no

4.

1 Carry

neither

5.

house.

by the way.

nor scrip, nor shoes: and 2 salute no man b purse, no wallet, no

3 And into whatsoever house ye shall enter, first say, Peace be to this

6. And if the

a

son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him: but if not, it shall turn to you again.

4

6

7. And in that same house remain, 5 eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.

1 Matt. 10:9; Mark 6:8; ch. 9:3. 2 2 Kings 4: 29.

Matt. 10:12.

4 Matt. 10: II.

51 Cor. 10:27.

6 Matt. 10: 10; 1 Cor. 9: 4.

with the preaching, there was greed for gold. They recognized no rights in the natives. They forced them to labor in the fields and mines. So later the natives have suffered from traders; strong drink and opium and vice have been forced on them. All this is changing for the better. But still, to-day, one of the greatest hindrances to the progress of missions is the conduct of unchristian men from Christian lands. To some extent the same hindrance exists in Christian communities at home. But all true churches are trying to overcome it. See Professor Bryce's article, Impressions of a Traveller in NonChristian Lands, in International Review of Missions, Jan., 1912.

4. Carry neither purse. A small leather bag for carrying money. Nor scrip. Travelling-bag, or haversack, the word signifying a leather bag or wallet, used for carrying provisions when travelling. "The English word

'scrip' was formerly used in that sense, but is now obsolete."

Broadus. Shakespeare uses it in As You Like It, act III., scene ii. That is, they were to depend on the people for entertainment. Trust the people. Your wants will be supplied. Nor shoes in addition to what

they were wearing; so Int. Crit. Com. And salute no man by the way. Do not loiter for gossip, or go through the long formal salutations so common in the east. Go straight on to the place where your mission is to

be. Time is short, and your business urgent.

5. Into whatsoever house ye enter, whether invited to it, or guided by

counsel. "Some customs

First

of semi-forced entertainment must exist where inns are unknown.". -I. H. Hall. say, Peace be to this house. The common formula of salutation among the Jews, with whom "peace" comprehended all blessings and prosperity: freedom from every evil, and abundance of every good. It means the favor of God, the fulness of his love and protection, sins and faults overcome, health of body and of soul.

6. And if the son of peace be there. That is, one inclined to peace, one wishing you and your cause peace and prosperity. Your peace shall rest upon it (or "him," R. V.). Your coming will bring new peace and blessing to that home, like the ark in the house of Obed-Edom. If not, it shall turn to you again. If they are unwilling to receive it, the peace you bring can do them no good; but it will not be in vain, for you shall receive yourselves the good you wished for them. In this way efforts for the good of others are never lost.

7. In the same house. Where you have been welcomed. Eating and drinking such things as they give. "What the entertainers provide. They are to consider themselves as members of the family, not as intruders; for their food and shelter are salary, not alms.”. Int. Crit. Com. For the labourer is worthy of his hire. And you bring to the house much more than you receive from it, for God will bless them through you. There are many persons whose presence in our homes is a great blessing, and whom we welcome with all our hearts. Go not from house to house. "The reason is very obvious to one acquainted with Oriental customs. When a stranger arrives in a

8. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:

9. 1 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, 2 The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

1 Ch. 9:2.

2 Ver. 11; Matt. 3: 2.

village or an encampment, the neighbors, one after another, must invite him to eat with them. There is a strict etiquette about it, involving much ostentation and hypocrisy, and a failure in the due observance of this system of hospitality is violently resented, and often leads to alienations and feuds among neighbors; it also consumes much time, causes unusual distraction of mind, leads to levity, and every way counteracts the success of a spiritual mission.". Thomson, Land and Book.

8. Eat such things as are set before you. Do not make any change in the household arrangements, but become a part of the family.

SUMMARY. First. They went in their ordinary mode of living.

Second. They were going among countrymen, and lived according to the peculiar usages of Oriental hospitality.

Third. This was the best way to reach the people. The religion of Jesus was for daily life. There was no show, no self-seeking, no expense. They met the people on common ground.

Fourth. They themselves were to be free from all worldly anxiety, so that they could give themselves wholly to their mission without fear or favor. They had nothing to lose, and their support was assured.

Fifth. It is especially noticeable how Jesus insisted upon the most beautiful Christian courtesy and tact. They were to be ideal guests in the home. In their conduct, conversation, appearance, methods of approach, they were to express and exemplify the spirit of Christ, of heaven, of love, of the beauty of holiness, of the religion they were to teach.

It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of this tactful courtesy, when it has become a part of our very nature, in all our efforts to serve Christ and his cause.

Find high examples in the Life of Mrs. Alice Freeman Palmer, how when she was president of Wellesley college she had such wonderfully winning power over her students. And in Blue Sky, the life of Mrs. Harriet Caswell Broad, how she won success among the Iroquois Indians, who gave her the name "Blue Sky." Her methods and successes were wonderfully interesting.

VIII. The Seventy Illustrating the Work Christ came to do, v. 9. Note particularly in this verse the two powers by which Jesus made his Gospel effective, by deeds of healing, and by words making known his Gospel. And note also the order in which the two are placed, deeds first, words second.

