him, and let him go.” So great was this miracle that many of the Jews who saw it believed that the Lord Jesus was the Son of God. Others reported the story to the religious rulers of the Jews and wanted Jesus to be put to death. God’s children everywhere can turn to the Lord Jesus for help in their times of need. Perhaps He does not answer then- prayers as they had wished, but His an swer is always the best for them. If Jesus had healed Lazarus He would not have been able to raise him from the dead. Today the Lord Jesus is waiting to give eternal life to those who will re ceive Him as their personal Saviour. March 14, 1954 Jesus Faces the Cross John 12:20-32 Pointers on the Lesson There is no mighty I AM presented in this lesson as we have had in so many of the preceding lessons. But the Son of God by a simple illustration sets forth His saving ministry. He could very truly have said “I AM the only Saviopr of the world” had He chosen to do so. The cross looms large in the words of this lesson. The unique accomplishments of that cross are clearly suggested here. The Occasion Prompting the Calvary Message vv. 20-22 It was passover time in Jerusalem, _(v. 1). Certain Greeks, probably Jewish prose lytes, were among the multitude that found their way to the Holy City for this wonderful occasion. Evidently they were seeking rest for their souls which they had not found as yet. Doubtless they had heard something about Jesus, His person and work, and when they came in con tact with one of His followers, they said, “Sir, we would see Jesus” (v. 21). It is interesting to note that the disciple whom they contacted was Philip, the man with a Greek name and possible Greek con nections. They appeared sure that he could help them make contact with Jesus. Their reasoning was correct for surely every follower of Jesus ought to be able to introduce others to Him. Philip was a bit reluctant to undertake this respon sibility alone since as yet the door had not been opened to the Gentiles. And so he engaged Andrew, another disciple who was adept at leading others to Christ, to aid him in this matter. The Calvary Message and Its Accompaniments vv. 23-32 Strange as it may seem, at this point the Greeks drop out of view. The thoughts of Jesus move quickly forward to His cross. Doubtless this was because of His realization that nothing could be done for these Greeks nor for anyone else apdrt from the redeeming work of calvary. What happened to these earnest Greeks? We do not know but very, likely they came under the influence of Peter’s migh ty preaching after the passion of our Lord and became among the first con verts in the church. Note how Jesus conceives of His cal vary experience. It was “the hour” of His glorification (v. 23). It was like the
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON HELPS
Homer A. Kent, Th.D. Allison Arrowood (children) Lesson material is based upon outlines of the International Sunday School lessons copyrighted by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of thé Churches of Christ in the United States of America. •
forth. But again the disciples were asked to do that which they were able to do, namely, to remove the grave clothes from him (v. 44). Reaction to Jesus vv. 43, 44 Following Jesus’ great miracle there was a twofold response to Him: many “believed on him” (v. 45); but “some of them went their way to the Pharisees” (v. 46). The latter group doubtless went to their own crowd to continue their criti cism and rejection of Christ. It makes clear the statement found elsewhere in the New Testament that some will not believe even though miracles of resurrection are performed. Helps for the Children Jesus, the Lord of Life John 11:1-54 Memory Verse: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10b). Lazarus was ill! Many times the Son of God had visited in the home of Laza rus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, in Bethany. These friends of the Lord Jesus knew that He had all power; they knew that nothing was impossible with Him. When the two sisters realized that their brother was seriously sick, they sent to Jesus, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.” The Saviour could have spoken a word and healed His friend, or He could have gone at once to Bethany to heal Lazarus. God’s Son wanted to perform an even greater mir acle than healing a sick body; He wanted to raise Lazarus from the dead! Jesus waited two days before He went to Bethany. Lazarus had been dead for four days. When the Lord Jesus came to the home that He loved so much He found many of the friends of Mary and Martha comforting them in their sorrow. The Lord Jesus wept when He saw the grief over the death of His beloved friend. Mary and Martha showed Jesus the grave where the body of Lazarus had been placed. How surprised they were at the Saviour’s command: “Take ye away the stone”! Martha did not want the stone to be removed because Lazarus had been dead so long, but friends obeyed Jesus’ command. The Lord Jesus thanked God for hearing His prayer and then said with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” Immediately Lazarus came out of the grave. Because he was tightly bound with graveclothes, the Saviour said, “Loose
March 7, 1954 The Raising of Lazarus John 11:32-46 Pointers on the Lesson The chapter of our lesson this week contains another of the great I AMs of John’s Gospel—“I AM the resurrection, and the life” (v. 25). Ask your class to reoount those to whom we have already been introduced in our lessons. In our study today we have a demonstration of the truthfulness of His latest claim. Jesus is always able to make good on His claims. The Compassion of Jesus vv. 32-37 The heart of the section is verse 35, the shortest verse in the Bible—“Jesus wept.” The word for weep here means literally to shed tears . . The reality of our Lord s humanity shows itself in our Lord’s re action to the sorrow of His friends. In the latter part of the lesson His deity shows itself in His ability to raise a man from the dead. It is wonderful to have a Saviour who is touched with the feeling of our infirmity (Heb. 4:15), but who also is able to minister to our infirmity in a way in which no other can. In verse 32 Mary said, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” This was doubtless true. Death fled in Christ’s presence. But in this instance our Lord saw fit to be absent when His friend died in order that He might demonstrate His compassion and do a work that would manifest His glory. The Command of Jesus vv. 38-44 The heart of this section is the word to the dead, Lazarus, come forth (v. 43). But leading up to it there are several things to note: (1) the nature of the grave:—“a cave” (v. 38). The traditional grave of Lazarus in Bethany has 22 steps leading down to it from the entrance; (2) The command to the disciples—“Take ye away the stone” (v. 39). They could do that much and the Lord does not pro pose to do for His disciples what they are perfectly able to do for themselves. (3) The prayer of Jesus (w. 41, 42). He left us a good example to ptray before we work for God. Then Jesus called for Laz arus to come forth from the bonds of death. Note, He used Lazarus’ name else all the dead in all the cemeteries might have come trooping forth, so powerful is the voice of the Son of God. One day the latter thing will happen! No sooner had Jesus commanded than Lazarus came
THE K IN G 'S BU SINESS
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