Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 11, Number 7, DeMotte, Jasper County, 2 January 1941 — IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL Lesson [ARTICLE]

IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL Lesson

By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST. D. D.

bean of The Moody Bible Institute of Chiceso. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.)

Lesson for January 5 Lesson subjects and Scripture texts selected and copyrighted by International Council of Religious Education; used by permission. JESUS AND HUMAN AFFLICTIONS LESSON TEXT—Luke 13:1-5. 10-17. GOLDEN TEXT—We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmiUes.—Hebrews 4:15. A sense of guilt for sin seems to be in every human heart. Some deny it, or seek to suppress it, but it has a way of revealing itself, especially when trouble or sorrow comes. How often one hears even persons who are spiritually indifferent and careless say that some catastrophe is a punishment for sin. The assumption is that the one who suffers much is a great sinner, but our study of Job taught us that such is not necessarily the case. In our lesson for today we learn from Jesus Himself regarding human affliction. His attitude tow r ard it should guide us in our attitude. First of all He makes clear that we are all I. Perishing Sinners (vv. 1-5). Someone, apparently a Judean, told Jesus, possibly with a sense of real pious satisfaction, that Certain Galileans (whom the Judeans did not like) had been slain w'hile they were at worship. Evidently the implication was, “What terrible sinners they must' have been!” How like that are the expressions of people today! Jesus met the question by giving another similar incident right in Judea, thus rebuking false racial pride; .then went on to point out that what they (and we) need to remember is that all’’men are: sinners and will perish eternally unless they repent. “A man can perish though Pilate never slay him. *He can perish though no tower crush him. He may ’ die in his he'd, with his friends . all about him; and evejn have music when he -dies, but be will be damned unless he reperiP’ (G. Campbell Morgan). The important thing is not the relative sinfulness of men, but the fact that God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). We are all sinners, either saved by grace or eternally lost. Sinner, turn to the 11. Powerful Saviour (vv. 10-13). Here was a woman, spiritually alert, but physically afflicted. She was in the synagogue (vv. 10, 11), and she was a daughter of Abraham, indicating that she was a woman of faith. But for some reason, which is not revealed, an evil spirit of Satan (v. 16) had brought about in her body an illness which bent her double. We cannot “explain this. There may be many other such cases ..in the world. There are things we have not fathomed yet cjoncerning the mystery of suffering and the power of evil” (Morgan). We see the facts, but, thank God, we see more, for we find her meeting the all-powerful, Saviour-, who is able and willing to deliver. Jesus saw her. He called her to Him. He spoke to her. He touched her, and He healed her. What a blessed experience. Have you been to Jesus need? If not, why not come right now? Observe that He had power and authority to set the woman free from Satan who had held her bound for 18 long years. jj-t; One would suppose that all would have rejoiced at this glorious deliverance, but we find that the ruler of the synagogue was angry. He viewed whas he regarded as the breaking of the Sabbath day with alarm and"

111. Perverted Solicitude (vv. 1417). • jj - It is a splendid thing to be concerned about good order, proper procedure and decorum, especially in the house of God. t But when there is a human need dnd the Son of God meets that need by the working of His power, it is both folly and hypocrisy to obstruct or become angry because one’s owm interpretation of the proper order of things has been- set aside. f « This man, who as a religious leader should have realized that the need of humanity came above his consideration for the beast of the field (vv. 15, 16)', and who should have rejoiced that the Son of God had done this miracle in the synagogue, rightly deserved the swift and stinging rebuke of Jesus. His objection was not really to the violation of the Sabbath, but to the working of God. Such men need rebuke,. One marvels that the church can read this passage again and again and never learn the lesson. One of the blights on the church today is the unwillingness of many of its leaders to permit the power of God to work. They don’t want it. It upsets their plans and programs. If such a man (or woman) reacts these lines, it is suggested that he read the eighth and ninth words of verse 15, then verse 5. May God help us to fairly meet such an important issue honestly, and for the benefit of our eternal souls.