THE K I NG ' S B U S I N E S S
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be a question of church but of Christ; not “What do you belong to?” but “Whom do you belong to?” Let us never manifest jealousy for our sect, but always be jealous for our Saviour. There is no middle ground so far as Christ is concerned—it is either for or against. There are reasons enough why men should be for Him. God is for Him —“My beloved Son.” The Bible is for Him; the Holy Spirit is for Him. He revealed God as Father; He proved His Deity by His lip and life; He met every need of man; He revolutionized society; He made possible a victorious life; He robbed the grave of its gloom and death of its sting. Men ought to be for Him because of the character of those who are against Him. There is no known reason why any man should be against Him. (3) The Spiteful Spirit vs. The Merciful Spirit, vs. 51-56. Our Lord, with His face set and His will determined, was moving towards Jerusalem and the cross. He sent mes sengers before Him to the Samaritan city, but the Samaritans would not re ceive as the Messiah any man who would journey to a feast at Jerusalem. Geri- zim was the place of worship, accord ing to their belief. When James and John saw this,— the Sons of Thunder, the two men who had seen the manifes tation upon the mountain and who now assumed special privileges because He had accorded them special honor—they sought the power to bring down fire from Heaven upon them, no doubt thinking of Elijah whom they had seen upon the Mount, and of His ability to bring fire down upon the enemies of God. They are unaware of the fact that Christ has brought a new era into be ing. Elijah belonged to the old era. Times and conditions determine the at titude of persons and events. Long years of fellowship with the Lord should have toned down the fire of
The Lord uses here, as so often, a practical illustration. Taking a little child in His arms—perhaps Peter’s little one—Matthew says He folded His arms around it and set it in their midst, mak ing it the type of the ideal, humble, child-like disciple. “He that is will ingly least is truly great.” “Before honor is humility.” Wherefore, let us “humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt us.” (2) The Sectarian Spirit vs. The Tol erant Spirit, vs. 49, 50. The' sectarian spirit is the spirit of intolerance. Here was a Jew who per haps had seen Christ casting out dem ons. Having confidence in the power o' His name, he abandoned the Jewish method of exorcism and commanded, in the name of Jesus, the demons to come out. Unconsciously he, magnified the name of Jesus Christ. He did not es tablish a sect. He did not organize a company, but he used the Name which Jesus had just suggested when He said: “Whosoever shall receive this child in my Name, receiveth Me.” The sectarian spirit is the spirit of the devil. Tens of thousands of souls have stumbled into hell over the Satanic quarrels among believers. Joshua had this same spirit as shown in Numbers 11:27-29, when the young men re ported to him that Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp and asked Mdses to prohibit it. Note Moses“ re ply: “Enviest thou for my sake? Would God all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them.” There was nothing offensive to Jesus in the man’s use of His name. He had used it in faith—but the offense was in those who assumed that the proper use of His name was vested in them. Jesus rebukes them by saying, “Forbid him not.” This is a rebuke for their pre sumptuous sin, and direction for the fu ture of His disciples. It should never
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