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TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
November, 1939
I NT E RNAT I ONA L L E S S O N Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson > Childrens Division Object Lesson Golden T ext Illustration By B. B. S utcliffe By G retchen S ibley By H elen G ailey By E lmer L. W ilder By A lan S. P earce Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C l a i n , President of Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind.
would not bring peace upon earth, but widespread w a r f a r e and bitterness. Families would be divided, as well as nations, and a man’s foes would be members of his own household. These conditions would tempt many to yield to popular clarflor against God and His Son, and for the. sake of peace among themselves,. would lead them either to keep quiet concerning faith in Him or else openly to deny Him. The call would be to put the Lord first, even before mother or father, be fore son or daughter. This would de mand bearing the cross. Our Lord al ways taught, concerning both that day as well as our own, that the cross must be accepted, His path must be followed, and even life itself yielded up if neces sary for His sake. And tbe Lord says that the disciple following any other procedure is not worthy to be called a disciple. Our Lord Himself has trodden this path, knows all its difficulties and hardships, and straitly warns those who would follow Him that they will meet the same He has met. But the reiter ated “fear not” is given to each of them with the assurance that as they bear the cross and follow Him, they will find His fellowship and sustaining grace ever with them. On the other hand, He declared that the unworthy ones would be those who thought more of earthly relationships than of heavenly fellow ship. In the end the true disciples would find, in spite of any loss upon earth, that instead of the seeming loss there would be gain, instead of regret there would be great joy, and instead of woe there would be glory. Points and Problems 1. Three definite relationships are set forth in the first two verses of the lesson (Matt. 10:24, 25). First, the re lation of the “disciple” to his “master.” The disciple is simply a learner, and the word “master” should be “teacher.” Thus we must first sit at His feet and learn of Him before we are able to serve Him. Second, the relation of the “servant” to his “lord.” The servant here is literally “bond-servant,” a word denoting the most abject and complete servanthood. As Lord He has the right to command us in everything. When the ■ disciple has learned, then he must obey. Third, there is the relation of the “household” to Him who is the “mas ter of the house.” The latter phrase is all one word in the Greek—“oikodes- potes”—meaning literally “house-des pot.” But He is a blessed “Despot,”
DECEMBER 3, 1939 SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS M atthew 10
has been taken from the earth, and tell ing what His disciples will meet in those days. These disciples will form the Jewish remnant, still loyal to God. The people among whom our Lord mingled declared that His miracles and mighty works were wrought by Satanic power,’and by this accusation they were among those who committed the un pardonable sin. Their prototypes in a coming day wlJV follow their example and do the same thing. But the persecutors were not to be feared, and the message given in se cret was to be proclaimed openly, and far and wide. Both in treatment re ceived and in message delivered, Christ was to be their pattern. n. T he P atience N eeded (28-33) The testimony they would be called upon1to bear Would bring persecution to them, even to the losing of their lives. But this result was not to hinder thgir testimony. They must not allow the fear of man to deter them, but were to fear (reverentially trust) the One in Whose hands lay their eternal welfare. The suffering, even to death upon earth, would have an end with glory awaiting. Their heavenly Father, whose interest extended to the smallest affairs, even to numbering the hairs of their heads and to keeping watch over the sparrows, ■could be trusted:to guard them from unnecessary suffering. Hence with pa tience and fortitude they were to con fess their Lord constantly before men, knowing they would be confessed by Him before His Father in heaven. But, on the other hand, their denial of Him on earth would mean His denial of them in heaven. I in. T he P ath F oretold (34-39) The immediate effect of His coming B LAC K BO A RD LE S SO N
M a tth ew 10:24 T h e d i s c i p l e is n o t a b o v e H IS m a ster, nor th e ser v a n t a b ove liis lord. • . . . 25 I t is en o u g h fo r th e d isc ip le th a t h e be a s h is m a ster, an d th e se r v a n t as h is lord. I f th ey h a v e c a lle d th e m a ster o f th e h o u se B eelzeb u b , h o w m u ch m ore S H A L L T H JJY C A L L th em o f h is h o u se h old ? - ^ uA. 26 F e a r th em n o t th erefore* fo r th ere is n o th in g covered , th a t sh a ll n o t b e re v ea led ; and hid. th a t sh a ll n o t b e k n ow n . 27 W h a t I te ll y o u in d a rk n ess, T H A T sp e a k y e in lig h t: and w h a t y e h ea r in th e ca r, T H A T p rea ch y e upon th e h o u se - ^°28* A nd fe a r n o t th em w h ich k ill th e b od y, b u t a re n o t a b le to k ill th e so iil: bu t ra th er fe a r him w h ic h is a b le to de str o y both so u l an d body in h e ll. 20 A re n o t tw o sp a rro w s so ld fo r a fa r th in g ? and one o f th em sh a ll n o t fa ll on th e g ro u n d w ith o u t y o u r F a th er. 30 B u t th e v e ry h a ir s o f y o u r h ead are a ll n um bered . , 31 F e a r y e n o t th erefo re, y e are o f m ore v a lu e th a n m a n y sp a rro w s. 32 W h o so ev er th er e fo r e sh a ll c o n fe ss m e b efo re m en, h im w ill I c o n fe ss a lso b efo re m y F a th e r w h ic h is in h eaven . 33 B u t w h o so ev e r sh a ll d en y m e b efo re m en , him w ill I a lso d en y b efo re m y F a th e r w h ich is in h eaven. 34 T h in k n o t th a t I am com e to sen d p ea ce on e a rth : I cam e n o t to sen d peace, bu t a sw o rd . 35 F o rI am com e to se t a m an at v a r ia n c e a g a in s t h is fa th e r, and *1**’ d a u g h te r a g a in s t h er m other, and th e d a u g h te r -in -la w a g a in s t h er m o th e r -in - 36 A nd a m an’s fo e s SH A1,1^ B E th ey o f h is ow n hou seh old . 37 H e th a t lo v e th fa th e r or m o th er m ore th a n m e is n o t w o r th y of. m e: and h e th a t lo v e th so n or d a u g h te r m ore th a n m e is n o t w o r th y o f m e. 38 A nd h e th a t ta k e th n o t h is cross, an d fo llo w e tb a fte r m e. Is n o t w o r th y ** 39*e H e th a t fin d eth h is life sh a ll lo se It: and h e th a t lo se th h is life fo r m y sa k e s h a ll fin d it. LESSON T E X T : M att. 10:24-39. GOLDEN T E X T : “A nd le t h im th a t h e a r e th say, C om e” (R ev . 22:17). „ DEVOTIONAL R E AD IN G : P sa. 103:1-5, 8 - 12 . Outline and Exposition I. T he P attern P resented (24-27) br-j-^HE dispensational bearing of this passage must be kept in mind for I the proper© interpretation. Our Lord is here speaking of conditions and events to prevail during the days that are to follow this present age. He is describing conditions after the church [ These lessons are developed from outlines prepared by the Committee on Improved Uniform Lessons of the In ternational Council. The outlines are copyrighted by the International Coun cil of Religious Education and used by permission. The Scripture portions quoted are from the King James Ver sion unless otherwise stated .]
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