November, 1937
432
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
IN T E R N A T IO N A L LESSON Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson B y B . B . S u tcliffe B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G a ile y B y A la n S. P earce B y E lm er L . W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain
DECEMBER 5, 1937 CHRISTIAN REST M a tth e w 11:28-30; H ebrews , C h apter 4
provided (vs. 6-10). There does remain a rest for the people of God. Remembering the experience of Israel, the one who would know true rest today is to observe that the gospel is something to be obeyed. This is a fact which is largely forgotten in modern days. In these verses, reference is made to a special voice to be heard, the voice of the Holy Spirit; it comes at a special time, to day; it warns of a special danger, the hardening of the heart; and it speaks of a special result of that hardening, the missing of the rest provided. Joshua (the name in verse 8 is “Joshua” in the American Re vision) could not give this rest, though he led the people into the land where it might have been found. But the Lord had spoken of a time when that rest would be presented and the way into it would be revealed. When Christ came, that time had arrived, and the people were no longer to disobey, as their fathers had done, but to believe the gospel and, believing it, enter into the Lord’s rest. Paradoxical as it may appear, to enter into this rest requires a certain kind of labor (v. 11). The “ labor” is that which is demanded when the soul refuses to be governed by what nature thinks or feels, and no longer strives for personal fitness, but simply trusts that what God has said is true and relies actively upon His word irrespective of feelings within and criticism without. God declares that all the work of putting sin away is accomplished, and He now commands us to actively accept that fact and that provision. Points and Problems 1. “ Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden” (Matt. 11:28). What is the nature of the “labor” of which our Lord speaks in this passage? It cannot be that “ labor” which it is the duty of every child of God to render to the heavenly Father. Certainly' Christ would not promise us “ rest” from labor of this kind. There is only one alternative: It is the “labor” of all those who are vainly trying to earn salvation by works, a burden too great for any sinner to carry. Sooner or later we must come to Christ to get rid of it and have “ rest,” or it will at last sink us into the depths of an eternal hell. 2. “1 will give you rest” (v. 28). The emphasis should be laid upon the verb “give.” The “ rest” spoken of here is spiritual rest, rest for the soul. And this is the gift of God. One of the clearest facts of human nature is that sinful man, o f himself, can not rest. Man is a wonderful and versatile creature; he can do many remarkable things. But here is one place where he is wholly powerless; he cannot rest. “The wicked are like the troubled sea; ,for it cannot rest”
He Himself bore; in either case, it is some thing foreign to man’s fallen nature. On the disciple’s part, the bearing of the yoke brings one to a place of likeness to his Lord in meekness and lowliness of heart. This yoke “is easy.” Bearing the yoke enables one to experience a freedom never possible under the law as interpreted by the scribes and Pharisees. And with the yoke, the burden which the Lord gives is light and easily borne. The promised rest is not the rest of in activity. Neither will it be the rest which comes from perfect harmony with one’s surroundings. (There was no harmony be tween our Lord, who was sinless, and His surroundings, which were everywhere marked by sin.) But it is a settled, undis turbed, and satisfying rest in the midst of any environment and faced with any kind of toil—a harmony with the will of God. III. T he E xh ortatio n to C h ristians (Heb. 4:1-11) After reminding the reader of the cause of Israel’s failure to find rest (cf. Heb. 3), the Holy Spirit proceeds to remind him of his own danger from the same cause, that is, unbelief (vs. 1, 2). If, in this passage we substitute the word “ disobedience” (cf. v. 6, R. V.) for “ unbelief,” the meaning may become clearer. It is plain that they who obey, or believe, do enter into rest (v. 3). Hence, the open door to rest is not in laborious striving to make oneself accept able to God, but in a simple belief, first, that Christ has finished all the work of redemption, and, second, in a simple accept ance of that work for oneself. As long as one attempts to add to or to alter that work, rest eludes him. In verses 4 and 5, reference is made to the subject of rest which is dis cussed in certain Old Testament scriptures, especially in connection with the account of creation (cf. Gen. 2:2; Ex. 20:11; 31:17). T o the Christian, the exhortation is given to avail himself of that which has been BLACKBOARD LESSON 12 / 5/57 c o m t u n T o m E . O LL 'JE THAT LA&O&OnD ACÆ A E R liy LADEA, j m . yo u m s t : / « . rmm.ll 23 m ^ rrw 5 uw>cn is u g h t - i ™™mo O.J Ä
Lesson T ext: Matt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:1-11. Golden T ext: “ Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Outline and Exposition I. T h e I nvitation to I ndividuals (Matt. 11:28) H OPING to find rest for conscience and heart, the people to whom our Lord was speaking were diligent in their attempts to keep the law of Moses. But undoubtedly the more they struggled, the more unsatisfied they became. In the midst of their distresses, the Lord stood be fore them and invited, “ Come unto me.” Many of His hearers were struggling under a burden laid upon them by religious leaders, as well as by their own blindness and hardness of heart, and as a consequence their condition was one of unrest of soul and discouragement of spirit. T o them, Christ said, “ Come.” He promised rest to every one who would come to Him. All they had to do was to turn to Him, and He would give them rest. They would not obtain it by their own efforts, nor would they lose it by their lack of labor to that end; it would be a gift bestowed freely upon every one who de sired to possess it. Thus is the good news, the gospel, given freely to all who desire to be liberated from the burden of sin and who will look to Christ in faith. The reason that many have gone unsatisfied, without having obtained rest, is indicated in our Lord’s words in another connection: “ Ye will not come to me” that ye might have what I alone can give (cf. John 5:40). II. T h e I nstructions to D isciples (Matt. 11:29, 30) The sinner is to come, and he will be given rest; but the disciple also is to come, to take the Lord’s yoke upon him, and to learii of Christ, and in so doing he will find soul rest. The sinner simply presents him self before the Lord in self-confessed need and weakness, and the rest is given. In the strength of that rest, he can assume the yoke and learn of his Lord. The reference to the yoke in this passage may be either to the yoke which the Lord will give to the believer, or to the yoke of obedience which [ These lessons are developed from out lines prepared by the Committee on Im proved Uniform Lessons of the Interna tional Council. The outlines are copy righted by the International Council of Religious Education and used by permis sion .— E ditor .]
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