when they saw the man healed. When men's hearts are set to pursue an evil course, they hate those whose correct conduct contrasts with theirs.

7. "THERE went virtue out of him, and healed them all." It was actual power and vitality that went out from Christ to heal the people. No one can explain it, yet the fact remains. What those

people lacked was vitality—life. What he gave them was life,—just what they needed. But his life is our only hope of life. All men have sinned (Rom. 3:23), and therefore are counted as dead, because they have forfeited their lives. See 1 John 5:12; John 3:36; Eph. 2:1; Rom. 8:6. Therefore our only hope of righteousness and life is to have the life of Christ. See John 6:51, 53, 57; 3:36; Rom. 5:10. Christ is our righteousness and our life. 1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 3:4. We cannot know how he gives us this life of righteousness, any more than we can know how he could give of his life for the restoration of life to the poor afflicted ones whom he healed when he was on the earth. Those miracles of healing were recorded so that we might be able to grasp the fact that we have life through him. John 20:30, 31. He is as really present with us as if we could see him. Matt. 28:20. Therefore we can as really take of his life now as could those who were healed by him. Christ is not a myth. Belief in Christ is not a mere sentiment: it is the grasping of a fact. His life is a reality, which may be proved by all who will accept it by simple faith.