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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1938-01-06, Page 3Sunday Scho Lesi:ij, LESSON II PREPARING FOR A LIFE OF SERVICE.—Mark I11-13 Golden Text—Make ye ready the way of the Lord. Mark 1:3. THE LESSON IN ITS SETTING Time,—We do not know exactly When John the Baptist began his preaching, but it is generally assign- ed to the summer and fall of A.D. 26, while the baptism of Jesus took place in January, A.D. 2'7, and was immediately followed by the tempta- tion. Place. — John's preaching took place in Judaea, the southern part of Palestine, which included the city of Jerusalem, though most of it was ,robably done on the eastern side of udaea in the Wilderness near the Jordan River, where also Christ was baptized, and somewhere near which, possibly on the eastern side of the Jordan River, he was tempted. u -.0 -♦-tea Self in all of his human limitations that, though he is gladly the servant of Christ, it is only by the grace of Goa that he is such, for in himself he is not worthy even to perform a me- nial task for the Lord Jesus Christ. 8. I baptized you in water; but he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit. The contrast between the work of the Baptist and that of the Messiah amounts to this, that the mightier One who is to follow John will do the real work of which the Baptist is able to perform only the sign. Water cleanses only the body. But the Holy Spirit is the element in which man is cleansed inwardly and really, and it is this real baptism which the coming One was to per- form." Jesus Baptized 9. And it cane to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee. Nazareth was located midway between the Lake of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. And was baptized of John in the Jordan. "Jesus recognizes that the office of John was of divine appointment. Though he had no personal need of baptism, by refusing or neglecting it he would (if he had not been baptiz- ed) have cast discredit upon the work of John." Furthermore, our Lord formally identified himself with the human race in its sin and degra- dation. 10. And straightway. Coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him. The appear- ance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove is indicative of the gentle- ness and pureness of the One upon whom the Holy Spirit rested. 11. And a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased. This is the first of three declarations heard from heaven; the second being at the transfiguration and the third being just before the passion of our Lord. There can be no question that the voice here heard was the voice of none other than God the Father. Of no other person in all history were these words spoken from heav- en, or could they be literally true. And straightway. the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness. The strong urge of the Spirit met the con- sent of Jesus. He did not go into this temptation against his will. Yet Je- sus did not throw himself into this temptation of his own accord. Jesus was brought into it by his Father's own Spirit. This means that his temptation had to be, and at this very time . It was God's will to have his Son's ministry begin with this mighty battle against Satan and with the resultant victory. 13. And he was in the wilderness forty days. Forty is almost always in the Scriptures used as a symbol of testing, of trial, of suffering, of pun- ishment. Christ could not be tempt- ed in his divine nature, for God can never be tempted to evil. The temp- tation relates only to the human na- ture of the Lord Jesus. And he was with the wild beasts. By inserting this phrase Mark probably intends only to emphasize the loneliness and the wildness of the environment in which Jesus was tempted. And the angels ministered unto him. 1. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This verse is a super- scription or title, not for the first .fifteen verses of Mark's Gospel, but for the entire book. All that Mark records, may be considered only as the beginning of the gospel of Christ. The word "gospel" meant limply "good news." In the phrase "the gos- pel of Jesus Christ" we are to under- stand the preposition "of" to mean "the gospel which concerns the Lord Jesus Christ," the message of good new. which men would never have hear,(, and which never would have had an existence, except through the life and work of Jesus Christ. In the very title "Jesus Christ" is the ,aospei deeply embedded, for the fact that there would come One to deliver his people, a prophet speaking for God, all are to be taken as not only good news, but the greatest of good news. The Son of God. Mark and the early Cl.ristians knew the Lord Jesus to be the very Son of God, partaking of God', nature, of his power, of his holiness, of his wisdom, the only be- gotten Son of the Father. John the Baptist 2. Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet. The two passages here quoted are from Mal. 3:1 and Isa. 40:3. Professor Lenski well reminds us that Mark, by referring only to • Isaiah; and indeed- the form of this - prophet's words snakes them most valuable. The words from Malachi and added as of life nature. Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare the way." The Fa- ther is actually speaking to the Son concerning the messenger who was to precede him and prepare for his com- ing. 3. The voice of one crying in the wilderness. Literally, the wilderness here referred to was that great desert including the whole eastern portion of Judaea, and extending on both sides of the Jordan River. "In this very wilderness Elijah made his last appearance. John was a living illus- tration of bow little man really needs here below, something we are prone to forget." Make ye ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Jose- phus, when describing a march of Vespasian, says that with the van- guard of an Oriental procession were 'such as were to snake the road even and straight, and, if it were anywhere rough and hard to be passed over, to plane ft, and to cut down the woods that hindered their march, that the army might not be .tired'."—Thomas M. Lindsay. 4. John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins. The word "repentance" means "to turn around," ' "to change one's mind," "to reverse one's attitude and verdiot." It is not here said that baptism will secure the remission of sins, but that baptism was a public recognition that the heart had re- pented of sin. Baptism for adults, unless there is repentance and •a washing away of sins by the Lord Jesus, is of no value whatever, but really a mockery. 6. And John was clothed with cam- el's hair, This probably means that John wore a long, loose robe woven from camel's hair, a garment of coarse texture. often worn by the ex- treme poor. And had a leathern girdle about his loins. "The girdle kept the robe from flapping apart, and enabled it to be tucked up for rapid walking." 8. And did eat locusts and wild honey. "The law permitted the use, for food, of locusts and certain large kinds of grasshopper." "There Cometh After Me" 7. And be preached, saying, There cometh after me be that is mightier tint I. John here implies that he too is strong, the divine strength of the word having been given to hint. The latchet of whose shoes 1 am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. In an Oriental household it was the task of the slave to stoop do;wa. and unloose the thongs which bound the sandals of a guest or the slave's mas- ter to their feet, and John here ack- nowledges that there is such an in- finite difference between Christ in all j his glory and perfeetnesft wild flim I An Austrian, asking for divorce, said :"My wife's skirts are far too short. She doesn't seem to mind how much of her legs she shows when the wind 'blows." She produced evidence that she was merely being fashion- able. Case dismissed. A—C , A Modern-StYle Santa Drops Down From the Clouds eililSexeees Using a ne,i type plane, a mode n Santa Clans finds this new fiivver plane adequate in making his annual visit A /A Around "fe i. - From Hollywood conies word that Mickey Mouse, with Minnie, and oth- ers of his famous gang, is starting a series of programs on Sundays from the Mickey House Theatre of the Air, which is aired over the coast-to-coast NBC -Red Network from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. It's a little over six years, now, that Mickey has been bringing smiles and hearty laughs to movie patrons and 'devotees of the comic strips, but now he conies in voice directly into the homes of radio listeners to enliven their Sunday afternoons. Behind the voices of Mickey and his gang will be the music of Felix Mills, noted Holly- wood musician. Bringing Mickey to the radio is another leaf in Walt Dis- ney's crown of laurel, Already, the antics of the lovable comics have brought fame and fortune to their creator. A. native of Chicago, Disney found the study of art a troublesome problem in his youth, and it was not until he left his native city and set-: RADIO HEADLINERS OF THE WEEK It is a little known fact that those four boys known as the Ragamuffins, heard every Monday night at 10:00 o'clock, started their career in a cel- lar. The boys scrimped and saved to buy instruments, and what were too expensive for them they made them- selves. Between them they play two clarinets, two guitars, a bass fiddle, and a collection of pots, pans, wash- boards and tin horns, and believe me, they make music out of it. On top of all this, George Boyd, the tin horn ex- pert, imitates a trumpet and does a choice bit of singing. To say nothing of the vocal trios and quartets that the boys have arranged. Harvey Tem- plar, Alfy Enning and Tommy Ell - well, constitute the remaining mem- bers of the organization. About a year and a half ago the boys were taken in tow by Wally Armour, conductor of the Pond's program, and after' much work he has produced a smart musi- eel band with just these,four boys. * tied in Kansas City that Micley was._ born. It was there that the first Mick `'j` Aired Six Thousand Amateurs ey Mouse movie was created. The l The Good Humor Amateur Show, heard every Sunday at 12:30 over an eastern network, is blazing ahead, bringing to the microphone new voices and new novelties. It is now about one year since Good humor started the amateur contests, and in that time approximately six thousand amateurs have been auditioned, and approxi- mately three hundred have been pre- sented to radio listeners. In the next few weeks the Good Humor people will conduct the final contests, the winner of which will be sent to Holly- wood for screen and voice tests. From what we have seen of this talent, we feel that the lucky one to be sent down, will,lnake a good stab at sue - cess in the glamor city of the world. There still may be an opportunity for you to take part. Just send your ap- plication for an audition to Good Humor, in care of CFRB or CKCL, Toronto. working staff of the Disney studios at that time was Walt and his brother, Rol. Today, the Disney studios em- ploy six hundred persons. * * * Piano Team's Double Wedding The two piano team of Lou Snyder and Murray Ross, playing under the name of "The Sophisticates of the Piano," over CBC and the Mutual