"September, 1941
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
345
they reap, nor gather into bams; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” We should be thankful to our heaven ly Father that He makes provision for those who are His children.
here on the table. Other things such as clothing and shelter are included in the word ‘iProvision.” ■We are reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:26: ‘‘Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do
and would right the wrongs he had committed. This.attitude was, and still is, good proof of a change of heart. Zaceheus was not saved because of what he did, but what he did was the out ward evidence of an inward work. It was the fruit of his Salvation manifest ing itself. Salvation had come to Zaceheus be cause ‘‘the Son of man is come to seek arid to save that which was lost,” There is salvation for all men, because all are lost. Our Lord seeks them by His Word, by His Spirit, by His providences, by their own dissatisfaction of heart. And He saves them from all their guilt by means of simple faith. Have you re ceived Him? Have your class members? ' Points and Problems 1. “The Son of man came . . . to minister” (v. 28). Here the word is the verb form of the word for deacon. Thus we;might paraphrase the passage, “The Son of man came not to be deaconed unto, but to deacon.” We do well to re member that our blessed Lord described His own ministry as that of “acting as a deacon.” If we remember that, we shall never be guilty of speaking lightly of the office of deacon in the church today. 2. “To give his life” (v. 28). This statement should not be frittered away by reading into it the notion of giving His life in service merely, great as that service was during the days of His flesh. The reference is to something vastly deeper. In the Old Testament over and over we read the formula, “The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). In the truest and final sense, therefore, the giving of the life of Christ must be found at the place called Cal vary, where His blood was shed for the remission of our sins. Any interpreta tion that stops short of the cross is utterly false. 3. “ A ransom” (v. 28). This Is one of the many great words used in Scrip ture to describe the nature of the death of our Lord. The Greek word (lutron) means to set free by the payment of a price, and is used in the Greek version of the Old Testament to describe the redemption.of slaves and captives (Lev. 19:2Q," Isa. 45:13). 4. “For many” (v, 28). But did not our Lord give His life a ransom “for all” ? Paul affirms that He did in 1 Timothy 2:6: “Who gave himself a ran- BLA ONBOARD LESSON % $
OCTOBER 12, 1941 CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR M atthew 1:21; 20:25-28; L uke 19:1-10; J ohn 3:16; 6 :66-69; A cts 4 :1 2 ; R omans 3:21-26; 8:31-39; 2 C orinthians 5:14-21 ; P hilippians 2 :5-11; 1 T imothy 1:15
followers, if they would be great, must be unlike the Gentiles in this respect. Instead of -being served, they should serve; instead of striving to get, they should strive to give (vs. 26, 27). Self exaltation is Satan’s path to greatness; humility is the Lord’s way. But we must guard against the error of thinking that service is the door into the kingdom; it is the path within the kingdom. The entrance to the kingdom is the new birth (cf. John 3:3-6). The position in the kingdom is another matter entirely. Finally, our Lord offered the supreme example of service (v. 28). The Saviour is the Son of man, and the Saviour’s work is to minister unto others, not to be ministered unto. Arid His basic min istry, sq far as the sinner is concerned, is His giving of His life as a ransom for .sinners. Many theories 6f the atone ment are being advanced, but at the heart of the Scripture declarations lies this fact: On the cross Jesus Christ ¿id something for sinners that they could not do for themselves, and without which thpy would all go to hell. He paid the price; He took the sinner’s place; He satisfied God’s justice, and all these benefits of the atonement are available to any one who will, by faith, receive Him. n . C alking the S inner (Lk. 19:1-7) Zaceheus was one of the chief publi- ' cans and a man of wealth. He was curi ous to see Jesus ‘‘who he was,” But underneath his curiosity there was a feeling, perhaps all unconscious, that his own wealth could not redeem him nor wholly satisfy his heart, but that perhaps Jesus could. God would use even curiosity, as He uses every other possible means, to bring to a man’s heart the-knowledge of the Lord JesUs Christ as Saviour. Jpsus looked up, saw Zaceheus, and called him to' come down. At once he obeyed and received Jesus into, both his heart and his home. Zaceheus saw, be lieved, and became a saved man. Others saw and remained in their lost condi tion. Not what one observes, hut what one believes effects his salvation. III. A ccepting C onfession (Lk. 19:8-10) Zaceheus declared at ohee that ' he woiild give half his goods to the poor,
Matthew «0125* But Jesus called them unto ' him,, and snitl, Ye know that the prince* o f the Gentile* exercise dom inión over them , and they that are great exer cise authority upon them. 20 But it shall not be so am ong y o u : but w hosoever w ill be great am ong you, let him be your minister,; 27 And w hosoever w ill be chief am ong yoii, let him be your servantt 28 Even a* the Son o f man came not to be m inistered unto, but to m inister, and to give his life a ransom fo r many. Luke lh sl Ami Jesus entered and passed through Jerielio. 2 And, behold, there' w as a man named Zaceheus» which was the chief amorfg the publicans, and he w as rich. 3 And he sought to **«“e Jesus w ho he w a s a n d could hot fo r the press, because he was lit tie of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycam ore tree to see "him ; for he w as to pass that way'. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw hint, and said unto him, Zaceheus, make haste, and come dow n; fo r today 1 must abide at thy house. . ff And lie made haste, and came down, anil-‘ received him jo y fu lly .-; 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be g u est'w ith a man that is a .sinner. 8 Anil Zacelieu's stood, land said unto the, k ord ; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods. I give to the poor; and if 1 have taken an yth in g from any man by false accusation, 1 restore him fourfold. 1) And Jesus said unto bint. This day is salvation come' to this -house, foras much as he also is a son of Abraham. fO F or' ’ the Son o f man' is com e to seek anil to save that which w as lost. LESS.ON T E X T : Matt. 20:25-28; Lk. 19:1-10. . GOLD EX T E X T : “ F or God so loved the w orld, that he gave his only begotten Son, that w hosoever believeth In him should not perish, but have everlasting life “ (John 3:10). (DEVOTIONAL READING: Isa. 33:1-6. Outline and Exposition I. P aying the P rick (.'Matt. 20:25-28) © N THE ROAD to Jerusalem, an kingdom:: John and James had attempted to gain.,those high places by subterfuge, arid thè ten other disciples had resented this attempt. Then Jesus set before all of them the principles governing true greatness. Pointing out: that it is not by accumu lating that one becomes truly great, but by giving and serving in His name, the Lord Jesus made an object lesson of the rulers and others in authority among the Gentiles who ‘‘lord it over” (v. 25, R. V.) their people. But He declared that His
argument arose among the dis ciples concerning who of them should be the. greatest in the Lord’s
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