LESSON XV.-SABBATH, APRIL 14, 1894

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 2, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 22.

LESSON XV.—SABBATH, APRIL 14, 1894.

CHRIST'S PROOF OF HIS MINISTRY.

AND the disciples of John told him of all these things.
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?
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.
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 appareled, and live delicately, are in king's courts.
But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.
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.
And all the people when they heard, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God, being not baptized of him.
Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like?
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.
Yet John the Baptist is come eating no bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
The Son of Man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold, a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
And wisdom is justified of all her children.

REREAD the introduction to the last lesson, and do not neglect its instructions. The gems of Scripture do not all lie on the surface, but can only be found by digging. See Prov. 2: 1-5. It is a mistake to suppose that such searching of the Scriptures, and finding of rich treasures, can be accomplished only by those who have great educational advantages. Remember that the things of God are hidden from the wise and prudent, and are revealed unto babes. Matt. 11 : 25. The deep things of God are revealed to the most unlearned person who comes to the word with simple reverence, and who meditates in it. The Spirit of God makes known "the deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2: 9, 10), and it is given to all who believe (John 7: 39). It is not by brilliancy, but by continually dwelling upon a passage, that one learns much from it. You cannot exhaust the Scriptures. The longer you search, and the deeper you dig, the richer will be the treasure. So do not count it a vain thing to spend much time upon a small portion of the Bible.

This lesson is all devoted to John the Baptist; first, his message to Jesus; second, the answer that Jesus returned; third, the testimony of Jesus concerning John; fourth, the inconsistency of the people concerning them both.

What was done to John the Baptist soon after the baptism of Jesus? Luke 3: 19, 20.
When he heard, in the prison, of the wonderful works of Jesus, what message did he send?
When the disciples of John delivered their message, what did Jesus do?
What did he then say?
When the messengers had departed, what question did Jesus ask?
What was implied by the first question?
What second question did he ask?
What was the form of the question the third time?
What testimony did Jesus give as to John's standing as a prophet?
Whom did the Lord say that John was?
What is it said that the publicans did?
What course did the Pharisees and lawyers pursue?
To what did the Lord then liken the men of that generation?
How did they exhibit their petulance and inconsistency?
How did they regard John because of his rigid abstinence?
What did they say of Christ because he mingled with the people?
What did Jesus say of wisdom?

NOTES.

1. "To the poor the gospel is preached." Let every poor afflicted soul remember this. Poverty, either of purse or intellect, is no bar to the favor of God. He was made in all things like his brethren. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." 2 Cor. 8: 9. As a poor man he mingled with poor men, those whose poverty would not admit of their being learned in the wisdom of this world, adapting his teaching to their comprehension. The gospel is simple, suited to the comprehension of a child. This does not exclude the rich and learned; for what the weak and feeble can comprehend may be easily understood by the great, if they are only willing to receive it. The truth of God is revealed to faith, and not to intellect. They that trust only to their own reasoning faculties cannot perceive the things of God. Not that reason is to be ignored, but faith is to be its guide and instructor. "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." See 1 Cor. 1: 22-29.

2. "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God." God declares that his words and ways are right; but, tried by that standard, every man is sure to be wrong. Every man, therefore, who either directly or indirectly justifies his own course, thereby condemns God's way. But every man who acknowledges his guilt, thereby declares that God is right. This is what is done in confession of sin. God says that we are sinners, and he points out to us the particular sins. Confession of sin is the simple acknowledgment that God is just in declaring us to be sinners, by the standard of his own life. And when we thus justify God, he justifies us, for "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1: 9.

3. FAULT-FINDING is a necessary accompaniment of unbelief. It is useless to try to remove objections from the mind of a man in whom is the spirit of unbelief. Though you answer one objection to his satisfaction, you have accomplished nothing, for the same process must be repeated on every point, and objections will rise faster than they can be met. Each individual objection must be met; and though ninety-nine out of a hundred were satisfactorily explained, the objector would be no nearer the truth than at the first. Neither would he be if the hundredth one were explained. The reason is that those objections have been explained satisfactorily to his reason; he can plainly see that there is no reason in them. But the spirit of unbelief is still in him, ready to raise a hundred other objections equally inconsistent with reason. If, however, the spirit of unbelief is once destroyed, those objections will not arise to require explanation. The Pharisees and others were full of the spirit of unbelief, and so, although they refused to receive John's teaching, on the ground that his abstemious habits indicated that he possessed a devil, they as promptly repudiated Jesus because he did not follow John's practice but ate as other people did. Those who are so cautious that they cannot receive the truth, unless it is in harmony with their captious intellect, are the very ones who eagerly devour the most flagrant falsehoods. See 2 Thess. 2: 9-12.