Net- works, is perhaps the most popular piano team in Canada. We understand that a double wedding is being planned by these boys at some date in Febru- ary, and this should be quite a novel feature in itself. Both Murray and Lou are very much attached to their respective young ladies, who are, by the way, non-professional. * * * Community Sing -Song We dropped in last Sunday to see the Community Sing -Song out at the Century theatre. Stan Francis, the genial M.C. of the program, turned in quite a nice performance. The little surprises that come in about the mid- dle of the program are somewhat original. Vince Boyd, the man behind the piano, is quite a favorite with the audience in the theatre, and turns in a sparkling piece of solo work dur- ing the program. The tickets are free, and all are welcome. Trying to Return Land to Italians Weary Homesteaders 'ere "Dust Bowl" Area Are Willing to Sell Out • To the Indian, sueeess would mean a return nearer '''Dinetah"—the sa< cfed, immemorial homeland of the Navajo in North Central, New Mexi- co, . To Many a white homesteader, it would;inean a chance to sell out lands:an which he has battled heat, drought, bitter cold, dying range and all the pioneering vicissitudes. The immediate goal of this unique association of Indian and paleface is passage in Congress of the Navajo f boundary bill The measure would add approximately 250,000 acres to the Navajo reservation land now "cheeker'boarded" in alternate strips' of public domain, homestead lands, and Indian holdings. Sentenced To Life Discouraged, weather-beaten home- steaders of New Mexico proposed to give their land back to the Indians. Several score work -hardened set- tlers met with blanketed Navajo in a big pow -wow at the white man's kiva at Crown Point, N.M., uniting efforts to get the Great White Fa- ther in Washington to buy up the high, wind-blown plateau homestead lands and present them to the Navajo. The smallest English inn consists of one room measuring 15 ft. by 11 ft. It is the Smith's Arms, Godman stone, ' near Doethester, and has just been sold. British housewives buy something like 1,600,000,000 tins of foodstuffs every year. Still At Work on Ruins of Crystal Palace Workmen are still breaking up the metallic wreckage of M bvrfnrd fier►n• the fanned Crystal Palace in Nick Megugorac, 19, is the youngest person to be sentenced to life im- prisorunent in Los Angeles, Cal., in 10 years. 1 Ccp.fined to a hose: al in osg, Russia, Soviet election. E ondakova casts her voter in the first v��v� Cvv♦: :4,:::.v4^.v121:amei:�•v�v:♦v�:41v.:011.1"..w♦� v...1 : e09$.♦.e4 The Stars ;;;; By A. R. WEIR ►♦� ;i WHAT THF'. STARS FORETELL FOR THOSE BORN ON *4 ►♦1JANUARY 7, H, 9, 10, 11, 12 and'13 �`� • odi- 44 i If the date of your birth is listed above, CAPRI OnRN ls lucour stones +� �! ac sign. This makes the White Onyx and Moos your►� Kand black or very dark blue your lucky colour. It also suggests that iso A you should marry one born between August 21st and September 20th; ;♦� tel Dee. 21 and January 20 or April 21 to May 20, or one who has the A r moon in Capricornus. Capricornians usually live to a great age and i�( p are zealous and diligent people as a rule.. 'P • AYOUR OWN BIRTH DATE: JANUARY 7—Your viewpoint is usually serious. You take life seri- 41 �A 0 ously. You take people seriously. You take your troubles much too ►♦� V seriously. 'Try to cultivate optimism. This should be a successful and A. prosperous year for you—there should be more stability in your life. ►14 0 •• ,;� JANUARY 8—You are very affectionate, very lory-ing as gni�iedkaatd ��I ind. PO ►*4 hearted yet no One is aware of thi*. You are too quiet, kb secretive about your notions as ed even cold and selfish in your manner ►e. Atowards others. You should be much more demonstrative. Some very ► Aimportant changes are indicated in your business affairs and all indica- e ► $� tions are good. '�♦ %+ JANUARY 9—Indications are that you have let yourself get into a ;♦ 0 rut. "'Why? It is important to.success that one should keep pace with ►moi A prog>uess: Capricornians usually amass great wealth when they are ��i ►°i ambitious and steadily and patiently industrious. An unexpected gain V1• 4 ® financially' is indicated for you. ► tt,JANUARY 10—You are sincere but selfish. You are zealous and dill- ;�i gent but melancholy and introspective. Do not live so much alone with el, Q yourself. The year is good for social affairs and also for love. N V Relatives will benefit you. Business affairs should be excellent. �1' • JANUARY 11—Much happiness should come your way this year. If ► L♦l you.are single, you may marry. You do not snake friends easily but N should cultivate a more friendly attitude toward others. gl 0 JANUARY 12—Your financial affajrs this year should have a big in- %i X fluence on your later life. It should be a prosperous period. Your ►( 0 health will be good and a pleasant holiday is'indicated. lo"�'careful ; �� lest your natural thrift becomes meanness. " ►♦, ur t 4 `tial affairs this year also impe—A e to improvement ews from a long distaance. fiYou '♦° w II also be lucky in love. In business you have great ambitions but ►1- A socially you consider your family all you eequite. This is not good. *71 ♦� You may allow yourself to get lute a rut.11. +� If you birth date .is not listed above and you would like a horoscope r♦� ►♦< for any birth date in the year, or if you would like a complete personal ;♦l ►� horoscope for any date listed above, send 10c to A. R. Weir, 73 Adelaide ► ti*a. St. W., Toronto. Please print your name, addres's and birth date plainly. i. Patients Vote in the First Soviet Election