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as such He made a voluntary surren der of certain knowledge that He might walk the walk of faith on earth. While He ever remained the eternal Son of God, co-equal and co- etemal with the Father, and while there was never any change whatso ever in His essential deity, He limited Himself when He chose to. As a child He was subject to His parents but His Deity showed through when He went into the temple and met the doctors of the law as one equal — and su perior — to them in understanding of the things of God. He voluntarily limited Himself by putting Himself into the hands of sinful men to be crucified but He reminded His cap- tors that if He wished, He might call ten legions of angels to rescue Him. He performed miracles which re vealed His power as God Himself to heal the sick and raise the dead, and on the Mt. of Transfiguration His glory shone through for a moment. The incarnation of Christ is one of the most wonderful events that we can contemplate and we will not un derstand everything about it until we see our Lord in person. TH E C R U C IF IX IO N Q. Please explain the difference in the time of the crucifixion, as given by Mark and John. Is there not a dis crepancy here? A. Not at all. The common and cor rect explanation is that Mark 15:25 speaks according to the Jewish com putation of time, saying, “ And it was the third hour” ; whereas John 19:14 speaks according to the Roman com putation of time of “the sixth hour.” Of course, we know that Rome ruled the civilized world in the day of Christ, including the land of Pales tine. Many Roman customs prevailed, along with many Jewish customs strictly adhered to by the Hebrew people. In a word, Mark is speaking of Jewish time; John, of Roman time.
his Saviour throughout eternity. The sunrise speaks of the Lord’s coming again and the redness of the sunrise is due, not to the blood of the Saviour but to the blood of His ene mies. There will be blood shed when the Lord deals in judgment with a godless world which rejected His Son. Between that red sunset and that red sunrise lies the night between and this is the dispensation in which we are living. The night is far spent. This is the time for us to win souls for Christ before it is too late. Read Mark 13:35 in this connection as well. F A M IL IA R Q UOTAT ION Q. Often I hear people say in their prayers, and even from the pulpit, “whom to know aright is eternal life.” I cannot find that expression in the Word of God, although I have searched through my concordance to find it. A. No wonder you cannot find it in the Bible for it is not there. The verse that is continually misquoted is John 17:3: “ And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” C H R IST O M N IS C IE N T ? Q. 7 am troubled over the fact that Christ is said not to know when He Himself is to come. As He is equal with the Father, why does He not have this knowledge too? A. You are referring to Mark 13:22 which states: “ But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neith er the Son, but the Father.” There is a certain mystery here but it need not trouble us. Modernists have used this verse to try to prove that Christ was not omniscient. However, the verse proves nothing of the kind. One must always bear in mind that in Mark the Lord Jesus Christ is shown as the perfect Servant of Jehovah and
SUNR ISE A N D SUNSET Q. Some years ago 1 heard you preach a sermon on Matthew 16:1-3, and I have never forgotten the im pression it made upon my heart, but I have forgotten just how you applied the sunrise and the sunset. Would you give me a brief explanation? A. It will be brief indeed. You are referring to the message on the “ Red Sunset, the Red Sunrise and the Night Between.” The verses in Matthew read as follows: “ The Pharisees also with the Sad- duccess came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypo crites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” This sunset took place over 1900 years ago when Christ, the light of the world, was nailed to the cross. After His enemies scourged Him, they platted a crown of thorns upon His brow, nailed Him to a wooden cross, and finally thrust a spear into His side. This gives one an idea of how really red that sunset was! He shed drops of blood in the Garden of Geth- semane; He shed blood when He was beaten; He shed blood when they plucked out His beard and His hair; He shed blood from the thorns on His forehead; and from nail-pierced hands and feet on the cross His blood poured down, and from His wounded side. It seems as if all the blood in His body were drained away. Yes, it was a red sunset when Jesus died. But the verses say that “when the sky is red . . . it will be fair weather.” And it is indeed fair weather for ever for anyone who places His faith in Christ as Saviour and Lord. His sins are washed away in that precious blood and he will be in Heaven with
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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