She had heard Him, perhaps, upon the street and the Spirit of God had illu- mined her soul with the truth and she had accepted it; now she bears witness to it, by her deeds. This is a wonderful picture; no words are spoken, yet, in the most unlikely way and place, the Saviour and the sinner have met. The search^ ing eye of the Lord saw the hypocrisy of Simon's Pharisaical heart and also the hunger in the heart of the penitent woman. He publicly rebuked the one and rewarded the other. What is it that has saved her? Was it her tears? Was it her loving offering? Was it her lowly service? None of these. "Thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace." Her works were evidence to the cold- blooded Simon. She was justified, be- fore God, by grace through faith and justified before men by her good works. LESSON I. Golden Text. Jno. 3:19. This lesson is in strong contrast with our lesson on the Penitent woman. In the one case, the woman hated the darkness and came joyfully into the light; in this, the sinners are represent- ed as loving darkness and rebelling against the light. In our golden text we have clearly defined the attitude of the natural heart toward the Lord God. When the Messiah came to Judea the national condition of the Jews must have been one of almost universal profli- gacy. The fearful denunciations which fell from His lips are proof of t he de- pravity of the rulers and teachers. The presence of the Lord Jesus and His searching messages brought to light the hidden sin, which had been fostered through their perversion óf the religious system God had given them. "He came unto His own things and His own peo- ple received Him not." All false sys- tems of religion are founded upon this desire to evade the t r ue light of God. Men love a religious system that does not interfere with their sinful practices, or that makes it easy for them to pay a price, for the privilege of indulgence in sin. Thè message of Jesus is so clean cut, so separating, so penetrating, that men rebel against its power. The money maker, in the midst of his mercenary accumulations; the pleasure seeker, pur- suing his path of gaiety; lovers of lust, living on the low level of a sensual life, and the ambitious professional place- seeker, treading everybody and every- thing under his feet, all hate the light of the truth. If you turn over a stone or log in the woods, the black bugs ex-
consisted, then, in his moral character. The Angel testified of him "He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, shall drink neither wine* nor strong drink and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb," Luke 1:15. The Angel Gabriel came and announced his coming, before he was conceived, and prophesied his char- acter.- John was filled with the Holy Ghost before his eyes saw the light of day. Great as was this man, morally, and great as was his honor as the bap- tizer and announcer of the Christ, the position which the believer will have, when God shall set up His kingdom liere upon the earth, will be greater. The least position, in that kingdom will "be of higher order than that accorded John in this age. What a glorious pros- pect there is for every one, in the com- ing kingdom. There is a lesson for us "beyond this. When John announced Jesus as the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, he preached t h e Gospel. He was a finger-post point- ing to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the same privilege is accorded us, and say- ing, by lip and life, "behold God's be- loved Lamb who is the sin-purger." The Lessons are many, in our scrip- t u re portion today, but the central les- son is found in the wonderful picture of the penitent sinner and the Peace- giving Saviour.. The incident gives us an insight into the very heart of the Gospel. The Mission of Jesus Christ to a lost world is to save sinners. He says Himself in Luke 19:10, "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." He came "not to be ministered to, but to minister." The Pharisee lacked ability to recognize his own sinful heart and the depth of its need and therefore he failed to see in Jesus Christ the sinner's Saviour. The poor sinful woman was, not only deep- ly conscious of her sins, but was also conscious of Himself as the sympathiz- ing Saviour and she found her place at His feet. Her tears testify to her con- trition; she sorrows over her sins; the anointing of His feet testified to her ap- preciation of Himself and her desire to honor Him. She does not ask for any- thing from Him; she has accepted, in her heart, Himself, as the Saviour of her souL She has not spoken to Him; He has not spoken to her. Her heart was hungry for the love of God, she opened its door and His love came in. LESSON 12 Golden Text, 1 Tim. 1:15
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