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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
December, 1939
of one’s soul would be a poor invest ment. The “soul” here means the life, and our Lord was speaking, not of eter nal salvation but of the value of a life. No life is saved that is not built upon faith in the atoning, work of Christ. But life may be used, to obtain eternal riches, or it may be used to obtain only the riches that perish. The Lord Jesus promises to return to earth in the glory of the Father, and to bring His rewards with Him—rewards for those who have invested their lives for Him. Points and Problems 1. “Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?” (Matt. 16:13). Two things here should be noticed. First, our Lord is deeply interested in what men think about Him. He does not ask first what men think about His ethical principles, or whether men are following His Sermon on the Mount. It does mat ter supremely what we think about Jesus, because our estimate of Him will generally determine whether or not we shall feel bound to do what He com mands. Second, our Lord’s question con tains implicitly its own correct answer: He is “the Son of man” a Messiapic title clearly derived from the great pro phecy of Daniel 7:13, 14. 2. “Flesh and blood hath not revealed It unto thee” (16:17). “Flesh and blood” simply means human nature or agency. Peter’s knowledge and confession of Christ as the Son of the living God was a divine revelation, not a human dis covery. This is not to set aside human preaching and teaching as of no ac count. But it does mean that the spoken word is only an instrument or medium which alone can. never bring the know ledge of Christ which saves to any human soul. Only the Father in heaven can give the revelation of His Son to sinners. 3. “I will build my church” (16:18). There is nothing in the Bible more mag nificent than this declaration. Consider first the time and circumstances. Our Lord had proclaimed His message very widely, yet the response was discour aging. In general, men saw in Him only one of the prophets. Only a small and insignificant band of men were ready to confess His Messiahship, yet in the face of the apparent failure He dares to announce th’at He will build a new thing—His church. In the second place, we should note that He has made good His prophecy. In spite of persecu tion, fire, sword, and death; under cir cumstances which humanly speaking were impossible; against the opposition of a lost world and the hostility of hell itself, He has built His church and is continuing to build it. This one claim, “I will build my church,” and its ful- fillment through the centuries, consti tutes the clearest .possible proof of His deity. Only God can speak thus and then bring it to pass.
4. ‘‘From that time forth began Jesus to show . . . that he must . . . suffer . . . and be killed . . . and be raised again” (16:21). We have here the grand turning point in the earthly ministry of Christ. In Matthew 4:17 we have the first phase of His ministry indicated: “From that time Jesus began to preach . . . The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The second phase begins at 16:21 where He turns from the kingdom message to the message of the cross. These two passages indicate the major divisions of the entire Book of Matthew. But we should beware of drawing too sharp a contrast between the kingdom message and the Calvary message. For the cross laid the foundation for the kingdom which is yet to be established upon earth by the One who died and rose again. Golden Text Illustration M atthew 16:16 Some years ago when the Christians in China were being persecuted, one named Tang was seized by soldiers, stripped naked, and bound hand and foot. A sword was held to his throat and he was asked: “Are you a be liever in Jesus?” “Yes,” said he boldly, “I am a Chris tian.” The soldiers went to their officer and asked him what they were to do to such a fellow. The officer refused to interfere, and he was released. Next Sunday he was at church, and the mis sionary asked him how it was that he, having so short an experience of the Christian life and being yet unbaptized, could speak out so boldly in the pres ence of death. He answered that he had just been reading of how Peter had three times denied his Master and that he afterwards went out and wept bit terly. “And how,” said he, “could I deny my Lord?”—Selected. MEMORY VERSE: “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my be loved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). APPROACH: For two years now, the Lord Jesus had been preaching and teaching all up and down the country we call Palestine, which was the place, Peter’s Right Answer . M atthew 16:13-28
Willard Hotel at left of Bible Institute WILLARD (FRANCES E.) HO T E L F. B. HARRISON, Manager 536-40 South Hope Street Los Angeles, California I n B ib le I n s t i t u t e B lo c k , a n d n e x t to L o s A n g e le s P u b lic L ib r a r y HOTEL (Frances E.)WILLARD is operated as a high-class temperance hotel. Adjoining beautiful Public Library Park on one side and the Church of the Open Door on the other, this residential center is surrounded by a Christian atmosphere and environ ment that assures a safe, comfortable and exclusive place to stop. Some of its features are: Twenty-four hour desk and telephone service; separ ate floors for men and' women; exten sive roof garden; water softener install ed throughout the building; detached baths, showers and circulating ice water on every floor. RATES The Willard is a Class A hotel, has 320 rooms furnished for your comfort and convenience, and obliging attendants are always at your call. Write for in formation. LOCATED within a few minutes’ walk of the shopping district and easily ac cessible to all transportation depots. Hotel Willard offers an ideal home to those seeking refinement in living. 13 Stories of Fireproof Construction IV. T he L ord ’ s P athway (24-28) Christ’s pathway led to the voluntary assumption of the cross. Human rea son would deny the value of such a course as this. Satan knows how to drape the present in attractive colors, how to dim the believer’s eyes to the glory of the future, and how to awaken doubts concerning the value of the Lord’s rewards. But the Lord Jesus Christ never was beguiled bjj Satan. To gain the whole world at the cost Rooms with detached baths $17.00 to $25.00 per month Rooms with Bath $30.00 to $45.00 per month Daily and Weekly Rates in proportion
as you know, where the Jewish people lived. You would suppose that after all of this time, His twelve special fol lowers would under stand who He was, wouldn’t you? But often t h e y didn’t act as if they did.
One day Jesus asked them this ques tion, “Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?” LESSON STORY: Now this was the very thing that was puzzling many peo-
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