The Herald, 1909-12-24, Page 3xtq.0t3r. Se11001.
LESSON XI I1. -DEC. 26, 1908,
The Birth of Christ. -Matt. 2: i-12.
Commentary. 1, The coming of the
wise men • ('vs, 1, 2,) 1. When Jesus was
born -While -the exact date of Christ's
birth it uncertain thew is no reason
wby it may not have been on December
.25, B. 0. 5. But why do we say that
•-Jesus was born "before Christ'?: Sirup -
sly because our calendar is incorrect. For
-Nome centuries after Christ's time there
'was no calendar in general use, but each
elation dated from some event in its his-
tory. Finally, in the sixth century, a
learned monk, Bionysius Lxiguus, was
appointed to .ascertain the time of
Christ's birth', "said it was ordered that
history should IN dated from that time.
But Dionysiuswho. first published his
calculations in A. 'D. '526, put the birth
of Jesus about four years too late.. In
Bethlehem -"House of bread." "A
name properiy?'applieel to a place where
the true Breadwas manifested for the
life of the world:" -Clarke. Of Judea -
To distinguish it from Bethlehem in
Galilee, mentioned to Josh. 19: 15. Her-
od --Herod the Great: lie was. an Edom-
ite, and although a proselyte to th%
Jewish religion, was notorious for his
wickedness and cruelty. He reigned 37
years in Judea and died a few months
after the birth of Christ. At this time
"the sceptre was departing from Judah,
a :sign that the Messiah was now at
hand." Wise men -Cr magi. "Origin-
ally a class of priests among the Per-
sians and IvIedes, who formed the king's
privy counsel. They were inen of learn-
ing and wealth. Augustine and Chrys
ostom say there ware twelve bagi, but
the common belief is that there were but
three. But why were these magi seeking
the Christ? "We know that the Persian
magi believed in a Messiah or future
Saviour, who should in the latter day
appear and renew the world in right-
eousness. " : \rhodon. • From the east --
Perhaps from Media, or Persia, or pos-
sibly, from Arabia. Jerusalem -They
seemed to suppose that when they
reached the capital of the Jewish nation
they would have no trouble in finding
the object of theii search.
2. Where is he -Thin inquiry, in Jeru-
salem brought Jesus into popular notice
and called attention to the fact that the
Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.
Born King of the Jews -This was a
title unknown to the earlier history of
srael and applied' to no one except the
Messiah. It reappaers in the inscription
over the cross. -Carr- Notice that Jesus
was "born" a king. His star -Many in-
terpreters, especially those who seek to
eliminate the supernatural, explain the
"star," or "sidereal appearance," by a
conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn,
'which occured in May, B. C. 7, and again
ebeL'tivth,..14hrl.-ad4t1,;,,44 .is.
which attracted the attention of the
magi was provided for the ocasion. To
worship him -To do him homage. They
were bold to confess the object of their
coming.
II. Light_from the scriptures (vs. 3-6).
3. Had hea2l-The magi had created no
small stir by their inquiries which im-
mediately attracted the attention of the
king. Troubled -Herod, now sunk into
the jealous decrepitude of his savage
old 'age, was residing in his new palace
on Zion, when, half maddened as he was
already by the crimes of his past career,
he was thrown into a fresh paroxysm
of alarm and anxiety by the visit of
these magi, bearing the strange intelli-
gence that they had come to worship a
new-born king. -Farrar. Herod feared
a rival. All Jerusalem with him -Fear-
ing that he would make this an occasion
or renewing his acts of bloodshed. 4. Had
gathered -He assembled the Sanhedrin.
-Lightfoot. Chief priests- This ex-
pression probably comprehends the act-
ing high priest and his deputy, those
who had been high priests -for at this
time the office was often transferred by
the Roman authorities -and "the heads
of the twenty-four sacerdotal, families,
which David had distributed into so
many courses," Scribes -The learned in.
terpreters of the Mosaic law, and the
collectors of the traditions of the elders.
