December, 1940
THE K I N G ’ S BU S I N E S S
170
I N T E R N A T I O N A L L E S S O N Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Childrens Division Object Lesson Golden Text Illustration By B. B. S utcliffe By G retchen S ibley By G race W . K ellogg By E lmer L. W ilder By A lan S. P earce Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , President of Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, ind.
make the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to leap as the hart, and even the dead to be restored to life. But there are worse afflictions than physical disability, and He would have men rec ognize their deepest need. There was a special reason for each healing He per formed—a reason beyond the immediate and the seen relief which was needed and given. Therefore, the reason for the healing of the woman mentioned in these verses must be sought beyond the fact that she was in dire need, and even be yond the fact that she was a daughter of Abraham. The reason was the testing of the nation of Israel for whom the Lord Jesus had come to earth. The people of that nation were engrossed with punctilious observance of the Sabbath, to such an extent that human distress meant nothing to them. In thinking they were obeying the law, they were degrading it, and making what other wise would be a blessing to become a curse. m . T he L ord ' s R ebuke (14-17) Jesus might have rebuked the Jewish leaders for not healipg this woman. She had been troubled by her illness for eighteen years, and they had done nothing for •her. During those years,' there had been many days other than the Sabbaths—days upon which, accord ing to their contention, she might have been healed, but upon none of those days had these rulers done anything for her. Jesus might have rebuked them for finding fault with the good deed that He did for the woman. They were callous to suffering, and for this He might have charged them with breaking the law,which demanded that they love their neighbor as their own selves. But the charge He brought against them was that they thought more of an ox or an ass than they .did of a daughter of Abraham. Here was self ishness undisguised! When He had finished His utterance, they f were “put to shame” (R.V.) be fore the people, who rejoiced “for all the glorious things that were done by him.” There are still those who are very scrupulous in their observance of the fine points of doctrine, and at the same time are oblivious to human suf fering all around them. Jesus would
JANUARY 5, 1941 JESUS A N D H U M AN A FF L IC T IO N L uke 13
not befall others who were equally bad. There is a purpose behind all the acts’ of God, and we have to be guarded lest we think of them in terms of our lim ited understanding. His ways are not ours, nor are His thoughts our thoughts (Isa. 5^:8). We must confess that His judgments and His ways are “past find ing out” by human reason (cf. Rom. 11:33.). But even though we cannot un derstand nor explain, we can know that infinite wisdom is behind all of them. The occurrences come without warn ing; neither these Galileans nor those upon whom the tower of Siloam fell were aware in advance o f what was to befall them. Because God’s providences are always educative, we should mark and learn from what has happened to others, rather than wait with the vain hope that such events cannot come to us. “Perish” is the word that Jesus used to describe the fate oi all who are un prepared, and He reveals that repent ance is the only path of preparedness. Repentance is simply man’s looking up on and thinking of sin as the Lord Jesus sees and regards it. When seen through His eyes, sin becomes exceedingly hein ous and despicable, and the sinner turns from it with horrer. Christ does not promise that repentance will make any one immune from untoward providences. Evils falT upon the good man as well as upon the evil one. But God does prom ise that repentance will protect one from being included among those who “per ish.” n. T he L ord ’ s C ompassion (10-13) The Lord’s compassion reaches out to all human suffering. He could give relief from every human ill. He could BLACKBOARD LESSON ''UJEUflUEnOTfln HtOH PB.IEST WHICH CflnnOT BE TOUCHED WITH THE f££Lirtû A AI//ÖFOUÜ inFIHmiTIES" - u £/£¿-A/0A//S A/A/VfiS 0/VA/S& flNDS/V/9£0/Ar£/y JWAW/W Sr#A/6//T 1 ’/¿í S3V3
Luke 13:1 There were present at that mason some that told him of the Galileans, whose hlood Pilate had mingled with their SHcxifices. 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose y.e that these Galileans were sinners above all the GaMleans, because they suffered such things! 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem! 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 10 And he was, teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed fr,om thine infirmity. 13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified-God. 14 And the ruler of the synagogue an swered with Indignation, because that Jesus had healed on th§ sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days~Jn which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. 15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not eacji one of you on the sabbath loose his'ox or his ass^from the stall, and lead him away to watering! 16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day! 17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. LESSON T E X T : Lk. 18:1-5, 10-17. / GOLDEN T E XT : “ We have_ not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15). / DEVOTIONAL READ ING : Ex. 3:7-12. Outline and Exposition I. T he L ord ' s P rovidences (1-5) W HY should the Galileans men tioned in this verse be singled out and made to suffer? They were not greater sinners than other Gal ileans. The natural thought would be that what happened to them was un just, because the same affliction did [These lessons are developed from outlines prepared by the Committee on Improved
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