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b. Their demand rejected—Mes- siahship openly claimed.
6. Salvation is by grace, free to all. We enter the kingdom by faith. By faith fulness we gain our honors in the king dom. 7. There are three classes of Chris tians. ' First, some are faithful to the limit, finishing their course in the sense that they complete every task. Second, there are those who are less faithful, and who will bring but a portion of the sheaves into the garner, that they might have gathered. Finally, there are the faithless servants who lose all reward be cause they appear at the judgment seat of Christ, empty-handed. 8. Every Christian has some gift, for the use of which he is held responsible (Eph. 4:7-12; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:7- ÜB 9. Neglect of the smallest gift shows unfitness for service in the larger sphere. 10. Do not talk: of your ability, your service, your success. It is His “pound” and His grace that make you à profitable servant (1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 3:5, 6). 11. God’s purpose in this age is to train workers for the kingdom. That may explain why your sphere of service and training seems so circumscribed and your discipline so severe. 12. The judgment that falls upon an open enemy of Christ is more dreadful than the judgment upon a slothful ser vant. It is one thing to be eternally lost; it is another to suffer loss (1 Cor. 3:11- 15). 13. The man who fears the Lord Je sus proves, by that token, that he does not love Him (1 John 4:18). * * * G olden T ext I llustration When, by the bolt of lightning that in surance companies and the United States Government call “an act of God,” the arsenal at Lake Denmark, New Jersey, was wrecked, Captain Dowling, the com manding officer, was blown out of his car by the explosion. Dazed and blinded, he wâs groping for some familiar object when Casimer Kensick, a private of ma rines, found him. Captain Dowling testi fied that, although Kensick might haye fled, he remained1in the rain of shells in order to help his commanding officer. And Kensick testified that, when he had asked if they had not better get out, Captain Dowling replied, “No ; if we do, we shall be shirking our duty.” —The Youth’s Companion. * * * Jesus Teaches Us to Do Our Best Luke 19:15-24 Memory Verse.—: “Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is per fect” (Matt. 5:48). Approach. —Our story last week was about a man who wanted to find Jesus. Our story this week is about some of the things which Jesus wants to find in us. As Jesus was walk ing along, getting nearer and nearer to the big city of Je rusalem , He was th in k in g a g re a t deal about the peo- pie who we’re all around H im . He was going away from them soon, and He hoped that they were going to use the The Cross Under an eastern sky, Amidst a rabble’s cry, A Man went forth to die For me. III. The King in Tears (41, 42). IV. The King and His House (45-48). 1. Cleansing the temple (45, 46). 2. Teaching in the temple (47). 3. Escaping the wrath of temple authorities (47, 48). * * * A pproach to the L esson A S the earthly ministry of the Lord 1 X drew toward its close, He was sur rounded by multitudes who followed Him with eager expectation. His miracles had excited great wonder. At one time, the mob attempted to seize Him and make Him a king (John 6:15). But Jesus was not deceived by this popular acclaim. He knew that the motives of the populace were mixed, and that their expectations concerning the Messianic kingdom were materialistic rather than spiritual. The hostile attitude of the leaders of Israel left no doubt of the final outcome ol the struggle. Because of the opposition cf these leaders, Jesus had frequently withdrawn from places of danger and had many times urged secrecy upon those who received His benefactions. This He did in order to avoid .bringing on un necessary or premature conflict with His foes. He had persistently refused to show Himself openly to the world before His time had come (cf. John 7:1-10). But when at length the hour of His manifesta tion as Israel’s Messiah was near, He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem. He was not ignorant of the things that would befall Him there, for He repeated ly predicted that He would die at Jeru salem. Yet He finally threw aside the cloak of obscurity and accepted- honors from the populace which were due only to Messiah, King of Israel. By this act, He sealed His fate, so far as His enemies among the Jews were concerned. * * * H eart op the L esson I. Preparation for the King’s Journey (29-34) . , • S p 5, * V. 29- It came to pass. It is probable that Jesus arrived in Bethany on the even ing of the Friday before His crucifixion. There, on the following day, a feast in the home of Simon the leper was given Him, when Mary anointed Him. Perhaps Thorn-crowned His blessed head, Blood-stained His every tread: Cross-laden, on He sped For me. Pierced glow His hands and feet; Three hours o’er Him beat, Fierce rays of noontide heat For me. Thus wert Thou made all mine; Lord, make me wholly Thine : Grant, grace and strength divine To me. ■ — Selected. good things that God had given to them to help others. To help them to under stand what He meant, He told them this story. Lesson Story. —Read Luke 19:15-24. Some of the people around Jesus knew what He meant. There was Zacchaeus; God had given him the ability to make money, and now He was going to give his wealth back to God by giving it to the poor. There were Mary and Martha; they had a pleasant home, and they in vited their friends to come and share it with them. But there were other people, like the priest and the Levite, who left the poor wounded man on the ground, when they should have shown love for God by helping others. These people were selfish, like the man who kept the pound, which the nobleman gave him, wrapped up in a napkin. God has given us good health, our homes, and ever so many other things. He expects us to share these with others. In this way, we may work for Him. ■— o — May 17, 1931 Jesus Enters Jerusalem as King Lesson: Luke 19:28 to 20:47. ( Lesson Text-. Luke 19:29-42, 45-48.) Golden T e x t : “He is Lord of lords, and King of kings” (Rev. 17:14).: * * ' * L esson in O utline I. Preparation for the King’s Journey (29-34). 1. The point of departure—Mount of Olives (29). 2. The two messengers Sent (30-32) 3. The commandeered colt (33, 34; cf. Zech. 9 :9)- II. Procession to the City of the King (35-40). 1. Honors to the King (35, 36). 2. The King acclaimed (37, 38). a. Honored as the W onder- Worker. b. Accepted as God's Sent-One. c. Recognized as the Reconciler —bringing peace. 3. Critics silenced (39, 40). a. Their demand—repudiate Mes- siahship. it was this act which aroused the greed and anger of Judas, so that he made his final plans to betray his Lord. The tri umphal entry took place on the follow ing day, which we call Palm Sunday. Drew nigh unto Beth- phage and Bethany. Bethphage is not mentioned in the Old Testament, . Its location is uncertain. Some believe that it was a name given to a district which extended out to Bethany. It signifies “house of figs.” Bethany means “house of dates.” The mount that is called Olivet. This was about a mile east of Jerusalem. It received its name from the olive orchards that grew there. Sent two of the disciples. The fact that Mark, who has been called Peter’s amanuensis, gives a careful account of this incident, leads some to surmise that Peter was one
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