7   And Jesus with his disciples withdrew to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and from Judaea, 8   and from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and beyond the Jordan, and about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing what great things he did, came unto him. 9   And he spake to his disciples, that a little boat should wait on him because of the crowd, lest they should throng him: 10   for he had healed many; insomuch that as many as had plagues pressed upon him that they might touch him. 11   And the unclean spirits, whensoever they beheld him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. 12   And he charged them much that they should not make him known. 13   And he goeth up into the mountain, and calleth unto him whom he himself would; and they went unto him. 14   And he appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 15   and to have authority to cast out demons: 16   and Simon he surnamed Peter; 17   and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and them he surnamed Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder: 18   and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19   and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Verses 7, 8. Did the work of Jesus attract much attention? Acts 26:26. Did Jesus bank much on such crowds? (See how Jesus sifted the "multitude," in Luke 14:25-27). What was the attraction? John 4:48. Whence did these multitudes come?

Verses 9, 10. Why did Jesus enter the boat? WHy did the crowd throng upon Jesus? Were these healings done for the healing's sake, or for a greater purpose? John 20:31; Acts 2:22; John 5:36. Do the crowds press upon Jesus as much for the spiritual healing and salvation He is able to give? Why not? In a few years does it make any difference whether our bodies were in good health or not? But will it make a difference whether we have believed, obeyed and stood fast in "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints"? What sort of trade do those make who for the promises of bodily healing forsake the true gospel and embrace a false doctrine? (2 Cor. 11:14).

Verses 11, 12. What did the demons say of Jesus? Did Jesus accept their confession of Him? Would He accept such testimony today?

Verse 13. The Choice of the Apostles. What preparation did Jesus make for this important step? See Luke 6:12, 13. Is the

selection of men for God's work an important matter? (Cp. Acts 6:3; 1 Tim. 3:2-13). Whom did Jesus call to Him? Cp. John 15:16. Was this a call for salvation, or for a work? But did much opportunity for salvation go with it? What did another say of his own responsibility? Acts 26:19. Did the apostles have to live and strive as other Christians? Phil. 3:13, 14. What then was the special object of this choice and appointment?

Verses 14, 15. What work did Jesus have in mind for the twelve? What great advantage did He give them in order to prepare them? (Acts 4:13). Can any man truly preach the gospel until he has spent time with Jesus?

Verses 16-19. What special things do we know of the first named Jesus? Acts 12:2. Of the other James? Acts 15:13. Of Andrew? John 1:40-42. Of Philip? John 14:8, 9. Of Matthew? Matt. 9:9. Of Thomas? John 20:24-29. What did Jesus say about these men in John 17:6-12? What did He say of Judas Iscariot? John 6:64, 70, 71.

JESUS AND THE MULTITUDES.

      Jesus attracted great multitudes, who followed him over hill and dale, but he well knew what quality these crowds were of. He was neither flattered nor imposed upon by them. (John 2:23-25). It is the same today. Vast multitudes professing Christianity; and a small residue only that truly believes and cleaves to Him. In the sixth chapter of John, a multitude is enthused over the loaves and fishes He had given them; and despite His effort to get away unobserved, many followed him to Capernaum the next day. There, however, He gave them a lesson of truth which laid bare their real attitude and heart; and not only the multitude were offended and disgusted, but many of His own disciples also, left Him. In Luke 14 great multitudes (too great) followed Him, and again Jesus gave them a lesson that tended to separate the wheat from the chaff. Jesus wants all to follow Him who will follow with a true heart; but he cares more for quality than for quantity. A dozen Christians who love Him from the heart are more to Him than thousands who merely profess and hold church-membership. Yet, among the throngs, "the Lord knoweth them that are his." (2 Tim. 2:19). The next Lord's day lesson shows what different effects the word of God had among these multitudes.

ABOUT DEMONS.

      The word of God tells us much about demons, unclean spirits, demon possession, men and women who have a "familiar spirit," "necromancers" (which is literally bringers up of the dead), augurers and diviners (that is fortune tellers). These are exponents and manifestations of an evil spiritual realm, the kingdom of Satan. . . . There is a "prince of the powers of the air," the same spiritual personage who "now worketh in (energizes) the sons of disobedience." (Eph. 2:2). He has an organized government: principalities, powers, world-rulers of this darkness; under them, spiritual hosts of wickedness (hosts, armies, of wicked spirits) in the heavenly places (the spiritual sphere), against whom the Christian is engaged in conflict. (Eph. 6:12). The devil is not omniscient, nor omnipresent, but he carries on his work by subject spirits: "his angels" (Matt. 25:41). Demons belong to his ranks and orders. To cast them out is to cast out Satan and to make a breach into Satan's realm. (Matt. 12:22-29). In Acts 16 we read of a girl who was possessed of "a spirit, a Python" (R. V. margin), and who was really able to reveal secrets. She evidently told the facts about Paul and Silas. But like his Master, Paul would tolerate no testimony or endorsement from such a source. When the evil spirit was cast out the maid could no longer tell fortunes, and her masters "saw that the hope of their gain was gone." (Acts 16:16-19). There is much humbug practiced in the lines of spiritistic phenomena, clairvoyance, fortune-telling, etc. But it is not always humbug; and were real, these occult powers proceed from demons, and from the kingdom of Satan. God's people must not dabble in such things nor experiment with them, but flee from them. (Deut. 18:9-14). The danger is terrible, and becoming greater daily. The rapidly spreading cult of "Spiritualism," with its seances and mediums is of Satanic origin. In dealing with the "spirits," men are not communicating with the spirits of departed dead, but with lying spirits, demons of the pit. The case of Samuel's appearance to the witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28) was an extraordinary occurrence, which dismayed the medium herself; and the fact that Saul consulted the medium was laid to his charge as the last and crowning act of wickedness that sealed his doom (1 Chron. 10:13). In the later days of this dispensation, as the Lord's coming draws nigh, Paul says there will be demon inspired teachers who will draw many away from the faith (1 Tim. 4:1-3). Among these must be reckoned the promulgators of Christian Science, Spiritualism, Theosophy, New Thought, and similar cults lately sprung up. Let Christians beware! Let them also shun as death itself, any recourse to clairvoyants, mediums, fortune-tellers, hypnotists; or the use of private instruments as the "planchette," or "Ouija-boards," and superstitious practices and omens, which in so far as they are effective, only open the road to the encroachment of the dark powers of the Evil one. [73]

Source: Second Lord's Day Lesson of February. Lesson 6. February 10, 1918. Jesus Chooses the Twelve (Mark