February, 1937
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
58
“ If that is the case, let us forget names of parties and strive to love one another and to walk before the Lord as children of God.”— Five Thousand Best Modern Illus trations, by Hallock. When Jesus Prayed for His Friends J ohn 16:1 to 17:26 Memory Verse: “ I will pray for you” (1 Sam. 7:5). Approach: Again and again, the Lord Jesus told His disciples not to be troubled about the things which were soon to take place. Last week we learned one reason for
are the ones who have known that Christ has been sent by the Father. Christ has declared the Father’s name to them, and He would continue to declare it in order that all who believe in Him might have in them the love wherewith the Father loves the Son. Points and Problems 1. John 17 unveils the mystery of the in tercessory ministry of our Lord. That He ever liveth to make. intercession for us, is one of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. For a moment we are per mitted to hear His voice as He prays for His own, and to read the very words uttered in that sacred communion between the Father and His eternal Son. They are words that concern us, sinners saved by grace; and if we read them with spiritual understanding, we shall know more about the mystery of our preservation in His love and grace. 2. In this prayer Object Lesson S aying “G ood -B ye ” Objects: A red cardboard cross, a dove cut from tin, and a piece of cardboard about a yard square. (Round the corners and shape the cardboard to represent a cloud. A few lines with a blue crayon will give a realistic appearance. Run a thread two yards long through a screw eye near the top of the cardboard, and fasten one end to the cross and the other end to the dove.) Lesson: It is always hard to say “ Good bye” to a friend. The disciples were very sad when they were told that the Lord Jesus must go away. He told them that it was really best for Him to go in order that the Holy Spirit might come and com fort their sad hearts. L We will let this little red cross represent | Christ. This cloud will remind us of heaven, m where Christ was going. You remember @ that Christ said: “ If I depart, I will send \h im [the Holy Spirit] unto you.” (As the hand holds the cardboard cloud, one finger can prevent the tin dove from falling too soon. The dove, being heavier than the. cross, will pull the cross up as the dove goes down. Retard the process with a little pressure on the thread at the screw eye.) When Jesus was baptized in the river Jor dan, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. As the cross, representing Christ, goes up, a bright and shining dove appears, reminding us of the Holy Spirit who is now in the world in an invisible form. Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit to earth in order that Christians might be comfort ed and also that He might bring sinners to Christ. If you have never accepted Christ as Saviour, the Holy Spirit is working with you to get you to be saved. His going away—to prepare a place for those who believe in Him, a place where they may live with Him. He told His fo llo w e r s another reason for His going. He was going that He might send to them the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, S P £ £ h I the Holy Spirit, who should guide tnciu and lead them into all truth, even as Jesus Himself had led them. « ' V i s t o * Lesson Story: This promise must have comforted the disciples a little, but, even so, it was hard for them to listen to Jesus] talking about His going away. It was hard for Jesus, too. They were His good friends. When He was gone, would they keep true to Him? Would they listen to the Com forter when He should come? Then Jesus prayed to God that He would give strength to the disciples. By taking care of Jesus’ disciples who were to be left in this world, God would be glorifying His Son Jesus. Jesus didn’t pray that God would take His disciples out of the world, but that He would keep them from evil while they were in the world. We may pray, too, that God will keep us from the evil which is all about us. And while we are praying, a very wonderful thing is taking place. We are not alone in making this prayer. At this very time, Jesus Himself is in heaven praying to the Father for this same thing. Lesson Text: John 19:4-9, 14-18, 25-30. Golden Text: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). Outline and Exposition I. T he D ishonored M an (4-9) P il a t e ’ s examination could discover no fault in Jesus (v. 4 ). But, in per mitting Him to be dishonored by the soldiers through their mocking and mis treatment of the Lord, Pilate had revealed fault in himself. When this Roman au thority invited our Lord’s accusers to “ behold the man” (v. 5), they should have been reminded of their prophets’ testimony (cf. Isa. 61:1, 2 with Lk. 4:16-19, 21 and Matt. 11 £2-5; Isa. 53:1-3, and Zech. 9:9). But deaf to all the messages of the proph ets, and blind to all the mighty works done MARCH 21, 1937 JOHN’ S PICTURE OF THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION J ohn 18:1 to 19:42 by Jesus in fulfillment of the prophets’ pre dictions, the people cried out, “ Crucify him.” Again Pilate declared that he found no fault in Jesus, and thus Pilate stood self-condemned when he allowed Jesus to be crucified (v. 6). The emphasis in Matthew’s account is
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