SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS. THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, THE CALLING OF PHILIP AND NATHANAEL. OUR LORD'S FIRST MIRACLE. 'He manifested forth His Glory.' The Teacher will begin by recapitulating the previous lesson, pointing out the events of three consecutive days therein narrated (i.) St. John the Baptist's answer to the Priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem; (ii.) on the day following, the coming of Our Lord, after His Temptation, to Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptising, and the Baptist's witness to Him, as the Lamb of GOD; (iii.) on the day following, the repetition of the same testimony and the call of the first disciples, Andrew and Peter, and probably John. We now proceed to the events of two other days in the same week (iv.) on the fourth of these days, the call of Philip and Nathanael; the fifth day would be occupied by Our Lord in the journey from Bethabara to Galilee; (v.) on the sixth day, we have the first Miracle wrought by Our Lord in Cana of Galilee. The Call of Philip and Nathanael. Read St. John i. 43-51. Commentary and Explanation.-The day following the call of the first Disciples, Our Lord was about to leave Bethabara [or Bethany], the scene of the Baptist's work, and go into Galilee. It was, apparently, just before His setting out that He summoned another disciple to follow Him. This was Philip, a fellow-townsman of Andrew and Peter; they all came from Bethsaida, which was situated in the country of Gennesareth, to the north-west of the Sea of Galilee [see map]; and no doubt they had been drawn from their homes by the fame of the Baptist's preaching. Philip showed the same unselfish spirit which we saw before exhibited by Andrew; as soon as he was summoned to follow Christ, he communicated to his friend Nathanael the good news that he had found in Jesus of Nazareth, who was supposed to be the son of the carpenter Joseph, the Messiah, of Whom Moses and the Old Testament Prophets had written. Nathanael at first met the invitation with an objection: Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? [This town was so meanly thought of by the Jews of those days that Nathanael did not believe it possible that the Messiah could come out of the despised village.] Philip however prevailed upon him to come and see for himself. As soon as Nathanael was brought under the searching eye of Our Lord, he received proof of His Divine knowledge. Our Lord's first words showed that He was well acquainted with the character of him who was brought to Him now for the first time; He called him an Israelite without guile [i.e., a pure and simple-hearted member of the Jewish Church]. When Nathanael expressed his wonder at Our Lord thus judging his character, he had further cause given him for amazement. For Our Lord told him that even before Philip summoned him, His eye had been upon him: He had seen him under the fig tree [perhaps engaged in prayer and devout meditation]. This convinced Nathanael that He, with whom he was speaking, was more than man, more than the son of Joseph; he acknowledged Him as his Rabbi [or Master], and addressed Him as the Son of God and the King of Israel. Our Lord, in accepting his service, * promised him the sight of greater wonders than these, the heaven opened and the angels of GOD ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. Our Lord's First Miracle. Read St. John ii. 1-11. Commentary and Explanation.—It was the third day after Our Lord's departure from the Jordan that we find Him at Cana of Galilee [a village, probably situated about seven miles to the north of Nazareth- —see Map]. There was a wedding feast at Cana, and the mother of Our Lord had been invited to come over from her home at Nazareth and share in the festivity. [The absence of any mention of Joseph has generally been thought to indicate that he was now dead.] Our Lord also, and the five disciples who had accompanied Him, were bidden to the wedding. While the feast was going on, it was found that the supply of wine, which the bridegroom had provided for his guests, had run short. Hospitality is the first of virtues amongst Eastern nations, and we can imagine the distress of the giver of the feast at the slur which would fall upon him, in the event of his guests being insufficiently provided with * There is good reason for believing that Nathanael was the same as Bartholomew, whose name is mentioned in all the lists of the Apostles. (St. Matt. x. 2, 3; &c.) †That is, as we should say, the day but one after; this was the Jewish way of reckoning time, in accordance with which the Sunday on which Our Lord rose from the dead is called the third day after the Friday on which He died. 2 wine. The Blessed Virgin Mary [who may, as some think, have been a relation of the bride or bridegroom], sympathising with their anxiety, appealed to her Divine Son, telling Him of the lack of wine, and, no doubt, meaning to suggest that He should use His power to remove the difficulty. His answer seemed to hold out no hope of her request being granted : Woman, what have I to do with thee? [We must remember that though this sounds like a harsh reproof, it was not really so; Woman was a title of respect, more like our word Lady; Our Lord only gently reminded His mother that though, as a son, He yielded obedience to her, yet there was a