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T HE T K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Again, at the end of His life on earth, He gavé an example of honor ing parents by His final treatment of His mother (John 19:25-27). In the agony of the cross, in the midst of the darkness when He was completing, the stupendous work of bearing and putting away the sin of the world, He could still remember the fifth com mandment of His Father and obey it by giving thought and care to His mother. ., III. T h e R e jec tion of t h e H onor to P arents | (Mk. 7:6-13) Our Lord rebuked the false profes sion of the Pharisees, because it was merely the covering up of what was wrong on the inside. Their worship was only lip service and was without heart; they were hypocrites, acting a part. Their honor of God was ex ternal, to be seen of men; there was no reality in it (vs. 6, 7). They re fused obedience to God’s command ments in order to pamper themselves. They resisted the Word of God in order to uphold themselves in their evil do ings (vs. 8, 9). - All through their Scriptures, honor and reverence to parents were in sisted upon, and the gravest punish ments were pronounced upon those who would break that command. But, by their traditions, the Pharisees made the V, ord of God of none effect, and lived and acted as though their tradi tions were of a higher authority than the Word of God (vs. 10-13). The par- Lord Jesus charge(d them was their ticular wickedness with which the breaking of the Ififth commandment by this specious reasoning. Points and Problems 1. "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Lk. 2:49). At the age of twelve, each Jewish youth became “a son of the law." Certain rights and responsibili ties then came to him. He was ex pected to attend the annual feasts, obliged to learn a trade, permitted to fight for his country, allowed to be come engaged; in short, he became in a certain sense a man. At 'this age, we find Jesus in the temple, and His first recorded words are a question, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” How full of sig nificance are these words: (1) They bear witness to the fact of the Virgin Birth. Note Mary’s word, "thy father,” in verse 48, and compare it with Christ’s word, "my Father,” in verse 49. (2) They set forth the fact that the Father has a business. Unques tionably, that business is the redemp tion of sinful men (John 5:17). And (3) they reveal the fact that Jesus at
this tender age was fully conscious of His part with the Father in this busi ness. 2. "And was subject unto them" (Lk. 2:51). Christ exifhplified His perfect response to the Father’s will by an ideal subjection to His parents in the home of Nazareth. He thus perfectly fulfilled the fifth command ment and the Ngw Testament exhor tation concerning children’s relation to parents (Eph. 6:1, 2).' 3. "Laying aside the command ment of God" (Mk. 7:8). The first step of the Pharisées was to add their traditions to the Scriptures as useful supplements. The second step was to place them on a level with the Word of God as of equal authority. The final step was to honor these tradi tions above the Word itself. In the matter of treatment, of fathers and mothers, Jesus presents'an illustration of the evil of adding to the Word of God. See verses 10 to 13. By saying that the money that should have heen used for the care of aged or sick par ents was “Corban,” or. dedicated to thè temple or holy purposes, they evaded their.sacred responsibility in the mat ter of their parents’ support. There is no end to the error to which men may come when they forsake the Word of God for the opinions and doctrines of men. Golden Text Illustration E phesians 6:1 Archdeacon Conybeare states that once a large number of schoolboys were required to write an essay on "What Would I Do If I H a d 5000 Pounds, a Year?” He adds that after reading over the essays written, anonymous though they were, it was - always possible to detect, which' boys were Jewish, by-noticing if an essay placed in the forefront of the writer’s wishes the desire to provide for his parepts. The fifth commandment had sunk deep into the Israelite lads’ minds.— The Christan Life. • In God's Book E xodus 20:12 ; L uke 2:48-51; M ark 7:6-13; J ohn 19:25-29 MEMORY VERSE: "My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and for sake not the-law of thy mother” (Prov. 6 : 20 ). BLACKBOARD LESSON
AIM: To teach respect for parents. APPROACH: If we were asked to write down the names of the persons that mean most to us, probably the first words would be “Father” and
“M o t h e r.” A 11 through the Bihle we are taught to love and obey our p a r e n t s . Jesus Himself, when He was here on earth, showed how this may be done. LESSON: When Jesus was twelve years old, He went
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with Joseph and Mary to spend sev eral days in the big city of Jerusalem. Jesus was found one day in the tem ple, or house of God, “ sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing •them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him- were astonished at his understanding and answers” (Lk. 2:46, 47). 1716 grown people did not expect a boy to know all that the Lord Jesus knew. But He was God’s Son. Other boys, if they had been praised for k n o w i n g so many important things, might have been proud and boastful. But the Lord Jesus wasn’t. He was thinking about His heavenly Father and of the work His heavenly Father wanted Him to do. The Bible says that when Joseph and Mary found-Him in the temple, “he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and ’ was subject unto them”—just as the Word of .God says a son ought to do. The Lord Jesus was careful to obey God’s Word, even when He was a boy. And when He had grown to be a man, and was soon to go back to His heavenly Father, He still obeyed God’s Word about par ents. He found a way to be very kind to His mother, for He asked His dear friend, John, to care for her as though she were his very own mother. Arid John did, for he obeyed God’s Word, too. Object Lesson L earning a L esson OBJECT: A piece of paper 8%xll inches,.' (Fold each end to within % inch of the middle, leaving a gap of Vi inch. In this space print the word “HONOR.” Open the folds, and using the word “HONOR,” complete*the fol lowing words, “FATHER, MOTHER, LEARN, LESSON, and CHILDREN,” allowing the word “HONOR” to be piore distinct than the other words.) LESSON: This piece of paper con tains a very important word. In fact, it is so important that God included it in the Ten Commandments. Not ev ery one realizes the importance of the word “HONOR,” as applied to a child’s attitude toward his parents.
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