April 1931
178
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
for it, and then He gave it to His dis ciples to eat, saying, “This is just like my body which will soon be broken for you.” And He took the red drink and said, “This is like my blood, which will soon be poured out for you.” Then He told the disciples to break the bread together often, after He was gone^ back into heav en, and to eat it and to drink the wine, re membering that He had died for them. Even to this day, we do this often when we meet together in church. We call it the Lord’s Supper, or commun ion. When any one decides to take Jesus into his life as his Lord and Saviour, he may take part in the Lord’s Supper, too. May 31, 1931 Jesus in Gethsemane Lesson'. Luke 22:24-71. (Lesson Text'. Luke 22:39-54.) Golden Text: . “Father, if thou be will ing, remove this cup from me: never theless, not my will, but thine, be done” (Lk. 22:42). * * * L esson in O utline I. The Agony in the Garden (39-46). 1. The place—Mount of Olives (39). 2. The companions—three disciples (39; cf. Mk. 14:33). 3. The disciples warned (40). 4. The- first conflict (41-43). a. Prayer with resignation (41, 42). b. Angelic support (43). 5. The second conflict (44, 45). a. Agony and bloody sweat. b. Victory and repose. 6. Disciples rebuked and exhorted (46). 1. The band of soldiers (47). 2. The kiss of the traitor (47, 48). 3. The impulsive disciple’s attempt at defense (49, 50). 4. The Lord’s healing touch (51). 5. The Lord rebuking His captors (52, 53). 6. The Lord submissive to His foes (54). 7. The timid disciple (54). * * * A pproach to the L esson A FTER the announcement of the be trayal, which caused such consterna tion among the disciples, there arose a strife among them concerning “which of them should be accounted the greatest.” One commentator remarks that the Lord Jesus had told them which of them should be the worst, and' now they wanted to know which was the best. The disciples’ ambition was sternly rebuked, and they were exhorted to seek the lowly place of service, in order that they might prove worthy to have honors in His kingdom (22:24-30). Perhaps Peter had been prominent in the controversy about places of honor in the kingdom. At any rate, he had been foremost in professions of loyalty and faithfulness to Jesus. The Lord knew his weakness and predicted his threefold denial (22:33, 34), at the same time- assuring Peter that the prayer of Christ for him would keep his faith from total eclipse (22:31, 32). We wonder that these privileged dis ciples showed such weakness, but we mar vel more that, in spite of their frailty, the Lord Jesus kept them by His mighty II. The Betrayal (47-54).
who count the “blood of the covenant an unholy thing” (Heb. 10:29). 8. I No traitor can hide his plans from God or thwart God’s eternal purpose. 9. Betrayal by a friend was a part of the bitter cup which Jesus drank (cf. Psa. 41:6-9). 10. Hypocrites may be found in the church, just as there was a hypocrite among the twelve. But there are many more hypocrites outside the church, just as there were numerous false religionists among the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day. 11. Love of the world constitutes one an enemy of God (cf. Jas. 4:4). Ju das learned too late that it would have been better for him had he forsaken the world and followed Christ. * * * . G olden T ext I llustration It was just after the service of the Lord’s Supper, and a girl stood silent and alone in the vestibule of the church. She was in the beautiful dawn of young womanhood—brilliant, attractive, a leader among her companions. But some of the older church members were a bit anxious lest she should be too eager .for the good times that were so freely offered her, and should forget that she had once responded to the Master’s call: “Follow me.” But today her checks had lost a little of their color, and in her eyes there was a new expression, a depth unknown be fore, “What is it, Miriam?” asked a kindly, gray-haired woman with motherly kind ness. “Is anything troubling you today?” “Oh, no, Aunt Lydia,” the girl answered eagerly. “It is only thattpl never knew what it meant before! Sometimes it has seemed almost foolish to me—taking that bit of bread so solemnly. But today the thought came: ‘In remembrance of me.’ Oh, isn’t it wonderful?” “Yes, dear,” was the reply. “And it will grow more wonderful the longer you live.” * * * Jesus Wants Us to Remember Him Luke 22:14-20 Memory Verse .—“This do in remem brance of me” (Lk. 22:19). Approach .—Last Sunday our story was about Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem. All of His friends andthe crowds of people with themcalled Him their King. They still hoped that He would be th e ir earthlyKing, but Jesus knew th a t
Vs. 17, 18. Of what may a cup be a symbol (cf. Matt. 20:22, 23; 26:39; Psa. 23:5) ? Is it here a symbol of joy and blessing, or of sorrow and judgment? Did the kingdom of God come when Christ was crucified ? May we look for ward to a more complete fulfillment of this prophecy (cf. 22:30; 14:35; Matt. 22:1-14; Rev. 19:9)? Vs. 19, 20. Of what is bread the sym bol? How can the “body” of the Lord Jesus be given to us? Does He expect His church always to observe this mem orial of His death? Of what is the cup a symbol? What is a covenant? Was the old covenant “sealed with blood” (Ex. 24:7, 8) ? Can there be any covenant re lation between God and men without shedding of blood (Heb. 9:18-23)? For whom was the blood of Christ “poured out” ? Vs. 21-23. How did Jesus know who would betray Him? Were the disciples in ignorance about the matter ? Did the Lord Jesus expect to suffer death? How long before had it been predetermined (Rev. 13:8) ? Did the fact that God fore knew the death of Christ remove or alter the guilt of Judas? Were the disciples surprised at the announcement of the be trayal? What question did they ask among themselves? * * * P ractical P oints 1. The Lord Jesus clung to His dis ciples, weak and frail though they were. On the eve of Calvary, the twelve engaged in unseemly strife over the question of preeminence in the kingdom. One of the inner circle denied Him. Another be trayed Him. All forsook Him and fled. Yet all except the traitor, who destroyed himself (cf. John 17:12), were kept by the power of Christ (cf. Lk. 22:32). 2. Though in His human nature, Jesus shrank from the trial that awaited Him, in His "spirit He had complete victory, even to the giving of thanks to God for His own suffering and death. 3. The Lord’s Table is called a sacra ment because it is an outward sign of an inward grace. It is called the Lord’s Supper because it was instituted at the close of the passover meal, and because those who partake aright feed upon Christ, the true Bread. It is called the communion because there we have fel lowship with Christ and with His people. It is called the Eucharist because it is a feast of thanksgiving. If our Lord gave thanks for His suffering and death, much more should we do so (cf. Cor. 9:15). 4. The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament, but not a sacrifice. The Roman Catholic Mass is wrong because it has the idea of repetition of the sacrifice of Christ. 5. The Lord’s Table is a memorial of that which Christ accomplished by His atoning death; and it is a prophecy of His coming again (1 Cor. 11:26). 6. It is proper to remember the teach ings and the example of Jesus Christ, but it is absolutely necessary to believe and to remember that our Lord gave His body and shed His blood for us. 7. Neglect of the Lord’s Table is, to say the least, an evidence' of ingratitude. Presumptuous eating and drinking, not “discerning the Lord’s body,” brings judgment (1 Cor. 11:27, 29, R. V.). The sorest possible punishment awaits those
that was not what they needed then. God had a n o th e r plan, and Jesus was to do His work in another way. L e sson S to r y .— Even His own dis
ciples didn’t quite understand, and so Je sus wanted to get them together into a quiet room to talk to them once more. He chose an upper room in a house in Jerusalem ^yhere they all sat down to eat together. The food that they had was bread and wine. Jesus thought that He could use this food to explain to His friends that soon He must die for them. This is the way that He explained it: He took the bread and gave God thanks
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker