LESSON XXIII.—SABBATH, JUNE 9, 1894.
17. AND the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us in thy name.
18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven.
19. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall in anywise hurt you.
20. Howbeit in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
21. In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes; yea, Father; for so it was well pleasing in thy sight.
22. All things have been delivered unto me of my Father; and no one knoweth who the Son is, save the Father; and who the Father is, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.
23. And turning to the disciples, he said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see;
24. For I say unto you, that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not.
25. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26. And he said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27. And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
28. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.
29. But he, desiring to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
30. Jesus made answer and said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, which both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31. And by chance a certain priest was going down that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32. And in like manner a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion,
34. And came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on them oil and wine; and he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35. And on the morrow he took out twopence, and gave them to the host, and said, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, I, when I come back again, will repay thee.
36. Which of these three, thinkest thou, proved neighbor unto him that fell among the robbers?
37. And he said, He that showed mercy on him. And Jesus said unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. It is not so easy to analyze a chapter that contains instruction only as it is to analyze one that consists wholly of narrative. The danger always lies in too close an analysis; that is, instead of simply noting a few general heads, allowing them to suggest to the mind all the details, the student will attempt to repeat the details. Many will, doubtless, think it easier to commit a passage to memory, so as to be able to repeat it word for word, than to get sufficient knowledge of it to be able to give a synopsis of it and an intelligent narrative of the details. But the former should not be done. You might be able to repeat an entire chapter and still really know but little about it; but it is impossible to study it as indicated and not receive much valuable knowledge. You have doubtless found that this lesson naturally divides itself as follows: The return of the seventy, thanksgiving and blessing, the lawyer's question, which led to the story of the good Samaritan. - With what feelings did the seventy return?
- What did they say?
- What did Jesus reply?
- How much power did he say he had given them?
- In what were they to rejoice?
- For what did Jesus rejoice and thank God?
- Who alone knows who the Son is?
- How only can any man know the Father?
- With what did Jesus say the disciples were blessed?
- Do we share the same blessing?
- What question did a lawyer ask Jesus?
- Did Jesus answer the question directly?
- To what did he refer the lawyer for an answer?
- What scripture did the lawyer quote?
- Then what did Jesus say?
- What question did the lawyer then ask?
- Why did he ask that question?
- How did Jesus answer it?
- Relate the story of the man that was robbed, and the good Samaritan.
- When Jesus had finished, what question did he ask the lawyer?
- Who did the lawyer say was neighbor to the poor man?
- What did Jesus then say to him?
1. "Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." And where are they hid?—In Christ, for in him are "hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Col. 2: 3. Whoever, therefore, will receive Christ may know the hidden things. But it is not by human wisdom, but by faith, that Christ is to be received. "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord." Jer. 9: 23, 24. "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 18: 3. "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in nowise enter therein." Luke 18: 17. Therefore, the things of God are revealed to all who are willing to take the wisdom of God in place of their own. The Spirit of God searches all things, even "the deep things of God," and is freely given to us to make known the things that are freely given to us of God. 1 Cor. 2: 10-12. And it is given to all who ask for it. Luke 11: 13.
2. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." This, and this only, is the condition of life. But who has met the conditions?—Not one, for all one's heart, soul, strength, and mind, mean463all his life, not simply a few days or years of it. If one had lived wholly for self half his life, and then it were possible to turn completely about and serve the Lord with all his mind and strength the remainder of his days, he would not have served the Lord with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind, any more than if he had half served the Lord all his days. Who, then, can be saved?—Only he who gives up his whole life, past and present, to the Lord, and takes in exchange Christ's life. The perfect life of Christ will be put in place of the sinful life that is past, and the mind of Christ in him now will be as loyal to God as it was in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In short, the condition of eternal life is to receive it from the Lord. He who allows the life of God to manifest itself in his mortal flesh will finally have that same eternal life in his immortal flesh. 3. "WHO is my neighbor?" Read the story and see. It is everybody that is in distress, everyone with whom we come in contact, everyone for whom Christ died. "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise." Rom. 1: 14. 4. IN this lesson we have an example of the quality of mercy. The Jew had no claim upon the Samaritan. The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans (John 4: 9), and so much did they despise them that the woman at the well was astonished that Jesus would ask her for a drink of water. The worst thing that the Jews could think of to say about Christ was to call him a Samaritan, and to say that he was a Samaritan was in their minds equivalent to saying that he had a devil. John 8: 48. They regarded the Samaritans as dogs. The Jews, therefore, had done nothing to merit kindness at the hands of the Samaritans. Yet this Samaritan did great kindness to the Jew, who would doubtless have spit upon him if he had seen him in the same situation. It is said that the Samaritan had mercy upon the other. Therefore, mercy is the treatment of people better than they deserve. It is the showing of kindness toward those who have no just claim to any consideration. Now remember that God "delighteth in mercy." Micah 7: 18. He is "plenteous in mercy." Ps. 103: 8. "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great [or powerful] is his mercy toward them that fear him." Ps. 103: 11. "God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus." Eph. 2: 4-7. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb. 4: 16.