175
March 1928
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
and the time had not arrived when they could comprehend it and use it in the ex tension of His kingdom (cf. Jno. 16:12, 13). One must be as wise as a serpent and as .harmless as a dove. Vs, 31, 32. “And He began to teach them, that the Son o f man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And H e spake the saying openly.” Jesus knew all things. Realizing that the proper time had come, Jesus foretold His sufferings, death, and resurrection in order to prepare the disciples for that great or deal. Though He spoke very plainly con cerning the sufferings, the disciples did not understand. As with His disciples He journeyed to Jerusalem for the last time (Lk. 18:31-34), Jesus, in the shadow of the Cross, again refreshed their minds by reiterating the prediction, but, in order to strengthen their faith in Him and His divine mission, the significance o f the pre diction was hid from them. They were thus hindered from understanding the full import o f His words in order that after His resurrection the light emanating from the sufferings and empty tomb and shin ing upon the prediction, might confirm and establish their faith in Him. The fulfilment, according to the prediction, brought about these blessed results. V. 33. Peter, still not realizing the plan of God, began to rebuke Jesus, affirming that Jesus should never suffer such in dignities, to which remarks (which show ed Peter’s love and devotion for his Mas ter) Jesus replied, "Get thee behind Me, Satan; for thou mindest not the things of God but the things of man.” Satan, at the beginning o f the personal ministry of the Lord, tried to decoy Jesus from the path of suffering and thus thwart the eternal plan of God; having signally failed then and having left Him 'for a season, he re turned, hoping in another way to keep Jesus from the cross. This time he used Peter to voice his sentiments. Jesus, im mediately recognizing the source of this language, rebuked Satan, commanding him to get behind Him. If Satan cannot accomplish his purpose one way he will attempt in another way, using even the very best o f men oftentimes to accom plish his purpose. He is the “prince of the powers o f the air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience.” Jesus, having His heart set to do the will o f God, most emphatically rejected the suggestion of Satan. Such should be the attitude of every one of His followers. ■ Vs. 34-37. Satan’s attempt to decoy Jesus from suffering was the occasion of our Lord’s clear and positive teaching concerning the price of discipleship as found in these verses. In order to be a true disciple of Jesus one must take up his cross and follow Him daily. The cross is the symbol here of suffering and self- denial. The one who is not willing to say “No” to the desires of the flesh and many things which, though harmless with in themselves, will not advance the king dom o f God upon earth; he who is afraid to make sacrifices for the Master’s cause and, if need be, to lay down his life for the advancement o f the kingdom of God, is unworthy o f discipleship. He who, in loyalty to the Master, sacrifices his all for Christ, will be seen not to have lost any thing but to have gained in the spiritual realities o f the eternal world.
John the Baptist had told them the Lord Jesus was coming to live on earth some day. “And others say you are Elijah, and some say you are the prophet Jeremiah, come back to earth again.” Then Jesus asked, “ But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered: “ Thou art the Christ, the Son o f God.” By this Peter meant to tell Jesus that they believed Him to be the Saviour, whom God had promised to send into the world. After this Jesus told the disciples that even though He was the Son of God, He must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed. Jesus could have gone back to heaven and saved Him self all the suffering and death, and lived in ease and comfort; but because He loved us and wanted to save us from our sins, He lived here on this earth without even a home or any o f the comforts such as we have today. He did not even own a mule or burro, but had to walk where- ever he went. Then our memory .verse tells us “ He died for our sins.” '; Jesus was the greatest hero. Can we not be more unselfish and brave when we re member Jesus did all this for us?
Remember that in return for the names and ad dresses of 5 persons who should be readers of the K. B. but are not, we will send you FREE the beau tiful booklet of c h o i c e spiritual helps— “ JEWELS”
• Jesus The Great Hero Mark 8:27-37. Memory Verse.—“ Christ died for our sins.” 1 Cor. 15:3. Approach.— How many o f you boys and girls like to read stories about heroes ? Yes, I think we all like to hear about brave people, and I like to know and meet brave
A pril 8, 1928 The Resurrection Mark 16 :l-20
boys and girls, men and women too, don’t you? Who can tell me the name of the greatest hero the world has ever known ? The Lord Jesus. Yes, He was brave and courage ous because He was the Son o f God;
JF there is one thing clearly revealed by the accounts of our Lord’s resurrection, it is that His apostles were not impas sioned and over-enthusiastic men, as
critics have tried to make out. They had to be convinced, and. when they were fully enlightened, t h e i r faith became superior to all-perils and all trials. Seeming -diversities
there was no sin in His heart. Do you know, boys and girls, sin makes cowards of people! Let us bow our heads and thank God for giving us such a wonder ful Saviour as the Lord Jesus. Prayer. _ Lesson S tory— In the days when Christ lived on earth He and His twelve disciples traveled about through the country, often walking long distances in the heat and dust and the cold and storm. Jesus did not have an easy time but had many hard things to bear, yet in all His earthly life He never found fault. He was brave and courageous at all times. On one of these trips through the country He asked the disciples who people said He was. The people did not think o f Jesus as the Mes siah, the Christ. What the people thought of Him as compared with the twelve dis ciples, mattered little. What do you think the disciples said in answer to this ques tion ? This is what they said: “ Some say that you are John the Baptist, risen from the dead.” The wicked Herod, who had slain John the Baptist, when he heard of Christ’s wonderful works and marvelous teachings, was pricked in his guilty con science and thought that the murdered prophet had returned to life. The rumor spread among the common people, for
in the resurrection accounts have annoyed some. Out o f a variety o f details, it is .easy for one who is so disposed, to spin all kinds o f contradictions.. There is nothing in the accounts, however, which cannot be fitted perfectly together. The sensible view is that the different writers refer to different moments o f time, and that no one of them attempted to record every detail. It is inevitable that inde pendent historians would each recall the details relating^ especially to themselves and would omit other details in which they were not so much interested. It was “very early in the morning o f the first day o f the week,” sometime before the rising o f the sun, that Jesus had left the tomb (v. 2). Many centuries before, the new order of creation had begun with the calling into being o f light on the first day. Now, He who was to bring “ life and immortality to light,” became the light of the spiritual world on the first day. There can no longer be any doubt that from the very time o f the apostles, the resurrection day was called “ the Lord’s day.” The records are now abundant. It is sometimes charged that we have no New Testament command for the obser vance o f the first day. Neither was there a command given to change the Passover to the Lord’s Supper, but the sacrifice of the Lamb of God spoke louder than words and early believers were quick to see that the Passover was no longer ap propriate.
FRED S. SHEPARD ’S BLACKBOARD OUTLINE
C r o s s D e a r i n g HARACTER OuiLDING Deny—Take up—Follow.—Mk. 8 :34.
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online