enough, Mary and Joseph brought Him to the temple in Jerusalem to present Him unto God as Moses hgd com manded 'in the Old Testament. God had said that the firstborn son in every family would be holy unto Him. The child’s parents were to offer a sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. In Jerusalem ,a godly man named Simeon was told by the Holy Spirit that before he died he would see the Lord Jesus. Simeon was in the temple the day that Mary and Joseph brought the Saviour there. Simeon took the Baby into his arms and thanked God that he had been allowed to see the Saviour as the Holy Spirit had prom ised. Simeon blessed Mary and Jo seph and told Mary that her Son would cause the rise and the fall of many in Israel $nd that He would die for men’s sins. The same day, a godly woman, Anna, who lived in the temple and fasted and prayed day and night, gave thanks unto God when she saw the Lord Jesus. She told the people that He was the Saviour of the world. Not every one welcomed the Lord Jesus into the world. Then, as today, many ignored or hated the Son of God. All through the years each person ki every land has had to choose what sort of welcome he will give to the Son of God. Have you, like Simeon and Anna, thanked God for His Gift to the world?
Pointers on the Lesson, H omer A. K ent , T h .D. Helps for the Children, A llison A rrowood
Lesson material is based upon outlines of the International Sunday School Lessons copyrighted by the International Council of Religious Education; used by permission.
January 2, 1949 THE WORLD IN WHICH JESUS LIVED Gal. 4:4ab; Luke 2:1-7; Matt. 22:15, 16,23ab
Pointers on the Lesson This lesson begins a six months’ chronological study of the life of* Christ. The purpose of this first les son is to present some of the forces, factors and factions in the environ ment of Jesus which He faced over and over as He went about His min istry. Such a wonderful life deserves the most careful study; therefore let us begin these lessons with a renewed dependence upon the Spirit of God for help. The Time When Jesus Came (Gal. 4:4ab) There was no time quite like that which divine providence provided for the entrance of the Lord into human life. Home ruled with an iron hand but had succeeded in welding together a multitude of varied peoples into one empire. The Pax Romana (peace of Rome) prevailed. Means of transporta tion aided the spreading of good news. A language, never excelled in expres siveness and beauty, had been devel oped as the vehicle through which the divine revelation was preserved for men through the centuries. The Lord Jesus came info the world at the right time. The Providential Arrangement for Jesus’ Coming (Luke 2:1-7) Centuries before Christ’s birth, it had been prophesied that He would be born in the little village of Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). But at'the time approach ing the birth of the Saviour neither Joseph nor Mary was in Bethlehem. It did not appear as though they would be there for the great event. Then it was that the Roman emperor began to work for God, although he did not realize that he was doing so. His de cree demanding that every individual go to his own home town for the pur pose of taxation made compulsory the appearance of Joseph and Mary in D E C E M B E R , 1 9 4 8:
Bethlehem just at the right time for the fulfillment of the prophetic word. God’s Word must come to pass even though it enlists the unknowing co-op eration of earthly rulers. The Opposition Jesus Faced (Matt. 22:15, 16, 23) All through His ministry Jesus faced opposition. The verses before us now present three classes of those who were against Him. The Pharisees were the strict formalists of the day. They be lieved in the Old Testament as the Word of God but added many things to it in the way of human tradition. In fact, the added traditions almost ob scured the truth of God. The ceremo nies th,e fathers invented had become more authoritative than the spiritual content of the divine revelation. These enemies of Christ sought to ensnare Him in every possible Way. The Herod- ians, a political party of Jews who followed the ideas of Herod, were at variance with the pure teachings of the Son of God. Not much about them is known, except that at heart they were enemies of Christ. Then there were the Sadducees who denied the super natural. They did not believe in mir acles, in judgment, angels, the resur rection of the dead, etc. They were the modernists of that day. Thus the cause of Christ is always opposed.
Helps for the Children The Baby Jesus in the Temple Luke 2:1-4, 22-28
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Memory Verse: “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Perhaps you may think that only the shepherds and the wise men wel comed the Lord Jesus when He came to earth as a Babe.' There were others who eagerly awaited the coming to earth of God’s Son. When the Baby Jesus was old
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