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T H E
K I N G ' S
B U S I N E S S
February, 1936
MARCH 29, 1936 JESUS EXPLAINS THE KINGDOM L uke , C hapter 13
leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” In other words, He draws a word picture including three objects— leaven, a woman, and three measures of meal; it includes also two actions—-the woman’s hiding o f the leaven, and the working of the leaven. Then, having drawn the picture, He says, The kingdom of God is like this—the whole picture:: 2. There is not a single instance in the Bible in which the term “leaven” is used to represent anything morally or religious ly good. But on the other hand, wherever leaven is used as a moral symbol, the meaning is evil. ■ See Matthew 16:5-12, 1 Corinthians 5 :6-9, and other similar pas sages. Sometimes Leviticus 23:17 is pointed to as an instance of leaven’s being used as a symbol o f good, but the most elementary knowledge of typology should guard us against such a notion. The new meal-offering here baked with leaven is typical o f the church born on Pentebost, a body which is not yet free from the taint of indwelling sin. The type, therefore, is accurate. And while Leviticus 2:11, 12 permits a “firstfruits” offering made with leaven, it specifies that such offerings “shall not come up, for a sweet savor” (R. V .). Thus, throughout the Word, the face of God*is set against all that leaven stands' for. Nothing but confusion can re sult when we take a symbol o f evil and make it a symbol of good. Golden Text Illustration When the great St. Gothard tunnel was being constructed, workmen bored simul taneously from either side of the Alps. For nearly ten years they worked in the dark; but in 1881 one o f the parties of workmen began to hear, through the less ening thickness o f intervening rocks, the sounds o f the hammer and the voices of the workmen from the other side. On they worked, listening, working; working, lis tening. One day they broke down the intervening barrier; men rushed from the other side, grasped hands, and looked into each other’s faces. Faint picture of that glorious moment, when . . . “ they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God” (Lk. 13 :29).-— 1,000 Tales Worth Telling, by Pickering. Memory Verse: “ The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9). Approach: When the Lord Jesus was here on earth, Jerusalem and all of the country round about it where the Jews lived belonged to another nation, to the Romans. When Jesus came, many of the Jews who followed Him—and even His twelve disciples, too — thought that He would f r e e them fr om the Romans and set Himself up as their King. Jesus did’ not come to earth at that time to do this. He came to tell the people the way to the heavenly kingdom. Lesson Story: Jesus’ message this time was to believe on Him, the Son of God, [Continued on page 63] H A n s i o * Good News to Men L uke 13 :18-30.
Lesson Text: Lk. 13:18-30. Golden Text: “ They shall come frrnn the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom o f God” (Lk. 13 :29). Outline and Exposition I. T he D elusive P erversion (18-21') v *| T he outward appearance, of the king dom o f God speaks of greatness (vs. 18, 19). But the greatness is a delu sion. The mustard seed should produce a small shrub instead of a great tree. It becomes an abnormal thing, a monstrosity, giving shelter to the fowls of the air, and these we are told are evil (cf. Matt. 13). The fowls are not changed in nature by the tree ; they only pollute the tree. Like wise, “the kingdom,” or Christendom, the great company of those who make a pro fession o f righteousness, is an abnormal thing, seeking for greatness in the world and having no power to change the evil of the world. The inner character also speaks o f evil (vs. 20, 21). In the Scriptures, leaven is always a type of evil (Ex. 34:25 and Lev. 2:11; cf. Matt. 16:6, 11, 12; 1 Cor. 5:7). And the leaven, placed in the meal, repre sents corruption that spreads through all the profession. It speaks o f evil doctrine introduced by the agents of Satan to per vert and ruin the purpose o f the meal. It typifies the attempt to make the truth of God palatable to nature—an impossible undertaking (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14). It works secretly, its presence unsuspected until its results become manifest,: It works silently and covertly until it has spread sufficiently to boldly declare itself for what it is, the enemy o f the purity of the gospel. And it works until all the meal becomes tainted, substituting doctrines of demons for the truth of God, In the light of this teaching of the Word o f God, we are not surprised to learn that the end of this age will see the profession entirely given over to something which is a perversion of true Christianity, leavened throughout with evil doctrines. In the midst is the “little flock” (Lk. 12:32), saved and kept by the grace of God. II. T he T rue P ossession (22-25). Because o f this teaching concerning the kingdom, our Lord was asked, “Are there few that be saved?” (vs. 22, 23). In answer, Christ said: “ Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (v. 24). There is just one way, but it is too “strait” for many. Compara- tively few individuals can be brought to that confession of utter helplessness and hopelessness which necessarily accom panies the forsaking o f all other help and the turning to Jesus Christ. To admit that they have no goodness or strength of their own—in fact, nothing that would recom mend them to God—is too humiliating an action for many. They continue in hope that somehow they will be able to enter some other way. Many persons have an intention of enter ing “the strait gate," but they procrastinate from day to day, until the “master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door” (v. 25). i ‘
III. T he S olemn P rediction (25-30). When once the door is shut, there will be a loud clamor to have it opened once again (v. 25). But the answer will be the terrible declaration from the L ord: “I know you not” (v. 25). Those who hear this sad word are those who are “un known” because they have been unwilling to confess their need of God’s grace. They have been determined to demand the gift of God on the ground of their claim of personal righteousness, their supposed goodness. In the parable, the plea for opening the door is twofold (i||26), Those who called for admittance had been acquainted with the Lord and He with them; they had eaten in His presence. But while there had been acquaintance with Him, there had never been any acceptance o f Him. In the second place, they had heard His teaching in their streets. But the hear ing of the Word without the doing of it merely adds to the’ condemnation. There are many today who are in this class. They constantly hear the word o f Christ; they assent to it in some sense; but they never bow to it and acknowledge its authority by doing the first thing, that is, by accept ing Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord. Hence the Lord must reply: “De part from me, all ye workers of iniquity” (v, 27). . The final result will be- the weeping and gnashing o f teeth (vs. 28-30). The bitter weeping expresses the sorrow and despair o f souls who face a future without hope and without God for all eternity. The gnashing of teeth signifies the rage that the lost will feel because God would not accept their good works in lieu o f the righteousness He offered them. They will be greatly angered because, thinking them selves to be first in God’s regard, they find themselves last, with their place, taken by outcasts and strangers. Since the lesson begins with a couple of parables, it may be well to begin with the caution that the kingdom of God in each case is like the entire picture painted by the parable, not to any one item in it. To illustrate the danger: A postmillennial brother once said to me that he could cite one place in the Bible where “leaven” meant something good, and to prove his point, he brought me to Luke 13:20, 21. Here, he said, our Lord affirms that the kingdom of God “is like leaven." And, he added, certainly the kingdom of God is good. His mistake consisted in putting a period after “leaven.” Christ did not say that the kingdom o f God is like leaven. He said that the kingdom of God “is like BLACKBOARD LESSON Points and Problems 1.
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