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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
March, 1938
Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sin ful generation, o f him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Golden Text: “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mk. 8:36). Devotional Reading: Romans 8:31-39. Outline and Exposition I. F inding O ur M aster in S ervice (27-30) A S JESUS with His disciples walked by the way, He put to them the great question, “Whom do men say that I am?” (v. 27). While He Himself knew what men were saying, He wanted His disciples to be brought face, to face with the truth to which He was leading 1,000 Tracts Ten Kinds Assorted, One and Two Pagres Only 9 & Q Postpaid Selected, Seund Gospel Messages T H E H U L L P U B L IS H IN G CO . 105 Princess Street, Winnipeg. Man. Complete Catalogue Sent on Request. U A R T E R S CHOIR GOWNS PULPIT ROBES • EMBROIDERIES HANGINGS • STOLES • VESTMENTS ALTAR APPOINTMENTS COMMUNION SERVtCt NEW CATALOG < I RcCMMt NATIONAL ACADEMIC CAP &GOWN CO. Ô 2 I-2 3 A R C H ST. P H ILA D E LP H IA .P A . attracted to the Bible? Thousands testify that the GRAPHIC GUIDE holds the interest, teaches by doing and gives a lasting foundation in Bible knowl edge and truths. Single subscription.........................................$1.00 3-year subscription (full course)............ $2.50 Covers for each volume......................................10 Generous rates in quantities. Special short courses and Bible games. Every Christian parent and teacher appre ciates this valued help. Write us o f your needs. ♦ Eye-Method Publishing Company 1712-16 E. 20th St., Oakland, Calif. MAKE M O N E Y _ rt ^ / i 'H o m e f\ T7AB.N money working at home or Instudio coloring Ju photos and miniatures in oil. Learn “Koehne Method” In few weeks. Work done by this method is beautiful and in demand. No previous experience needed. Many make money full or spare time this easy way. Send for free booklet, "Make Money at Home” and requirements. NATIONAL ART SCHOOL» Inc. 3601 Michigan Avenue Dept. 6163 Chicago, Illinois Are your children
As long as His claims to being equal with God, yea, being God Himself, could be evaded by the people, Jesus was given a high place in their opinion. But when His true claims were presented, the ter rible sinfulness of human hearts became apparent, and the Holy One, the Saviour, “must suffer many things, and be rejected . . . and be killed” (v. 31). The word “must” is important in this passage ; it gathers force from the fact that without our Lord’s rejection and death the battle with Satan could not be won, the sin of the world could not be put away, and the purpose of God could not be accomplished ; hence He must suffer, be rejected, and be killed. The Christian servant today finds his place with a Master who is rejected by the world. Receiving the news of Christ’s approach ing death, the disciples undoubtedly were filled with dismay. But our Lord at once declared that just as surely as He would be killed, He would rise from the dead on the third day. T o say that His death was literal, but that His resurrec tion was spiritual, as some do, is a type of exegesis that would leave the Bible an enigma. Grief filled the disciples’ hearts. Hearing Christ’s words, Peter “ began to rebuke him” (v. 32). Our Lord quickly revealed the fact that such a thought did not rise from Peter, but from Satan (v. 33). Satan knew that without the cross, the Lord’s pro gram, which involves Satan’s overthrow, could never be completed. Peter’s human reasoning provided for nothing beyond the first law of nature, that is, self-preservation. But the first law for disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ is not self-preservation, but thé preservation of the purpose of God— whatever that may involve for the human agent. III. F inding O ur P rogram in S ervice (34-38) The nature of the servant’s program is threefold (v. 34). First, there must be self-denial (v. 34)-. What is meant is not the depriving of oneself of certain things, but the choosing of Another rather than self. It means that one must treat self as the crowd treated Jesus when they “ denied the Holy One” and chose Barabbas (cf. Acts 3:14). Second, there must be self-re nunciation (v. 34). The “cross” here does not mean various afflictions which com monly are called crosses and which we can not avoid even if we would. It means, rather, something to be taken up, volun tarily, something which one may choose either to reject or to accept. He who will take up his cross will consciously and vol untarily accept the will of God. Third, there must be self-abnegation (v. 34). This requirement will mean the obedi ent acceptance of another Person rather than oneself as the leader of one’s life and activities. The reason for such a program is stated in verses 35 to 38. One’s life is all that one has to invest and he who, as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, invests his life in service for Him, may not find greatness in this world, but will surely receive eternal reward.
BLACKBOARD LESSON
+/' MUTISELE fllJJ^O LLO lLKnE”m u.** rueSHALL I GflinTW£U)WOL£ i 3 ~ , UJORLD,v—> arm lose h is omn soul ? m«««» UIHAT5HHLL -f. IT PROFIT ^ nm nn,-^7^ - B them. The answer they gave indicated that all were agreed that He was an ex traordinary Personage, a great leader, and a marvelous religious teacher (v. 28). Men today extol the Lord Jesus as being the greatest’ religious teacher the world has ever seen, yet even in so doing they come short of the truth. I f He be nothing more than these men say He is, we are left without a Saviour, without salvation, with out any standing before God. Having drawn from them the statement concerning what men were saying about Him, our Lord asked His disciples directly what they thought: “Whom say ye that I am?” (v. 29). The parallel passage in Matthew, which is fuller than the one in Mark, should be consulted (cf. Matt. 16: 13-23). There was no hesitancy on the part of Peter in replying on behalf of the whole company: “Thou art the Christ” (v. 29). The “ Christ” was the Anointed One prom ised in the Old Testament. He superseded all former prophets, priests, and kings; He was superior to them all. Those who were before Him were only shadows, and shadows cast by Himself, the Substance; they were only fingerposts pointing; He was the One to whom they pointed. He was the complete revelation of God to man, beyond whom there can be no other revelation. Peter’s confession was a wonderful testi mony. While it ran contrary to the opin ion of those accounted great in the nation, and was opposed to the thought of the religious leaders of the people, and was not in accord with the thought of the great mass of the people, nevertheless it recog nized the Saviourhood of the Lord Jesus Christ— a fact that, for every guilty sin ner, is of primary importance. Verily, Jesus is “ the Christ,” the Son of the living God, the only Saviour. The reply of Jesus to Peter's words would seem strange if we did not remember that Christ’s testimony to the nation had been completed, and that He was at this time, potentially, the rejected Prophet, Priest, and King. Therefore, “ He charged them that they should tell no man o f him” (v. 30). T o have announced their opinion of Him would have been to hasten the events of the cross, the time for which had not fully arrived. II. F inding O ur P lace in S ervice (31-33) W e who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ discover that we serve One who is rejected by the world— the religious as well as the governmental and social world.
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