King's Business - 1938-10

424

T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S

December, 1938

Sunday School Workers need ARNOLD'S Practical Commentary D evelo ped

exhibition of failure. Thus by his human reasonings, Peter opened the door of his mind to Satan. Satan knows that without the cross, salvation could not come to man, sin could not be put away, and the purpose of God could not be accomplished. Peter was minding the things of man. The Lord said to him: "Thou savorest [R.V., ‘mind- est’] not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (v. 23). And the things that be of men are the things Satan suggests (cf. 1 John 5:19, R.V., ‘lieth in the evil one’; Eph. 2:1-3). The disciples should have heeded all the Lord said and found their satisfaction in the certainty of His resurrection on the third day. It is not without reason that whenever our Lord’s death is mentioned in Scripture there is also a mention of His resurrection. III. P eter ’ s P athway (24, 25) Three words uttered by our Lord, indi? cated the course to be followed by any true disciple of the Lord: D eny, take, and fo l­ low . Self must be denied, that is, put aside for another Person (cf. Acts 3:14). The passage teaches that whosoever will save his life must lose it, that is, exchange his life for another’s. This does not refer to eternal life, the gift of God, for that never can be lost; but it is the value of the life which is in view here. When the life is “lost” for Christ’s sake, then the life will be “saved,” and all its value will accumulate unto eternal riches and glory. Points and Problems 1. "W hom d o m en sa y that I, th e Son o f man, am?’’ (Matt. 16:13). Three things should be noted in this remarkable question: First, there is no admission here of per­ sonal ignorance. He knew exactly what 'men were saying about Him. But as the perfect Teacher He desires to teach His dis­ ciples something, and He begins by asking a pointed question. His method is good pedagogy. Second, His question reveals a personal interest in what men thought and said about Him. The Christian faith is deeply theological. It cannot be reduced to a mere system of morality. In Christianity doctrine is first; duty is second because the fulfillment of duty rises directly out of right belief. It is true that faith without works is dead; that is, it is not true faith at all. But it is also true that without faith there-can be no works in the Christian sense. Third, our Lord’s question is much more than a ques­ tion. He does not say, “Whom do men say that I am?” but "Whom do men say that I, th e S on o f man, am?” Thus the question contains an assertion that He is "the Son of man.” And this title, so precious to our Lord, was derived from the great Messianic prophecy in Daniel 7:13, 14. The question, therefore, might be paraphrased something like this: I am God’s Messiah come in ful­ fillment of Daniel’s prophecy, but what are men saying about Me? 2. "John th e Baptist . . . Elias . . . Jere- mias . . . o n e o f th e p rop h ets’’ (Matt. 16: 14). It would be a great compliment for any mere mortal man to be mistaken for a member of such a noted company a s ‘this. But for our Lord, all such opinions are too low. They do not satisfy Him. He belongs to a different and a higher category. There­

fore He has no word of commendation until He hears from the lips of Peter the great confession: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). And this con­ fession, when uttered, He pronounces to be no mere human opinion—“Flesh and blood hath not revealed it” (v. 17). On the con­ trary, its origination is from the “Father which is in heaven” (v.- 17). Two things are clear now: First, the deity of our Lord is the very heart of Christian faith; and sec­ ond, this truth is a divine revelation, not a discovery on the part of man. Therefore, we are following the Lord Himself when we refuse to be satisfied with any estimate of His person, no matter how high, which falls short of absolute deity. Emperor Theodosius denied the deity of Christ. When his son Arcadius was about sixteen, Theodosius decided to make him a partner with himself in the government of the empire. Among the great men who as­ sembled themselves to congratulate the new wearer of the imperial purple was a bishop named Amphilocus. He made a handsome address to the emperor and was about to leave when Theodosius exclaimed: “What! do you take no notice of my son?” Then the bishop went up to Arcadius and, putting his hands upon his head, said: “The Lord bless thee, my son!” The emperor, roused to fury by this slight, exclaimed, "What! is this all the respect you pay to a prince that I have made of equal dignity with myself?” Amphilocus replied, “Sire, you do so highly resent my apparent neglect of your son, because I do not give him equal hon­ ors with yourself. Then what must the eternal God think of you when you degrade His co-equal and co-eternal Son to the level of one of His creatures?” The emperor judged the reproof to be just.— T he W onderful Word. M em ory V erse: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). A pproach: Day by day, Peter and the other disciples followed the Lord Jesus as He went about the country talking to the people. For two years now Peter had fol­ lowed Him. There were many other people Golden Text Illustration M atthew 16:16 When Peter Knew His Lesson M atthew 16:13-25

from outlines ap­ proved by the In­ ternational Council of Religious Educa­ tion,, ARNOLD’ S PRACTICAL COM­ MENTARY gives teachers and Bible s tu d e n ts a firmer grasp on spiritual realities. This com­ plete commentary is almost a necessity for a ll th o se who u se th e I n te r n a ­ tional Uniform Les­

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f o l l o w i n g Jesus. Jesus did many mir­ acles; He healed the sick and cast out evil spirits a n d e v e n raised people from the dead. P e o p l e wondered at His power. Who could this Man be! L e s s o n S t o r y : Jesus knew that the

crowds were wondering about Him. Many times He had told them who He was, but still they didn’t seem to understand. One day, He turned to His disciples and asked them, “Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?” And they told Him that most of the people thought that He was one of the prophets. Then He said, "But whom

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