October, 1938
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
340
I N T E R N A T I O N A L L E S S O N Commentary Outline and Exposition B lackboard Lesson C hildren s D ivision Golden T ext Illustration O bject Lesson B y B. B. S utcliffe B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and Problem s B y A lva J. M c C lain
also the protection of another sinner instead of being able to give aid and protection to the Son. How greatly our Lord observed the commandment to honor father and mother is revealed by His honoring one whose very salvation was dependent upon what He was then doing. III. T he E xhortation (Eph. 6:1-4) This exhortation is addressed to “chil dren” who have accepted Christ as their personal Saviour and are seeking to please Him. It is sometimes thought that children cannot do anything worth while for their Lord. But we may learn, not only from the written Word of both the Old and New Testaments, but also in the example set by the Lord Himself, that the simple honoring of parents is a sure method by which to please God because it is the fulfillment of His will. A child’s submission to parents will be as greatly rewarded, when done for Christ’s sake, as the preacher’s sermon that moves multitudes. The instruction to fathers should be instilled in the heart of every parent. The pressure of modem times seems to pre clude the possibility of fathers’ giving time and attention to their children, and some Christian homes are so similar to non- Christian homes as to defy defferentiation. The absence of "nurture and admonition of the Lord” accounts for many broken homes and hearts. Points and Problems 1. “ T hat thy days m ay be long upon the land" (Ex. 20:12). In Ephesians 6:3 the Apostle Paul quotes the promise as follows: “That . . . thou mayest live long on the earth." The Greek term may be rendered either "earth” or “land,” but the universal viewpoint of the Ephesian letter probably demands the former. Thus we may learn that the principles laid down in the Mosaic law, although referring first of all to a cer tain people and a certain land, may apply also to all peoples in every age and in every land. For there is a direct connection be tween the stability of fam ily life and the permanency of national life. When disci pline fails in the home, the family disinte grates; and when this collapse takes place, its effects are eventually felt in the nation. The strength of the nation is based square ly on the home. 2. “ T hy father and /” (Lk. 2 :4 8 ). Mary’s reference to Joseph as the “father” of Jesus was perfectly natural, for he was the legal father. Such an expression as this cannot possibly be twisted by enemies of the Virgin Birth into an affirmation of Jo seph's paternity, for Mary had already borne witness that Joseph was not the actual father (Lk. 1:34). But if there should be any doubt about the matter, the answer of the boy Jesus to His mother should for ever settle the matter. When Mary com plains, “ T hy father and I have sought thee sorrowing,” He replies: “W ist ye not that
NOVEM BER 6, 1938 HONORING OUR PARENTS E xodus 20:12; L uke 2:46-52; J ohn 19:26, 27; E phesians 6:1-4
Exodus 20:12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Luke 2:46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him. Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. John 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own hom e . Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Golden T ext: “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (E x. 20:12). D evotional R eading: Prov. 3:1-7. Outline and Exposition I. T he C ommand (E x . 20:12) N E C E S S IT Y for respect for filial re lationships is continually Inculcated in the minds of Jewish youth. Even among Jewish adults consideration is given to the words of the head of the house. In the command of verse 12, the mother is as sociated with the father and is to receive the same measure of honor as he (although perhaps in a somewhat different manner). W e may well pity the children in a home where the father is at variance with the mother, a situation leading to divided honor among the children. Obedience to the Lord’s command to honor father and mother leads to the honoring of the Creator of all things, for behind the head of the house, or the family upon earth, there stands the heaven ly Father, the rightful Head of every family. [T h ese lessons are developed from out lines prepared b y the Comm ittee on Im proved Uniform Lessons o f the Interna tional Council. T h e outlines are copyright ed by the International Council o f Religious Education and used by permission. Scrip ture portions quoted are from the King Jam es Version unless otherw ise stated.]
II. T he E xample (Lk. 2:46-52; John 19:26,27)
Though in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of all “the law and the prophets,” still, during the period of His life in the flesh, He chose to govern His conduct in the light of the law which governed those whom He had come to save. W e must remember that while our Lord thus voluntarily placed Himself under cer tain limitations, there never was a time in which He was not familiar with His pecu liar mission on the earth, and of His divine enabling for the carrying out of that mis sion. In our lesson. He appears as a boy giving deference to His elders (vs. 46, 4 7). As He listened to the doctors in the temple, the Lord Jesus unmistakably manifested a humble and teachable spirit, for His hear ers were “amazed” at His answers. When His mother found Him and spoke concerning His seeming lack of thoughtful ness for His parents, the Lord Jesus replied: "I must be about my Father’s business.” It was an imperative obligation: “I must.” W e are tem p ted to th in k th a t th a t "business” was wholly occupied with His public ministry, but the following verses clearly reveal that it was also accomplished by His perfect submission and obedience to His parents. Thus He fulfilled the law of Moses in every detail. Without His will ing subjection at home, the public ministry would have been powerless to fulfill the Father’s will. Christ’s obedience to the command to honor father and mother did not end when He left home and entered upon His public ministry, but continued down to the very day of His death (John 19:26, 2 7). Even while He suffered on the cross, He remem bered to pay honor to His mother. He would not commit her to the care of the brothers after the flesh because doubtless they, as yet, did not believe in Him and His atoning work, but He gave her into thé charge of a beloved disciple who knew Him as Saviour. This lesson should show us the wrong of worshiping the Virgin Mary. She, like John, was a sinner need ing salvation. And she was one who needed BLACKBOARD LESSON 'uonoR.m either eutdthh momav. that BS@ dews mflg beloro upon the UTOWHICHTHELORDTHy GODQIUETHTHEE«.*,:* E w K m ■ BB1 — m / \ 6--- J \_ 38 "BEHOLDTHUmOTHERT*jon 19:27 S
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