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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
April-May, 1933
because they loved Him; His enemies came because they w a n t e d to make trouble f o r Hi m. Strangers came be cause they had heard that Jesus was a great teacher, and they wished to learn from Him. L e s s o n S t o r y i One of those who
agreement with the truth; he was con demned by his life because of his admira tion for the Truth-teller whose example he could not follow; -•and he was con demned by Jesus because of the first and great commandment which he was even then in the act of breaking. Third, it was a very perilous position. This person was at the door, but outside. He was not far, but he might as well have been miles away, if he would proceed no farther. One cannot be half in and half out of the kingdom. How perilous and how solemn is such a position! How sol emn it is that one may offer sacrifice, as Cain did (Gen. 4 :3; Jude 11), or weep bit terly, as Esau did (Gen. 27:38; Heb. 12: 17), or tremble, as Felix did (Acts 24:25), or be seemingly a disciple, as Judas was (Acts 1:25), or be almost a Christian, as Agrippa was (Acts 26:28), or be baptized, as Simon was (Acts 8), and still be lost. But how comforting it is to know that one cannot have the Lord Jesus as one’s per sonal Saviour, and be lost! II. T he K nowledge of the S cribe (35-37)1 The scribes made a business of studying the Word of God. They knew the letter of the Word and could glibly quote it. But they went no further than the letter, and hence were darkened by their own knowl edge. They knew, but they did not under stand, and therefore were ignorant. Our Lord reminded them of their spir itual need in His reference to David and what David had written. To receive Jesus as David’s Son would be to receive a King whom they must serve. But this they would not do, because of the fear of losing what they had. To worship Jesus as David’s Lord would be to receive a God whom they must worship. But this they would not do, because of their own sin fulness ; their pride, ambition, and hy pocrisy stood in the way. This is what God demands, however, and what David’s writ ings demanded. Today the Lord must either be acknowledged thus, as both David’s Son and Lord, or else the rejector must take his place with the scribes and share their responsibility and their con demnation. Jesus is both God and neighbor, and our attitude toward Him is our atti tude toward both the first and second com mandments, the commandments upon which hang all the law and the prophets. III. T he D anger o f the S cribe (38-40). 1. Because o f his pride, he was self- seeking. Whatever he did, he did to get credit for himself. He was proud of his position and of his knowledge which caused the people to look up to him. But he instinctively knew he was not worthy of the reverence in which he was held by the people. His pride would not allow him to receive such a lowly One as Jesus of Nazareth as his personal Saviour. 2. Because of his unjustness, he was an extortioner. While professing to teach the people of the God who was ever on the giving hand, he attempted to use his position for his own selfish ends. 3. Because of his hypocrisy, he was only acting a part. The word used for hypocrite is signi ficant of the character of the scribes; it really means “actor,” one who, by means of bands and masks and pads, appears before people as other than himself. The scribes were spiritually outside the kingdom; mentally, they were blind; and morally, they were hypocrites. “Beware of the scribes” says our Lord; that is, beware of being like them.
G olden T ex t Illu stratio n We have been told to love God with all the mind as well as with all the heart and soul. What is unreasonable, God would never ask you to believe, and because some of God’s thoughts transcend human reason is no reasonable ground for doubt. Pythagoras was a philosopher of some 500 years B.C., around whose character the imagination of the ancients has thrown much that is legendary and mythical. He gathered about him a great number of dis ciples who were to aid each other in the pursuit of wisdom. They had only to lis ten to what Pythagoras said. His authority was sufficient whether the disciples under-; stood or not. Indeed, a question could be asked only by those who were advanced pupils, after years of patient submission. The Ipse Dixit of Pythagoras, “He said so,” settled all questions that might be in the mind, and when Pythagoras had spoken, it was enough without any proof. This must be the ultimate attitude of every sincere Christian toward the Word of God. Past history ought to prove to us that of all attitudes, this is the wisest. In 1860, eighty scientific theories, each one op posed to the Bible, were on record in the French Institute, but there is not a scien tist today who will lend his name to a sin gle one of them. What a great testimony. —W. E. B iederwolf . T alk in g w ith Jesus M ark 12:28-34 Memory Verse: “Teach me thy way, O Lord” (Psa. 27:11). Approach: When Jesus reached Jerusa lem, many of His friends were there, and many of His enemies were there, too. Everywhere He went people crowded about Him. His friends wanted to be with Him Lesson Text: Mark 13 :33 to 14:9. Golden Text: “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14). B ethany D uring His last week upon earth, our Lord spent each night, except the last, in the little village of Beth at meat in the house of Simon the leper. It was there that the spiritual bruises of
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came to ask questions was a scribe. Most of the scribes were Jesus’ enemies. We do not know whether this scribe came to Jesus to try to puzzle Him by asking Him' questions which He thought that Jesusi could not answer, or whether he really* wanted to learn from Him. He asked Jesus this question, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the! Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” And He went on and told the scribe a second commandment which He said was just as important: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” The scribe listened to what Jesus said. He knew that Jesus was right. Perhaps he had come to try to puzzle Jesus, but he saw that Jesus could not be puzzled. And the scribe was an honest man, so he told Jesus that he knew that He was right, and that these were the two greatest commandments. Then Jesus told the scribe that, because he believed this, he was not far from the king dom of God. These are still the two greatest com mandments. First we must love God, and if we truly love Him, we shall love every one about us. is one, near the center of the village, which is pointed out to us as the house of Mary and Martha. We go to this house, and as we cross its well-worn stone threshold, we step carefully, for we realize that these stones were once pressed by the feet of the Son of God. Here within this room Jesus taught the lesson that hearing the»word of God was as important, if not more so, as serving Him. Very little remains of the other houses of the village. A few walls are standing, but very few houses are in habitable. Yet this is a sacred spot to us, for many of the most precious associations of the life of Christ were formed here. O u tlin e a n d E xposition I. T he D angers for H is F riends (13:33-37). 1. The danger of setting dates for our Lord’s return. In these verses (including verse 32), the Lord warned three times against the danger of setting a date for His return, reminding His hearers that neither they, nor any one else, could know when He would return. “Of that day . . . knoweth no man.” “Ye know not when the time is.” “Ye know not when the master of the house cometh.” While there is no knowl edge of the exact time of His return, there is complete assurance of the event itself., It seems strange, in the light of suchi Scripture, that some Christians spend much! time and energy in trying to discover when Christ will return—time and energy which could be put to better use. They not only
MAY 28, 1933 JESUS AND HIS FRIENDS M ark 13:1 to 14:9
any. It was there that Lazarus and Martha and Mary lived. It was there that He sat
the trials and strife of the day could be soothed by the cool ing balm of sympa thizing friendship. The Sc r i pt ur e s tell us that Bethany is a Sabbath day’s journey from Jeru salem. If that be true, then a Sabbath
day’s journey is about two miles, for that is the distance between the Holy City and this little village. In order to reach it from Jerusalem, we cross the summit of the Mount of Olives, and proceed down its eastern slope a half-mile or so. After winding about between stone walls enclos ing groves of fig trees, we come out upon a little plateau, from which we can see, just below us, the little village of Bethany. How quiet and peaceful it looks among the olive trees 1 Age has softened the harshness of the bare stone houses. Many of them are falling into ruin, yet there
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