FIRST. Heal the sick that are therein. Go about doing good, showing sympathy, expressing loving-kindness toward all in need. Because (1) these represent the heart of Christ and of the Father in heaven. They are "abiding symbols of that great tide of divine helpfulness which is flowing yet, and is to flow on forever." In these the people could see and understand the Christ who was soon to come to them.

(2) The healings were proofs of the authority and power of these messengers of the coming Christ, and drew hearts to him. It was by doing good freely "without money and without price" that the people would trust the disciples when they should tell them of Jesus as the Saviour from sin. Only by the visible help for the body that costs us something is it possible to prove that our efforts for men's souls are sincere.

(3) "What beautiful types of Christ's moral, healing, quickening power we have in the miraculous parts of his history. I feel as I read them that the conception of such a character as Christ transcended human power, especially in that low moral age, and that nothing but the truth of the history, nothing but the actual manifestation of such a being in such forms can explain or account for the gospel narratives.

"How needed was some outward, visible signs of the truth to the minds of that day. It shows great ignorance of human nature, and of God's modes of operation, to suppose that he would approach a darkened, sensual world by purely abstract spiritual teaching." Extract from a Letter by Dr. Channing.

Every miracle was an object lesson and a parable. Sickness and demon possession were fruits of sin, object lessons of sin. Jesus came to undo the works of the devil. By

which

on us,

10. But into whatsoever city ye shall enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, II. 1Even the very dust from your city, that off against you: come nigh. unto you.

notwithstanding be ye sure of
howbeit know

cleaveth this, that the

1 Matt. 10: 14; ch. 9:5; Acts 13: 51.

to our feet, we do wipe kingdom of God is

healing sick bodies he proved his power and willingness to heal sick souls, cleanse leprous hearts, raise the dead in sin, cast out all the devils of iniquity. Christians must work on the same principle.

Work for the temporal welfare of men must go hand in hand with work for their spiritual welfare. Here lies one of the greatest powers of our missionary work. They bring to the lands to which they go, healing, medical missions, hospitals, schools, better means of living. What Christ has done for Christian lands is a mighty argument for the acceptance of the Christian religion and morals.

SECOND. And say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you, in the coming of Jesus the Saviour, who brings the good news from heaven and their Father. It was the kingdom which in various forms they had been expecting. The kingdom of heaven is that state or condition where the principles of heaven rule on the earth, and therefore where all the blessings that naturally flow from those principles prevail. It is heaven on earth. What the seventy were to announce to the people was the same that Jesus announced to his own townsmen at Nazareth (Luke 4: 17-21), when he quoted from Isaiah's prophecy (61:1), which they had heard again and again :

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

Because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor;

He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted,

To preach deliverance to the captives,

And recovering of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty them that are bruised,

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

And then he "began to say unto them, To-day hath this Scripture been fulfilled in your ears." All that heaven can do for man was included in the kingdom of heaven that was coming.

Jesus was soon to follow the disciples, and with him would come the dawn of the new kingdom. It would come to each of them individually, and to them as a nation.

Jesus has come to us, and we can realize, far more than they could then, that the gospel is actually in the world, and has been ever since Jesus came, making the world a better and happier place to live in. It has removed disease and suffering and oppression, and wrongs. It has brought in brotherly love, and general human welfare, educational opportunities, schools, libraries, hospitals, means of travel, comfortable homes, more than any other power the world has known. Imperfect as yet, but infinitely beyond any other part of the world that has not felt the power of Christ's religion.

In the second place this has been done in the only possible way, by making men better in heart. There is no way of making the world better than by new hearts that seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness. Save the soul and then the body can be saved. You can make a perfect world outwardly only as fast and as far as men are filled with divine love, and grow into the heavenly character.

"The kingdom of heaven is at hand," -the new dawn, the new helps, the new opportunities, the new powers, new motives. Like the motto on the reverse of the United States great seal, Novus Ordo Seculorum, a New Order of the Ages had begun for the individual and for the nation.

IX. Dealing with Opposers, vs. 10, 11. Whatsoever city . . . they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same. (1) Because you have not time or strength to contend with them. There is nothing to be gained by battle and contention under these circumstances. (2) Because the best way to reach such opposers is by letting them see the effects of the gospel in other places and the blessings of those who receive them. (3) Your Christian meekness, forbearance, and love under injuries I will best touch their hard hearts. It will be like "coals of fire upon their heads," to awaken, alarm, and melt them. "Not even

II. Even the very dust of your city . . . we do wipe off against you.

12.

