F R O M T HE C R O S S ING

TO

THE

CL O S E

OF

OF

T HE R ED S EA:

D A V ID

L I FE

T h e m o s t im p o s in g a n d i mp o rt a nt wo rk
u n d e r t a k e n b y D r M ille r
.

Br i t t s /z Cong r ega t ion a lis t

'

D EV O TI O N A L HO U R S
TH E BI BL E

I n Eig h t

W ITH

J R M ILL ER D D
P rice
N et Per
Vo l umes
By

Vol ume

t h i s s eri e s o f d evo t i o n al ex p o s i t i o n s D r
M iller p r o p o s e s t o c o ve r t h e e nt i re Bi ble
n o t i n d e t a il b u t i n s u c h a m a n n e r a s t o f u r
n i sh a c o m p reh e n s ive yet c o n c i s e Sp i ri t u al
i nt e rp ret a t i o n o f t h e B i b l e R e c o r d fro m
G e n e s i s t o R ev ela t i o n
T h e s e v o l u m e s a re d e s i g n e d t o i n clud e
t h e s p i r i t u al a n d p r a c t i c al le s s o n s o f t h e g re a t
p a ss a g e s o f t h e Bi ble i n s o f a r as t h ey b e ar
u p o n t h e c o mm o n li fe o f t h e p eo ple o f t o d ay
N

N OW
Vo l I
.

of

ro

the

Vo l I I
.

ro

Clo s e
e

of

to the

C ro ss i n g

of the

R e d Se a

m t h e C ro ss i n g

Th
III
.

C r e at i o n

the

R e d Se a

to the

Vo l

R EA D Y

the

L i fe

of

D av i d

Go sp el by M att h ew

VO TI O NA L H 0

TH TH E B I B
THE G O SPEL BY MATTHEW

BY

M I L L ER D D
,

1 948

C o pyr igh t ,

G E O R GE H

9 09

D O R A N C O M PA N Y

GEN ER A L P R EFA C E

T H ER E are two methods of studying the B ib l e One

i s, verse by verse, giving close thought to every
W ord, even lo ok ing into etymology and gr a mma t i
c a l construction , s o that the exact se nse o f the text
may be learned
Such study is important M any
r ich shades of meaning are often revealed by i n t el l i
gent and scholar ly exegesis C ommentaries that
take us over the B ible in this microscopical way are
v aluable We need every p ar ti c le of l ight on the
Scriptures we can get
Then another way of studying t h e Bible is in
order to get fro m it practical lessons f or our own
daily common life Wha t d oes the passage teach
us ? What Divine instruction havewe i n it for our
I t is the latter purpose that i s in mind in
s elves ?
this b oo k It is not a commentary in the u sual
sense
It is n ot an exegetical study of the Sc r ip
tures that is pro p osed N o textual criticism is
given There is no discussion of questions of date s ,
o f l ocalities , o f authorships , o r arch aeologi cal
re
s ea rches
Its single aim is to suggest some o f the
.

Vi

GE NE RAL P R E FA CE

spiritual a n d practical lessons whi ch may be gath

ered from great passages
Th e boo k does not attempt to cover every chap
ter ; to do this would make it altogether too long
it dea ls only with what appear t o be leading and
representative portions of the B ible
It is a book for use in the inner chamber where
life receives its impulses for conduct, for duty, for
ser vice, and for devotion Th e B ible is a very a h
cient book , but it is also a book for t o day It
brings us face to face with God, and its teachings
are mea nt t o guide us in al l our ways
J R M
.

C ON TEN TS

CHA PT E R I
T HE W I S E

MEN

A ND

T HE

HI L D
M A TTHEW
C

11

CHA PT E R I I
JO H N,

TH E

FO

R E RUNN E R o r J E S U S
M ATTHEW III

CHA PT E R
THE BA PTI S M A N D T E MPTA T I O N
M ATTHEW 1 1 1

12

I II

J E SUS

or
1

7; N

1 2
.

