LESSON XXII.-SABBATH, JUNE 2, 1894

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · May 14, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 28.

LESSON XXII.—SABBATH, JUNE 2, 1894.

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST.

Lesson Scripture, Luke 9: 51-62; 10: 1-16.

And it came to pass, when the days were well-nigh come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And sent messengers before his face; and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he were going to Jerusalem.
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?
But he turned, and rebuked them.
And they went to another village.
And as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.
And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house.
But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Now after these things the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself was about to come.
And he said unto them, The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest.
Go your ways; behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Carry no purse, no wallet, no shoes; and salute no man on the way.
And into whatsoever house ye shall enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
And if a son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall turn to you again.
And in that same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give; for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you;
And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
But into whatsoever city ye shall enter, and they receive you not, go out into the streets thereof and say,

Even the dust from your city, that cleaveth to our feet, we do wipe off against you; howbeit know this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh.
I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which were done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Howbeit it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment, than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt be brought down unto hades.
He that heareth you heareth me; and he that rejecteth you rejecteth me; and he that rejecteth me rejecteth Him that sent me.

THERE are more distinct topics in this lesson than in some of the others, but persistent and thoughtful reading of it will make them all take their proper places in the mind. We find, first, the rejection of Jesus by the Samaritans, and the desire of James and John to call fire down upon them, which met with a rebuke from Jesus; then we have the words of Jesus to three who would follow him, showing that they must not expect ease and abundance in his service, and that everything else must hold a secondary place. In the portion of the lesson found in the tenth chapter, we have the sending out of the seventy, and the instruction given therewith. If the portion of Scripture has been thoroughly studied, all the details may be brought to mind by something like this: Rejected by the Samaritans; conditions of following Jesus; sending out the seventy. Do not forget to review not only the whole of the ninth chapter, but the seventh and eighth as well. Read frequently from the beginning of the book, and occasionally take a mental review of all the chapters from the beginning, without the Bible in hand. This may be done while walking to or from work, while riding on a train, while the hands are employed in some mechanical work that does not require special thought, or in a waking hour of the night; and it will be found a pleasure instead of a task.

To what place did Jesus send asking entertainment?
Why would not the people receive him?
What punishment did James and John wish to bring down upon the inhospitable inhabitants?
What did Jesus do and say to the disciples?
What did he say was his mission?
As they went on their way, what did a certain man say to Jesus?
What did Jesus reply?
What response did another make to the command, "Follow me"?
What did Jesus say to that?
What did another wish to do before following him?
What did Jesus reply?
Whom did the Lord send out before him after these things?
How were they sent out?
What prayer were they to offer? Why?
As they went out into the world, to what were they likened?
What provision were they to make for their journey?
How were they to get their support?
When they entered into a city, what were they to do?
Were they to do anything besides preaching?
How were they to act when they were not received?
At what time will such cities receive recompense?
Upon what cities did Jesus pronounce woes?
What did he say about them?
In rejecting Christ's messengers, whom do men reject and despise?

NOTES.

1. THE lesson given to us by the Saviour, through the rebuke to James and John, is very simple, yet how slow we are to learn it! If it had always been heeded by those who professed to be the followers of Christ, there would never have been any Inquisition; no martyrs would ever have been burned at the stake, in the name of Christianity. People sometimes think that the evil of religious persecution lies in the fact that men who are in error persecute those who hold the truth. This is true only because those who hold the truth never persecute. In the case before us Christ was openly rejected. Surely if ever punishment should be administered on religious grounds, it was then; but Christ would not suffer it. It is as impossible for a true follower of Christ to persecute others in any way whatever for religious opinions as it would be for Christ to do so; and he said: "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." John 12: 46, 47.

2. "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Persecution, therefore, is not from the Spirit of Christ. The spirit that would inflict punishment on men because they do not believe as we do, or even because they openly reject Christ, is the spirit of antichrist. Christ's whole work is to save men, and not to destroy them. James and John did not know what spirit they were of; they were deceived. They thought it was zeal for Christ that prompted them to wish to call down fire upon the Samaritans; but it was a false, selfish zeal. It was personal pique, rather than zeal for the Master, for love to Christ shows itself in Christlike ways. In every persecution on account of religion it will be found that pride and selfish bigotry are at the bottom of it. The persecutors feel personally affronted because others do not agree with them. They feel as if they were being defied, and they call their hateful spirit zeal for the cause of God.

3. "And they went to another village." Christ has not only given us precept, but he has left us an example of how we should deal with those who sin against light. When he was rejected, he went to another place. How much trouble and dishonor to the cause of Christ would have been avoided if his professed followers had learned to let people alone when they chose their own way instead of Christ's! Take his words to them faithfully, "ye that are spiritual." Again and again, with the meekness and patience of Christ, hold before the erring ones the words of the Lord.

4. "Let the dead bury their dead." As we ordinarily read this, we form a mental picture of the man's father lying dead at home, with no one to give him a decent burial, and so Christ's words seem almost unfeeling. Now any view which causes one to think thus of Christ is to be suspected. Consider the case. In the East burial follows almost immediately after death. There is no long delay. If the man's father had been dead at that time, he would have been attending to his father's burial, instead of being there. When, in response to Christ's call, "Follow me," the man said, "Suffer me first to go and bury my father," he was really asking for permission to wait an indefinite time before taking hold of the Lord's work. It amounted to asking to be excused until after his father should die, and he could have an opportunity to settle up his affairs. It was the same with him as with those who began to make excuse. Luke 14: 18. How many whom Christ is calling now are saying the same thing! Their temporal affairs must all be attended to before they can enter the Lord's service. To such he says, "Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the gospel."

5. "Go your ways; behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves." That is the true position of Christ's followers in the world. It is the nature of wolves to bite; therefore, the lambs must expect to be at least snapped at. They will certainly be annoyed by the wolves; they may be bitten, and they may possibly be killed. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." 2 Tim. 3: 12. What are the lambs to do under the circumstances?—Commit themselves to the keeping of the Good Shepherd, who gives his life for the sheep. "For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." 1 Peter 2: 25. "Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." 1 Peter 4: 19. Nobody ever heard of lambs attacking wolves, or even resisting them. The lamb always flees for safety. There is such a thing as wolves in sheep's clothing; and, if anyone thinks he has seen Christ's lambs biting and devouring, let him know that they were disguised wolves. The figure means simply this, that Christ's followers are to leave all force and opposition to the world. They can no more use any manner of force against those who resist the truth than lambs can devour wolves.