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THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S compelled attention and obedience. Matthew’s occupation made it necessary for Him to constantly refuse daily all sorts of demands and appeals. He was sitting in his revenue office one day when the Master passed by and sim ply said, “ Follow Me.” The hard man of thé world obeyed this appeal of a stranger to do a most unusual thing, without question or delay. The great est thing His disciples got from Him was not a doctrine but an influence, not information but inspiration. Some one has said that character is not taught but caught. The most winsome thing in the world is simple goodness. The Master carried conviction because the people felt that they could trust Him. The Beatitudes. MONDAY, Oct, 18. Matt. 5:1-12. The time had come for Jesus to set forth the fundaméntal principles of His kingdom and He did so in the ser mon on the Mount. The beatitudes form the introduction to the discourse. They epitomize the principles that are unfolded in the discourse. Six of the nine refer to personal character and reward. The rest relate to outward conditions. They have been called the diatonic scale of heaven’s music. The keynote is blessing, the upper octave is joy. There is a marked advance in significance and blessing. Goodness and reward are inseparable. The flow er carries its own perfume. The poor in spirit already possess the kingdom. The child of God becomes an incarnate and animate beatitude. It is not enough to be blest ourselves. We must be a blessing. TUESDAY, Oct. 19. Matt. 5:12-20. The Application. After the beatitudes comes law. Obligation follows blessing. Sunlight and salt are the essentials which keep the world alive and pure. The people of God are the illuminating and pre serving ’agencies. If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that daikness! If the salt have lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted? The sermon on the Mount is law raised to an infinite potency. The decalogue is the germ. The sermon on the Mount is the flower arid fruit. Jesus declared^ that the spirit of transgres sion is in the disposition and motive. The germ of murder is hidden in anger. Adultery lHrks in the lustful eye.
is a close relation between teaching and preaching and it is sometimes difficult to draw the line between them. When He returned to heaven He made His church a teaching body. Matt. 28:19. FRIDAY, Oct. 15. John 3:7-17. The Master’s Objective. We may distinguish between the con tinuity of the Master’s teaching and the occasion of it. The occasion may have seemed fortuitous, but the end He aimed at never was. He sought to com municate religious knowledge. The people always felt that they were learn ing something when they listened to Him. The parables are informing. The sermon on the Mount is full of infor mation. Again, Jesus, sought to awaken thought about religion. He constantly made use of the interrogative method. “ What think ye?” His way of putting things aroused attention and stimulated mental activity. He desired to direct thought as well as awaken it. His final appeal was to the will and He always aimed to secure decision in behalf of the eternal truth He taught. His teach ing was a means to an end, that dis- cipleship might become apostleship. Mark 3:14. SATURDAY, Oct. 16. John 5:36-47. The Method of the Master Teacher. From the standpoint of efficiency the Master’s method of teaching must have been ideal, for no poor method could have produced such results. His twelve Apostles became great teachers and spoke with a moral authority never before known. 'Some characteristics of His method were thought compelling questions, lucidity of statement, free dom of discussion, profuse illustration, repetition and the use of the so-called dilemma. Matt. 21:25. Especially did He translate truth into action. When He taught His disciples to pray, He gave them a form of prayer to use. After He had been preaching and heal ing, He sent them on a tour to do the same things. He delegated to them the duty of baptizing. He conducted a spir itual workshop where He trained them for future service. SUNDAY, Oct. 17. John 1:9-18. Personality in Teaching. The personality of the Master was a large element of power in all His teach ing. He was full o f grace and truth. There was something about Him that
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