104
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
March,' 1933
There were some who recognized that Jesus was just what He claimed to be, and these were ready to confess, in the words o f Peter, “Thou art the Christ.” The teacher would do well to compare verse 29 with the account given in Matthew. The disciples confessed that Jesus was the Christ, that is, the Anointed, in fulfillment o f the Old Testament promises. The Anointed One o f the Old Testament was the' Prophet speaking for God to men, the Priest speaking for man to God, and the King exercising authority over men for God. This is the confession every believer makes concerning the person of Jesus. It required considerable courage then, as now, to give such a testimony. It went against the opinion of the rulers o f the people,; those whose business it was to direct the religious thought and exercise o f the peo- pie. But these disciples of Jesus were ready to confess their thought of His per son, and, as Matthew adds, proclaim Him “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”; God has a time table for His dealings with men (v. 30). Not until His time had conte was it proper to bear this testimony far and wide. But the time is no;w present,' and He desires this testimony to be borne wherever men are found. It is our high privilege,;as well as our duty, to proclaim’ it the world over. II. T he P rogram O f H is ’ P urpose (31-33)'. 1 . His coming rejection by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes. He was rejected, not because He was a great prophet, but because He claimed to be more than all the prophets who went be fore Him. He -claimed to be the One o f whom and for whom all the prophets spoke. It wà's because He claimed to be Deity that these leaders of the people rejected Him. He is rejected by the world today on the same grounds. The world will have Jesus o f Nazareth, if they may look upon Him as being merely one o f the great religious teachers of the centuries ; but they will not have Him as being what He is in truth, very God o f very God in human form. 2. His crucifixion. There is a world of meaning in the words, “The Son o f man must suffer many things . . . and be killed.” He must suffer because o f the purpose o f God to put away ski, because hi man’s need for redemption, and because of the hostility o f Satan as seen in the actions o f men. None o f these objectives could be secured without the death of Jesus, but all o f them are made sure because o f that death. 3. His resurrection from among the dead. This was the sign that the sacrifice had been accepted, and that sin has been put away. The disciples were downcast when Jesus spoke of His death, and His word concerning His resurrection was unheard because of their sorrow. Every reference in the Bible to the sufferings of Christ is immediately followed by some reference to His glory. The latter may sometimes be found apart from the former, but the former never without the latter. To this announced program, opposition set in at once. This came through one of the disciples, Peter. It brushed aside the promise o f the resurrection, occupying itself wholly with the death o f Christ. It is humanity’s idea ; there is in it no thought o f the first duty of man. Man thinks; that self-preservation is his first duty. Not until his eyes are opened to the real truth does he discover that man’s first duty is the preservation of the purpose o f God, whatever that may entail. Man has no true idea of the value o f sacrifice ; he thinks o f
How many persons can you name who tes tified to their belief in His deity (cf. Matt. 16:16; John 1:49; 4:29; 11:27; 20:28; Acts 8 :37) ? Vs. 31-33. Why was it difficult for the disciples to grasp the idea o f a suffering Messiah? What did Peter’s rebuke indi cate?-, O f whose spirit was it ? Vs. 34-38. What did Jesus teach regard ing self-denial? In the light" of verse 38, what, would you say of “ secret believers” who refuse to testify for their Lord? Golden Text Illustration Setting out to liberate Itàly, Garibaldi saw some young men at a street corner at summoned them to enlist in the cause. “What do you; offer?” -said they. “ Offer?” replied Garibaldi. ‘‘I offer you hardship,; hunger,;; rags, thirst, sleepless nights, footsores in ; the long marches, pri vations innumerable, and victory in' thè noblest cause that ever asked you.” . Young Italy followed ;him. “Whosoever would come after me,- let, him-deny himself, and take' up his cross, and follow me.” . 1 Memory V erse : • “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”; (John 3: 16): Approach : Jesus knew that very soon He was going to leave this world. His disciples must carry on. His work. He So Jesus spoke to His disciples one day as they were walking along-together- He said, “Whom do men say that I am?” He wanted to be sure that His disciples knew He was the Christ, the Son o f God, for He knew that many people did not be lieve this. The disciples told Jesus what the people were saying about Him. Some said that He was John the Baptist; some said that He was one of the prophets risen from the dead. Jesus said to them, “ But whom say ye that I am?” ; Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ.” That is just what Jesus wanted His dis ciples to know and to remember. Then He went on to tell them how He must suffer and die. The disciples were still unwilling to- believe this, but Jesus said that it must happen. He called the people together with His disciples and said to them, “ If you follow Me, you must be ready to do hard things, and you must not be ashamed of Me. For if you are, then I must be ashamed o f you when I come again.” Are we ever ashamed to say that we be long to Jesus? Ashamed o f Jesus Jesus, and shall it ever be, A mortal man ashamed of Thee? Ashamed o f Thee, whom angels praise, Whose glories shine through endless days? Being True to Jesus M ark 8:27-38 ; wanted them to be brave followers of Him. He knew that His disciples were still expecting Him to be an e a r t h l y King, and- that they would find it hard to understand that He was to suffer and die and be hated by many people. L e s s o n S t o r y .
BLACKBOARD LESSON
it as failure, not success.' Peter’s reply re veals also that man has no true conception o f the value of man as such ; he thinks man is not worth such a sacrifice. But under neath all objections to the Lord’s program, we may see the reasoning of Satan, even though that reasoning was going on in the mind of Peter. Satan knows that without the cross sin remains; .salvation is .impos sible,, and the justice o f God cannot lie vin-l dicated nor maintained. - III. T he P athway to His P erfection (34-38). The character o f that path is, first, self- denial; that is, taking another’s life, even Christ’s, in exchange for one’s own, treat ing self as the crowd at the trial of Jesus treated Him. “Ye denied the Holy One” (Acts 3:14). Second, it is self-renuncia tion ; that is, assuming another’s burden, even Christ’s. This is voluntary, “take up the cross,” ' something that each may do or may not do according to his own choice.' Third, it is self-abnegation; that is, taking another as leader of the life, even Christ, instead o f self, to follow Him and pursue His desires instead o f our own wishes. The reason is in verses 35 to 38. The question for every one to ask is, What will I get for my life? No one has more than one life to invest, and the eternal returns from that life will be measured according as the life is invested here upon earth. To invest it for Christ means great gain in the coming day ; to use it for self, and thus' be ashamed o f Christ and His words, en tails great and eternal loss. Lesson Questions Vs. 27-30. What differences o f opinion were expressed regarding who Jesus was? A Boon to Sunday-School Teachers T he K ing ’ s B usiness is one of the best, if not the best magazine that I have the pleasure of receiving. It is full of rich material. The Sun day-school lesson comments are most helpful. ^-H ouston , T ex . I am more than sorry that I have not renewed my subscription sooner, but_ I just could not get the money until now. I hope I will not miss a number, as I can hardly teach a class without it, —R apid C ity , S. D ak . I feel I cannot do without T he K ing ’ s B usiness , even if times are hard and the fees are difficult to ga ther. It has been a great ,help to me in my Sunday-school work as a teacher. , —A gassiz , ELG Your paper has been a help to me in many ways, especially in the Sun day-school lessons (I am a teacher o f adult young people) and in spirit ual growth. For financial reasons, I tried to discontinue the subscription this year, but I missed it so much. |—H ot S prings , A rk .
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