I-

CHA PT E R I V
THE BE G I NN I N G

or

THE GA L I EEA N M I N I S TR Y
M ATTHEW 1 v 1 2 25
-

CHA PT E R
R

T UE B L

E S S E DN E S S

M ATTH E W

1 -1

C H A PT E R
S O ME LAW S

OF

T HE ! I N GD O M
M ATTHEW
vi i

V1}

7 48
-

II

iii

C ON T E N T S

CH A PT E R V II
A L M S GIVI N G A N D PRAY E R
M ATTHEW

CH

I.)

v1

A PT E R

W O R L D L I N E SS A N D T RU S T
M ATTHEW VI

to )

I II

9 34
-

CHA PT E R
THE G O LDE N R U L E

PA G

IX

M A TTHEW VII

12

CH A PT E R X
A S E A N D T RU E D I S CI PL E S HI P
M ATTHEW

F L

VI I

CH A PT E R
J E S U S T H E HE A L E R

29

XI

M ATTHEW VIII

CHA PT E R
TW O M I G H T Y W O R ! S

2- 1

XII
m

M ATTHEW V III

23 -34

CHA PT E R X I I I}
A

A R ALY TI C FO RG IVE N A N D HEA L E D

MATT H EW 1 x

86

I -I 3

CON T E N T S

CH A PT E R X I V
,

THE P O WE R OF FA I T H

r.

M ATTHEW

1x

A GE
93

8 - 34

C H A PT E R X V
THE M I SS I O N OF THE TWE LVE
M ATT H EW 1 x

1 01
.

35 ; x

CHA PT E R

5,

- 2
0
4 4

XV I

TH E ! U E S TI O N O F JO H N THE BAPT I S T
M A TTHEW 1 1 1

1 07
.

CHA PT E R X V I I
WA R N I N G

A ND

IN

VITA TI O N
M A TTHEW

1 14
x1

20-30

C H A P T E R X VIII
Two SA BEA TH I N CI DE T

N S

ta

M ATT HEW

x1 1

CHA P T E R
GR O W I N G H AT R ED T O J E S U S
M ATTHEW x 1 1

1 22

14

XIX
1 29

22 -3 2,

38 4 2
-

CHA P T E R X X
T HE

PARA BLE OF

HE S O WE R
M ATTHEW

I 37

x1 1 1

1 9 , 1 8 -23

CON T E N T S

CH A PT E R
THE PA R ABL E OF T HE TA R E S
M ATTHEW

XXI

PA G E
I4 3

X1 1 1

6
3 43

24 -30 ,

C H A PT E R X X I I:
I TU R E S OF THE ! I N GD O M
M A TT HEW

P C

x1 1 1

49

56

63

70

7S

4 4 52

1
3 33 ,

CHA P T E R X X II I
THE D EAT H OF J O H N THE BA PTI S T
M ATTHEW X IV

12

CH A PT E R X X I V

THE M U LTITU D E F E D
M ATTHEW X IV

21 ; xv. 29 -39

C H A PT E R

X XV

J E S U S W A L! S O N T H E S E A

M A TT HEW

X IV

22-3 6

C HA PT E R X XVI
THE CA NAA N I TI S H W O M A N
M ATT H E W X V

2 1 -28

CHA PT E R X XV II
P ETE R S

CO

N FE SS I O N

181

M ATTHEW X VI

28

CHA PT E R X X V III
THE TRA NSFI GURATI O

PA GE

M ATT HEW X VII

8,

1 4 -20

C HA PT E R X X I X
A

LESS ON O N FO R GI V

E N E SS
M ATT HEW X VIII

35

21

C H A PT E R X X X
J ESUS O N TH E

WA Y

To

J E RU S A L E M

M A TTHEW X I X

(C

2,

26

C H A PT E R X X X I
T H E LABO RE R S

IN

TH

E VI N E Y A RD
M ATTHEW x x

-1

CHA PT E R X XX II
JE SU S N EAR I N G JE RU SA L E M

M ATT H EW X X

7 34
-

CHA PT E R X XX I I I
J E S U S E NTE RI N G JER U SA L E M

M ATT H EW X X I

C H A P T E R X XX I V
TW O

PA RABLES

OF

JU

DG M E N T
M ATT HEW XX I

33 4 5
-

a.

