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THE KING’ S BUSINESS
ment. Wealth'and piety seldom go hand in hand. Many a man has lost his spirit uality as he has increased in wealth. There are few rich men saved (1 Cor. 1:26; Jas. 2:5, 6). The Lord used a strong figure to illustrate the impossibility o f a rich man being saved. Men have sought to tone the figure down, but for fhat there is no warrant. However, our Lord tells them it is possible for God to save even a rich man (v. 27). Nothing but the special grace o f God can save him. The Lord Jesus in meeting the perplexity o f His disciples, uttered a truth that has great comfort in it, “with God all things are possible” (cf. Gen. 18:14). Wednesday, February p. . Luke 18 : 31 - 34 . T o r years our Lord had deeply pon dered the prophecies that foretold His own atoning death and the definite details o f His sufferings connected' with His death. He knew that He must endure all these things, and He knew that the time had now come when “ all the things that (were) written by the prophets” should “ be accomplished.” And so the time had come when the apostles must be definitely} told o f these things. With an aching heart He detailed to'them how He was to be delivered up- to the Gentiles, to be mocked, and shamefully treated, to be spat upon, to be scourged and killed. Then He turns from the dark picture to the bright one; how the third day He should rise again. He desired their'sympathy in the contem- plátion o f the agonies that He'must pass through. But they were utterly dull, “they understood none o f these things.” It seems incomprehensible that they should not understand when He told them so plainly. But one thing ought to help us to under stand it, and that is our own dullness in seeing things that are - revealed in fhe plainest terms in the Word o f God. Many today are as utterly blind as to the things clearly revealed about our Lord’s second coming as these apostles were to the things He so clearly foretold about His death and resurrection.
Thursday, February 10 . Luke 18 : 35 - 43 .
| Bartimaeus is a striking illustration of man as he is by nature: his home, Jericho, the city under a curse (Josh. 6:17, 26), a type o f this world; blind (2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 3 :1 7 ); a beggar clothed in rags (cf. Isa. 64:6). Bartimaeus was sitting by the dusty wayside, not a good place to be, but bet ter far for Bartimaeus than some shady palm grove o f Jericho, for Jesus was to pass that way. As soon as Bartimaeus heard he began to cry out. * That was not much to do, but it was enough. He cried simply for “mercy.” The people were dis pleased to hear him cry for “mercy” and rebuked him. There are many people still, religious people at that, who are irri tated when they hear poor, sinful, afflicted people making a disturbance by crying aloud to Jesus for mercy, that would rebuke them if they dared. The rebuke he received, so far from closing his mouth, only made him cry out “so much the more.” Jesus did not rebuke Bartimaeus for crying to Him, and He will never rebuke us, He loves to have us cry to Him (Phil. 4 :6 ). How gentle and wonderful were the words o f Jesus, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” That is just what He asks each o f us. All depends on what we really "wilt” that God do for us. What Bartimaeus willed he obtained. His eyes were opened upon a world he had never seen. It was a beautiful world upon which Bartimaeus gazed for the first time, and the most beautiful object was Jesus Himself. So he turned his back on Jeri cho and followed Him. It was necessary that his eyes should be opened before he could follow, and so it is necessary that our eyes be opened to behold Jesus before
we can follow Jesus. Friday, February 11 . Luke 19 : 1 - 4 .
Zacchaeus was rich, dishonest, dissatis fied, but a man o f considerable earnestness and decision. A rich man must be a pretty mean man to be regarded as Zacchaeus was (v. 7).' His riches did not prevent his
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