January, 1937
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NESS
54
A New Commandment J ohn 13:1-38
soul. The ministry of Christ for us be gan in death, not life. 3. “ If it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (v. 24). By some unbelieving, mod ern scientists, these words of Christ have been criticized as an unscientific statement. If a grain of wheat actually dies, they say, it will not grow at all or bring forth fruit. The answer to this rather superficial cavil is found in the Biblical use of the term “ die." T o “ die,” in the Bible, does not mean annihilation or destruction, as applied to man. Death is, an experience, not the end of human existence. 4. "Father, save me from this hour” (v. 27) has often puzzled devout readers. I believe that a slight, and legitimate, change in the punctuation solves the problem. When a question mark is placed after the word “ hour,” the clause becomes a soliloquy instead of a prayer. As His trou bled soul began to sense the awful shadows of the cross, He asked Himself: “What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?” But He did not utter it as a plea. With an unswerving determination He an swered His own question: “ But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glor ify thy name.” The decision had been made. There was no turning aside from “the hour” of shame and death. The “cup” was His, and He was willing to drink it. Though she had been in China but a short time, and longed to be studying the language, a physician was asked to accom pany a group of Chinese Christians on a preaching trip. She could take no part in the speaking because of her limited knowl edge of Chinese, but great numbers of the people came to her to be treated—and she gave of herself unstintingly in the work the Lord had called her to China to per form. One old woman especially impressed her. She was suffering from an ulceration of her bound feet. The doctor—not realiz ing that it would be considered by the Chinese as an unusual thing—took the feet gently in her hands, cleansed the sores, and applied healing ointment—all the time with a prayer in her heart (but with no ability to say a word), that, before leaving for home, the patient would come to know Christ as her Saviour. The treatment fin ished, the doctor simply looked lovingly into the vooman’s face and smiled. Later, the word came to the doctor that this woman, who it seemed had accepted the gospel years before, but because of perse cution had returned to idols, was so toucheil and made tender by the fact that she had been treated with love and kindness, that a few days later she was constrained to re turn to fellowship with the doctor’s Saviour. It was only a loving look, but it reached the depths of the woman’s longing heart. In a few months, word came from the vil lage in which this old Chinese woman lived that through her testimony four others in her household, her husband, son and two daughters-in-law, had been saved, and the idols had been removed from the home. Thus will God use the love His followers bear toward one another and toward unbe lievers.— S e le cte d . Golden Text Illustration J o h n 1 3 :34
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Memory Verse: “ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another” (John 13:34). Approach: The time was coming very soon when Jesus should leave this earth. The time came when He and His disciples should have their Jast meal together. Jesus want ed to do something which they c o u l d think of after He was gone, and which would make them say to one another, “ Do you remember that last night when we were with Jesus? Do y o u remember what He did? Well, that is the way He wants us to do.” Lesson Story: The twelve disciples were gathered in an upper room with Jesus. Now Jesus knew something about one of the disciples which none of the others knew. One of them, Judas Iscariot, was not a true friend of Jesus. Judas was going to lead the enemies of Jesus to take Him pris oner that very night. And yet Jesus loved Judas. The thing that Jesus wanted His disci ples to remember after He was gone was to “ love one another”—not just to love the ones that liked them and who treated them well, but to love even the ones like Judás Iscariot, who pretended to be a friend but who was not. Now Jesus knew that if a person loves some one very dearly, he will do anything for him. Earlier that evening Jesus had taken a towel and a basin of water, and had gone to each disciple to wash his dust- covered, tired feet. This was the work of a servant, but Jesus did it to show the dis ciples that it was the work of one who loved his friends. Jesus didn’t stop before He came to Judas and pass by without doing this kindness to him. And He didn’t give John a better cleansing than He did to the others. He treated them all alike. I am sure that the disciples thought of this kind deed many times afterwards, and would say to each other, “We must love everyone, as Jesus loved us.”
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Object Lesson M atches and M en
Objects: Two bundles of matches, each containing about twenty-five, a piece of black sponge about the size of a walnut, and two rubber bands. (Glue the matches of one bundle together and place a rubber band around them. Place the black sponge
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