THE KING’S BUSINESS
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hand” of God; He is coming back to judge and to reign. 2. We Are His Servants; trustees of His goods; all we are and have is His. We shall have to give account of our use of it, though now left very largely to handle all as we please. 3. We Are Commanded to "Trade,” i. e. definitely to improve our opportunity, to use our “talents” with an eye to His profit, and to His approval. 4. We Are Encouraged by the antici pation of His approval, “Well done,” and His reward, a share in “the joy of thy Lord,” and rule in the kingdom to come. 5. Every One Has His Opportunity. (1) In the "Pounds” each receives an equal share. Every man can do his best, and his best is all that is required of every man. In that sense the rich has nothing over and the poor has no lack (1 Cor. 12: 7; 2 Cor. 8:12). (2) In the “Talents” there is a difference but it is based on a man’s ability (Matt. 25:15; 2 Cor. 12:8-11: Rom. 12:3-8, 11). (3) The-man of one talent should not think lightly of his small ability, he may win the same reward as the man of five (Matt. 25:21, 23). The man of one pound should diligently use hi» opportunity for he may win as many cities as he has proven himself capable of ruling. 6. A Man’s Conception of the Lord de termines his willingness to seek His ap probation. but ’S, mean man will think meanly of Him and come to judgment un prepared. The believer who labors in love need not fear the criticism of Christ’s judgment seat.
the Jews sent an embassy to protest, but in vain. The Lord’s simile was well un-. derstood. Verse 13.—Servants (bondslaves), some of them skilled in trades, commerce and even the professions, were frequently en trusted with capital to invest or use in their master’s interests, to whom they ren dered account. Verse 14.—See under verse 12, Verse 17.—Frequently, to royal favor ites, the rule, and sometimes the total reve nue of a city, or a group of cities or towns were assigned by kings. Verse 20.—Even now some people would rather trust an old stocking as a safe de posit than a bank, but much more in those days of unstable and tyrannus and extor tionate government. In the parable of the talents the money was buried (Matt. 25: 18). Such treasure-trove is sometimes found in our own land, oftener in the Orient, perhaps buried ever since the days of the parable (Matt. 13:44). Verse 23.—Banking was carried on mil lenniums before Christ. The banking house of Egidi, as famous in its day as the Rothschilds now. has been unearthed in Babylon, with numerous of its documents. Verse 27.^-It was no uncommon thing for a monarch to slay his rivals or op ponents. Herod massacred many on seiz ing Jerusalem. IV. A pplications . 1. Jesus of Nazareth is Lord of all, and the rightful sovereign of the world. He was in the world; He is at the “right
LESSON V.—August 2.— T he T riumphal E ntry .— Mark 11:1-11. G olden T e x t : Rejoice greatly. O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusa lem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee. —Zech. 9:9. 1. Jesus at Bethany. Soon to be “hus
But which of us would choose to be of Jerusalem rather than of Bethany? There a door was always on the latch for Him; and there He turned in and tarried, as Elisha did at Shunem (1 Kings 4:8-11), and great blessing came to both house holds, even life from the dead (1 Kings
tled out of the world He came to redeem” (he Lord still had His own which were in the world but not of it. The contrast between the spirit of them that received Jesus and them that rejected Him is sharp ly marked in the story; and so it is tooay.
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