the dead, victors through Him. (Cf. 1 Peter 1:3-5.) 8. The Privilege Bestowed upon Peter, v. 19. A wonderful prerogative, a signal favor is bestowed upon Peter. He is entrusted with the "Ke ys of the King- dom of Heaven." Not the keys of Heaven itself, the dwelling place of God and angels and believers; nor yet the keys of the Church of'God, for men can not admit believing sinners to one or the other; but the expression is " t h e Kingdom of Heaven.'' The term is pe- culiar to the O. T. and the Synoptic Gospels and is Jewish in its primary application. It means " t h e Rule of Heaven set up on the earth." (Cf Matt. 6:10.) To Peter was given the keys, i. e., the truth pertaining to and admitting to the kingdom. Peter used these keys, first in Acts 2, where the door of the Kingdom opened wide to the repentant believing Jew, and again in Acts 10, where the door was again opened, this time to Cornelius, the en- ' quiring believing Gentile. 9. The Protest Against the Cross, v. 20-22. (1)—Prediction, v. 20-21. Christ pre- dicts the Cross, toward which His face has been steadfastly and longingly set. (2)—Protestation, v. 22. Such talk did not please Peter; he will adminis- ter rebuke to the Lord, and the lips that once spoke by inspiration of the Holy Spirit now seemd to be animated by the Spirit of Satan. Peter, so ready to acknowledge the " S e n t " of God, now protests against the plan, pur- pose and program of God. The " f l e s h" rises up in protest against the acknowl- edgement made by the " S p i r i t" by Peter. The " f l e s h" never has and never wnl commend the Cross, the sub- stitutionary death of Jesus Christ for sinners. (Cf. 1 Cor. 1:18, 23.) The Cross offends the flesh. The natural man dislikes the phrase " t h e blood of Jesus.'' 10. The Prompt Retort. v. 23. "Get thee behind me, Satan," etc. Peter was not really " S a t a n " in his personality, but in the protest Jesus saw Satan once again in his insidious temptation. Satan had sought through the ages since the prediction of Genesis 3:15 to prevent the manifestation of the Bedeemer and the death of Christ On the Cross. To this end he had brought dethronement, slavery, murder and temptation to pass but without avail; now he would speak through the
lips of a choiee man of God. " P a r be it from thee," said Peter, ignorantly and unwittingly but fulfilling, never- theless, the insidious deceitful plan of Satan, but Jesus fails not, the Cross is reared, the sacrifice is made, substitu- tion takes place and a finished work is proclaimed. Satan still hates the Cross. He leads men to believe anything and everything about Jesus even, if only they will eliminate the Cross; but Gal. 6:14 for Eph. 2:13-18 and Col. 1:20-22. Hallelujah for the Cross! 11. The Price of Discipleship. v. 24-26. Salvation cost the Saviour a great price; it is offered, nevertheless, as a gift to the believing sinner (Cf. Eph. 2:8-10). Discipleship, however, costs— 1—Profession. Saying to self: " I do not know y o u ;" " I do not rec- ognize your claims and demands." 2—Pain... "Take up thy Cross," i. e., the suffering that lies in the path of devotion to Christ. 3—Path. "Follow me." 4—Profit and Loss. v. 25-26. A gen- eral application of these verses would teach that everything seemingly gained with Christ left out is but loss (Of. Phil. 3:7-9). To seek the gain of the world at the expense of the soul is poor business indeed. (Cf. Mk. 8:36, 1 Jno. 2:15-17.) . . 12. The Picture of the Future Kingdom, v. 27-28, Cf. Chap. 17:1-9. We have here a picture in miniature of the glory of the Son of Man when He shall come in the glory of the Fath- er and the Holy Angels. A glimpse of the glory is here seen, its fullness and effulgence will be manifest in His sec- ond advent. LESSON IV. Sunday, July 24, 1910. Mat. 17:1-8, 14-20. TRANSFIGURATION AND LIBERA- TION. By J. H. Sammis. OUTLINE. A. The Transfiguration.
1. Contrast. 2. Context.
3. Contradiction, 4. Counterpart. 5. Confirmation. 6. Coming Kingdom. 1. The Mockers. 2. The Multitude. 3. The Man.
B. Liberation.
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker