November, 1935
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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8 :17) ? Had the prophets not proclaimed that when “ the Lord is our judge, [and when] the Lord is our lawgiver, [and when] the Lord is our King,” in that day, “ the inhabi tant shall not say, I am sick : . . . Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears o f the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing” (Isa. 3 3 :22, 24; 35 :5, 6) ? And when the great Baptist himself became so depressed in the gloom of the dark prison through which God called him to pass on his road to glory that he gave way to a doubt as to Christ’s be ing the King, Christ sent forth messengers and said: “ Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matt. 11 :4, 5 ). Doubtless, John recognized these credentials as valid, and wavered not again. C hrist , the K ing , P resented the C onstitution for the K ingdom Now a kingdom demands a constitution, setting forth the laws that are to govern the kingdom. Christ, the King, therefore, having presented His credentials to Israel, “ went up into a mountain: and when he was se t,. . . he opened his mouth, and taught them” (Matt. 5 :1 ,2 ) the Constitution o f the Kingdom o f Heaven. Men today erroneously call it the “ Sermon on the Mount.” And still more erroneously do they inform us that “ all the gospel this world needs is in the Sermon on the Mount.” Now, there is almost as much gospel (i.e., “ good news” ) in the “ Sermon on the Mount” as there is warmth in an iceberg! The “ Sermon on the Mount” contains no gospel at all! The “ Sermon on the Mount” is Simon-pure law ! High standards for Christian life, the highest that mankind knows, it certainly contains. But, as for the “ good news” o f salvation, it contains not a w ord ! I f the salvation o f men is dependent upon their living up to all the demands o f the “ Sermon on the Mount,” then may God pity us a ll! Thanks be to God for the reve lation that salvation comes not by the “ works” of the law, but by “ grace . . . through faith; and that not o f yourselves: it is the gift o f God” (Eph. 2 :8 ). Get this right: John the Baptist presented the King for the kingdom o f heaven. The King, in turn, presented the Constitution fo r the Kingdom o f Heaven. Though over and over, the religious heads o f the nation o f Israel heard the proclamation that the kingdom o f heaven was “ at hand,” yet how utterly blind they were to its presence in their midst! Their blindness is exceeded only by the modernistic priests of our day. With the King and the kingdom “ at hand,” yet they demanded of Christ “when the kingdom of God should come.” Our Lord, the King, replied once again: “ Behold, the kingdom of God is within [Gr., entos, “ in the midst ( o f ) ” ] you” (Lk. 17:21). But they “ knew him not” (John 1:10). T he D isciples O fficially A uthorized to O ffer th e K ingdom to I srael The King and the credentials of the King, the kingdom and the constitution of the kingdom, now having been pre sented, “ Jesus sent forth” His disciples into all the cities of Israel, commanding them: “ A s ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom o f heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10 :5-7 ). “ Go not into the way o f the Gentiles . . . ,” said He, “ but go rather to the lost sheep o f the house o f Israel” (Matt. 10:5, 6 ), for the King is “ the King o f the Jews,” and the throne is “ the throne o f his father David.” He committed into their hands also His credentials to be presented: “ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils” (Matt. 10:8). Thus, time and again, were the Jews entreated to repent
and accept the King and His kingdom “ at hand.” And as often as the offer came, so often did they stiff-neckedly reject it. T he F in a l O ffer of the K ingdom to I srael Finally, a crucial moment came. The day foreseen by Daniel, the prophet, arrived. The close o f the “ seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks” (Dan. 9 :25) came. Israel must now accept the proffered kingdom, or “ cut off” “ the' Messiah the Prince” (Dan. 9 :26 ). Jesus Christ was not deceived. He knew exactly what Israel would do. When His disciples “ thought that the kingdom o f God should immediately appear,” He sought to disabuse their minds through a parable containing this most significant state ment: “ A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return . . . . But his citizens hated him, and Sent a message after him, saying, W e will not have this man to reign over us” (Lk. 19:11, i 4 ) . Jesus knew the absolute certainty o f His coming rejec tion. Nevertheless, the offer must be made. Therefore,’ “ when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem” (Lk. 19:28), there to.make a bona fide offer of the kingdom o f heaven to the official heads o f the Jewish nation. “ And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem,.. . then sent Jesus two disciples . . . into the village” of Bethphage, to secure for him an ass and a colt that were tied there. Verily-Wthe Lord hath need of. them”S f o r is not a great prophecy now about to be fulfilled to the very letter? “ All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tellye the daughter o f Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal o f an ass” (Matt. 2 1 :1-5; cf. Zech. 9 :9 ). Riding down the Mount o f Olives that day, the Lord of glory offered Himself by every possible token, to Israel, to be her King. But, how was He received ? When a mighty shout of joy arose from the lips of the accompanying multi tude— ' “Blessed be the King that coineth” — the sneering Pharisees, in sovereign contempt, walked up beside the King and insolently demanded: “Master, rebuke thy dis ciples” (Lk. 19:39). The supreme heads o f the Jewish nation, having been offered the glory o f world dominion and By J. D A N SO N SM ITH The way that I take— it is still veiled in darkness; Whereunto it leadeth I cannot yet tell; But since He doth know and doth lead, it means blessing; M y heart may believing say, "All is well." The way that I take, though it rough be and rugged, Perchance is more blest than a road smooth and plain; He knoweth the way, in His great plan of blessing, That best can work out truest spiritual gain. He Knoweth the Way
The way that I take, though enshrouded in darkness, In darkness to me, unto God is not dim;
The darkness to me may itself be a blessing, If only it makes me walk closer with Him.
The way that I take! This my comfort— "H e knoweth”! And He— my great Father— doth tenderly care; And over life's way, and its miles, and its journey, M y feet He can guide, and my life He can bear.
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