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January, 1945
which He came He was regarded as a great man, the best and truest religious teacher, likened to the pro phets and spoken of in the highest terms (vs. 13, 14). To the world, He might have been John the Baptist, reminding the people of their need of repentance; or He might have been Elijah, recalling the people to their God; or Jeremiah, reviving the na tion ; of any one of the great prophets of the past. Men of the world saw no difference in kind between the Lord Jesus Christ and themselves. He was, to them, a great personage but only a man. This is still the opinion of the world, especially the religious world. To the disciples, however, there was a difference in kind between them selves and their Lord (vs. 15, 16). To them He was the Christ, that is, the Anointed One, as to His humanity— the Prophet to be heard, the Priest to be trusted, and the King to be obeyed. As to His deity, He was the Son of the living God, and therefore the ob ject of men’s' worship. This is the needed lesson for today, as it was in that, day, that Jesus'of Nazareth is both perfect Man and perfect God. Peter did not know this great truth by natural means. It was impossible by nature to discover the mystery of the person of Jesus Christ—a mystery not Against but above human reason. It could be known only by a revela tion, and God was pleased to give this revelation to Peter. Thereupon Peter made his great confession which has ever since formed the very heart of the creed of the church. It is a con fession made possible today by the operation of the Holy Spirit, because “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Cor. 12:3). II. T he S on of M an T ransfigured (17:1-8) The Son of God, revelation of the Father, needed no transfiguration. But Jesus had promised that some of His disciples should not die until they had seen the Son of Man in His king dom (cf. 16:28). And “after six days” this promise was fulfilled in the trans figuration of Jesus. Peter, James, and BLACKBOARD LESSON UIH050EVERTHEREFORE5HRLLCODFESS mEBE- FOR(TlEfl, HlfT) UJILL) ..... ... , COriFESSALSOBEFORE (TW FATHER UJHICH15Kl HERVE(V l Ê l i
HOLD [HOSE ...THEY’RE THE “FRONT GATE" TO THE
Does your Sunday School lesson a'ppeal to the eye as well as the ear? The eyes are the'“ froni'gate” to the soul. Hold those eyes! Your lesson \yill have five times the possibility o f victory in your pupils’ lives. When you appeal to^neir „eyes you can get Johnny and Mary to go the ne^t s te p /.. . to do something about the lesson , , * grid thus to remember 90% o f it. Reach those eyes thpough'Visual A ids.The Pupils’ Manuals and Leaflets in th^'ALE' BIBLE GRADED SERIES o f Sunday School Wessons are Visual Aids. They dramatize the lesson. Thby open the “ front gate” during the week. Johnny and,Mgry will like to fill in blanks . . . solve puzzles.. vfiija missing words.They’ll get the FACTS o f the lesson b£tvVeen Sundays, the TRUTH o f it on Sunday. / /
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John were the favored three before whom the transfiguration occurred. Perhaps these three were entering more fully into Christ’s program than the others, or perhaps they in partic ular needed this experience. The glory they beheld was the amazing beauty of the soul of Jesus Christ as a Man. It was the outward manifestation of His perfect human ity. The word “transfigured” comes from the same root as “conformed” and ‘‘transformed” Ccf. Rom. 8:29; 12:2). With Jesus the transfiguration was an instantaneous manifestation; with Christians it is a gradual process, "from glory to glory” (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18). Moses and Elijah were recognized at once, and thus it will be when those who have gone before are seen again in the glory. Moses was there representing the law as its human giver. Elijah, as the reformer, rep resented the prophets. These two were talking with Jesus, and Luke says they talked of His approaching death.
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