May, 1936
186
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
INTERNATIONAL LESSON CommentarJ Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson B y B. B. S utcliffe B y B essie B. B urch B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio
future was to be placed upon this Lamb of God (cf. Isa. 53:6; John 1:29; 1 Pet. 2:24). What mystery! The Lord of all life was to die. The Holy One was to be made sin. The One who ever dwelt irf the bosom of the Father was to be forsaken. The Light of the world was to go' into outer darkness. Our low views of sin and holi ness hinder us from having any full measure of understanding of what this ex perience in Gethsemane meant to our bless ed Lord. After our Lord “rose up from prayer” (v. 45), He again gave warning to the dis ciples : “Rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation” ■ (v. 46). Disciples have no strength against Satan; without the Lord’s power operating in and for them, they fall-' before temptation, dishonoring the Lord’s name. But prayer brings in the Lord’s strength by which the weakest saint be comes more than conqueror. III. T he S ubmission to E nemies (47-53). The Lord Jesus knew that the adver saries whose p o w e r was evident— whether Judas, the Jews, the Romans, or even Satan—were merely instruments be ing used in the accomplishing of the will of God for Him, and, through Him, for lost humanity. Satanic energy is seen in Judas (vs. 47, 48). With a hypocritical kiss, this man be trayed his Lord. Judas has many imitators -—those who profess to be friends of our Lord but who deny the truthfulness of His word, impugn His motives, and dishonor His name, by rejecting the full revelation of Himself"and His work" presented in the Bible. Such rejectors of the Biblical rec ord act as Judas did, energized by Satan. Fleshly energy is seen in Peter (vs. 49-51; cf. John 18:10). Peter was mis guided in his action on behalf of Christ, as he would interfere with the Lord’s go ing to the cross. He was ignorant of the power of Christ, who could have had even then twelve legions of angels for His protection if He had desired them. And Peter was afraid of the enemies of Christ —as though God had departed from the scene! It is comparatively:'easy to fight to the death for Christ ;;but it is more dif ficult to become obedient unto death, as did our Lord. At last there came the final yielding of the Lord Jesus Christ into the hands of His enemies (vs. 52, 53). It was the hour of “the power of darkness” (v. 53). There could have been no such dark hour if God had not, in wisdom and love, determined to put away sin, to defeat Satan, to redeem sinners, and to glorify His name and His Son’s name throughout all eternity. Our Lord’s submission to His enemies was but submission to God’s will, which would be fully vindicated at the cross and the empty tomb. The anguish of Gethsemane never more will be experienced—either by our Lord or any who put their trust in Him. He made “one sacrifice for sins for ever” (Heb. 10:12).
JUNE 7, 1936 JESUS IN GETHSEMANE L uke 22:39-71
Lesson T e x t : Lk. 22:39-53. Golden Text: “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done” (Lk. 22:42). Outline and Exposition I. E xhortation to D isciples (39, 40). I n verse 37, the Lord Jesus spoke of Himself as being the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa. 53:12). Christ said: “This that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors . . .” (v. 37). Im mediately after the utterance of these words and of those that follow in verse 38, Jesus went, as His habit was, to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. Reaching the garden, He gave His disci ples an exhortation, to which it would be well if all disciples would take heed: “Pray that ye enter not into temptation.” The temptation to which He specially referred was that which rises from the attacks of Satan. The account in . Mark’s Gospel reads: “Watch ye and pray.” Watching is necessary because of the subtlety of Satan, the insistence of the flesh, and the attrac tiveness of the world. Followers of the Lord Jesus need to be constantly on guard against all three of these dangers. Praying is necessary because of the need for strength, light, and understanding which can come only from God. Through prayer, the strength of the Lord is given to the dis ciple to meet the weakness of the flesh, the power of Satan, and the lure of the world. II. T he S elf -D edication to G od ’ s W ill (41-47). This passage is one of holy mystery. Here the Lamb of God is seen in an hour of testing which proves Him to be without blemish and without spot. The scene was the crowning exhibition of our Lord’s submission and obedience to all the will of God (cf. Psa. 40:8;. John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; Heb. 10). His prayer was concerned with the will of God (vs. 41, 42). The “cup” was not His fear of dying before He came to the cross. We have but to remember that, as the Son of God, He was sinless, and there fore not subject to the law of death; He gave “his life a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45). Moreover, the Scripture, which could not be broken, said He would die up on the cross. And in the fulfillment of His own predictions concerning the manner of His death, it was impossible that He [These lessons are developed from out lines prepared by the Committee on Im proved Uniform Lessons of the Interna tional Council. The outlines are copyright ed, 1934, by the International Council of Religious Education and used by permis sion .— E ditor .]
should die before He came to the cross. In these verses we see our Lord as the Son of man, in His complete submission to God’s will, and in His absolute dependence upon prayer for His comfort and stay. While there is much of mystery in these verses, there are some great truths that may be seen easily. For instance, we learn the value of prayer. If the Lord Jesus Christ needed to pray, how much more need is there for His disciples likewise to wait before God! We see, in the times that our Lord was tested, the exhibition of loy alty to a purpose; and disciples are told to “let this mind be in you, which was-also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). Further more, in the Lord’s choosing of the will of God, we find an example of the proper relation to Him. It is good to surrender to the will of God; it is better to be in sub mission to that will as the highest good; and it is best to prefer that will above all else. This preference is seen in the Lord Jesus Christ. The extent of the abandonment of the Lord Jesus to prayer necessitated the ministry of an angel (v. 43). So great was the conflict in which our Lord engaged, that His strength was spent. What a pic- tur&^-the creature ministering to the Cre ator, the servant aiding the Master, the weak serving the Strong! And what de light must have been experienced by the angel in such service! The same delight and high privilege await disciples who will yield to, and minister to, the Holy One of God. With Christ, the earnestness of His prayer brought agony to His body (v. 44). Perhaps this experience was the outward manifestation of His becoming “obedient unto death” (Phil. 2:8) even before the cross. The agony was caused by the fact that the shadow of sin was falling upon Him—not His own sin, but ours. And if even the shadow became unbearable to the extent that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood,” what must have been the weight of the reality! We re member that the work of the cross was re troactive as well as prospective. All the sin of the past was: to be gathered and heaped upon Him, and all the sin of the ’ BLACKBOARD LESSON
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