179
March 1928
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
His authority are. supreme in all matters religious. There is ’ salvation in none other name, and His Word is final on all subjects. Moses and the prophets are to- be read for instruction and enlightenment' by the people of God, but the children o f God now must hear Christ and obey Him. V. 8. Quickly the vision disappeared. The significance o f the translation is set forth clearly by the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1 :16-18, where he interprets it as a foreview o f the coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory when He shall reign over the earth during the Millennium. .Vs. 17, 18. “And one o f the multitude answered Him, Teacher, I brought unto Thee my son, who hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever it taketh him, it dasheth him down : and he foameth, and grindeth his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to Thy disciples that they should cast it out; and they were not able." In violent contrast to the scene of glory on the top of the. mountain is the humiliating ex perience through which the nine other apostles had just passed when there was brought to them a youth possessed o f a dumb spirit which they, on account o f their lack of faith, and the prayer life, were unable to cast out: Being disap pointed by the failure of the apostles, Upon the appearance of Jesus upon the scene, one from the multitude told Him that he had brought his son, who was demon possessed, to the disciples,,: who were unable to cast out the demon. This spirit which possessed the boy, took pos session o f his vocal cords and made him dumb, and in addition to that affliction seems to have taken full possession of his body, dashing him to the ground and causing him to have such violent spells that he fell to the ground exhausted. Satan and the evil spirits, together with sin, are hard taskmasters and always make those under their power miserable and wretched. Vs, 25-29. When the multitudes came running to Jesus, He rebuked the unclean spirit, charging him to “ enter no more into him,” whereupon the spirit, obedient to Jesüs, rent the boy’s body so that he fell down as one dead. Jesus, who is the life and the resurrection, took him by the hand, and he arose. Immediately the dis ciples, upon entering the house, asked Jesus to explain their failure, to which question the latter-replied that “ this kind can come out by nothing save by prayer.” Their failure on this occasion shows con clusively that the apostles had neglected their prayer life and that the power which they prior to this time had used for the glory o f God had departed. The neglect of the prayer life always spells failure. Jesus Shows His Glory Mark 9 :2-8.. Memory Verse. —“And we beheld his glory.” Johri 1 :14a. Approach.— What is it that warms our earth, and makes the plants and flowers FRED S. SHEPARD ’S BLACKBOARD OUTLINE M I [PREVAILING OSSESSED through P r a y e r ■ Help thou my unbelief.—Mk. 9 :24. P OWER
Did Jesús come into the world with any thought o f having a temporal kingdom ? (Heb. 2 :14.) What did Peter come to see as to the proper order of prophecy? (1 Pet. 1:11.) What later instruction did he get from Jesus on this point? (Lk. 24:26-27.) How does the information about Christ from heaven compare with what Peter had already stated? (V . 7; cf. 8:29.) What did Peter write about this scene almost a generation later? (2 Pet. 1 :17- 18.) What did Peter learn about the erection o f temples? (1 Pet. 2:5.) —o— G olden T ext I llustration . . He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing (Jn. 15:5). An old Greek story says that Achilles, the great hero' o f thè Trojan war, was dipped, while he was yet a child, in the waters of the Styx by his mother, Thetis. It was thought that this would make him invulnerable and successful. The result o f the plunge was, according to tradition, that every part of Achilles’ body was proof against wounds with the exception o f the heel by which his mother held him and which had not been submerged in the water. The poisoned arrow at last found the weak spot and inflicted the death wound. That which makes the Christian invulnerable and successful in God’s sight, is his entire yieldedness to Jesus. Christ. Apart from Him we can do nothing. To the extent in which we fail to abide in Him and let Him abide in us, we open the way to defeat ; we become fruitless. ’ .M/. T \ 9:2, 3. “And after six days Jesus taketh with Him Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and scene closed the period of six months o f retirement from the Holy Land during which scenes Jesus sought rest from the throngs which constantly pressed upon them, and from the antagonism aroused by hostile critics. The Lord favored Peter, James and John with the special privilege of witness ing a foreview of Christ's coming king dom, power, and glory. Whenever special privileges are granted o f God,, there are sufficient reasons. These three seem to have preferred the most intimate fellow ship, with the Master. It was natural that the Lord should grant them the blessed privilege of a foreview, o f the com ing glory, to strengthen their faith and prepare them for the stern realities with which they would meet after His exodus. It was probably for this same reason that the Lord granted special privileges to the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 12). The fact that the Transfiguration o c -' curred upon “a high mountain apart by themselves” may be used to teach a most H ¿ was transfigured before them; and His garments became glis tering, e x c e e d i n g white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them.” The probable date o f the Transfig uration is about six months prior to the Crucifixion. T h i s
valuable lesson. It is only when people draw very close to God, rising io sublime heights by faith, having separated them selves completely from the world, that they have the gracious and blessed privi lege of seeing the future glories. The word translated “transfigured” in dicates the divine nature and eternal glory of His person which had been all but hid den by the “tabernacle of this flesh” but now shone' forth in all o f their majestic power. On ordinary occasions it was only the keen penetrating eye of faith that enabled one to behold the glory o f the eternal God in the face o f Jesus Christ; but on this occasion that glory, as it were, burst forth into a radiant manifestation. ., The appearance of the garments of C h r i s t became “glistering, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can. whiten them.” The quality o f whiteness is used throughout the Scriptures as a symbol of purity o f heart, soul, life, arid character. This dazzling brilliancy symbolized the holiness and the purity of Christ. V. 4. “And there appeared unto them Elijah with M oses: and they were talking with Jesus.’fy The appearance of Moses, the great Law-Giver, and Elijah, the rep resentative of the prophets, throws an in teresting light upon the subject o f life beyond this one. Moses died and was buried by the Lord in the mountains of Moab. His body was placed to rest by the Lord, but his spirit probably went home to God at that time, or to that apart ment o f Sheol or Hades to which the blessed departed went (Lk. 16:19-31). Eiljah, however, was granted the privilege of being translated, not suffering death, going immediately into the presence of God. He, together with Enoch, was translated, as the living saints o f God who are upon the earth at the time Jesus de scends from heaven will be (1 Thess. 4: 14-18). God is the God o f the living and not o f the dead. The experience o f death does not render unconscious but rather makes possible the greater activity o f the soul and personality^ It is quite likely that the blessed departed spirits of loved ones are cognizant o f many things which are transpiring upon the earth at the present time (Rev. 6:9-11). Again death does not affect personality. MoSes was as truly Moses, the great Law-Giver, when he appeared at the Transfiguration scene, as he was when he delivered the law at Sinai. V. 5. Enrapt with the glories of the vision, Peter said to Jesus, “ Rabbi, it is good for us to be h ere : and let us make three tabernacles; one fo r thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” This request was the result o f Peter’s impul siveness. Love always wishes to express itself in some outward act o f kindness. Though Peter expressed himself thus, he did not realize what he was saying, but he, with the others, became frightened. V. 7. Soon a cloud overshadowed them which hid the vision from their sight, and there came forth a voice from the cloud saying, “ This is My beloved Son; hear ye Him.” This is the second time that God acknowledged Christ as His Son, the former time being at His baptism (Mt. 3:13-17). Here, however, God commands that they hear Him, not hear Moses nor the prophets. As long as Moses is read as an authority in matters religious the veil rests upon the heart (2 Cor. 3 :15) since he is the schoolmaster who brings the Jew to Christ (Gal. 3:24). Christ and
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