May, 1945
1Ç1
ignorant of the second coming, even though that great truth is revealed again and again in the Scriptures. Points and Problems 1. "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee" (Mk. 1:14). Judea was an unsafe place for Christ at this time. Hèrod was sorely vexed because of the ministry of. John the Baptist. Gladly would he- have laid hands on Christ. It is true that Christ had come into the world to die, but His hour for that had not yet Comé. To avoid a premature crisis, the Lord went into the less dangerous region of Galilee to perform a great ministry; a principle illustrated here Christian workers will do well to consider. Fly ing needlessly into the. face Of peril is not the mark of wisdom. Casting pearls before swine is a waste'of time and energy. Following our Lord’s ex ample, it may be far better for us to find another place of ministry. 2. "Repent ye, and believe in the gospel" (Mk. 1:15, R. V.). The reference here is to the gospel of the kingdom. The King was then present. God was ready to work out the fulfillment of His covenant with David (2 Sam. 7:8- 16) with respect to the permanent establishment of the Davidic line. Jesus offered Himself to His- own (John 1:11), but they did not receive Him. Repentance and faith are two requirements in the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. One day they shall be realized but that time has not come. Today epentance and faith are essential elements in the reception of the gOSpel of grace (Acts 20:21; 17:30). 3. "The book of the prophet Esolas" (Lk. 4:17). JeSus read from the 61st chapter of the Scroll called the book of Isaiah. He read from that section of the book which higher critics say Isaiah did not write, namely, chapters 40-66. Not the least indication is given either by Luke or by our Lord that Isaiah was not the author of the words Jesus read. Thus we have, in the men tion of Isaiah’s name in connection with this passage, one of the many. evidences of the unity of the prophecy that bears his name. • ; 4. "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things" (Mk. 8:31). Note when it was that Christ began to teach His disciples about His sufferings—shortly after a true confession had been given con cerning His person (v. 29, and Màtt. 16:16). Before the death of Christ can become meaningful it is necessary to know who He is. Calvary wifi never be appreciated until it is recognized that1thè One who died there came from heaven. Refer said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus made the announcement that He musi go to Golgotha.
LESSON FOR JUNE 10 Christ Proclaims the Good News
Church going should be the “custom” of all who claim to be Christians. While at the synagogue the “book” was handed to Him to read. It was the usual custom to allow anyone with sufficient education to do so, to read the day’s lesson, That day’s les son was from Isaiah’s prophecy and Jesus found the place and began to read (v. 17; Isa. 61:1, 2). When Hè ceased reading and closed the book, He had stopped at a peculiar place: in the middle of a sentence with only a comma separating it from thè next words. After the words, “the acceptable year of the Lord,” there is only a comma, but there He ended His reading. He had read the portion that covers the whole period, down to the end of the Church age. He had stopped short of “the day of vengeance of our God.” Betwèen the “accept able year of the Lord” and “the day of vengeance” lies the entire period between the first and second comings of Christ; all is included in that comma. Then Jesus immediately applied this Scripture to Himself saying, “This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.” This was His direct and defi nite claim to be the One of whom Isaiah wrote. . III. P roclaiming H is O wn P rogram (M k . 8:27 a , 29, 31) Knowing He would be rejected by His nation, Jesus took His disciples on a trip into Caesarea Philippi (v. 27a), and on the way let them know what lay ahead for both Himself and them. He desired them to be sure of what and who He was before enlightening them of the immediate" future (vS. 27- 29). After they told Him what peo ple in general were saying concern ing Him, He asked them what they themselvès thought (v. 29). It was then that Peter gave his grand testi mony which had been given him by the revelation of God. “Thou art the Christ,” Peter said. In Matthew “the Son of the living God” is added, but Mark omits these words. Satisfied that they knew who and what He was, Jésus told them plainly what their prophets had before de clared, that Messiah must suffer, be rejected, scorned, killed, and that He would rise again from among Ahe dead. Alas, when the crucifixion ac tually occurred, these disciples had forgotten about the resurrection. Thus they were cast into despair until Je- suS appeared in body before them. So today, while believers are assured of the fact of the resurrection, they
LESSON MATERIAL: Mark 1:14, 15; Luke 4:16-21; Mark 8:27a, 29, 31. GOLDEN TEXT: "I am come that they might hav« life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10)# Outline and Exposition I. F ulfilling J ohn ' s M inistry (M k . 1:14, 15) The Old Testament is full of prom ises concerning a coming kingdom in which all wrongs are to be righted, injustice done away, wars ended, and prosperity enjoyed by mankind. This wâs the good news, or gospel, of the kingdom that John preached. When John’s voice was silenced, Jesus took up and preached his message to the nation. As John’s message was from God, Jesus carried on with the same mèssage, of which He Himself was the fulfillment. Jesus declared that the kingdom was “ at hand,” and called upon the nation to repent and believe this good news. The kingdom was “at hand” because Messiah was present. But to benefit from that fact, a change of mind and attitude on the part of the nation, which had turnèd from God, was required. Repentance on their part must include confession that they had departed from their God, contri tion because of that sin, and a settled determination to return to théir God. Such would be the first result of their believing the gospel which both John and Jésus preached. II. F ulfilling I saiah ' s P rophecy (L k . 4:16-21) After defeating Satan in the wilder- nèss, Jésus returned to Nazareth and, “as his custom wâs,” \vent to the synagogue on the Sabbath day (v. 16). However far the people had departed from the truth, the Word of God was still read in the synagogue every Sabbath day. Jesus undoubtedly knew more than anyone in the synagogue, but His custom was to honor God by appearing in what was called God’s house each Sabbath day. He was ful filling all the law required, as well as leaving an example for all people everywhere. One day of the week should be set apart for the worship of God. The excuse that there is nothing to learn, or that the services are dull, and so forth. .have no weight whatever in the light of Jésus’ exam ple. Certainly He could-learn noth ing in the synagogue; to Him the services there might have been dull, nevertheless He honored God each Sabbath day “as his custom was.”
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker