September 1943
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IN T E R N A T IO N A L LE S SO N Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children s Division Object Lesson . Golden Text Illustration By B. B. S utcliffe By G retchen S ibley By M ildred M . C ook By E lmer L. W ilder By A lan S. P e a r c e Points and Problems By H omer A. K ent , Professor at Grace Theological Seminary,'Winona Lake, Ind.
vain search for righteousness, forever to be burdened with guilt in breaking God’s command that had been given him. III. , T he L ife R ejected (John -5:39, 40) Jesus recognized that the Jews searched the Scriptures in order to find eternal life, and He told them what they sought was not in the Scriptures themselves, but in the One of whom the Scriptures spoke, even Himself. The Scriptures testified of Christ; their message was Christ; the law, the prophets,, and the psalms all testified of Christ, the One in whom eternal life was to be found. But such was their hatred of Jesus Christ that while they presumably searched for eternal life, they revealed they were not honest in the search. They would not come to Him.that they might have the life they professed to seek. He condemned both their dis honesty and their deceitfulness.' He declared, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (v. 40), It was a matter of willful rejection of eternal life, because of hatred of the One in whom that life was to be found. SH ■ Points and Problems 1. Note the man himself as he is pictured in the first three Gospels. He is at the same time one of the most attractive and one of the most pa thetic figures in Scripture. He w a s y oun g (Mat t . 19:20). Youthful days are the best days in which to accept the Saviour. He was earnest. He cam,e “running” to Christ (Mk. 10:17). He was enthu siastic, t vivacious. This sort of thing is needed in Christian service. He was courteous (Mk. 10:17). He “kneeled” in the presence of Christ. Quite evidently he was mistaken about who Christ was, for he ad dressed Him as he would address other rabbis. But such respectful courtesy is a most important charac teristic. He was prominent. Luke calls him a “ruleif” (Lk. 18:18). He may not have been old enough to be a member of the Sanhedrin. Probably he was a ruler of a certain synagogue, having been elected to office by people who regarded him as being worthy of re sponsibility.
OCTOBER 3, 1943 JESUS AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS M atthew 5:17-20; 19:16-22; J ohn 5:39, 40
stands condemned before God, “for there is not a just man upon earth, that ddeth good, and sinneth not” (Eccl. 7:20); “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rorp. 3:23). Hence, there is no hope in law for any man (v. 19). The righteousness of the Pharisees was the best to be found upon earth. One of them (Paul) climbed to the topmost rung of the,ladder of human excellency and could look down upon others and declare, with truth, “If any other man thinketh . . . [he is good], I more” (Phil. 3:4). He had a self- righteousness, which was that of the Pharisees, the best, humanly speak ing, that could be obtained. Yet his righteousness was of no avail. The demand was for a better righteousness than that of the Pharisees, and that better righteousness is the “righteous ness of God which is tty faith of Jesus Christ” .(Rom. 3:22). v II. T he L ight R efused (M att. 19:16-22) In view of the second table of the law, of man’s relation to man, the young man in today’s lesson was able to pass the test. He could say, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” (vs. 16-20). There was-nothing amiss with this young man as touching his rela tion to other men, and he was re ligious, moral, and clean in his per sonal life. The modernist would say he needed nothing more. But there was the first table of the law, or man’s relation to God, to be considered, and the young man was directed to that; He had acknowl edged Jesus as being good, and* had been told, “There is none good but . . . God.” Then Jesus, the God-Man, gave him a command. The outcome of this conversation revealed the man’s riches were his god, controlling him and his actions. He did not own them, but they owned him, and they said, in effect, “Thou shalt have no other God before me.” The man listened to the command of his riches and refused the command of God (vs. 21, 22). . He had asked for light, which was given, but he refused it. He went away with his riches, to continue the
M atth ew 5:17 T h in k not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not com e to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 F o r ve rily I sa y unto you, T ill heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no w ise p ass from the law, till* all be fulfilled. 19 W h osoe ve r therefore shall break one of these least comm andm ents, and shall teach m en so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but w hosoever shall do and teach them, the sam e shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 F o r I sa y unto you, T h a t except yo u r righteousness shall exceed the ) righ te ou s ness of the scribes and P harisees, ye shall In no case enter Into the kingdom of heaven. ------- r— _ 19r 6 And, behold, one cam e and said unto him , Good M aster, w hat good thin g shall I do, that I m ay have eternal life? 17 A nd he said unto him , W h y callest thou me good? there is none good but.one, that is, God: but if thou w ilt enter into life, keep the comm andm ents. 18 H e saith unto him, W h ic h ? Je su s said, T hou shalt do no m urder, T hou shalt not com m it adultery, T hou shalt not steal, T ho u shalt not bear false w itness. 19 H ono r thy fath er and th y m other: and, T hou shalt love thy neighbor as th y self. 20 T he young m an saith unto him , A ll these th in gs have I. kept from m y youth up: w h at lack I ye t? 21 Je su s said unto him , If thou w ilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. — —— \ John 5:39 Search the Scrip tu res; for in them ye th in k ye have eternal life: and they are they w hich testify of me. 40 A n d ye w ill not pome to me, that ye m igh t have life. .----- :— G O L D E N T E X T : "T h in k not that, I am com e' to destfoy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fuIfili*' (M att. 5:17). L, D E V O T IO N A L R E A D IN G : M att. 7:21-27. Outline and Exposition | T he ■■R ighteousness R equired (M att. 5:17-20) B UR LORD came not to destroy pleted, and the whole' law was ful filled. The way had been opened for men to receive righteousness which they never could attain by or under the law (vs. 17, 18). According to the law, every man [ Lesson material is based on outlines of International Sunday School Lessons copyrighted by the International Coun cil of Religious Education and is used by its permission. Scripture portions quoted are from the King James Ver sion unless otherwise stated .]
but to fulfill the law, and when He cried at Calvary, “It is finished,” His purpose was com
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