April. 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
147
INTERNATIONAL LESSON Outline and Exposition .Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division
Golden Text Illustration B y A lan S. P earce
Object Lesson B y E lmer L. W ilder
B y B. B. S utcliffe
B y B essie B. B urch
B y H elen G ailey
Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio
MAY 6, 1934 JESUS ACCLAIM ED A S KING M atthew 21 :l-46
people knew, from thè predictions of their prophets, that “this” could be no other than the One who claimed to be Messiah. Now the multitudes which, but a few moments before this time, had hailed Christ as King with shouts of “ Hosanna,” changed their attitude completely, and they said simply : “ This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth o f Galilee” (v. 11). How quickly public opinion veers ! Many men today are not unlike those o f the multitude in Jesus’ day. When awakened by emotion, they are wont to give to the Lord His rightful place ; they acknowledge His claims by word of mouth; but in reality, they deny them, for they deny to Christ His rightful place as Sovereign in their lives. IV. T he K ing ' s C laim P roved (12-14). In the very beginning o f His ministry, Jesus had rebuked the tradesmen in the temple (John 2:13-17). Again, at the close of His ministry, He emphasized the sacredness o f the temple (v. 12). The tradesmen mentioned in today’s lesson were present in the temple for the con venience o f the worshipers, many of whom came from long distances and could not conveniently bring with them the neces sary animals for sacrifice. Moreover, the free-will offerings were required to be made in “temple shekels.” Hence, it be came a custom for those who came from a distance to purchase their animals for sacrifice from the tradesmen in the tem ple, and to exchange their Greek and Ro man money there for “temple shekels” for free-will offerings. Thus a profitable busi ness was developed for the tradesmen, and for the rulers o f the temple, who also had a part in the enterprise. Within the sacred area, there was a constant passing of ani mals, vessels, etc., until the temple court became more like a market place than the streets o f the city. In driving out of the temple all the dealers in merchandise, our Lord clearly asserted His claims to divine authority. Not only by His action in driving out the tradesmen, but also by His words, the Lord Jesus proved His claim to be Mes siah. He accused the offenders of turning the temple—God’s house, a house of prayer —into a den of thieves (v. 13). According to Farrar, the expression Christ used re ferred to the “ foul caves which He would often have seen where the brigands wran gled over their ill-gotten gains.” In other words, the temple, the place for com munion with God, had been turned into a market place for man’s material gain. The spiritual had been overwhelmed by the ma terial. There is very grave danger of a similar tragedy today-1-the spiritual aspect of life being forgotten while the material aspect is exalted. Finally, the Lord proved His claims by manifesting power which the prophets had declared would belong to Messiah. Jesus Christ revealed His Messiahship by what He did for the distressed and the despair ing (v. 14). He healed with a word or a touch all
Lesson T ex t : Matt. 21:1-14. Golden T ex t : “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). Outline and Exposition I. T he K ing ' s P resentation of H imself ( 1 - 5 ). F or this lesson, maps should be consulted, so that the relation o f Jerusalem to Bethphage, Bethany, and the Mount of Olives may be clearly understood. Jesus was entering the final period of His ministry. He reached Bethany, “six days before the passover” (John 12:1). A feast was spread in the home of Mary and Martha, their brother Lazarus being pres ent also. At that time, the Jews took coun sel to put both Jesus and Lazarus to death (John 12:10, 11). The following day, Jesus presented Him self to the nation as Israel’s Messiah. This presentation took place in the so-called Triumphal Entry, although the Lord Jesus knew that the “triumph” would be short-lived. In this dramatic scene, He claimed kingly authority as the Messiah. The omniscience o f Jesus Christ was shown in the directions which He gave to His disciples (vs. 2, 3). In the comman deering of the animals, there was also a manifestation of His authority. He uttered the command as though the animals were His by right. In other words, He has first claim on all that is in His kingdom. The Lord used the two animals in the way He did in order that the Old Testa ment prophecies might be fulfilled (vs. 4, 5; cf. Isa. 62:11; Zech. 9:9 ). The Bishop of Durham, Dr. Handley Moule, quoting Geikie, says: “ Every Jew, moreover, from the words o f the prophets, expected that Messiah would enter Jerusalem on an ass. No act could be more in keeping with the conception of a king of Israel, and no word could express more plainly that the King proclaimed Himself as Messiah.” Prior to this time, Jesus had forbidden His disciples to proclaim Him as Messiah, but the hour had now come for this recogni tion; therefore, He openly and definitely presented Himself as King; and in so doing, He brought about a dramatic ful fillment of prophecy. Certainly Jesus Christ Himself claimed to be the Messiah whose coming had been promised by God and foretold by the prophets. II. T he A cknowledgment of the K ing by the P eople (6-9). Having received the Lord’s instructions, the disciples immediately went away to do as they were told. W e could wish that all disciples were as quick to obey the Lord as these followers were. As far as we know, they raised no question's concerning how the Lord knew that the ass would be
in the promised place, why He commanded that it should be brought, or what was to be done if the owner objected to the dis ciples’ action. One does" not argue over the commands of the King, even though the commands may not be fully understood (vs. 6, 7). As Jesus came into the city in this strange procession, the people spread their gar ments in the way, thus showing Him regal honor (v. 8). He came with meekness and lowliness; yet He came as King, be cause the Lord God had made Him King. Meekness and lowliness belong to one who realizes he rules by and for God. The spreading of the garments and the branches was a silent acknowledgment of the posi tion and the claims o f Jesus. Not only by their actions, but also by their words, the people acknowledged the Lord Jesus’ claims to kingship (v. 9). They heralded the coming of the King, the Son of David, to establish the Messianic king dom. They recognized Jesus as the Prince of Peace—riding on the ass, in fulfillment o f the predictions of their prophets (Psa. 118 :24-26). Had they understood all that the prophets had spoken, they would have known that Christ must suffer rejection and death before He could reign. Like wise, the lack o f understanding o f pro phetic truth is still a hindrance to the Lord’s followers today. The people cried: “Hosanna to the son o f David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the L ord; Hosanna in the highest” (v. 9)-‘ This cry was not so much an accla mation as it was a prayer: “May the salva tion prepared on high be present upon the earth.” The emotions of the multitude were deeply stirred. But emotional feeling is ■not faith; and these people, lacking faith, would soon reject Christ, crying: “ Crucify him, crucify him.” Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus accepted their acknowledg ment of His claims at this time. And be cause He did so, He would have been less than an honest man if those claims had been untrue. III. T he K ing ' s C laim D enied (10, 11). “Who is this?” the people of the city cried. .From the manner in which Jesus entered the city, there could be no ques tion as to who this One claimed to be. The BLACKBOARD LESSON
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