21

x ii

CON T E N T S

C H A PT E R X XX V
I

T HE !

I NG

S MA RR IA GE

EA ST
M A TTHEW XX II

PA G E
23 5

-1

C H A PT E R X XX V I
T H R EE

! U E STI O N S

24 1

M ATT H EW XX II

34 4 6

2 2,

CH A PT E R X X XV I I
T HE L E SS O N

OF

WATCH FU L N E SS

{03

M ATTHEW XX IV

2
3 51

CH A PT ER XX X VI I I
TII

WI S E

R GI NS
M ATTHEW XX V

A N D FO O LI H V I

01

'

-1

C H A PT E R X XX I X
A E NT S
M A TTHEW

THE PARA BLE O F THE T L

XXV

CH A PT E R
T HE

LA S T

JU

DGM E N T

A N O I N TI N G OF

4 30

XL

'

M ATT H EW XXV

CH A PT E R
T HE

31

46

X LL

J E SU S
M A TTHEW XXV I

24 7

CON T E N T S

ii i

CH A PT E R X LI I
TH E

LA S T

S U PP ER

M ATTHEW XX VI

7 30
-

CHA PT E R X L I I I
P

ETE R S D E N I A L

28 7

M A TTHEW XX VI

31

6
3 5, 9 75

CH A PT E R X L I V
J E S U S I N G ETH S E M A N E

29 5

M A TTHEW XX VI

C H A PT E R
TH E T R IA L OF J ES U S

6
3 56

X LV

M ATT H EW XX VI

57 68
-

CHA P T E R X LV I
T HE CRU CI FI X I O N

308

M ATT H E W XX VII

5 50
-

C H A P T E R X LV I I
TH E R E SURR E CTI O N

r.

M ATT H EW X XVI I I

1 -20

31 4

C H A P TE R I

T H E W I S E M EN

TH E

A ND

Ma t th ew I

R ea d

C H I LD

II

TH E Gospel of M atthew begins with

genealogy
Then come s t h e story o f t h e birth and infan cy
Jesus was b orn at Bethlehem This wa s the most

wonderful event of human history the coming of

the Son o f God in human esh into this world
L ove wa s born that night
True, there was love i n
the world before M others l oved their children
F riend loved friend Natural a ffecti o n wa s com
mon But the love which we k no w as Christian
love had its beginning in the birth of Jesu s Christ i:
S
I t is well for us to note however , that the historical

event o f Christ s birth is not that which sa ves us

H e must be born ag a in in us
a

Th u g h
o

I f He

t a th ou s a n d t i mes in B ethl eh em b e b or n
b or n in t h ee t h y s ou l i s a l l for l or n

Chr i s

s n ot

This greates t

gg
i

vent in hi story made little stir i n

the world U sually when heirs t o a throne are
born whole realms ring with joy But when the
e

Uu

'

der on the new born Babe that lay in the yo ung

r
mothe s arms but that was all Th e J ews h a d
been looking f or their Messiah , but did n ot recog
nise Him when H e came His ad vent wa s q uiet
There was no blare o f tru m pets
N oise and show
are n o t necessary accompaniments of p ower Th e
mightiest energies in this world are ofttimes the
quietest Th e grace o f God always comes quietly
A ngels minister no i selessly Th e most useful
Christians are not those wh o m ak e the m os t ado at
their work , but those who in humility and sim
l
i
i
c
ty, un conscious of any splendour in their faces ,
p
go daily about thei r work for their M aster
W e c a nnot understa nd just h o w the wise men
were led to Jeru s alem They said they saw the

