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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
February, 1938
receive them, but a curse for every place which would reject them. Their success was widespread (vs. 12, 13). Their preaching was the Lord’s preaching, “that men should repent.” From Matthew’s account we learn that their sphere was to Israel alone, and their spe cific task was to “ preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10:7). Everywhere they went, their cre dentials were revealed— the power to cast out demons and to heal those who were sick— and these evidences of divine en- duement were intended to give credence to their message. In considering the lesson topic, “ Serv ing with What W e Have,” it is important that we realize that the church today has the complete revelation of God to man, found in His Word— a revelation which, in its entirety, was not the possession of the early disciples. In view of the equipment, enduement, and opportunity, how pitifully small are her efforts to serve in Christ’s name and Christ’s strength! Points and Problems 1. “Is not this the carpenter . . . ?” (Mk. 6:3). In the parallel account by Matthew, the question is slightly different: “ Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (13:55). Such variations as this in the Gospel records have disturbed some Christians because they seem to be against the doctrine of verbal inspiration. However, it is possible to ex plain all such variations without surrender ing the truth of verbal inspiration. For example, in the case of our Lord’s teach ings, it is altogether probable that He taught the same parables and truths, not merely once, but many times during the years of His ministry in various places. And we know that often He deliberately varied the verbal statement (cf. the so-called Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 and Luke 11). In the case raised in this week’s lesson, it should be noted that the question is asked, not by one person, but by “many” (Mk. 6:2). Thus the question may have been phrased in a dozen different ways by as many different people, and both the *records can be verb ally exact. There is also a definite reason for recording both forms, because from them we learn not only that Joseph was a carpenter by trade, but also that our Lord had learned the same trade. 2. “He could there do no mighty work” (v. 5). W e should be careful not to press this statement beyond its real meaning. Some have argued that a lack of faith on man’s part imposes an absolute limitation upon the power of G od to perform miracles. This, of course, is not correct. The omni potence of God is not limited by anything in man; there is nothing too hard for God. The only limitations upon God’s power are those which He Himself has imposed . Our Lord had the power to heal all men— good, bad, and indifferent. But He Himself in His own plan had determined to make His power available only in response to man’s faith. And He having of His own sov ereign will adopted this plan, it is proper to say that He could not do any mighty work where faith did not exist. The im
possibility was not imposed upon Him from without, but by Himself. 3. “He marveled because of their un belief” (v. 6). This statement should be compared with Luke 7:9 where it is said that Christ “ marveled” at the faith of the Gentile centurion. The Greek verb is ex actly the same. In the case of the centurion, there was no valid reason to expect the pres ence of faith; yet faith was there. But in the former case, there was every reason to expect faith: the people were Jews, they had the Scriptures, they knew the promises, and they were expecting a Messiah. Yet there was no faith. Jewish unbelief is one of the wonders of the ages. One morning a woman came to the min ister and said, “ Oh, I would give anything to be in the work of this series of evan gelistic meetings actively and actually, but I do not know what to do.” The minister said, “ Are you prepared to give the Master the ‘five loaves and the two fishes’ ?” She answered that she did not have that many. Thereupon the pastor asked, “W ill you give the Lord j'our voice for the next ten days?” She said, “ I will.” The first night she sang a soul into the kingdom.— 5,000 Best Modern Illustrations, by Hallock. When Jesus Went Home to Nazareth M ark 6:1-13 Memory Verse: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Mk. 12:31). Approach: You remember that the Lord Jesus grew up in the little town of Nazar eth where Joseph had a carpenter shop. Here He worked and played with the He said, “ Do you sing?” . She replied, “ I try to sing.” Golden Text Illustration A cts 3:6
met to worship God. Jesus talked to the people, and those who had known Him as a boy were astonished at His teaching. They asked each other where He got the power to do these mighty works. “ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary . . . ?” they said. They wouldn’t believe that He was the Son of God and that that was the rea son that He could do these mighty works. And what happened to them because they did not believe? First, Jesus rebuked them. Then He could do no great work there be cause they would not believe.. And finally He left them. Isn’t it sad that the ones who should have been the first to believe in Him should have treated Him like this? Are we treating Him the way His neigh bors did? If we do, we are refusing the help that the Lord Jesus wants to give us.
Object Lesson C h ok ing C harlie
Objects: A potted plant, a funnel, a pitcher of clear water, a piece of soft shower hose about two feet long slipped over the end of the funnel, and four pieces of ribbon— black, yellow, green, and pur ple. (T ie the ribbons tightly around the hose at varied'intervals.) Lesson: This pitcher of clear water re minds me of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Water of Life. He wants those who have accepted Him as Saviour to take the water to those who are thirsty for it. W e will pour some of this pure water into this funnel and see whether the hose will deliver it to the thirsty plant. This hose is so much like a person that I have named it Charlie. Notice his pretty neck ties. He does not give a drop of the water to the plant. Why not? “Because the ribbons are choking him.” You are right; these ribbons are keeping the water from reaching the plant. This ugly black ribbon reminds us of sin, and we will remove it and see whether Charlie can give the water to the plant. Not a drop! This yellow ribbon reminds us that gold and the love of money keep some people from giving Christ to others. W e must remove it, and not allow it to hinder any longer. The next ribbon is purple and suggests pleasure. Some people are so busy with pleasure that they do not have time or de sire to give Christ to others. Pleasure must not be allowed to keep Charlie from doing his work for others. Let’s remove this pur ple ribbon, too. Green is the color which reminds us of envy. As long as Charlie is envious, he cannot give the refreshing water to the thirsty plant. Now that the last ribbon is removed
o t h e r children of Mary and J oseph , and no one seemed to remember that, when He was born, the angelsi of heaven had told the world of His com in g . And now that Jesus was a grown man, His neighbors must have heard of how the
heavens had opened again when He was being baptized by John the Baptist and how the Voice said, “ This is my beloved Son,” and how crowds of people were fol lowing Jesus because o f the wonderful words which he spoke and the miracles He performed. They must have known all of this, but to them He was just Jesus who had been the little boy in the carpenter shop. And now, in His travels, Jesus was coming back to Nazareth for a visit. Lesson Story: When Jesus came home, He did just as He always did wherever He was. When the Sabbath day came, He went into the synagogue where the people
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