April-May, 1933
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that spiritually they were in ignorance and darkness, and the scribes that morally they were in sin. Our lesson today deals with the scribes, or lawyers. I. T he Q uestion or the S cribe (28-34). “Which is the first commandment of all?” No nobler question could be asked because it brought God in, and no deeper because it brought man in. It was not a question of what came first in the deca logue—any child would know that—but what was first in importance, or spiritual value, or import. It was a great question: What does God require? What is the first duty of man? What is my duty? Courage was needed to ask it, because of the pre vailing lightness of thought concerning eternal things, indifference to truth, and the spirit of sneering at personal religion. These things mark our day as well, and it takes courage now, as then, to show any evidence of interest in eternal verities. The answer of the Lord is the final an swer to every man—love to God first, and growing out of that, love to man. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. . . soul . . . mind . . . strength” that is, the whole man is to love God supremely. We must remember that this was given in the law to reveal the inherent sinfulness of the human race, because no man ever mea sured up to this requirement, except the Man Christ Jesus. Hence, this very first commandment was, and is, the utter con-a demnation of every man. This condemna tion by the law is what ’should drive all men to Christ to be justified by grace. The commandment was not given as though it said to men, “Love God in this manner and to this extent, and thou shalt be saved,” but it was given to reveal that all men are unsaved because they do not meet this first requirement of the law. When a man accepts Christ as his personal Saviour, he becomes possessed of the nature of Christ, and by that nature he instinctively loves God, not because he must, but because of the nature within him. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self” is necessarily the second command ment. It is the correlative of the first. Here our Lord gave the very heart of all true religion, and the substance, not the accidents, of all right living. He gave, as He always gives, profound teaching, not in metaphysical terms difficult to understand, but simply, that a child might understand; briefly, that it might be easily remembered; comprehensively, because it embraced all that may be said; and unchangeably, be cause of the nature of God of whom it speaks. Surely our Lord was a Teachqr beyond all others. While not accepting Christ for what He claimed to be, the scribe was forced to give his intellectual consent to the truth of what Jesus said (vs. 32, 33). This scribe was willing to announce his agreement in spite of the tremendous opposition, and in the face of certain criticism. When Jesus saw this, He said to him, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” In these words, Jesus not only put the scribe in his proper place, but He showed the true position of thousands of people of our day. First, it was a very promising position; he was acquainted with the truth, he as sented to the truth, he admired and rev erenced the Truth-teller, and, as far as the record goes, he attempted to live his creed. All this brought him to the very door of the kingdom, but it did not take him inside. Second, it was a most painful position. He was condemned by his conscience be cause of his knowledge of the truth; he was condemned by his reason because of his
BLACKBOARD LESSON
find a colt. This they were to bring back with them so that Jesus could ride it into the city. This was the way that kings rode, and Jesus was a King, the Son of the Ruler of heaven. These people whom Jesus had helped wanted to praise Him as their King, so before Jesus delivered Him self up to*His enemies, He let His friends praise Him as He, their King, should be praised. They spread their coats on the road that He might ride over this carpet. They cut down branches and waved them, crying, “Hosanna! Save usl Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Young people, old people, little children gathered in great crowds to cheer Him along the way. Friends came from Jeru salem to join the crowds who were follow ing Jesus, and all cried, “Hosanna,” to gether. What a wonderful timel How the little children who were there must have re membered that time years later and been glad that they had been a part of that crowd! We cannot follow with the crowd of people going with Jesus to Jerusalem, but we can. sing praises to Him today. He will hear us and be glad. G olden T ex t Illustration One of the most influential of all the Chinese who have accepted Christ in recent years is a man who has held high office in the educational life of China, and who is a recognized authority upon Chinese educa tion. He had magnificent prospects before him. Position, influence, opportunity—all were his. The study of the New Testament brought to him the conviction that Christ was the Saviour of men, and his Saviour. After a period of struggle and of counting the cost, he determined on his confession Lesson Text: Mark 12:28-40. Golden Text: “Never man spake as this man” (John 7:46). T h e T em ple ast week , we looked upon the site of the Jewish temple from the Mount of Olives. Today we shall walk about the temple area, in order that we may real ize more clearly the surroundings of Jesus when He taught there. The temple enclosure is walled off from the rest of the city. One may enter it by
before men. His dearest friend pleaded with him earnestly, agonizingly. He plead ed in vain. Then he urged him to secret discipleship. “Bow to the tablet of Confucius,” he said. “It is only an empty form, and you can believe what you like in your heart.” It was a struggle, with friendship also wavering in the balance. But he replied: “A few days ago, One came to dwell within my heart; He has changed all life for me forever. I dare not bow to any other, lest He depart.” He had found a new King, one Jesus. Shall We Let Go*Our Sunday? A restful Sunday is a physical necessity for all. A quiet Sunday is a moral force in the life of the community. A protected Sunday is a charter of the workers’ freedom. A worship Sunday is a public acknowl edgment of the divine Creator of the uni verse. A Christian Sunday is a bulwark of the righteousness that exalteth a nation, ^ H - S unday C hristian O bservance . center of the enclosure stands the mosque called by the Mohammedans “The Dome of the Rock.” It is so called because it stands over the bare, outcropping rock of the hill. This is Mount Moriah, and it was upon this hill that Abraham offered Isaac, his only son, to God. How appropriate it is that that offering of faith should have been made upon the very spot that the of ferings of God’s chosen people should be made in the years to cornel Truly this is a sacred spot to Jews, Mohammedans, and Christians alike. O utline a n d E xposition In this lesson, our Lord was confronted with questions calculated to trap Him. He answered them all, and in doing so, He met the objections, refuted the arguments, and revealed the hypocrisy of the questioners. He showed the Pharisees that nationally they were under bondage, the Sadducees BLACKBOARD LESSON
MAY 21, 1933 JESUS ANSWERS HIS ADVERSARIES M ark 12:1-44
any one of three or four gates, but we shall enter from the north, by the sheep gate. Here we see a walled-off enclosure, just outside the tem ple area p r o p e r , w h e r e sheep were kept for sacrifice in the temple. The wor
shipers at the time of the Passover could buy their Passover lambs right on the spot. At the time Jesus entered, these avaricious merchants had taken their business right into the temple itself, and had made the house of God a house of merchandise. As we pass within the temple enclosure proper, we are pleased to see that much of the space has been left to grow up with grass and trees in its natural state. The green springing grass and the soft shade of the silvery olive trees give a restfulness which is conducive to meditation. In the
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