Many of them were Pharisees. De-
manded of them -Because they would •
be most likely to know. Where the
Christ (R. V.) -Or the Messiah, the of-
ficial title of the' promised deliverer.
"The wise men had said nothing about
the Christ, or the Messiah, but only
about the ging of the Jews. 13ut Herod
saw• that this king must be the expected
Messiah"
5. 13y the prophet -Micah 5: 2. Mat-
thew does not quote the exact words
found in Micah, but the 'ruse is given.
Ct wa$ an accepted truth that the Mes-
slali mist. come from Bethlehem, 6, Art
is no wise least (R. V.)-.-Mieah 'says,
"Though, thou' be little among the thou-
sands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he
come forth unto me that is to be ruler
in Israel." This mule Bethlehem "in no
wise least," Although Bethlehem was
little, yet it .was exalted above.'all •the
other cities of Israel. The princes -"The
thousands" (Miceli 5: 2). The tribe had
been'sub'divided into thousands, and over
each subdivision there was a' chieftain
or prince. -Morison. A governor- To
control and rule. Who shall be shep-
'lierd (R. V.) -To' feed and care for, as
ti shepherd his flock. Christ ie both
shepherd and' king. My people Israel -
Israel was God's people in a peculiar
sense. They were his own peeuliar trea-
sure.
IIT. The intrigue of Herod (vs. 7, 8).
•7. Privily called -Herod desired to keep
the time of Christ's birth as secret as
poesible lest the Jews who hated him
should take occasion to rebel, Enquired
of them diligently -"Learned of them
exactly." -R. V. He enquired of them
the exact time and received positive
positive information as to the time the
star appeared. Assuming that the star
appeared when the child was born he
would thus have some idea of the age
of the child. 8. He . sent them- He
assumed control; but they followed the
directions of the Lord, Search. diligently
-Herod was honest in making this
charge to them; he greatly desired to
receive definite word concerning the new
King. And worship him also- What
hypocrisy! Ho only wished to find the
child in order to murder him (vs. 13,
16); he was crafty and subtle, saying
one thing and meaning another.
IV. Guided by the star (vs. 9, 10). 9.
the star. ...went before them -The same
star which they had seen in their own
country now again appears. The star
disappeared for a time and this led them
to inquire in Jerusalem for the young
King whom they sought. Supernatural
helps should not be expected where or-
dinary means are to be had. stood over
-The star pointed out the very house. -
Benson. 10. they rejoiced -The Greek
is very emphatic. They rejoiced exceed-
ingly because they saw they were about
to find the child and because they had
such unmistakable proof of being in di-
vine order. That alone is enough to
cause rejoicing.
V. The child Jesus found (vs. 11, 12).
11. fell down -They prostrated them-
selves before him according to the east-
ern custom. "In this act the person
kneels and puts his hand between his
knees, his forehead at the same time
touching the ground. It was used to
express both civil and religious rever-
ence."-Clar]ce. gifts The people of the
east did not approach into the presence
of kings.'tvithout bringing them presents.
The custom still prevails in many places.
gold; etc. -Gold would always be useful,
While frankincense and myrrh were priz-
e(,0* lin' -',r ; g "acipn4 fra,ganee..._Ther,
ere "e verppresents Isaiah mention-
ed: "All they from Sheba shall come;
they shall bring gold and incense" (Isa.
60:6). `Incense, or frankincense, is a
resinous gum, flowing from a tree, gash-
ed for the purpose, growing in Arabia
and Lebanon. Myrrh is also a gum ob-
tained from a tree in Arabia." Whedon.
12. warned of God in a dream. -God
communicated his purpose to them in a
manner that they understood, and the
impression or conviction was so • clear
that they at once obeyed. another way
-They could easily go east from Beth-
lehem and thus leave Jerusalem on the
north -
Questions -Where was Jesus born?
