REVIEW OF THE QUARTER'S LESSONS.
Golden Text: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." LESSON I.—Christ the True Light. John 1:1-14. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. By Him were all things made. "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." Ps. 33:6. Being the Word of God, He is consequently the Light of the world; for, as the psalmist says again, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Ps. 119:105. The Man Jesus was the Word made flesh, "full of grace and truth." He was "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1:9. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light." Chap. 3:19. LESSON II.—Christ's First Disciples. John 1:35-46. After His forty days' fast in the wilderness, His temptation and signal victory over Satan's wiles, Jesus returned to Bethabara, where John was baptizing. John recognized Him as the One whom he had baptized, and upon whom the Spirit had descended like a dove, and he pointed Him out to his disciples as the Messiah. It was but natural that the first disciples of Jesus would be from those who had been most closely connected with him whose mission it was to "prepare the way of the Lord." Having been taught by one who was filled with the Spirit, they would instinctively incline to Him whose Spirit it was. LESSON III.—Christ's First Miracle. John 2:1-11. Not only as a man, but as a prophet and teacher, as the Son of God, Jesus honored the marriage relation, with the attendant social amenities of its celebration, by His presence. He also honored the occasion by a miracle of divine power. This beginning of His public ministry and manifestation of heavenly grace was a fitting symbol of the introduction of His saints to the heavenly kingdom by the marriage supper of the Lamb. LESSON IV.—Christ and Nicodemus. John 3:1-16. Jesus shows why it is necessary to be born of the Spirit in order to become a subject of the kingdom of God. That is a spiritual kingdom which flesh and blood can not inherit. The spiritual life can not be produced by natural generation. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh," and can not by any fleshly power gain any other nature. A spiritual life can come only through a spiritual birth. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." 2 Cor. 5:17. LESSON V.—Christ at Jacob's Well. John 4:5-15. Jesus makes even His weariness a means of conveying the Gospel to thirsting sinners. There could be no circumstance under which He could not labor in the furtherance of His mission. He even placed Himself under apparent obligation to one who would naturally revolt from speaking to Him on account of His nationality. But human appearances all vanish before "a teacher sent from God." LESSON VI.—The Nobleman's Son Healed. John 4:43-54. When the nobleman came from Capernaum to Cana to have Jesus "come down" and heal his son, it was because he had heard of the wonderful miracles He had performed. So Jesus said to him, "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe." This reading of the man's thoughts convinced him at once that Jesus was the Son of God; therefore he became the more urgent, and was ready to believe when Jesus said, "Go thy way; thy son liveth." LESSON VII.—Christ's Divine Authority. John 5:17-27. During one of the feasts at Jerusalem, as Jesus was walking about on the Sabbath-day, He came to the pool of Bethesda, where were many sick folks. As He was always seeking to do good, the Spirit with which He was filled always led Him to the opportune occasion. He found the one who most needed help, and healed him. Thus He fell under the false charge of Sabbath-breaking, and delivered the instruction given in the lesson scripture. LESSON VIII.—Christ Feeding the Five Thousand. John 6:1-14. Jesus and His disciples went from Capernaum across to the northwest shore of the sea for a much-needed "rest." Mark 6:31. But the multitude followed them. When He saw their eagerness and their need, He "was moved with compassion toward them." Verse 34. As usual all consideration of self was laid aside. He fed them with the "bread of life" until evening, and then performed a notable miracle in order to relieve their physical necessities. Jesus is a whole Saviour, caring for our every need. LESSON IX.—Christ at the Feast. John 7:14, 28-37. At the feast of tabernacles the rulers of the Jews sought to take Jesus because He told the people that He was sent from God. But many believed on Him because of the miracles which He did. They said, "When Christ comes, will He do more miracles than these which this Man hath done?" He told them of His approaching departure from among them, but they could not understand Him. Their traditional ideas of the Messiah, that He would be a permanent king of the literal Israel, was a continual barrier to their understanding of the mission of Christ. LESSON X.—Christ Freeing from Sin. John 8:12, 31-36. "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5); therefore Jesus, being the Son of God and the "manifestation of God in the flesh," is the Light of the world. Logically, any one following Him, who is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), would be led out of darkness, and consequently out of sin, which is the cause of darkness. "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin," and only the Son of God can make him free. LESSON XI.—Christ Healing the Blind Man. John 9:1-11. Here was manifested the real object of the poor man's lifelong afflictions—"that the works of God should be made manifest in Him." There is a purpose in all affliction, which will always be revealed when the sufferer comes to realize that "all things work together for good to them that love God." Rom. 8:28. Altho all suffering is the result of sin in a general way, it can not in any sense atone for sin. Yet it may be a means of bringing the sufferer to Him who can heal both body and soul. LESSON XII.—Christ the Good Shepherd. John 10:1-16. The "sheepfold" represents the kingdom of God, both in its spiritual jurisdiction in this world and in its glorious fulfilment in the new earth. The "door" represents Christ, by whom all must enter. The "porter" is the Holy Spirit, who opens the "door" to the kingdom. This He does by guiding the "sheep" "into all truth," which is the Word of God. Chapter 16:13; 17:17; Ps. 119:142. All who faithfully follow the voice of the good Shepherd will be kept from every evil way, and led in "green pastures" and by "the still waters."