K ing s sta r in the East and were led by it There

h a s been a great deal o f speculation as t o the char
a cter of this star , whether it was a natural o r a s u

r
n
r
e
t
appearance
But
no
matter
whatever
a
u
a
l
p
it was , it led these men to the feet of Christ Eve n
the faintest glimmerings of spiritual light should be
welcomed b y us a n d their guidance accepted W e
should not wait to k now all about Christ, and to see
Him in all His glory , before we set out to seek Him
W e s hould follow the rst faint gleam s , and then
a s we go on t h e light wi l l brighten , and we shal l
s ee more and more of Him , until at length we b e
hold H im i n a l l His bles sed beauty, face t o face
-

TH E

49

WI S E M E N

A N D TH E C H I L D

ourselves gone to the place where He i s , to

is ear ch for Him and to worship Him ?
g
Th e scene when the wise men found the Ch ild
king was very beautiful They s a w only a little

baby lying in a young mother s arms There was

n o crown on His head
N o glo r y gleam ed from His
face His surroundings were most unkingly, with
out pomp or brilliance Th e child did nothing b e
fore them to show His royaltyspoke no word,
wrought no kingly act o f power Yet the wise men
believed and worshipped Him Think how much
more we know about the Christ than they did It
is ea sy for us to nd kingly marks in Him Shal l
we be behind the wise men in our adoration ?
Th e wise men did more than adorethey opened
their treasures and o er ed gifts of gold, frankin
cense and myrrh w h ich they had brought all the
from
their
own home
T
h
e sincerity of their
way
or s h i p was thus attested by the costliness o f their
w
g
ifts Th e treasures they had brought were of grea t
gvaluethe mos t costly things they could nd the
,
best they had to give It i s not enough to give
Christ a homage that costs nothing He a sks for
our gifts, the o fferings of our love, our se r vice the
consecration of our lives Giving is the test of lov

ing the measure of our loving is what we are will

ing to give and sacrice
There are many ways of laying our o er i n gs at
the feet of Jesus Christ He Himself does not n eed
our money, but His cause ne eds it Th e extension
o f His k ingdom in this world at home and abro a d
We

MA TT H E W I

II

equires money, and this must be brought by His

followers Those wh o have no interest in the sav
ing o f others, in the sending of the Gospel to those
wh o have it not, have not themselves really t a s ted
o f the lo v e o f Chri st
r

CH A P TE R I I
J OH N ,

T H E FOR E RU N NE R OF

R ea d

w I II

a tth e

J E S US

1 12
-

TH E tim e of John s coming was not accidental

It

was in those days

that i s , when Jesus was still
l iving in Nazareth J esus was now ab out t o begin
His public ministry and John was ready to go b e
fore Him to prepare the way for Him Every man
is m a de for his o wn time and work John wo uld

not have tted in at any other date I n the world s

hi story
John is not a very attractive person to our mod
ern Christian eyes He appears harsh , rugged and
stern , a n d we thi nk of gentleness and k indliness a s
ideal trai ts in a beautiful life B ut there is need

for stern rugged men in Christ s kingdo m a s well

for kindly, tender hearted men Th e storm has
its mi nistry as well as the sunshine, winter i ts mis
sion as well as summer John the B aptist his wo r k
as well as J ohn the beloved disciple

John came a man , sent from God, a man with

s
es
a mes age
He preached in the wildern s not in
the temple courts, nor in the synagogues, but away
,

