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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
March, 1935
was in Roman times, and thus is of ines timable value to archaeologists. Sometime the land over Jordan will be carefully stud ied, and will yield untold treasures o f his tory and archaeology. Outline and Exposition I. T he S acredness of C hildhood (1 3-16 ). Whenever a noted rabbi passed through the country, the Hebrew mothers were eager to have him pronounce a blessing upon their children. So when Jesus, who was accounted to be a great rabbi, passed by. mothers brought their infants to Him for His blessing. The ignorance of the disciples is seen in their presumption that Jesus was too great a person to be bothered with children. Had Jesus been other than He was, their thought would have been correct, but He was much more than .a founder of a new religion. No other religious teacher had ever had time to bother with infants, and there are many today who seem to think that children are altogether too insig nificant to be taught. There are those who declare that they are too much interested in men to work with and for children. They do not know that the greatest thing in the world is a child. There is a notable difference between greatness and bigness; the universe is big, but a:child is'great. The child who sits in the Sunday-school class has possibilities heyond, computation; that child may become' a' John or a Judas, a Mary or a Jezebel. The Lord met the ignorance of His dis ciples by His teaching concerning the children. First, they are to be encouraged to come to H im ; they are not to be hindered in their approach, but rather helped ( “ Suf fer the little children to come unto me,” He said. Second, He tells them, “O f such is the kingdom o f God”—not these particular children, but “of such” ; that is, of such condition and disposition, of such helpless ness and simplicity, of such dependence and trustfulness. Children are not always obe dient, or unselfish, or lovely; but they are always trustful, and “of such” is the king dom o f God. The kingdom belongs only to children; none others have entrance. Christianity is a religion of childhood—not childishness but childlikeness. We sometimes feel that children cannot understand, and therefore cannot participate in or propagate Chris tianity. This is because we have lost the first essential o f Christianity, which is trust. It is just here that the child has more o f the spirit of the kingdom than have the adults. Christianity is not some thing for which great reasoning powers are required, but something for which great faith is required, and this the child has in greater measure than others. It is not without reason that we are told, twice over, that Jesus took children up in His arms and blessed them; only of children is it said that He had them in His arms. II. T he P eril of R iches (17-27). 1. The rich young ruler's request (17). It was made because o f his desire to know the truth. He came running, filled with eagerness to know and not ashamed to turn to Jesus with his question. It was made with reverence; he kneeled before the Lord. This showed he had a humble spirit and also that he already had a cer tain Relief in Jesus. He was teachable, enquiring o f the One whom he felt could and would tell him the truth. His request revealed that he was dis satisfied with everything he had, and he had everything which was supposed to
BLACKBOARD LESSON
Lesson Questions Vs. 13 to 16. How did the disciples dis please Jesus? Do those who forbid child conversion also, displease Him? In what sense may parents still bring their children to Jesus? When may a child accept Jesus as his personal Saviour? . Vs. 17 to 27. What was wrong with the suppliant’s manner o f approach? Was he earnest ? .Was he reverent ? What had been his relation to the law? What did he do when Jesus demanded self-denial and cross bearing? What was Jesus’ teaching re garding trust in riches ? Golden Text Illustration A newsdealer of Utica, New York, de clines to handle anything that is not up to his standard. Sometimes magazines that he cannot approve come from his wholesale dealer. These unrequested periodicals he at once wraps up and re turns. Said he to a Utica editor: “I will not sell to any one else’s daughter something that I will not let my own daughter read.” That is the Golden Rule in action.—W. J. H. Jesus and the Children M ark 10:13-16 Memory Verse: “ Suffer the little chil dren to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mk. 10:14). Approach: Jesus was very busy. People crowded to hear Him speak. He was never too tired or too busy to speak even to the least of these people. Lesson Story: One day, some mothers little children. Already they had forgot ten that He had told them that they them selves were to be kind and gentle and ready to learn, even as little children. Jesus must have wondered if they would ever learn this lesson. He made the disciples let the mothers and children stay near Him. He said to them, “Whosoever shall not receive the king dom o f God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” He took the children up in His arms and blessed them. Every one is important in Jesus’ sight. He knows everything that we do. It says in the Bible that even a little bird can not fall to the ground without God know ing about it. Surely people are more im portant than birds. Since God cares so much about us -and what we do, it should make us careful to do every day just the. things that we know would please Him. Unkind thoughts, an gry words,' jealous feelings, all of these things make us unhappy and displease God. We must think o f this and remember to pray every day that God will help us to be His loving children. What Prayer Accomplishes My prayer breaks the bond of many a temptation that holds me. My prayer is the test for many a masked evil that seeks to seduce me. My prayer will be like a drop o f poison on a scorpion—it will kill the sin instant.—A lexander M aclaren . A v i s t o * with their children pressed their way through the crowd o f people and stood before Jesus. They w a n t e d Him to touch them. The dis- disciples t r i e d to make t h e mothers g o a w a y . T h e y thought that Jesus’ time was too pre cious to waste on
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satisfy. He had youth, wealth, health, good ness, splendid standing in the community, all that was calculated to give satisfaction. But his coming to Jesus at this time re vealed that with all he had, he did not possess a satisfied heart. His-request also revealed ignorance. He was mistaken in the person of Jesus, thinking He was only a teacher, when He was the Lord; he was mistaken in the power of man, thinking he could do something to obtain eternal life ; and he was mistaken in the principle of life, thinking it was something to have, when it is something to be. 2. The Lord’s answer (18-21). The young man thought himself good, but he was reminded that only One is good, and that One is God. If he continued to look upon Jesus as “good,” he would have to regard Him and His words as coming from God. In verses 19 and 20, the young man re vealed the thought of many today, that is', that to be right with man is equivalent to being right with God. But in verse 21, the Lord points out the inner need. One thing was lacking, and that was obedience to God. The first commandment of all was, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The sequel shows that this young man put his riches before God and remained un satisfied. This was amazing teaching. It was simple; there was no mystic philosophy to confuse the thought. It involved the turning from all outward possessions for satisfaction, and it included such self- denial as would put away all inward pos sessions for goodness. The great heresy today is a crossless Christianity. Jesus followed this teaching with the re pelling requirement, “ Come, follow me.” This meant separation from all else to Christ, service of all else for Christ, and surrender of all else to Christ. The young man must surrender to Christ as Saviour from the guilt and penalty of sin, as Keeper from the power o f sin, and as Lord for the government of life and all its issues. The value of this answer is seen when we remember that Jesus loved this young man—He desired his greatest g ood ;, He had wisdom—He knew the way to that highest good; and He was honest—speak ing the truth plainly. The outcome was that the young man went away sorrowful. He took with him his goodness, his high aspirations, and his splendid character. But he also took with him a ruined soul, a lost life, and continual dissatisfaction. He continued in disobe dience to God, which day by day would enhance his guilt through all eternity. Studying his life, we see that a man may be good in the sight of other men, may have splendid conduct and high rectitude of character, and with it all stand before God condemned as a guilty and lost sinner. The Lord enlarges upon the peril of riches in verses 23 to 27. It is not riches in themselves against which the Lord speaks, but it is the trust in riches against which He warns.
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