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November, 1945
YOUNG PEOPLE'S TOPICS By Rev. Dudley L. Girod
He lays down His life in sacrifice. “While we were yet sinners [es tranged from God], Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the un just, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Pet. 3:18). With regard to those sheep whom our Lord rescues from danger and saves from the jaws of death, He states, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27, 28). The loving care of Jesus for His own ransomed sheep is also vividly described to us by an other Oriental shepherd in the twenty- third Psalm. DECEMBER 9, 1945 JESUS, THE W ISE TEACHER L uke 4:14-22, 42-44: J ohn 5:30-36 Many teachers throughout Jewry w e r e contemporaries of Jesus, but none were comparable to Him. “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46). For Those Who Have Topics I. THE SOURCE OF JESUS’ WISDOM AS A TEACHER. Our Lord Jesus Christ was neither the disciple of a great philosopher nor the product of a leading school of re ligious education. See John 7:14-17. To the amazed Jewish educators, He explained His advanced learning: “My teaching is not mine, but His that sent Me” (R.V.). Further explanation of His aptitude as a spiritual teacher may be found in Luke 4:18-22. His was a native understanding of things in Heaven and earth so that He was not depend ent upon their puny educational sys tem for any instruction. II. THE RESOURCEFULNESS O F JESUS’ METHODS AS A TEACHER. The Lord Jesus most certainly real ized that He had a message of tre mendous import to deliver to this sinful world, and He endeavored to present it in the most interesting and comprehensible manner possible. We read, “The common people heard him gladly.” He was adept at making known the most profound spiritual
iFor this month we have a series of |6ur topics covering the subjects of our Lord as .Shepherd, Teacher, Lead er, and Son of God. This study is sug gested to us under the theme, “We Would See Jesus,” taken from that well-known hymn by Anna B. Warner. DECEMBER 2, 1945 JESUS, THE GOOD SHEPHERD M att . 18:10-14; J ohn . 10:11-14 'JL prominent Hindu philosopher was once asked, “What do you see in Christianity that is not in Hinduism?” He replied, “In Christianity you have f Shepherding God.” *Our Lord, w h e n endeavoring to convey to His followers the concept of God’s love for a sinful and lost crea tion, Used this beautiful metaphor, so familiar in the Orient: “I am the good ¿jmpherd.’1 •; For Those Who Have Topics I. JESUS, THE SEEKING SHEPHERD ■ -(Matt. 18:10-14). j In tjiis parable of the “ninety and nine,” ..our Lord Jesus represents Him self as the shepherd, who, out of grave concern for one lost sheep, leaves the n i n e t y and nine who are securely folded, to go in search of that straying one. Throughout our Lord’s earthly ministry, we observe Him going into the “by-ways,” seeking the lost, l^ o those who “raised the eyebrow” at His association w i t h sinners, He thus justified Himself: "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. . . ” On aftother occasion, He reminded His critics; “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was ’lost.” Some of the lost sheep whom Jesus sought and found were Matthew (Matt. 9:9,10); the woman of Samaria (John 4:4-42); and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). IL JESUS, THE SELF-SACRIFICING .: SHEPHERD. - (John 10:11-14). ■ The second portrait we have of Jesus as “the good shepherd” depicts the extent to which He goes in reclaiming the lost sheep: “The good shepherd givetji his life for the sheep.” ‘ In His effort to bring back the lost and restore them to the fold of God,
truths, even to the illiterate. He il luminated His teaching with illustra tions, metaphors and parables, drawn from the common everyday life the people understood. He arrested their attention by injecting into His mes sages the element of surprise. The learned lawyers of His day were baffled by His method of retalia tion. When challenged with one of their mocking questions, He countered with a searching inquiry of His own which closed their mouths. III. THE SPIRITUAL MINISTRY OF JESUS AS A TEACHER. Many teachers are m e r e l y expo nents of d o c t r i n e or philosophic thought, which, in itself, does not bring blessing or benefit to the hear ers. Not so with Jesus. He Himself made the claim: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” As He spoke, truth was translated into human experience, and men were “ born anew” of the Spirit. The teaching ministry Of Christ was more than a didactic presentation of moral law or a code of ethics.- “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). So blessed was this ministry of truth to the hearts of Ilis listeners, that when Jesus asked if His twelve dis ciples, too, planned to desert Him as others had done, Peter protested: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6 : 68 ) . DECEMBER 16, 1945 JESUS, THE SPIRITUAL LEADER M ark 7:1-8; 11:15-18 All too often, in the spiritual lead ership of the Church, there is an em phasis upon the human element to the exclusion of the Holy Spirit and His divine influence. When Jesus encountered Judaism, He found that the “traditions of men” were held uppermost in all matters of faith and practice, and that God and His commandments were wholly ignored. This disregard of God and His Word can be found in organized Christianity today (Mark 7:8, 9).
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