MA TT H E W

1 12
-

men and

from the c ommon haunts o f

the p eop le

ocked to hear him Th e burden of J ohn s preach

This is not the
ing was in one wo rd
Gospel but it i s a call which goes before the Gospel
We must repent before we can receive forgivenes s
We are in d anger o f making reli gi on to o easy a
matter, and o f being altogether too pa tient and
tolerant with ourse lves Christ does not come to
an unrepentant hear t We must make sure, too,
that we d o thorough work in our repenting R e
n
e
n
f
t
a
c
is
not
merely
a
little
twinge
remorse
e
o
p
over somethin g wrong It is not simply a burst of
tears at the recollection of some wickedness Nor
i s it s hame in being found ou t in some meannes s ,
uncleanness , or dishonesty Confess and turn fro m
your s ins, is the mea ning of the call R epentance is
the revolution o f the whole life Sins wept o v er
must be forsaken and given up R epentance is a
change o f heart, a turning the face the other way
It is well for us to make diligent ques t and be sure
that we aband on the wrongd oing we deplore that
we quit the course we r egr et, that we turn away
f rom the sin we confes s
H e who bewails a sin and
confesses it, secretly intending to return to it again ,
h a s no good ground t o hope that he is forgiven
Th e k ingdom of heaven was at hand , J ohn de
cl a r ed
W hat did he mea n ? He did not mean

heaven , but a life on the earth in which heaven s

k ingdom ruled Th e preacher meant that t h e K ing
They
h ad come and was about to declare Himsel f
were to repent t o be ready t o receiv e Him W hen
.

ia

JO H N , TH E FO R E R U NN E R

OF

JE S U S

we pray, Th y kingd om co me, we ask that heaven s

r ule an d heav en s life may come into our hear ts,

our homes, our lives, our community
J ohn wa s n ot as anxious to have his name blaz
o u ed before men as some p eople are He was spoken

of and S peaks of himsel f as the voice o f one crying

in the wilderness
Th e B ible does not trouble to

attach men s names t o every little piece of work

they d o It matters little whether we are men
t i on ed or \ n ot in connection with the things we do
f or the M aster
It is just as well to be an anony

mous voice, speaking well for Christ as to be

kno wn a s some famous doctor A t least the Chris
tian worker who alway s strives to k eep hi s name
before pe ople lacks somewhat a t least of the
mind that was in Christ

P art of J ohn s comm ission was to make straight

paths for Christ s feet, paths to reach men s hom es

and hearts He will never go in any crooked paths
and if we wish Him to walk with us we must see

that the paths are straight A ll sin s ways are

crooked That is what ini q uity means, ine quities ,
unequal ways Th e only straight ways a r e those

which run along the lines of God s commandments

Th e great railroads are continually getting the
curves o u t of their tracks, to make them straigh t,
that trains may run more rapidly They spend
millions in straightening their tracks A re there
any cro oked ways in our lives ? If s o, they should
be made straight, that the feet of Christ may r un
ea sil y and swiftly in them

MA TT HEW

1 12
-

Jo h n wa s a sensationalist He did not wear the

dress of other men He was like Elijah in his gar b
Th e old prophet was girt with a girdle o f l eather
about his loins ; the new prophet, t oo , had hi s rai

ment of cam el s hair and wo r e a leathern girdle

His food wa s that o f the very poor locusts

ro a s ted, boiled o r baked , and wild honey His pov
er ty was not a ff ected but was rea l , a symbol o f hi s
sincere unworldliness He was sent fro m God,

God s mes senger, not man s

John did not spare the people to whom he
preached A mong his hearers were the great men
of the nation , but as he looke d into their faces he
k new that their hearts wer e full o f sin , and he
called upon them to bring forth fruits worthy o f
repentance They mus t prove by putting away
their sins that their confession was genuine It
will not be enoug h to tell people we are Christians

they will wait t o s ee the evidence o f it in ou r

l ives I f a man , hitherto living an evil life, uni tes
with the church on Sunday a n d goes back M onday
mo rning to h i s worldly ways , will his neighbour s

credit his Sunday s prof ession ? Th e heart i s the

important member in a ll spiritual life, but the
hea rt makes the life ; and i f the life be evil , the heart
has not been c h anged Th e way to p rove that we
have really repented is rea lly t o repent, and then
the fact will speak for itsel f
Thr ongs ocked t o hear the grea t preacher o f the

wilderness
Jerusalem , and all Judea, and all the

region round abo ut th e Jordan

C on f es sion of s in
.

