It was a quiet, restful place, well adapted for His final struggle with Satan. Here the Lord took the three loved apostles apart for His special comfort and help, and here they failed Him, Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32. Here He overcame the tempter and got the victory of a surrendered will. Have you a place for prayer—a place where you fight the battle to a finish and where God's angels minister to you? (2) The Perfidy of Judas. The place was known to Judas, whose character should be studied in the following scriptures: John 6:64-70; John 12: 5, 6. He was a Jew, had probably been influenced by the teaching of John and held the Messianic hope common to the Jews. He had the advantage of the movings of Jesus, Matt. 6:19-34; Matt. 13- 22, 23; Luke 16:11; Mark 10:25, 26. He was caught, as are so many, in the love of money and became censorious and cov- etous. He was given the title of Son of Perdition by our Lord, a title given only to himself and the anti-Christ, Jno. 17:12- 2 Thess. 2:3; Matt. 26:24. Prophecy foretold his doom, Psa. 109:4-8. He sold His Lord for thirty pieces of silver, Matt. 26:15, and betrayed Him with a kiss, Mark 14:45. We should came to this lesson with Bared heads and bowed hearts. We have first the picture of The "Man" and the Soldiers. The body of Jesus was bared, He was stripped to the waist, bound with His back to a low pillar. The soldier bore a whip into the thongs of which were plaited stones and bits of metal. Bach lash cut deep and laid bare and open wounds. Over and over again the cruel lash was laid upon the bleeding back of the suffering Savidur. Often the victims died during the scourging frequently they were rendered unconscious, upon His bleeding body the soldier's pur- ple coa.t was thrown and a crown of thorhs was placed upon His brow. Then the mailed hand of the soldier struck it down until the blood flowed over His forehead and face. Then they knelt in mockery before Him and spat upon Him. The Lord had foretold this indignity, Matt. 20:9, and the prophet of old had vividly portrayed it, Isa. 53:5, 6. The Man and Pilate. History affords no parallel to the scenes in which the character of Pilate is set forth in such vivid colors. As a ruler he was harsh and unscrupulous; for six years he had oppressed the Jews. He was an Athe- ist, yet he knew that all people claimed their gods. He denied the immortalitx of man. He was superstitious, while unbelieving, yet he was moved by the dream of his wife. He was moved by fear and not by principle. He was anxious for his place and dreaded an uprising of the people. He was greatly impressed by the bearing of Jesus. His in- Lesson XL "BEHOLD THE MAN." Jno. 19:1-15.
Peter's Defense. Peter seeks to defend His Lord with a sword which is the symbol of physical force. The soldiers -represented 1 the civil authority to which all are to be subjected, Horn. 13:1. Had Peter been successful he would have compromised the Lord and made him a rebel against the government, so that Pilate could not have declared Him innocent. Too many crimes have been committed with the sword in the name of the Lord. Tlve cup of suffering from the Father's hand, lie will gladly take and drinx. Here 1 we have the manifestation of the perfect obedience of our Lord. He was made perfect through sufferings, Heb. 2:10, as the Captain of Sal- vation. Peter's Denial. That Peter could so soon after his splendid enthusiasm for his Lord, turn and deny Him seems strange to us, and yet our experiences are much like his. The six steps to Peter's fall are suggestive; self-confidence, Mark 14:29-31; ambition, Luke 22:24; sleeping, Mark 14:37; rashness, Jno. 18:10; following afar off, Mark 1I-54- warming at the world's fire, Mark 14:6J. The contrasts in this lesson are marked. The covetous, perfidious Judas; the impetu- ous Peter, the calm, courageous, righteous Lord. I.—November 26. troduction of Jesus to the Jews is wonder- fully dramatic. "Behold the Man." ' He is the one Mediator between God and man, 1 Tim. 2:5; Acts 4:12. Three times Pilate had declared that he found no fault in Him. His innocence was established by seven different witnesses. By false disciples, Matt. 27:4. By the king, Luke 23:11-15. By Pi- late's wife, Matt. 27:19. Proclaimed a lamb without blemish by the governor, Jno. 19- 4-6. By the thief on the . cross, Luke 23:4. By the Centurian, Mark 15:39. By His Father in rending rocks and resurrection. He was the Silent Man. He held His peace, Matt. 26:63; Mark 15:3; Matt. 27:12; Matt. 27:14; Luke 23:9. He was the meek man. He endured the cruel scourging without complaint, Acts 22:25. He was the God- man. God manifested in the flesh, fulfill- ing the prophecy of Isa. 53 to the very let- ter. Bleeding, He stood before the Jews a spectacle. Bruised, bleeding and broken, He was the most unlikely looking king ever offered to a people, and yet the holy calmness that marked His every movement His Divine serenity and Godlike silence moved Pilate to seek to touch the stony hearts of the wicked Jews by proclaiming Him innocent and announcing Him as the Man. The lessons here are very practical. He suffered everything, that we might be spared. He was forsaken that we might be accepted. It never pays to compromise. Cultívale the habit of being true to vour convictions. Pilaté played politics and thought he was safe, but he lost all. The world still cries crucify Him, while we cry crown Him The impulsive
Lesson XLV.—November 19.
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carne to set the captives free, Luke 4:18, but He Himself must be a caDtive The Bound like a criminal, the Son of God order of procedure upon that eventfu night was led as a sheep to the slaughter. Re and following ^ o r n l n g w a s a s f oUows : (1) n j ... Jno. iB. ia-40.
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