October 1931
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
471
NOVEMBER 8, 1931 The Climax of Calvary J ohn 19 I n J ohn 19, we come to the culmina tion of the opposition of the world to Christ and the love of Christ for the world. The supreme tragedy of the ages was consummated on the brow of Golgotha’s hill on that awful day when creatures took their Creator and hanged Him on a tree. The cruel scourging, the crown of thorns, the mocking of the of ficers and the people, and the terrible agony of the cross—all wrote in letters of biood the love of God for mankind. Truly “he was wounded for our trans gressions, he was bruised for our iniqui ties : the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Let us pray that the familiarity of this story may not obscure its fra grance as a revelation of the love of God for man. Preparation MONDAY: Read the chapter carefully and divide the narrative into its simple parts. Work out an outline and write it in your note book. TUESDAY: In order to fix the contents of the chap ter in your mind, read it again today and then write from memory an accu rate 200-word summary of the contents. WEDNESDAY: Using a concordance, list and look up all the prophecies mentioned in this chapter. THURSDAY: List all the characters mentioned in the chapter. FRIDAY: Write a 200-word statement on “The Meaning of Calvary.” SATURDAY: Look up the accounts of the crucifix ion given in the other gospels. Compare and contrast them with the account in John. SUNDAY: Select some phrase or verse as the basis for a devotional comment or personal testimony to be passed on to some one else at the first opportune time. Expression I. B ehold “Behold the man” (John 19:5)! “Be- hold your Kinff" (John 19:14) ! Three times in the Gospel of John the exclamation “behold!” is used, referring to Christ. In the first chapter, it is “be hold the Lamb of God.” In the nineteenth chapter, it is “behold the man!” and “be hold your King!” The first was spoken by a zealous prophet of Israel, and it in troduced Christ to His earthly ministry; the last two were spoken by a vacillating Roman ruler at the close of His earthly ministry. In each of these three state ments, we have a truth worthy of careful meditation. Christ is the Lamb of God; He is the Sin-bearer and Saviour; He is the One who came to give His life as a ransom for many. Christ as man is the perfection of all that God intended man to be: a Man in whom Pilate could find no fault, a Man at whom the very Jews themselves marveled, a Man whom the multitudes followed gladly because of His
marvelous beauty of character. Christ as King will one day have all under His con trol, with every knee bowed and every tongue confessing Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father; He is the com ing One, who shall reign forever and ever. Making the application a personal one, have you accepted Him as the sacri ficial Lamb to take away your sin? Do you recognize Him as the perfection of manhood, whom you should loyally fol low? Is He King of your life, the om nipotent Ruler of your heart? II. C hrist or C aesar “From thenceforth Pilate sought to re lease him: but the Jews cried out, saying, I f thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh him self. a king speaketh against Caesar” (John 19:12). Pilate’s dilemma, as he faced the angry mob of Jews who had brought Christ be fore him, is one which faces every man some time or other. On the one hand was Pilate’s sense of justice and right; his every instinct for good demanded that he exert his authority and power and set Christ free. Against these there was the clamor of public demand, the danger of political disturbance, the possibility of personal loss; and Pilate the shrewd poli tician concurred with Pilate the weakling in compromising himself by yielding to the exigencies of the moment. He dared not stand up for his convictions, and the result was utter failure. At every turn of the road that choice faces us today. Are we to align our selves with the world’s power, the world’s dominion, and the world’s approval, or are we to yield control to the meek and lowly Jesus who, even in His death, was called the King ? What a temptation, when the finger of accusation is pointed at us, to say with the chief priests: “We have no king but Caesar” ! Discussion 1, 2. Discuss the character of Pilate as brought out in the material found in this chapter. Note his cowardliness in scourging Christ to please the crowd in spite of the fact that he had already pro nounced Him innocent. Discuss his effort to pass the decision back upon the Jews (v. 6). What of his fear, mentioned in verse 8, and his threat, in verse 10? What lessons can be suggested to us from a study of his failure? . 3- . There is a compelling thought found in Pilate’s thrice-repeated words: “I find no fault in him.” If Christ had been a deceiver, why was there no evidence of
such a fact in the contemporary acts of His life? Why has nobody ever found any fault in Christ? Not even this keen Roman judge, as he inquired into His character, His life, and His motives, could find any fault in Him. The holiest of men have sinned, but Jesus Christ was abso lutely sinless. Why, then, did He suffer as a sinner? 4. Study the silence of Jesus in the face of the awful accusations brought against Him. Is there not a lesson which we may learn from Christ’s example, that there come times in all our lives when silence is better than speech? What is the best Christian answer to words of re viling or insult? Are not the assaults of skeptics on Christ and Christianity often better answered by silence than by much talking? 5. List some of the choices comparable with the choice of Pilate, which we must make in these days. Is there a temptation for us to choose Caesar rather than Christ? In what ways do we crucify the Lord afresh? ------— m m e j ju i d s e , u i a i m e scripture might be fulfilled” (vs. 24, 28 36). What do you think of fulfilled proph ecy as an argument for the veracity of the Bible ? How was it possible to make de- tailed predictions five hundred years and more before the time of Christ, concern ing such intimate details as are mentioned in this chapter? It is said that more than thirty distinct prophecies were fulfilled on the last day of our Lord’s life, while three hundred and thirty-three were fulfilled during His lifetime. Have you ever made a study of this tremendously interesting and important subject? Discuss its value from the standpoint of Christian evi dences. 7. In the closing verses of the chap ter, we have the record of Joseph of Ari- mathsea, who was “a disciple of Jesus but secretly for fear of the Jews.” What do you think of one who is afraid to ac knowledge his Lord? Do you recall any occasion or occasions when you have been afraid to witness or acknowledge your Lord? Do you recall any other ref erences to secret disciples in the Gospel of John? See John 12:42, 43. Discuss the question: Is a person who will not con fess Christ before the world really a Christian (cf. Rom. 10:9, 10)? J ohn 20 * he empty tomb is the greatest argu ment for the validity of Christian ity. No major event of history is better attested than the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ. This chapter presents a message both for the believer and for the skeptic. In Mary Magdalene, we find the picture of a de vout disciple abounding in trust and true faith; in Thomas, we find the skeptic who must have material evidence presented for every belief. Preparation MONDAY: Read thrqugh the chapter slowly and prayerfully, underlining those verses which seem to you the most important. Copy in your notebook verse 31 and one other passage. Memorize both. TUESDAY: Work out a brief outline of the chapter, NOVEMBER 15, 1931 The Resurrection I
Given to Christ My empty cup for Thee to fill; My trembling heart for Thee to still; My yielded life to do Thy will — O Lord, my Lord, I bring Thee. To watch with Thee while others sleep; To feed, Thy tired hungry sheep; To bring them drink from foun tains deep, O Lord, my Lord, now use me. —S cripture T ruth .
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