H
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
January, 1942
IN T E R N A T IO N A L L E S S O N C om m e n t a r y Ouilme and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Childrens Division Object Lesson Golden Text Illustration By B. B. S utcliffe By G retchen S ibley By H elen F razee -B ower By E lmer L. W ilder By A lan S. P earce Boints and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , President of Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind.
FEBRUARY 1, 1942 JESUS CALLS FOUR DISCIPLES M atthew 4:18-22; M ark 1:16-20; L uke '5:1-11
One, for His innate holiness condemns all men* Though Peter and his companions were fishermen and understood fish ing, they were all amazed at t h i s draught of fishes, for it was outside the range of natural events. III. S ecuring D isciples (10, 11) Jesus at once told the disciples not to fear, or to be overcome with this ipanifgstatiori of His power, for He had another lesson to teach. He said that from “henceforth thou shalt catch men.” Thus they would under stand their new business in relation to their old vocation, fishing. They knew that such a business as theirs required much patience and would en tail many disappointments; they had just had the experience of fish ing all. night and catching nothing. The Lord’s service likewise requires patience, to take calmly the some times seeming futility of this service. Fishing .also requires observation; no fisherman/ ever was successful with out continuous study of the ways and manners of fish. Similarly, the serv ant of the Lord must constantly study men if he is to “catch” them for Christ. Moreover, fishing requires skill—skill that comes only by means o f steady occupation with the busi ness at hand. And, finally, it re quires obedience to certain laws. For •the follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, these spiritual laws can be learned only at the feet of the Lord Himself. )Vhile these men knew something of what would ■be involved in their becoming “fishers of men,” t h e y did not hesitate to respond; when their boat came to land, they “forsook all, and followed him.” Their action showed a voluntary leaving of the old way of life and a willing undertak ing of the new. Not one of them was forced to follow Him. For each one, it was a personal choice that was in volved. Leaving all to follow Jesus was the first step—a step that every believer must take. The followers were ignorant and full of faults, but in sending them to the work, the Lord Jesus Christ would exchange His strength for their weakness, His un derstanding for their ignorance, and His wisdom for their lack, of knowl edge. Thus He will deal with every one today who leaves all to follow Him.
^Lukc 5*1 And It came to pass, that, as the people ptessed upon-him to hear the w ord o f Gpd, he stood by the lake o f Gen- nesaret, * saw tw o ships standing by the lake* but the fisherm en were gone out o f them , and w ere w ashing their nets* 3 A nd he entered into one o f the ships, w hich w as Simon’s, and prayed him that he w ou ld thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out o f tjke.ship. 4 Now when hie had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out Into the deep, and let down your nets fo r a draught. 5 Apd Simon answ ering said unto him, Master, w e have toiled all the night, and have taken nothin g: nevertheless at thy w ord I w ill let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they Inclosed a great m ultitude o f fish es: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their part ners, which w ere iu the other ship, that they should com e and help them^ And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 W hen Simon P eter saw it, he fell down at «JTesiis’ knees, saying, Depart iw m m e; fo r I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9" F or he w as astonished, and all that w ere w ith him, at the draught o f the fishes w hich they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, ,the sons o f Zebedee,' which w ere partners w ith Simon. •And Jesus said unto Simon, F ear not* from henceforth thou shalt catch m en. ,, 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and fo l low ed- him. LESSON TEXT* Lk. 5*1-11. GOLDEN TEXT* “ Come ye a fter die, and I w ill make you to becom e fishers o f men” (Mk. 1:17). DEVOTIONAL READING* Psa. 92*1-4, 12-15. Outline and Exposition I. T eaching the P eople (1-3) A S JÉSUS stood beside the lake / \ of Gennesaret and taught, the JL J l people gathered in such num bers that not all could hear Him. See ing two fishing boats from which the men had gone, He entered one of them, belonging to Peter, and asked that it be moved out a little from the shore. Peter agreed, and then Jesus sat down and taught the people from the boat. He who created all things, arid who [ These lessons are developed from outlines prepared by the Committee on Improved Uniform Lessons of the In ternational Council of Religious Educa tion and are used by its permission. Scripture portions qubted are from the King James Version unless otherwise stated.]
gave men ability to make other things from those that had been cre ated, asked for the use of one of those man-made articles—a boat. Jesus easily could have created a pul pit, .had He chosen to do so, but fie would give men the privilege of be ing partners with Him in His work. Then, too, being the Creator, He had a right to make the request He did. Men sometimes think they are vir tually the owners of. all the earth; in reality they are merely stewards, using the things God has made. II. C ontrolling N ature (4-10) Finishing His teaching, Jesus told Peter to put out into the deep and let down the net^for a draught of fishes. Peter and his brother Andrew, to gether with James and John, had toiled all night and had taken noth ing. Night was the proper time for fishing, and if no fish were c a u g h t then, it seemed unlikely that any would be taken in the daytime. '‘Nevertheless at thy word . . ,” said Peter, indicating his willingness to try. Doing anything “at thy word” is the secret of success, whether the time, seems propitious.•or otherwise. Natural conditions are always subject to the supernatural constraint of the Son pf man. Hence in this instance, when the net was let down, a mul titude of fishes was enclosed, so much so that the net was breaking with the weight. With the help of James and John, with their boat, the men were able to care for the load, but even then both boats were iri danger of sinking under the weight. From this manifestation of the Lord’s control over nature, Peter re ceived a revelation of his qwn sin fulness and of the holiness of the Lord Jesus (v. 8). Peter’s confession was similar to that of every man who really comes into the presence of the divine Lord. Thus also did the Old Testament worthies respond, such as Isaiah, Daniel, and others (cf. Isa. 6:5; Dan. 10:8, etc.) Men can be comfort able in the.presence of each other, knowing all alike are sinners; but they are uncomfortable in the pres ence of Jesus Christ, the only sinless
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