But

I say unto you,

It

that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sŏd'om, than for that city.

a

13. 2 Woe unto thee, Cho-ra'zin! woe unto thee, Beth-sa'i-da! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Si'don, which have been done in you, they would have repented long ago, had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

But

were

judgement,

14. Howbeit it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Si'don at the judgment, than for you.

be

15.

thrust

4 And thou, Cȧ-per'na-ům, shalt thou be
which art 5

brought

down

to hell. unto Ha'des.

to exalted heaven' 6 shalt

unto

despiseth

thou

despiseth

16. 7 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that rejecteth you rejecteth 9 and he that despiseth

the smallest thing of yours will we take with us." It was a symbolic act, indicating that they renounced all responsibility for them, and would not keep a particle of the ruin which must come upon such ungodly people, nor would they be defiled by their sin. It was not an act of anger or hatred, but of warning, and a desire to awaken their conscience to repentance, as is shown by their parting words, Notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. The blessings might "brighten as they took their flight."

The greatness of their loss

7 Matt. 10: 40; Mark 9:37; John 13: 20. 8 1 Thes. 4: 8.

9 John 5: 23.

is shown in v. 16. For the disciple preaching and teaching and working in the name of Jesus, is the representative of Jesus and of the Father. We cannot reach Jesus directly, nor do anything for him, but we can reach his representatives, and through them we can express our gratitude to God, if we do it for his sake.

X. The "Woe unto You" of Jesus, vs. 12-16. 12. It shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom. Because those wicked cities sinned against much less light, and rejected smaller and more dimly seen opportunities. (For Sodom, see Gen. 18:20-32; 19:24-28.) When we read of the destruction of Jerusalem forty years later, with its unutterable horrors and "great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be," we understand the meaning of this warning to the Jewish towns.

13. Woe unto thee, Chorazin . . . Bethsaida. Not a wish, but a warning and entreaty. The necessary consequence of breaking God's laws is suffering of some kind, as that of going into the fire is burning, or of sinking under water is drowning. The one possible escape is to repent and obey. And it is God's unceasing effort to keep men from sinning, to persuade them to repent. He said to them and to us as the Father said to Israel by Ezekiel :

"Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

"For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." (Ezekiel 18:31, 32.)

These towns were near to Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven in privilege,

and light, and opportunity. Capernaum was the home of Jesus in Galilee, the centre of his operations, of his teaching and miracles, and example and personal power, all the heavenly influence which radiated from him. These other towns knew not only what Jesus did and taught in them, but also what took place in Capernaum.

Jesus up to this time had dwelt chiefly on the higher motives in attracting men to the kingdom of heaven. He appealed to the best in men. He did mighty works of love and healing. He proved his mission. He presented the rewards of well-doing. He presented great and precious promises. He made goodness attractive. He called to courage, and service, and self-denial.

But there came a time when for those who resisted all these influences, it was necessary for him to point out the "woes" toward which they were hastening. In this world, as men are, no nation can exist, no family can be well trained, no school perfectly managed, without a consciousness and a use of the penalty for breaking the law. But always, always, with the desire and the purpose to save. Our courts of law are just beginning to learn this last lesson, and to make their prisons also reformatories to train and help to a better life.

CERTAIN APPLICATIONS TO YOUNG PEOPLE

1. These seventy men were ordinary people at first, but grew to be very useful by being faithful scholars in the school of Christ. They saw him at his blessed work. They listened to his teaching. They loved him for what he was and what he did. Now your business in the Sunday school and whenever you read the New Testament, which I trust is every day, is to go to the school of Jesus and be faithful in your studies there, and you will gain power to do good as the seventy did.

2. Every one of you can go forth to do what they did, that is, to be helpful to others in various ways, and to bring others under the influence of his teachings. You may belong to the "Great Society of Encouragers," and see that every young person in your community receives an invitation to some Sunday school, or Young People's Society.

I heard Dr. F. E. Clark say the other day that C. E. were the initials of Christian Endeavor in all the languages which are spoken by Christian Endeavorers, except in French where the initials are C. A., Christian Activity. In Chinese the words Christian Endeavor mean The Drum and Rouse up Society.

3. You should cultivate the power of winsomeness, cherish sincerely as a part of your nature the little courtesies of life, thoughtfulness for others, attractive ways. So that as my neighbor Dr. Clark has placed on the front porch of his home in Auburndale the word "Welcome" in every language in which there is a C. E. Society, so you shall as the messenger of Jesus have Welcome shine out from your every act and word.

LESSON III. - January 18.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN.- Luke 10: 25-37.

COMMIT v. 25. (Use "Teacher" instead of "Master.")

GOLDEN TEXT.

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. — MARK 12:31.

THE TEACHER AND HIS CLASS.

The bishop of Birmingham, England, in an address to teachers gave these hints.

"It is impossible to have a system of education that will suit every kind of child. A system may be good, but no system that has ever been devised by the wisest human being on God's earth will perfectly deal with that which is infinitely greater than any system. We must be prepared to change all our systems, and even the details of them, in accordance with the infinite variety of the child.

"But in all true education there are certain essential qualities. There must be, first of all, sympathy. We must become children with our pupils, in order to recover many of the qualities of life which make childhood so fresh and beautiful.

"The object of true education is to bring out the best qualities which God has implanted within the child. . . .. The need of the present day is for self-sacrifice. This quality would solve all the social problems that are around us. Teach our young people to look away from self to service for others. The end of education is to