October 1929
477
T h e
K i n g ’ s
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fore be a type of regeneration, which is of necessity instan taneous. Not only is it a type of the restoration of lost spiritual sight, it is also symbolic of the progressive steps by which He leads men along the road to a perfect knowledge of spiritual truth. 26— SENT HIM AWAY TO HIS OWN HOUSE—How continually we are reminded that our testimony is to begin at home. NEITHER ENTER . . | NOR SPEAK TO ANY IN THE VILLAGE—(He could not therefore have belonged to Bethsaida; his friends had perhaps brought him some distance.) Christ probably desired to prevent mere idle gossip, either about the miracle or about other things. Visions given us by Him should be too sacred for mere talk, and gossip of any kind im mediately after worship or communion with Christ should be avoided; it only gives, “the fowls of the air" their opportunity. 27— IN THE WAY-—We learn from Saint Luke that they were alone and that He had been praying (cf. Luke 9:18). Our Lord’s life of continual prayer should be a lesson to u s; if He needed it, how much more do we! “Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,” and a man can no more be a robust and efficient Christian without much prayer than he can be physically healthy and active without a sufficient supply of fresh air. The habit of prayer is to be continuous (cf. 1 Thess. 5:17; Rom. 12:12). This does not mean that we are to be always on our knees; prayer. is an attitude of the mind, not of the body, and may be with or without words. ASKED HIS DISCIPLES—Not for information, for He who knew all things needed none: WHOM DO MEN SAY, etc.?— He desired to remind them of men’s opinions, that they might be led to a more definite confession of their own. 28— JOHN THE BAPTIST—This, from the construction of the answer, appears to have been the prevailing opinion—the superstitious answer of the unthinking, for John had prophesied the immediate coming of Christ, had himself done no miracles, and had been slain. ELIAS—This was a more excusable error based upon a perfectly lawful interpretation of Mai. 4:5. The Jews were in daily expectation of his advent. ONE OF THE PROPHETS—Another thonghtless view, since none of the prophets had worked miracles and the return of none of them had been foretold. The answers display a lamentable lack of intelligent study of their Scriptures; had proper attention been paid to them the people would have known who He was, for they testified of Him. The same lamentable lack of Bible study today is responsible for all the false doctrine and heresy that abounds on earth. If we want to know what we ought to think of Christ, we must study the Book with prayer. 29— BUT YE; WHOM SAY YE, etc.?—The “ye” is emphatic. They were not to be dependent upon other men’s opinions for their views of Him, but were to study and think for themselves. The appeal applies to us also; we are called upon to form our own independent opinion in the matter, after careful and prayerful consideration of the statements of the Holy Book. Did all men do this, instead of blindly following the lead of other men, there would be less error and more adoration than there is today. He also calls for confession on their part, (a) for their own sakes, since not only does confession strengthen faith, but it is an essential part of salvation (cf. Rom. 10:9, 10) ; (b) for our sakes, that we may see the effect of close personal companionship with Him—the multitude had seen Him as it were from afar, the disciples had been in intimate relationship, which is the best place for forming a true estimate of His nature and character. PETER—Peter was the leader and spokesman of the party; he is supposed to have been older than the rest (which perhaps accounts for John’s outrunning him [cf. John 20:3, 4]), and his subsequent fall was therefore the more dis couraging. CHRIST—i.e., Messiah, Anointed One (all the words mean the same thing, being merely Greek, Hebrew, and English, in that order. Christ Was not one of the names oi Jesus of Naza
reth, but His title—we ought to say “Jesus the Christ), the long- expected Deliverer. [He also added “the Son of the .living God,” this having been revealed to him by the Father, (cf. Matt. 16: 16, 17).] We need not suppose that Peter understood all that was included in his. confession (indeed we know that he did not) ; we may ourselves believe in Christ without realizing all that is involved in the belief. 30— TELL NO ONE—The time for telling had not yet come; it was useless to make the proclamation üíitíf the Holy Ghost had been given to enable men to accept the tru th ; a pre mature announcement would only lead to widespread misunder standing of His real mission, such as that under which the apostles already labored. 31— BEGAN TO TEACH—Man cannot be taught high spir itual mysteries all at once, on account of his lack of receptivity. Hence the divine teaching is usually gradual (cf. Isa. 28:9, 10). We should therefore never fear or hesitate to repeat the mes sage, nor should we lose patience because such repetition is required. NECESSARY . . . TO SUFFER—Not "'only that He would suffer, but that such suffering was indispensable, and fur ther that it was binding upon Him—the necessity was not only actual but personal. But what necessity could He have referred to if there was to be no atonemept? His .deáfíjfdid-’^tot really in any way seal His teaching, nor was it at all the legitimate ,out come of it. Moreover, if He were who He professed to be, the death could have been avoided by the exercise of His divine power—why then was it necessary or incumbent, except'as an atonement? REJECTED—Necessary (a) for the fulfillment of prophecy (cf. Isa. 53: 3; 28:16 with Psa. 118:22; this was the “rock” on which the Church was to be built) ; (b) because if they had accepted Him He would not have been crucified and there would have been no atonement. AND SLAIN—Not, surely, as an example, nor to seal His ministry. As a Sin Offer ing and a Whole Burnt Offering He had to be slain. AND AFTER THREE DAYS RISE AGAIN—The third day is the Bible day of life springing from the earth (cf. Gen. 1:11-13) and of resurrection (cf. Gen. 22:4 et seq. with Heb. 11:17-19; Hosea 6:2). Note the active “rise” again, not he raised (of. John 10:18). What could these words have been in the mouth of a mere man except idle boasting or dementia? Note that the elders, the chief priests and the scribes included the principal men in the three outstanding classes of the society of the day ; the lay men, the ecclesiastics, and the scholars. Alas dhafált* three, but especially the two latter, are today rejecting Christ, as -Christ, as they did in the days of old. .32—HE UTTERED THIS- TEACHING OPENLY—i.e., plainly, without disguise. He had hinted at it before on more than one occasion (cf. John 2:19; Matt. 9:15). Note that here is the proof that Christ was a Prophet; things which He fore tells come to pass later. This was the Prophet promised to Moses in Deut. 18:18. This could not have bee4,rJj>s.hu,a as he was already raised up (cf. also Deut. 34:10, w'fitteS ’'after Moses^’ death). PETER LAYING HOLD OF HÍM—In his vehement objection forgetting even the reverence that was due to “the Son of the living God” ; our selfishness and self-will often blind us to what is due to Him. BEGAN TO REBUKE HIM—The word does not express mere expostulation, but actual blame. How native to man to find fault with' God’s dealings, with the idea that we are concerned for His glory, when the real objec tion is on our own account. [ “This shall not be" (Matt. 16:22). A suffering Messiah was not that for which they looked— there was no prospect of places of honor in the kingdom if that happened. How ready some men are to confess Christ in hope of advantage, but to repudiate His real purposes.] Note that the Gospel historians never hesitate to record their o
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