When? Who was the king of Judea?
What was the character of this king?
Who came to Jerusalem seeking for
Jesus? From whence did they come?
Why was Jesus called King of the Jews?
How had the wise men been led in their
search? Why was Herod troubled?
Why was Jerusalem troubled? Whom
did Herod gather together? For what
purpose? What charge did Herod give
the wise men? Why? How did the• ap-
proach Christ? After leaving Jesus/what
did the wise men do?
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS.
, The Cradle of Christ.
I. A place of salvation. 'Now 'when
Jesus was born" (v. 1). "Thou shalt call
his name Jesus" (Matt. 1:21) . A man's
name represents his character. Herod's
name is a synonym of cruelty, Abra-
ham's for faith, Stephen's for martyr-
dom, John's for love, Jesus' for salva-
tion. His name has power to save,
II. A place of obscurity. "In 13ethle-
ham" (v. 1.) An insignificant village,
not mentioned among the many towns
at the time of the division of the Iand.
"In manger" (Luke 2. 7). Not in a
palace, not in 0, house of luxury, not in
a cottage surrounded by brightness, but
in a limestone cave, did the Christ -
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child open his infant eyes to earth. Was
this to teach how little God cares for ex-
ternals?
• III. A place of cruelty. "In the days
of Herod the king" (v. 1). Jesus came
a stranger to tills world; there was no
room for him in the Mein (Luke 2. 7).
Herod hunted lxim (v. 7). His own par-
ents "understood not" His youthful as-
pirations (Luke 2. 49) ; His own towns-
men rejected Him (Luke 4. 29); He had
not where to lay His head (Matt. 8. 20;
John 7: 53; 8. 1) ; Jews and Gentiles con-
spired to crucify Him (Luke 22. 66; 23.
1, 12). All the way from the cradle to
the Dross He met with cruelty.
IV. A place of royalty. "Born king
of the Jews" (v. • 2)., The gospel of
Matthew is the story of Jesus as King.
Its key -phrase, "kingdom," is found
fifty-six times. Its key -phrase, "king-
dom of heaven," is found thirty-two
times, and nowhere else in the New Tes-
tament. Mathew gives His legal genea-
logy, his royal pedigree, from David,
source of Jewish rule; and Abraham,
source of Jewish blessing (Matt. 1 1).
Jesus was born king, but He waited -
He is waiting still for the kingdom
(Luke 19. 15; Matt. 26. 29). The prayer.
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
in earth" (Matt. 6. 10), has never been
literally fulfilled. It will be some day.
Christ rules His own to -day as a Shep-
herd.
V. A place of prophecy. "It is written
y the prophets" (v. 5). A study of pro-
phecy gives a miniatursdlife of Jesus
(Isa. Z. 1t; MichaLeerse ..
Gen. 49. 10; Hosea 11. 1; Zech. 11. 12,
13; Zech. 13. 7; Isa. 53; 12; Psa. 22. 18;
Psa. 22. 1; 60. 21; Zech. 12. 10; John
1. 45; Acts 13. 27; 1 Cor. 2. 8). .4. special
blessing is promised to those who read
and hear and keep the last great pro-
phecy of His second coming (Rev. 1. 3;
22. 18, 19).
VI. A place of guidance. "The star..
came and stod over where the young
child was" (v. 9). Heralded by a star,
Jesus ushered in the day of grace at the
beginning of this dispensation. The
star 'which illuminates our pathway and
goes before .us to guide us to Jesus is
the Holy Spirit, of whom Jesus says,
"He shall testify of me" (John 15. 26).
VII. A place of rejoicing (v. 10). The
wise men, rejoicing at the cradle of the
infant ging, carry our thoughts for-
ward to another day when a multitude
of redeemed men and angels shall cry
with a loud voice (Rev. 5. 12).
