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T H E
K I N G ' S
B U S I N E S S
February, 1936
m a r c h 29,1936 HOW JESUS CHRIST GAVE HIMSELF FOR US I saiah 53:3-6; 1 P eter 2 :21-25 Meditation on the Lesson Isaiah is the Messianic prophet, and nowhere in all the sixty-six chapters o f the book is there a more touching description of our Saviour than in this passage con cerning the suffering Servant of Jehovah. What this chapter portrays was fulfilled historically in the Gospels. The Coming One is called here the “man of sorrows.” What a titled how sad, and yet how true! Let us tread softly as we enter upon the reasons for this designation. First, I think a reason can be found in the first clause in this verse: “He is despised and rejected of men.” He, the One “altogether lovely,” “the chiefest among ten thousand,” He, who left His home in glory, He, who spake as never man spake, He, who loved with an ever lasting love—this One is “despised and rejected.” It is impossible to imagine a more terrible spurning of matchless love. W e shall never comprehend how deeply this rejection must have moved the heart of the “man of sorrows.” He was “acquainted with grief.” To become “acquainted, ' one must come in close contact with the subject. Christ was “touched with the feeling o f our infirmi ties” (Heb. 4:15). “I know their, sorrows,” said Jehovah, of His people in Egypt (Ex. 3:7 ). The Lord Jesus was a “man o f sorrows” because He identified Himself with the sorrows o f others, both in their physical and mental suffering. Witness the many healings of the sick, and the sym pathy exhibited at the grave o f Lazarus and in thè room where the little maidlay dead: The sight of sin and its awful conse quences added to our Lord’s sorrows.’ Judas’ treachery, Peter’s denial, the apos tles’ forsaking Him in the crisis—all these human sins and failures added to the weight o f His sorrows. “Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sor row” (Lam. 1 :12) is the prophetic cry. But above all these, the: sorrow’s crown of sorrow was that He was made sin for others. “For he [God the Father] hath made him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21). To see sin was sad, but to be “made . . . sin” was unutterably painful to the Holy One “whov did no sin” (1 Pet. 2:22). The Lord Jesus Christ’s work as our Substitute is shown in many passages of Scripture, but one of the simplest decla rations appears in our lesson: “ Christ . . . his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2 :21, 24). He went to Gethsemane, to Calvary, and “He hath borne our griefs^ and carried our sorrows . . . he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our in iquities: the chastisement o f our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed.” Jesus Christ came to earth to “taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9 ). He was a “man o f sorrows” in order that we might be eternally delivered from sor row. “When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.”
Helps for the Leader I. T h e S e a m a n ’ s S ubstitute
E N R O L L NOW
A clergyman was speaking to the fisher men on the shore at a town in the east of England. His subject was justification, and he was trying to make plain to the men what Christ’s work on the cross really was. At last he cried; ,“ Now will one of you tell me, in your own words, what the Lord Jesus did do there?” An old sailor looked up, and with tears streaming down his weather-beaten face, said, “He swapped with me.” — W . S. R ainsford . . II. W ounding th e L ord J e s u s - Dr. Alexander Whyte tells the story o f a man who dreamed that he saw Jesus Christ tied to a whipping post, and a soldier was scourging Him. He saw the whip in the soldier’s hand, with its thick lashes studded here and there with bits of lead, which were intended to cut into the flesh. And as the soldier brought the whip down on the bare shoulders of Jesus, the dreamer shuddered when he saw the marks and bloodstains it left behind. When the soldier raised his hand to strike again, the dreamer rushed forward, intending to stop him. As he did so, the soldier turned around, and the dreamer recognized him self. We often think how cruel those men must have been who scourged and crucified Jesus. But remember that whenever we do wrong, we, too, cause the heart of Jesus to bleed with sorrow and pain.—E. E. L ark . III. A P astor ’ s A dvice A certain young man during his student days lost his faith and became an infidel. He lived a life notorious for its wickedness. Once in a spirit of levity he went to his old pastor and asked him about God in relation to a wicked life. He mentioned the sins he had committed and said after each one, “But I don’t care about that.” His pastor knew that it was said in a spirit of flippancy, and he replied, “Promise me to do one thing.” The man promised, and the pastor continued, “ Every night for one week bow down and say, ‘O Jesus Christ, Thou hast died for my sin, but I don’t care about that.’ ” That night the youn^ man tried to say it, but he could not say the last part of the sentence. On the fourth night he went to his pastor with a white face and said, “ I could not say it.”— M . M ac A rthur . Reading Matter for the Blind The American Tract Society recently recorded Pilgrim’s Progress as a Talking Book for the Blind. The reading was done by the General Secretary, William H. Mat thews, at the Talking Book Studio o f the American Foundation for the Blind. Twenty-five sets of records costing $12.00 per set were sent as Christmas presents to various institutions for the blind. A special fund was raised by the Society for this worthy enterprise, so that the blind can purchase sets o f these records at a fraction of their original cost. It is interesting to know that the American Tract Society appropriated $1,000.00 in the year 1836 for the printing o f Pilgrim’s Progress in raised letters. About the same time, the Society printed the “Dairyman’s Daughter” and Baxter’s “ Call” in raised letters. This year, the Society begins a new century of service for the blind.
IN THE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE
I N T H E
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A P P L IC A T IO N
C orrespon d en ce S ch ool B ible Institute o f L os A n geles 558 S o. H ope St., L os A ngeles, Calif. S irs: □ E n closed please find $2.00 fo r w hich I desire enrollm ent in the cou rse, “ Studies in the G ospel o f L u ke.” □ K in d ly send m e free p rosp ectu s d e scrib in g in detail all B ible C ourses offered b y corresp on den ce.
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