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THE KING’S BUSINESS
believed not. But were they any blinder than men today? . Is not our Lord Jesus working many sighs of redeeming grace and transforming power ^that show Him beyond a question to be the Son of God? and yet the vast majority of men will not believe on Him! All this was simply a fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied hundreds of years before (v. 38;' cf. Isa. 53:1, following; Isa. 6:10). In the pro phecy of Isaiah 6 which is here quoted, we are told that Isaiah said these things when he saw the glory of Jehovah (Isa. 6:1, 3, 10), but John here tells us that Isaiah said them when he saw the glory of Jesus. Evi dently, therefore, Jesus occupies the posi tion of Jehovah in Isaiah’s thought, and it was our Lord Jesus in His pre-incarnate state that Isaiah saw in the vision recorded in the sixth chapter of Isaiah. Thursday, July 13 . . John 12 : 42 - 45 . Jesus’ words and works convinced many of the Jewish leaders that He was from God and worthy of their faith and their allegiance. But while convinced in their minds, like many today who are convinced of the truth of His claims, they did not have the courage of their convictions, and therefore did not make an open confession of their faith, so their faith did neither Him nor themselves any good. They were not saved, for the only kind of faith that saves is the faith that leads to open confes sion (Rom. 10:10; Matt. 10:32, 33; Mark 8:38). It was fear of man that kept them back from confession of Christ, and so the fear of man proved a snare that involved them in eternal perdition, just as it has many another (Prov. 29:25). They loved the transient glory men bestow more than they did the eternal glory God bestows. Poor fools! Jesus and the Father are one (ch. 10:30) , so the , one who believes on Jesus really believes on the Father who sent Him; he that sees Jesus sees the Father who sent Him (cf. Jno. 14:9). Friday, July 14 . John 12 : 46 - 50 . This is a world of darkness under the
nothing else has drawn men to Christ like His atoning death. It is when men realize that He was wounded for our transgres sions and bruised for our iniquities that their hearts are broken and they turn from sin and turn to Him. But though He draws all men, all kinds and conditions of men, and men of all nations, not all yield to that drawing, some are ready to even trample under foot the Son of God and to count even the blood that flowed from His side for our redemption, on the cross of Calvary, an unholy thing (cf. Heb. 19 '29 ). His words about His death the people did not understand; they had read in the Old Testament Scriptures (which are here spoken of as “the law,” though the refer ence is to a passage in the Psalms, Ps. 110:4), that the coming King was to abide forever. How then could He say that the 'Son of Man was to Pie lifted up and thus die? They were so occupied with that class of prophecies that speak about the second coming of Christ that they had lost sight of the other class of prophecies that spoke as clearly about His first coming to die, an atoning sacrifice for sins (see for exam ple Isa. S3). Today many are so occupied with the second class of prophecies', those that speak about His atoning death that they have lost sight of the other class that speak as clearly of His coming to be an ever living all-conquering; King. Wednesday, July 12 . John 12 : 35 - 41 . While Jesus was with them as the light of the world the people as a whole would not have the light, and so it was to be taken from them and deepest darkness to be settled upon them, and they were to walk on in darkness, not knowing whither they went. And so there are those today who will not receive the light, and the light will be taken away. It stands us in hand then, while we have the light to “believe in the light” and to walk in the light; by this we become children of light. The Jews were having their last opporunity of believing in the light, and many today are having their last opportunity. He had wrought many signs in their presence and still they
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