VIII. A place of worship (v. 11).
They gave themselves, then their gifts
(2 Cor, 8. 4, 5). They saw, they "fell
down," thus presenting their "obdies
a living sacrifice" Rom. 12. 1); they
"worshiped," pouring out their souls'
adoration; then "they offered unto Him
gifts" (R. V.)
IX. A place of presents. "They pre-
sented unto Him gifts; gold, and frank-
incense, and myrrh." As a Saviour,
Jesus is God's great gift to us (John
3. 16) ; as saved ones we are God's gift
to Him (John 17.6.)
A Merry Christmas.
(Blanche E. Holt Murison, in Canada -
West for December.)
A Merry Christmas !-how old • the
phrase,
What millions of times 'tis sung;
Yet where is the man who would erase
The' message from any tongue?
Where is the heart that does not
respond
With quick'ning throb to this world-
wide bond?
A. Veld it is, that from zone to zone
Engirdeth the earth with cheer;
And ►Bever a heart can be alone
With the Christmas spirit near:
And never a cloud that' will not flit,
When touched by the soft sweet
breath of it.
A Merry Christmas !--the same
frain
Re -sung to the same old theme,
Re-echoes a -down the years again,
To whisper of love supreme:
And to bid the world be glad and
gay,
Because it has got its Christmas -
day.
re -
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• "I suppose he will, dear."
"Well, don't you think we'd maybe
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Brooklyn Life.
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,1
CLIMAX OF Tilt
CHRISTMAS WAR °•
Christmas, the climax of the Chris-
tian year, the festival, of love and of
life, divine and immortal, the anniver-
sary of the clay when the Giver of all
gave His iiolies't gift to roan, is about
to recur. yet 'once • again,. When the
shades of night spall have been drawn
Dec. 25, in all lands the celebration
will begin, and the morrow will find
millions of happy people giving thanks
and singing the praise of the .Carpen-
ter of Nazareth.
"The spirit of Christmas is :love,"
said a famous preacher when asked
for an expression of the spirit of the
day, "and," ' he added, "this spirit
takes held upon all classes of people
carrying into every' soul the sweetness
and purity of love's, ministry. It lav-
ishes gifts in the homes of wealth and
it finds its way in the direst poverty.
"It is not necessary that the gift be
great, but it moat be a token of friend.
chip. We should particularly remem-
ber the lives that are east in hard
places. Lift a mortgage, send a cheque
or money to the brave woman who is
fighting for her children, bring the
young man or young woman who is
away from the loved ones to your own
fireside, and send a Christmas dinner
where you are sure there would be
only a scanty one if you did not.
FRIENDSHIP IS BEST GIFT.
"Bat this spirit of Christmas which
is to find its expression in the gift of
loving service is not the spirit of mere
benevolence. Kindness that is not in-
spired by comradeship is not beautiful et
all. It may be pity from a proud heart,
but that is not friendship, and it is not
the brotherly love of Christianity. Men
need friends more than they require
alms, and so we all need naolx other's
friendship, for we are all inseparably
bound together as men of one race and
men of al races.
"Let us give gifts, by all means, and
among them that large gift of loving
service. Thus will the spirit of Ohxiet-
mus be- shed abroad and make the
world better and brighter.'
After a little more than 1,000 years
from the birth of its founder, Christ-
mas has become ,the most generally
observed religious holiday on earth.
There is scarcely a land beneath the
sun that does not witness some cele-
bration of the day set apart to com-
memorate the birth of the Carpenter
of Nazareth. While in many Asiatic
countries few participate in these cele-
brations, there are yet enough so that
all peoples are learning the signifi•
canoe of .,the ceremony. Then, too, the
number of actual partieipaats ls' in.
creasing year be- year, so that it takes
no great stretch of the imagination to
picture a time when Christmas obser-
vances will be practically universal.
MASTER'S CHARGE IS OBEYED,
The charge of the Master to carry
His Gospel to all the world has been
religiously obeyed, and the prophecy
of the thousand years of peace which
were to follow close on that consum-
mation should be on its way. Of the
six continents Christianity entirely do-
minates four and is rapidly winnin';
its way in the°'other two. Both Norte.
and South Amerea are Christian in
every part.
