LESSON IV.—SABBATH, OCTOBER 24, 1896.
60 “MANY therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, 61 said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it? But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, 62 said unto them, Doth this cause you to stumble? What then if ye should behold the Son of man ascending where 63 he was before? It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I have spoken unto you 64 are Spirit, and are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who it was that should betray 65 him. And he said, For this cause have I said unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it be given unto him of the Father. 66 “Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked 67 no more with him. Jesus said therefore unto the twelve, 68 Would ye also go away? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed and know that thou art the Holy 70 One of God. Jesus answered them, Did not I choose you 71 the twelve, and one of you is a devil? Now he spake of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.” - What effect had this teaching of Jesus upon his disciples?
- Did they need to give expression to their unbelief? What question did Jesus ask them?
- What further spiritual truth does he present to their minds?
- How does he compare spirit and flesh?
- What key does he give to the explanation of his previous teaching?
- What does he say is the experience of some of his disciples? Was this revelation of their unbelief a surprise to Jesus?
- What previous statement had been based upon this knowledge?
- What separation resulted from this presentation of deep spiritual truth?
- What inquiry did Jesus make?
- With what question did Peter introduce his reply. What reason did he give for remaining with Jesus?
- What confession of faith did he make?
- With what question did Jesus reveal his knowledge of the individual character of his followers?
- Whose case was then in his mind? What was he to do to Jesus?
1. MANY of the same company which was fed with “the meat which perisheth” have now been fed with “that meat which endureth unto everlasting life,” but the very ones who were then ready to “take him by force to make him king,” now pronounce his discourse in the synagogue a hard one. His teaching had the evidently intended effect of making a separation among his followers, and of revealing their own motives to those who were seeking him because of the loaves. The man in the parable regarded his lord as a “hard man” (Matt. 25: 24), and did not make a right use of the talents delivered to him; so these selfish followers regard his saying as a hard one, and will not remain with him longer. “Great crowds are following him to be healed and to be fed, while the politically inclined have at last made a distinct effort to make him king, to force him into a collision with the authorities. His proper work is in danger of being lost sight of. He finds it necessary to sift the crowds who follow him. And he does so by addressing them in terms which can be acceptable only to truly spiritual men—by plainly assuring them that he was among them, not to give them political privileges and the bread that perisheth, but the bread that endureth. . . . They seek earth, and heaven is thrust upon them. They13turn away disappointed, and many walk no more with him.” 2. SOME may question the wisdom of Jesus in introducing a subject so easily misunderstood as that which turned so many from him on this occasion. But he had a purpose in view. He saw that a most trying ordeal awaited his disciples in his betrayal, his agony in Gethsemane, and his crucifixion. He knew who among his followers were unbelieving and who were of weak faith. Had no test been given them, Jesus would have had many among his followers who were weak in character, and undecided. When the great trial came, and their Lord was betrayed and condemned in the judgment hall; when he was humiliated, and the multitude, who had hailed him as their king, hissed at him and reviled him; when the cruel, jeering crowd cried, ‘Crucify him!’ then these faint-hearted ones would have sunk beneath their fear and disappointment. The apostasy of these professed followers of Christ at such a time would have been more than the twelve could have endured, in addition to their great grief and the ruin of their fondest hopes. . . . But Jesus brought about this crisis while he was still present to comfort and strengthen his chosen, and prepare them for what was to follow.” 3. “‘It is the Spirit that quickeneth;’ in these words and the corresponding ones of Paul, ‘The Spirit giveth life,’ we have the nearest approach to what may be called a definition of the Spirit . . . as a life-giving principle. [“The Spirit is what gives life.”] In contrast to the Spirit our Lord places the flesh. . . . It is the power in which the natural man, or even the believer who does not fully yield to the Spirit, seeks to serve God, or to know and possess divine things. . . . His words are spirit and life; they are not meant for the understanding, but for the life. . . . They have themselves a divine life, working out effectually with a divine energy the truth they express into the experience of those who receive them. . . . Not into the mind only, nor into the feelings, nor even into the will alone, must the word be taken, but through them into the life. . . . It is the Spirit that comes from God, the Spirit that Christ came to bring, becoming our life, that will make them become the truth and power in us. . . . The Holy Spirit has for all ages embodied the thoughts of God in the written word, and lives now for this very purpose in our hearts; there to reveal the power and meaning of that word. . . . The Scriptures, which were spoken by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, can only be understood by holy men as they are taught by the same Spirit.” 4. ENOCH walked with God (Gen. 5: 22) when God was the invisible One, but when he was manifested in the flesh, those who listened to his gracious words refused to walk with him, but went “away behind.” When, under special tests, many are turned away from Christ and are showing that their professions are an empty form, and “the question comes to us, as in providence it does, ‘Will ye also go away?’ we must have our answer ready.” 5. “AND we have believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God.” Verse 69, R. V. Knowledge of Christ as the Holy One is the result of faith in him.