February 1932
T h e
K i n g ’ s
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fjunior KING’S BUSINESS . . . By HELEN HOWARTH LEMMEL
The Story of the Great King B y H elen H owarth L emmel S time went on , those who hated Jesus hated the more, and sought the more to kill Him. Satan was working in their hearts, dulling their eyes to what they read in their own Book, of which Jesus often talked. They desired and expected a rich and powerful king, who would at once put down, their ene mies, and set up His throne. They did not know that He would come, too, as Re deemer o f the world. They thought more of the earthly kingdom than o f the King dom of Marvelous Light where, with Elo- him, there is life everlasting. They did not see that Jesus had come to give them both. Some day they will accept Him, and then they will have both. ♦ * * It was the Feast o f the Passover in Jerusalem—the same feast to which Jesus came, when a Boy o f twelve, and to which He had been many times since. And the time had come for Him to do what He had to do! He had almost finished His Father’s business. Meanwhile, Satan grew more bitter and active against the True Prince, whom he feared. For he knew Him. Once more Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “ The time has come. They will crucify Me, but in three days I shall rise again, and Satan and death will have no more power over Me, nor over any who believe in Me. I shall live again, and because I live, ye shall live also. Though ye were dead, yet shall ye live.” Ht ♦ * It was the night before the Passover. The Lord Jesus and three o f His disciples went into the Garden o f Gethsemane. He was in great trouble, and, to be alone in His grief and pain, He left them and went into the deeper woods, among the olive trees. And there Satan came to tempt and try Him. Jesus learned that night how cruel the Wicked Prince could be, and His grief was for the world that lay in the power o f this dreadful foe. His sufferings were so great that an angel came from the Kingdom o f Marvelous Light to minister to Him. When, a little later, His enemies found Him, He met them in calmness and strength. They were led to Him by Judas, one o f His own disciples, who for thirty pieces o f silver (a very small sum of money) became a traitor. Satan had en tered into him. Through the dark woods they came, with swords and staves in their hands, Judas leading. In the light cast by their flaring torches, Jesus stood in majesty be fore them. “Whom seek ye?” He asked. Oh, the gentleness o f Him—He who, with a breath, could have slain those who sought to slay Him 1 “W e seek Jesus o f Nazareth.” Not gently did they give Him answer. “ I am He.”
Judas who betrayed Him stood with them. As soon as He had said, “ I am He,” they all went backward and fell to the ground. Then asked He them again, “Whom seek ye?” And again they answered, “Jesus o f Na zareth.” Again He said, ‘‘I have told you that I am He. I f therefore ye seek Me, let these who are with Me go their way.” Twice He said, “ I am He.” They had fallen to the ground because, hidden in those three words, is the great Name o f their own high and holy God, Elohim. That Name is, “ I AM ”—a Name that had power to throw them to the earth. But Satan had such hold upon them that they still refused to accept Jesus as their King, and taking Him from the garden, they led Him to Pilate the governor, who was in Jerusalem. Pilate questioned Him, but Jesus an swered but little. He knew they would not receive His words. He knew also that His Father could send twelve legions o f angels and deliver Him from His foes, but He had come into the world just for this: T o die—to give His life to redeem the world. While Pilate was questioning Him, a message came from his (Pilate’s) wife. “Have thou nothing to do with this just man,” she sent word; “ I have suffered many things this day in a dream, because of Him. It will go ill with us, if thou de liver Him to death.” A fter a time, the governor, in fear and awe of his kingly Prisoner, turned to the Jews who had brought Him, and said, “What will ye that I do unto this Man? I find no fault at all in Him.” “ Crucify H im !” they shouted angrily. “ But what evil hath He done?” Pilate demanded. “ Crucify H im ! Crucify H im !” And that was all the answer they would give. And Pilate delivered Jesus to them. In spite o f his wife’s warning, in spite of his own words that declared Jesus faultless, the cowardly ruler, because he wished to please the people, gave Jesus to His ene mies. [To be continued] A Wonderful Motto In the entrance hall o f the home for Armenian refugee children on the top of one o f the hills near Nazareth, the boy hood home of our Lord Jesus, there hangs a motto that is burned into a piece o f olive wood. W e give it below. Back o f the loaf is the snowy flour, And back o f the flour, the mill, And back o f the mill is the wheat and the shower, And the sun, and the Father’s will, —M altbie D. B abcock .
Enid H IS l o v e l y STORY o f a truly lovely girl is taken from the report o f a sum mer camp o f the Sunday School Mission o f British Columbia. Enid bounded in on the first night of camp, a tiny mite o f eleven summers, thin and undernourished, but with two bright eyes and a sunny smile that captivated our attention immediately. She is a lonely lit tle waif, who has lived in no less than nine adopted homes since her mother passed away, five years ago, and she is not well cared for where she is at present. W e felt at first that it would be rather a big responsibility to have her with the other girls at camp, for we had been told a good deal about her that was anything but invit ing. However, a day or two sufficed to make us trust the child, and before long every one—girls and workers—had learned to love her dearly. She looked upon her share o f the house work as a pleasure, and it was always well done. She seemed to be looking all the time for ways o f helping others. As we went down to make the camp bonfire in the evenings, it was touching to see Enid gathering up our pillows and books, not al lowing a worker to carry a single thing. Saturday’s picnic and hike showed us more of Enid’s character, for it was she who stayed behind with the slowest o f the grown-ups, to “cheer them up”—which cheering consisted mainly o f feeding with berries and decorating with flowers. W e had reason to believe that the Lord had done a work o f grace in Enid’s heart, for she told one o f the group leaders that she had been born again. On the final night, when some one asked her to go into the inquiry room after the meeting, she said brightly, “ But I don’t need t o ; I de cided a long time ago.” Now she has gone home, and we fear she is not happy there. She has never com plained, oh no! But others told us. Will you pray that she may not be discouraged, but may continue to shine for the Lord in her corner? God’s Yoke The superintendent of a mission school read the text: “My yoke is easy.” Turning to the children, she asked, “Who can tell me what a yoke is?” A little girl o f ten said, “It is something they put on the necks o f animals.” Then the teacher inquired, “ And what is the meaning of God’s yoke?” All were silent for a moment. Then the hand o f a little four-year-old went up, and she said, “ It is God putting His arms around our necks 1” 4—T he S unday S chool T imes .
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