The same is true of Australia and
the surrounding islands constituting
Australasia. All Europe follows the
same faith, with the single exception
of the southeastern corner belonging
to Turkey, and even a considerable
part of the Turkish Empire/ including
Armenia, Bulgaria and others of the
Balkan states, embraces Christianity,
while Christian missions exist in Tur-
key
In Africa. where the British Govern -
Egypt and all South Africa, while
France has virtual control of Morocco
and other European powers have colo-
nies throughout the continent, 'the faith
of the Nazarene bas a larger following
than any other religion.
Asia, teeming with its vast Chinese
and' liindoo hordes, is practically the
only continent in which Christianity is
not the dominant faith, and even here
it has incalculable political and strate-
gical advantages that are rapidly work-
ing a transformation. Siberia, occu-
pying nearly half of the entire contin-
ent, is ruled by a Christian power.
MISSIONARIES WIN TIIETR, WAY.
India, on the south, is under control
of England, and the missionaries are
gradually winning their way. Thibet,
the stronghold of Buddhism, is under
Russian influence and is being in-
vaded. by England from Indit. Pal-
estine, Syria and Persia contain im-
portant Christian missions, though as
nations they are still under Moslem
•control. The Boxer uprising was twee-
tieally the last gasp of ;ire virulent op-
position to the advance of Cthristianity
in China, The lesson received from
Europe at that time, the important'
concessions granted in thet chief pox'te
of the great Christian powers, the in-
vasioax of Manchuria, the introdeetion
of the railroad and the ever increasing
number of missionaries, all of these
things are gradually working a change it
the Chinese empire. Mission work is
rapidly increasing in Corea . Japan has
borrowed most of her oivili ation from
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Christian nations and is seriously ds -
cussing the proposition of adopting their
religion also. The Philippines belong to
the United States, and a eonsiderable
portion has been Christianized.
Christmas morn in 1908 will there-
fore • have a meaning to more nations
and more people than any previous
Christmas morn in the history of man-
kind. The fact that the day will be
celebrated by such widely variant types
and in such widely separated nations
gives a powerful suggestion of unity
in the human race.
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE.
Faith, Hope and Love Lighted It,
Runs the Pretty Legend.
When Ansgarius preached the White
Christ •to the vikinrs of the north, so
rum the legend of the Christmas tree,
the Lord sent His three messengers,
Faith, Ifope and Love, to hep` light the
first tree. Seeking one tlfa,t should be
high as hope, wide as love, and that bore
the sign of the cross on every bough,
they chose the balsam fir, which best of
all the trees in the forest met the re-
quirements. Pernaps that is a good
reason why their clings about the
Christmas tree in my old home that
which has preserved it from being swept
along in the flood of senseless luxury that
has swamped so many things in our
money -mad day. At least so it was
then. Every time I see a tre studded
with electric lights, garlands of tinsel
gold festooning every branch, and hung
e4ith the hundred costly knickknacks the
storekeepers invent year by year "to
make trade,;" until the tree itself disap-
pears entirely. under its burden, I have
a feeling that a fraud bas been prac-
tised on the kindly spirit of Yule.
Wax candles are the only real thing
for a Christmas tree, candles of wax
that mingle their perfume with that of
the burning fir, not the by-product of
some coal oil or other abomination. What
if the boughs do catch fire? They can
be watched, and too many candles are
tawdry, anyhow. Also, red apples,
oranges and old-fashioned cornucopias
made of colored paper, and made at
hone, look a hundred times better and
fitter in the green; and so do drums and
toy trumpets and wald-horne, and a
rocking horse reined up in front that
need not have cost forty dollars. or any-
thing like it.- From Taeob A. R%]s's
"Yule -Tide in the old Town" in the
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