Lord and said, “ All men seek for thee.” The Saviour said, “ Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.” The Saviour’s life was spent in serv ice to others and in telling them about God. How do you spend your time? Do you live just for yourself and for what you want to do, or are you giving your life each day to serve others and to tell them about your Lord? Jan. 21, 1951 JESUS MEETS GROWING HOSTILITY Mark 2:1-121 Pointers on the Lesson The unique ministry of Jesus soon aroused opposition. We have an early instance of this in today’s lesson. It grew in intensity as the days went by. This opposition grew out of His claim to forgive sin. To the Jews it was the rank est kind o f blasphemy for anyone to pre tend to have authority to forgive sins. This right belonged to God alone. Of course, the real difficulty lay in the fact that they did not realize that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh. Every difficul ty vanishes when Jesus is put in His proper place. The lesson story also presents an ex cellent illustration of how souls are brought to Christ. Principles are seen in operation here which need to be fol lowed in personal evangelism today. The Occasion of the Miracle vv. 1, 2 When Jesus returned to Capernaum from one of His numerous trips of min istry, it was soon learned that He was again at home. Quickly a great crowd gathered to see and hear Him. He made the most of the opportunity and “ preached the word unto them.” This was the occasion of one of the most spectacu lar of all of Christ’s miracles. The Subject o f the Miracle vv. 3, 4 The case of the man who needed heal ing was one of helplessness. A paralysis of some sort had rendered his body im mobile. He was confined to his cot and dependent upon others to carry him about. His condition readily suggests that of the sinner whose unregenerate state makes it impossible for him to walk in the way o f God. But four men took an interest in the poor man and overcame every obstacle and got the object of their compassion into the pres ence of Jesus. What would be the result today if “four” believers did something to get every unsaved person to Christ? The Spiritual Miracle v. 5 That which the four men had done in bringing their friend to Jesus was evi dence o f their faith. The Lord immedi ately responded to that faith by minis tering to the paralytic’s deepest need. Outwardly, it appeared that his greatest need was physical but the Lord, who
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prayed in the morning; (2) He prayed alone; and (3) He prayed before preach ing (vv. 38,39). Let us follow His ex ample in these respects to the end that our living and service may be richer and more fruitful.
Helps for the Children A Day of Helpfulness Mark 1:21-30
Memory Verse: “ And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gos pel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matt. 9:35). Each day was a busy day in the life o f the Son o f God. From early morning until late at night the Saviour and His helpers were busy preaching the gospel, comforting the sorrowing and healing the sick. Our lesson today is an example of the type of day that our Lord had. Early one sabbath day the Saviour entered into the synagogue and taught the Word o f God. The people were sur prised at His teaching which was so much greater than the teaching o f their scribes. In the synagogue that day was a man with an unclean spirit. The Lord Jesus cast out the unclean spirit, a thing that no one had ever been able to do before. The people were amazed at this experience. Immediately those in near by towns o f Galilee heard of the thing that had happened in the synagogue. When the synagogue service was end ed, the Lord Jesus and His helpers went to the home o f Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. The Saviour “took her by the hand, and lifted her up; immediately the fever left her” ! That evening all of the city gathered at the door of the house bringing their sick to the Son o f God. How tired He must have been, and yet He never refused to minister to those who needed His help in any way. Before daybreak the next morning the Saviour arose and went into a quiet place to pray that He might talk with His Father before He began another day of service. The disciples found their D E C E M B E R . 19 50
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