able to tell of His wondrous power and compel men to say, " W h a t manner of man is this—winds and waves and demons obey His voice and do His w i l l ." POINTS PRACTICAL, The bark that bears His "Beloved S o n " is safe in any sea. In times of trouble, the heart turns to the tried and trusted Lord. His Word worked wonders midst the fear of soul and the f u ry of the sea. The human heart can become the home for the demons of hell. There is Divine deliverance from the devil and his demons. The swine have sense enough to seek to strangle the evil spirits in the sea. The manner of The Man is made man- ifest in His mastery over the elements and the evil one. LESSON XII. March 20th. A PARALYTIC FORGIVEN AND HEALED. Matt. I X: 1-13. Golden Text—Matt. I X: 6. Theme—The Physician and His Pa- tients. OUTLINE. 1. The Palsied Pardoned and Cured. 2. The Provision for Publican and Sinner. Again we find Matthew fitting the works of the King into a logical order, that His power to provide for the deep- est need of men might be proven. The eall of Matthew antedated the healing of the paralytic. Matthew is not chronological. Mk. 11:3-14, Luke Y: 18-29, should be prayerfully read. 1. The Palsied Pardoned. " T h y sins be forgiven thee—arise, take up they b e d . " The Lord responded to the request of the Gadarenes and left this coast; we knew not t h at He ever returned. He came to Capernaum, which city was, in a sense, His own (Ch. IV: 13, V I I I: 14; Mk. 11:1. Sins removed. Jesus was in His home teaching crowds gathered to hear Him. A man, sick of the palsy, borne of four men, was brought for healing. This is one of the beautiful pictures: four men, associated in sympathy, seek- ing relief for their fellow. They are taking him to the right place, " t h e great Physician now is near—the sym- pathizing Saviour." There were difficulties to overcome,
" t h e y could not come nigh for the p r e s s" (Mk. 11:4). There were ob- stacles to be surmounted; they had to ^ break through the roof, but they had an overcoming faith and ceased not their efforts until they were effectual. He is at the feet of Jesus (Luke Y: y * 19), the place of privilege and of power, the place to bring the sinner and the place to bind the saint. He ' saw their faith, by reading their hearts and knowing their motives, and by their \ works (Jas. 11:18. He saw, also, the need of the poor paralytic, and His soul ' was moved with sympathy. It is the unexpected that happens. The crowd Lm must have had an expectant attitude, when this man was so unceremoniously let down from the roof. The Lord does not reach out to touch him, as He did ( , the leper, but He speaks to him, " S o n, ^ cheer up, thy sins are forgiven t h e e ." He had never spoken such words be- 1 fore; it is the King in a new role. He is putting first things first. God gives # the best gift first and in that gift all else is included (Eom. VIII:32). Forgiveness of sin transcends all other works; it is God's incomparable work. Sin is satan's masterpiece. Sin is the source of all human suffering. The Lord seems to identify this man's condition with his conduct. No law can be violated with impunity—sowing in- ' volves reaping. Every sickness cannot be traced to some definite sin (Jno. IX:3. The Lord looked into the heart of the man, saw the longing there and < ministered, first of all, to his deepest ' need. Do we not err, in that we are £ spending too much time in providing v * for the physical needs of men and women; are we not too much occupied * with the temporal affairs and making them the special, rather than the sec- i^i ondary things? The ship has sprung a leak; the house is on fire; what is the most important thing? Men are heavy hearted, bowed down with the ^ burden of sin; what is the imperative obligation ? The Scribes were horrified. They * said to themselves, " N ow we have Him, He is a plasphemer—no one but God # can forgive s i n s" (Job XIV:4; Psa. CXXX:4; Isa. XLIII:25). They were right in that, and He would have been a blasphemer had He not have been God. Only the offended can forgive 2 Sam. XII:13), and all sin is first and foremost against God (Psa. LI:4). He was God and authorized to sit in judg- leaves witnesses, however, who will be
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