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February IMS
Redeemer, when- once He is accepted for what He claims to be, thé only and sufficient Saviour. He died to .take away sins; He died instead of the sinner. He was buried, and iden tified with Him in that death were both the gins and the sinner. He rose ‘ with etérnal life in Himself and able to communicate that life to others. He Himself is God’s free gift to every one who will receive Hip. Believing, the soul obtains freedom from guilt and from all condemnation; freedom, from death,, with the. possession of eternal life; and freedom from bond age, with the enjoyment (of the lib erty of the sons of God. Happy is the teacher who will use this lesson to bring the saving gospel of the grace of God to each mefnber of the class, pressing home the truth that "he that hath the Son [this risen Son of God] hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12, 13). Points and Problems 1. "Peace be unto you"*( John 20:19). This is the first word spoken by Jesus to His disciples that first Sunday eve ning following His resurrection. He had used it often before as He had walked and talked with them, and it was just about the last thing He had said to them in the- upper room the night before His crucifixion "(John 14:27). The disciples had gone out from that hallowed experience and watched Him as He went to Geihse- mane and Calvary. They seemed to have so little of that peace during those dark hours, but now once again He stood in their presence, “beyond the tragedy, beyond the agony, be yond the darkness, beyond that which had filled their hearts with terror,” and addressed them in the old fa miliar way. There could be no doubt that it was He! He still stands “ in the itidst” saying, “Peace be unto you.” He is our peace. 2. "Then' were the disciples glad" (John 20:20). There is nothing com parable to a vision of the risen Lord to bring gladness to the soul. Glad ness came to the disciples when they' saw the Lord. The word “ saw” here means more than simply to see with the eyes. It is the same word used in John 20:8 when the disciple looked into the tomb that contained only the graveclothes of Jesús, “ and he saw, and believed.” It means “to know, to be acquainted with.” The disciples perceived; they knew that Jesus was alive, and their hopes rose again. The disciples were glad because they now had a living Lord to live for, and they had a living message to proclaim. All their fears were now gone. They 'ex perienced a resurrection of all their hopes. Hope had died and was buried with Christ in the tomb, but with His resurrection it all came to life again.
3. "Whosesoever sins yè remit, they are remitted unto them" (John 20:23). These words were- not spoken only to Peter, but to the entire assembly of the disciples with the exception of Thomas. They a p p l y definitely to every faithful ambassador of Christ. On the authority of God’s Word, and because of the power of the gospel, he has the right to say to individuals who accept the gospel that their sins are forgiven. They are all washed away in thé blood of the Lamb. How ever, in dealing with those who per sistently refuse to turn to Christ for salvation, the ambassador of Christ has the authority to say that their sins are not forgiven. They are re tained. The wrath of God remains (John 3:36). This sort of a ministry is doubtless a part of what Jesus had in mind when He said, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you,” (John 20:21). 1 4. "But Thomas, . . was not with them" (John 20:24). Every Sunday evening service should be a memorial of that first Sunday evening when Christ met with His disciples. How' many like Thomas miss a great bless ing because they, never attend! Es pecially are the believers of today ex horted to be faithful to the assemblies of Christians in view of the apostasy which now exists (Heb. 10:25). . Golden Text Illustration R evelation 1:18 When we wander through a grave yard and look at the tombstones, or go into the church and examine the old monuments, we see one heading to them all, “Here lies.” Then follows the name with the date of death, and perhaps some praise of the good quali ties of the deceased. But how different is the epitaph on the tomb of Jesus! It is not written in gold nor Gut in stone; it is spoken by the mouth of an angel, and it is the exact reverse of what is put on all other tombs: “He is not here.”—S. Baring-Gould in The Expositor; The Glad Surprise J ohn 20 MEMORY VERSE: “The Lord is risen indeed” (Lk. 24:34). • APPROACH: What do you think is the happiest event recorded in the Bible? That is right, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Next month
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we shall h a v e a lesson a b o u t the first Easter morn ing. LESSON STORY: Today we are go ing to see w h a t happened o n th e f i r s t Easter eve ning. The disciples were all gathered
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