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December 1932
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
heavens could be opened, and God could look down with complacency upon any man. Consecration is God’s acceptance o f that which is offered to Him. The opened heavens spoke of the acceptance by God of this One who was offering Himself for the office o f Saviour, Prophet, Priest, and King. The descent o f the Spirit spoke of His enduement with power for the work of these offices. And the voice He heard spoke of His confidence, given by God, in all the work that lay ahead before God’s purposes through this Servant would be accomplished. Lesson Questions V. 1. What is the theme o f the Gospel of Mark? Is the book a history o f Jesus’ life, or has it some other purpose? What do the words, “Jesus,” “ Christ,” and “ Son o f God” mean? Vs, 2-8. In what prophetic books was the ministry of John the Baptist foretold (Mai. 3; Isa. 40) ? What twofold reason is there for John’s field of service being “in the wilderness” ? What response was there to John’s preaching? What was the burden o f his message? Vs. 9-11. Was Jesus baptized because He needed repentance, or because He, being sinless, identified Himself with His people in their sin ? What events speak o f the Ser vant’s acceptance with God and o f His enduement for service? Golden Text Illustration When President Garfield was shot, he was taken to a quiet, isolated house where he could have absolute quiet and rest in his fight for life, and a special railway was constructed to facilitate the bringing of doctors, nurses, and loved ones to his bed side. The engineers laid out the line to cross a farmer’s front yard, but he re fused to grant the right of way until they explained to him that it was for the Presi dent, when he exclaimed, “That is different. Why, if that railroad is for the President, you can run it right through my house.” Are you willing to give Him right o f way across your front yard? It may run right through some o f your plans or social engagements or business appointments. But will you give Him the right o f way? —M ichigan C hristian A dvocate . A Faithful Messenger M ark 1:1-7 I Memory ; Verse: “ Be thou faithful” (Rev. 2:10), Approach: For many years, the Jewish people had been looking for the coming o f the Saviour. They knew that God’s Son was to come to earth, and that He was to be their Redeemer. There were some signs to be given by which they should
had proclaimed Jesus as the Redeemer. God chose well when He made John the Baptist the messenger to tell all of the people o f the coming o f Jesus. And John was a good messenger. Peo ple gathered around him to listen to what he had to say, and always he told them of Jesus. “There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet o f whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose,” he said. Never once did he try to make people believe that he was a great man, and that they should follow him. He always pointed the way to Jesus. He wanted the people, too, to be ready to receive Jesus into their hearts. “ Repent, repent o f your sins,” he told them. said that our Lord was “driven” by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for the ex press purpose of being tempted, or tested, by Satan. During the eighteen silent years spent in Nazareth, Satan had nothing to say; but when this “man” stepped into the place o f service for God, immediately Sa tan’s attacks began. W e need not be sur prised, therefore,, when we feel his oppo sition to any service we may attempt for God. The testing occupied full forty days. Forty is the number o f complete testing in Scripture. All o f Satan’s power and wiles were exhausted upon this One who stood the test and came from the field victorious, having once and for all proved Satan’s power insufficient to conquer a man who rests upon God in utter dependence, confi dence, and obedience. Mark tells us that our Lord was with the wild beasts in the wilderness—unlike the first man, who went down to defeat while surrounded with the glories o f the Garden in Eden. For a full account o f the charac ter o f the various temptations, the passage in Matthew 4:1-11 should be studied. II. T he C haracter of H is W ork (14, 15) John the Baptist had been cast into prison in the hope that his preaching would cease. But he was a messenger from God, and the message must be heard. In silenc ing John, his accusers were attempting to :silence God. There are some, even today, who would close the mouths of true ser vants o f God, forgetting that in so doing they would silence God Himself. But wherl John was put into prison, our Lord t BLACKBOARD LESSON way from the far east to worship the little Heavenly K ing; that Simeon in the temple JANUARY 8, 1933 JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK M ark 1 :12-20 Golden Text: “ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom o f God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mk. 1:15), The Place of Temptation esu ' s was tempted in the wilderness. The wilderness is a barren, dry, and God-forsaken tract o f death-like desolation upon the eastern slope of the Mount o f Olives. It extends from the vi cinity of Jericho south toward En Gedi for a distance o f thirty or forty miles. In all that expanse o f dreary ® desert, hardly a scrap o f vegetation can be found. One seldom tries to go across it on foot. The heat in the summer time is ter rific, and the glare from the barren rock and sand is almost blinding. T h e few trails which cross this region are often covered with jagged rocks. One’s feet can easily become bruised and torn as he stum bles along these rough paths in the blind ing sun o f a summer day. Near the west ern shore o f the Dead Sea, the country presents a veritable chaos of geologic fo r mations. The strata run in every direction. Jagged peaks pierce the sky everywhere. They present the appearance of having been torn by some gigantic upheaval o f na ture. Deep gullies cut between the hills, their bottoms being strewn with rocks and boulders carried down by the force o f the violence o f rushing waters during the rainy season. Here and there caves can be seen, in which wild animals lurk in the day time, and from which they steal forth at night to prowl about in search o f food. Immediately after His baptism, Jesus set His face toward the west, crossed the Plain of Jericho, about five miles wide here, and disappeared into the wilderness o f Judaea, There He was lost to the world for forty days. There he had Satan as His tempter, wild beasts as His companions, and angels as His ministering servants. Outline and Exposition I., T he O pposition to H is W ork (12, 13). Satan, having overcome the first man, now challenges the Second Man. It is a great mystery, but whenever Satan issues a challenge, God takes it up, to the utter discomfiture of the challenger. Hence it is know Him. Besides these signs, God sent a messenger to tell the news. John the Bap tist was his name. L e s s o n S t o r y : John the Baptist was a cousin o f Jesus. His mother and J o h n ’ s mother were not only cousins, but they were very g o o d frie n d s. From h is e a r lie s t 8&& ii « / V i s t o * childhood, John had heard the story of the wonderful birth o f Jesus. John knew that the angels had announced Jesus’ birth; that the wise men had journeyed all o f the
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