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Show - H III S ttfl JESUS, THE GIVER OF LIFE GOLDEN TEXT: I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live." John 11-25 . Lesson Text: John 4: 46-51; 5: 2-9- 11- 41-44 I After His talk with the Sa-jmariton Sa-jmariton woman and a two-day stay in Sychar, Jesus and His disciples went on to Galilee and I from there to Cana, where He had performed His first miracle. There He was besought by a certain cer-tain nobleman, from Capernaum, to heal his sick son. After receiving re-ceiving evidence of the man's faith in His healing power, Jesus performed His second miracle, healed the boy and told the father fath-er that his boy would live. The father believed, went home and found that the boy had begun to get well the very hour that jJeus had told him that his son was healed. This Sunday's lesson tells of two other miracles which Jesus performed. Going down to Jerusalem Jer-usalem to observe a feast of the Jews, Jesus passed a pool by the sheep market. Because of certain healing qualities in the waters of the pool, great multitudes multi-tudes of sick people the blind, the halt, and the withered gathered there that they might dip themselves in the waters and be healed. Jesus beheld a man who had I been sick for 38 years and who had become almost hopeless because be-cause he was unable to dip himself him-self in the pool alone and no one offered to help him. Yet the mere fact of his being there testified tes-tified to his desire that he might be well again. In order to make him con- scious of his own hope and faith Jesus asked him. "Wilt thou be made whole?" The man then called Jesus' attention to the fact that no one was interested enough in him to assist him into the water. Jesus told the man to help himself when He commanded: "Rise, take up thy bed and walk." The man, without hesitation hesi-tation or doubt as to his ability to do so, immediately arose, took up his bed and walked. Jesus passed through the crowd and entered the temple, While the son of the nobleman noble-man and the man at the pool of Bethesda were personally unknown un-known to Jesus before He performed per-formed miracles on their behalf our third example is even greater great-er than the other two; for it age Him, but He was determined and unafraid. He realized that His disciples needed a strengthening strength-ening of their faith for the tests and trials just ahead, for He told them He was glad, for their sakes. that He had not been in Bethany when Lazarus died. When Martha saw Jesus coming, com-ing, she ran to Him and expressed ex-pressed faith in Him. To her Jesus gave the wonderful words that are our Golden Text and tells how He raised His beloved friend, Lazarus, the brother of, Mary and Martha, to life after he had been dead for four days After receiving word that his friend was desperately ill, Jesus purposely delayed answering the plea that He go to the home in Bethany. After tarrying for two days, He announced to His disciples that they would leave immediately immed-iately for Judea. With vivid memories of a recent attempt at stoning, they tried to discour-He discour-He emphasized again the importance import-ance of the word "belief." At the tomb of Lazarus, after the stone was removed from the door Jesus gave thanks to God lie knew, of course, that all power in heaven and in earth comes from God, but it was necessary nec-essary for the witnesses of this miracle to realize that they were about to see something which 252 aX take- place b' God'? r-rtie'rTAfler. E,vlnS thanks to fnSh Cft "Vazr"s. come forth. Death heard the voice of its conqueror and obeyed. Laza- maSnSa7e..Tforlh ?nd Jcsus commanded, com-manded, Loose him and let him . Jesus still says to those walk- lnA,"Lhe vallcv of thc shadow of death as He said to Martha l am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shal he live." (John 11:25). |