The International Sunday School Lessons By J. H. S. LESSON VII.—November 15.— J esus a n d P eter .—Mark 14:27-31, 53, 54, 66-72. G olden T ext .— Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. —1 Cor. 10:12. I. P eter .
confidence in Christ confirmed. This is a universal need—to have the conceit taken out of us and the Christ enthroned in us If these do not follow from Peter’s example they must come through Peter’s experience. Christ took him in training. Peter thought he knew something about fishing. Jesus took the conceit out of him on that (Luke 5:8 ). He thought he could walk the sea, but soon cried, “ Lord, save me” ; he saw no use for the Cross and corrected Christ on that,, but was stunned by the rebuke, “Get thee behind me Satan” (Matt. 16:22, 23). He thought he had done a great thing and “ forsaken all” (Matt. 19:27) for the Lord, but Jesus showed him that he would yet forsake Himself. He swore he would die sooner than deny Him, but foreswore Him that very night. III. P eter ’ s F all . 1. Jesus’ Warning. “ All ye,” etc. (v. 27). In Luke 22:31-34 the Lord addressed Peter. Peter stood for all—them and us. “ Simon, Simon,” he said ( “ Simon” not Peter, the rock), “ Satan hath desired to have you.” By this we see the hidden hand that pushed Peter toward the brink. Let him that thinketh he standeth note that. “ But I have prayed for thee,” and here we see the hidden Hand that prevented a fatal fall. “ Prayed for thee,” Jesus’ intercession is personal; “ when thou art converted,” His intercession is effectual; . “ strengthen thy brethren,” such experiences are for the public benefit. Peter’s story has been a fruitful sermon, preventing, or drjing oceans of such tears as he shed. 2. Peter’s Heedless Confidence. “Not I” (v. 29). (1) He thought himself a match for Sa tan.
Our golden text is most apt. It expresses the quintessence of the lesson; and Peter is the very type o f the sincere yet self- confident Christian. His case affords the classic example of a Satan sifted saint and the resultant A1 wheat. His earnest sin cerity is evident from the first. A disciple of the Baptist he had left his business, journeyed to the Judean Jordan to hear that holy preacher, and obeyed his call to repentance. Thus he met with Jesus. The welcome was mutual. Jesus saw material in him that milled in the crusher, mixed with the Truth and moistened with tears of penitence and waters o f Pentecost would cement into adamant, and He said, “ Thou shalt be called Cephas” (i. e. a rock, or in Gr’k., Petros, Eng., P eter). We are to trace the process. The Lord sees our possibili ties ; consecrates, molds and tempers our in nate qualities for His holy uses. It should comfort us to know in our frailties, failures, blunderings and backslidings that His firm and skilled hand is so fitting us for good works “which God hath before ordamed that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Peter's fall, at least, was a fall upwards. II. P eter ' s T raining . Frank, free, fickle, subject to sudden squalls, like the sea on which he was reared, there were strong undercurrents in Peter’s character that bore rich treasures to reward the hand that cast the net on “the right side of the ship.” We are drawn to Peter. He stirs our sympathies. He is a brother human. Seeing how the Lord bore with and what He made of him we are encour aged. Two things Peter needed: (1) His con fidence in Simon eradicated, and (2) His
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