department of His life in which He could not be subject to her control. Compare a similar answer in St. Luke ii. 49.] Mine hour is not yet come. [Our Lord meant to say that the time had not yet come, though it was close at hand, for Him to manifest His Divine Power.] His mother meekly submitted to the will of the Son, whom she knew to be greater than herself, and bade the servants attend upon any command that came from Him. And soon this command was given. There were, in the house where the Feast was held, six large stone vessels, each of them containing two or three firkins [i.e., from 18 to 27 gallons]; these vessels contained water which was used for the various washings which formed a part of the Jewish religious observances at meal-time [see St. Mark vii. 3, 4]. These vessels Our Lord ordered to be filled up to the brim with water, [there would be, in all, at least 120 gallons], and this immense quantity of water He turned into wine. At His bidding, some of the water thus miraculously changed into wine was carried to the Governor of the feast [probably the chief guest, called upon to preside over the festivities], and he, without knowing anything of the manner in which the wine was provided, called the bridegroom and complimented him on the excellence of the wine which he had kept till the close of the entertainment. Thus did Our Lord manifest His glory [i.e., exhibit His Divine Power], and thereby confirm the Faith of the disciples whom He had drawn to follow Him from the banks of the Jordan. Questions.-Who were the first of Our Lord's disciples? [Andrew, Peter, and John.] Who was next called? [Philip.] What was his native place? Where is Bethsaida? Whom did Philip bring to Jesus? Whom did Philip mean by Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write? Where did Moses write of Our Lord? [Deut. xviii. 15-The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me.] Which of the prophets wrote most about Our Lord? [Isaiah.] How did Nathanael answer Philip? What did he mean by this? What did Our Lord say of Nathanael when he first came to Him? What is shown by His words? [That He was able to judge of character, in a way beyond the power of an ordinary man; He knew what was in man—St. John ii. 25.] What further evidence did He give of His Divine knowledge? [He told Nathanael where he had been before Philip called him.] In what words did Nathanael profess his belief in Our Lord? What promise did Our Lord make to him for the future? When was this promise fulfilled? [Throughout the ministry of Our Blessed Lord, and in His Church, till the end of time, a way is opened between heaven and earthangels descending to bring God's blessings to men, and ascending to carry up our prayers and praises to GOD's throne.] Which of the Holy Apostles is supposed to have been the same as Nathanael ? Where did Our Lord go after leaving Bethlehem? [To Galilee, to the town of Cana.] What wonderful work did He perform there? [He turned water into wine.] What is such a wonderful work as this called? [A miracle.] What is a miracle? [A wonderful and extraordinary work, performed by GoD, or by GOD's ministers and servants, for some special purpose.] What special purpose were Our Lord's miracles meant to serve? [They were intended to convince men that He was, what He professed to be, the Son of GOD. See St. John iii. 2 and xiv. 11.] Show that this miracle served the purpose. [It is said He manifested forth His Glory, and His disciples believed on Him.] On what occasion was the miracle performed? [At a marriage feast.] What does Our Lord show us by His presence at such a Feast? [That He does not despise, or condemn, the innocent happiness of men.] What circumstances led to the working of the miracle? [The failure in the supply of wine at the feast.] Who told Our Lord of this want of wine? How did Our Lord reply to His mother? What did He mean by saying, Woman, what have I to do with thee? What did He mean by the words Mine hour is not yet come? How did the Blessed Virgin take Our Lord's answer? What quantity of water was changed into wine? In what was this water contained? What purpose was it intended to serve? What proof was given of the excellence of the wine made by this miracle? Who was the governor of the Feast? What may we learn from his words Thou hast kept the good wine until now? [That it is God's way to keep the best of His gifts to the last, while the world and the flesh and the Devil offer us gratifications which are pleasant at first, but afterwards distasteful to us.] What may we learn from the narrative of the miracle? [Our Lord's Power over the operations of nature.] a Course of Sunday School Lessons on Christian Principles and Church Seasons. By the Rev. Prebendary OTTEY, Diocesan Inspector for London. Price 1s. 6d. This book is a re-issue, in One Volume, of the Thirteen Monthly Parts of THE SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS published by the National Society in the year 1881. THE TYPES AND ANTITYPES OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. Collected and arranged, with References, by Lady MARY HERBERT. Edited by the Hon. and Very Rev. the DEAN OF HEREFORD. Price 6d. Adapted for use in the London Diocesan Inspector's Classes for the Instruction of Pupil Teachers. THE APOSTLES' CREED being Notes of Lectures to Pupil Teachers. By H. G. 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