LESSON XX.—SABBATH, MAY 19, 1894.
7. Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done; and he was much perplexed, because that it was said by some, that John was risen from the dead;
8. And by some, that Elijah had appeared; and by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.
9. And Herod said, John I beheaded; but who is this, about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him.
10. And the apostles, when they were returned, declared unto him what things they had done. And he took them, and withdrew apart to a city called Bethsaida.
11. But the multitudes perceiving it followed him; and he welcomed them, and spake to them of the kingdom of God, and them that had need of healing he healed.
12. And the day began to wear away; and the twelve came, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals; for we are here in a desert place.
13. But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy food for all this people.
14. For they were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each.
15. And they did so, and made them all sit down.
16. And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake; and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.
17. And they did eat, and were all filled; and there was taken up that which remained over to them of broken pieces, twelve baskets.
18. And it came to pass, as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him; and he asked them, saying, Who do the multitudes say that I am?
19. And they answering said, John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again.
20. And he said unto them, But who say ye that I am? And Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
21. But he charged them, and commanded them to tell this to no man:
22. Saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.
23. And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
25. For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self?
26. For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.
27. But I tell you of a truth, There be some of them that stand here, which shall in nowise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. This lesson may be sufficiently outlined as follows: Herod’s perplexity; the return of the twelve; the feeding of the five thousand; opinions concerning Jesus; instructions to his followers. Again the caution must be repeated to the student not to study the synopsis from the lesson pamphlet, but directly from the Bible. In every lesson use the pamphlet at first only for the purpose of noting the portion of Scripture forming the lesson. Then read the verses very carefully several times, and make your own synopsis. Note down on a slip of paper the different topics, and then compare with the list in the pamphlet. Bear in mind that the Bible, and not the pamphlet, is to be studied. The pamphlet is designed only to direct your study, so that you may study to the best advantage. 1. How was Herod the tetrarch affected by the reports of Christ’s work?
2. Who did different ones say that Jesus was?
3. What did Herod say? and what did he desire?
4. When the apostles returned, what did Jesus do?
5. Who followed them into the desert?
6. What did Jesus do for them?
7. At the close of the day, what did the twelve say?
8. What did Jesus say to them?
9. How much food had they with them?
10. How many people were there to be fed?
11. Relate the details of the miracle that followed.
12. How much remained after all were filled?
13. What question did Jesus ask his disciples at a season of prayer?
14. Tell what answers were given.
15. What was their own testimony concerning him?
16. What did Jesus then tell them?
17. What did he say must be done by all who would follow him?
18. Who will lose his life?
19. Who are they who will save their lives?
20. What important question did Jesus ask?
21. What will be the lot of those who are ashamed of Jesus and his words?
22. What did Jesus say that some then present should see? 1. "And he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing." There is one thing that always recommends one to the kind attention of Jesus, and that is to be in need. And yet that feeling of need and general worthlessness is what keeps many away from him. There were no exceptions, no special favorites. No matter who they were, nor how many there were, he healed them that had need of healing. Thus it came to pass that "there were whole villages where there were no sick ones, for he had healed them all." He is the same to-day that he was then. What he did then he is just as able and willing to do now. "All the fitness he requireth
Is to feel your need of him." 2. FIVE thousand men were fed with five loaves and two fishes, and not only did they all eat, but they were all filled. Imagine how much it would take to fill to satisfaction a crowd of five thousand hungry men, besides women and children. And then think of the small portion available for them. There was not enough for each one to have a mouthful. If they had divided it equally among themselves, there would have been scarcely enough for anyone to have even the taste of food. And then, most wonderful to relate, there was much more left, after all had been satisfied, than there was when they began to eat. What more striking illustration could be given of the statement that he "is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all that we ask or think"? Eph. 3: 20. 3. THE question is, Where did that bread come from? The original amount, instead of being diminished, was increased. There can be only one answer: It came from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He is the Bread of Life. John 6: 48-51. In this miracle we are again shown how that believing on him we may have life through his name. For just as he had power in himself to supply the physical needs of that multitude, so he has power to supply all our spiritual wants. And just as surely as the multitude could eat that bread which came from him, and be nourished by it, so we may really feed upon Christ, and grow thereby. 4. IT seems incredible that anyone who really believes this miracle should ever have a doubt of Christ's power to save us by his own life in us. The general objection is that it seems so unreal, so intangible, that we cannot understand how Christ's life can come into us to make us strong to do his will. Well, here we have the thing made as simple as the supply of daily bread for our physical strength. Let us go to the very beginning of the matter. There is nobody who has any doubt that the food which we eat day by day gives us strength. We become faint and ready to die through long fasting; we eat good food, and our life and our strength come again. That food becomes part of our blood, and the strength and the life which we feel renewed in us are the strength and the life that are in the food we ate. And yet as we look at the bread we can see no life in it, and it does not look at all like flesh and blood. If we had not been used to receiving strength all our lives through eating food,—if we had been miraculously kept alive till manhood without food,—and at the age of twenty-one were told that our life in the future depended on our eating bread, the majority of the people would starve to death. Very few would believe that any life could come from such a source. Scientists would be ready to demonstrate the impossibility of forming flesh and blood out of bread. It is a merciful provision of God for the preservation of the race that people learn to sustain life by eating, long before they are able to reason about it. When the plant is growing, we see evidences of life in it, although we cannot see the life. We see immense energy displayed by it. We see huge clods of earth pushed aside by it, and even stones are sometimes rent asunder by it. Whence comes this life and power?—Through God’s word, which said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth." Gen. 1: 11. The energy displayed in the growing plant is nothing less than the power of God. The same life is stored up in the seed, which forms the food of man, so that our physical food comes as truly from the Lord as did the bread which the five thousand ate. In that case the process of bread making was shortened. Now just as God fills the plant with life, of which we partake for the nourishment of our bodies, so he fills431us with his own life of righteousness, if by faith we receive him through his word. We cannot understand how any of it is done; but it is no more difficult to believe that God can work perfection in a man than that he can do it in a plant. 5. THE people could not feed themselves; they could not derive any strength from themselves. They, as we and all others are, were entirely dependent for strength on the food which they ate. Moreover, they could not do anything to assist the food to give them strength. All that they could do was to eat it as it was provided for them, and then leave it alone. Why can we not learn the lesson which God designs us to learn from our daily food? Whether we realize it or not, we depend absolutely on Christ for our life, through the food which he provides us. So we must depend solely on Christ for our righteousness, which is real life. If our faith grasps the reality of this miracle,—a miracle that is repeated every day,—then it can grasp the fact that he can put his life directly into us; and having that, we have all. His life fills and satisfies the hungry soul. 6. THE gospel is God's plan, and not man's. Man's only plan for receiving anything is to seize upon it. "Each one for himself," is the motto of the world. But Christ says that whosoever wishes to live must give up his life, and that whosoever seeks to save his own life, shall lose it. The world's motto is derived from Satan. He had a glorious position. But he wanted more, and set about to seize it, and as a consequence he lost everything. Christ had everything, but he willingly gave up all. He did not grasp and hold even his own, and as a result he gained everything. Read Phil. 2: 5-9. "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.