10

OF JE S U S

J O H N , TH E FO R E R UNN E R

was t h e gate o f admi s s ion to bapti s m B apti s m

meant cleanness its necessity implied uncleanness,

but the after life was whi te
B ut John saw some coming for baptism whose
sincerity he had reason to doubt Some of them
thought they could get into the kingdom of heaven
on their genealogy They belonged to the family
B ut
o f A braham , and thought this was su fcient
J ohn assured them that they must have more than
good ancestry to c ommend them God , he told
them, could not be mocked Th e ax was lying at
the root of the trees to cut down every one on which
fruit was not found Th e picture is v ery striking
A n ax leaning against a tree implies warning and

al s o patience delay to s ee if the tree will yet prove

fruitful B ut the delay i s not to be forever Th e

a x at the tree s root suggests also, thorough work

not pruning, merely, to make the tree more fr uit

ful the time for that is past but judgment We

are the trees If we are fruitless and us eless, not
living up to our privileges and opportunities , not
lling well our place in the world , the a x i s lying

beside us , war ning us that only God s patience

s pares us , and the t ime for cutting do wn will soon
be at hand
Th e humility of John appears in all the story o f
his life He claimed no greatness Th e coming of
throngs to his preaching did not turn his head He
kne w the secondary importance o f his part i n the
workh e bapti s ed only with water and water could
clea nse onl y the outside Th e real work would b e
.

'

C H AP TE R

III

TH E BAPTI S M A N D TEM PTA TI ON OF J ESUS

R ea d
'

TH E beginning

M a t thew I I I

1 3 to I V , 1 1
.

of

Chr ist s ministry was marked by

t wo i mportant events H i s baptis m a n d H i s temp
t a t i on
There were thirty silent year s , without any
manifestation of Divine power save the beautiful ,
sinless life which Jesus lived We must thi nk O f
those years, however, as part of the Incarnati on
Th e Divine character was revealed n o t only in mira
cles and heavenly teachings, but in sweet, b eautiful
living
John said that he was not worthy to unloose the
sh oes of the Coming O ne N ow wh en he rec ognises
this glorious O ne waiting before him to be baptised ,
he shr inks from the perfor mance of th e rite He

would have refused

I have need to be baptised

O f Thee, and comest Thou to me ?

But J esus i n

Su ff er it
s isted on receiving baptism from John
now : for thus it becometh u s to full a l l righteous
Th e w ords ar e full o f meaning
Th e event
n ess
was of great importance in the life of Jes us
For on e thing, it was the identifying of Him self
.

12

M A TT H E W III

1 3 TO I V , 1 1

13

with human ity He stood for us men a n d our r e

demption He had n o sin, but H i s people were s i n
f u l and He d ied for them
It was also the accept
ance by J esus of His Messianic work Th e years of
preparation were ended, and the time had come for
Him to b egin His public ministry Th e call came
bidding H i m turn away from His q uiet life and
manifest Himself to His peo ple We can think o f

Him shutting up the carpenter s sh o p and leavi n g

it forever Then He s tood before the B aptist at
the Jordan and was bapti s ed He had a glimpse
that hour of all that lay before Him in His Mes
s i a n i c ministry
Th e shado w of the cross fell upon
t h e green banks and on the o win g water, fell a lso
upon the gentle and lowly soul of Jesus a s He s tood
there He knew for what He wa s being baptised
the mission o f redempti on We d o not know to i
what we are devoting ourselves, what our co n s ecr a
tion may mea n , when we stand up and give o ur
se l ves t o God
In a cer tain sense we go forth in
the dark Yet we may trust God with the guidance
o f o u r lives an d should devot e ourselves t o the wi ll
of God without question or condition
John obeyed the wi s h of Jesus and baptised Him
Th e baptism of Jesus became the occasion o f a Di
vine testimony to His Sonship L uke tell s u s that
as He was being bapti s ed He prayed , a n d as He
prayed the heav en s were opened unto Him P rayer 1
brought d o wn upon Jesus the Holy S p irit This

W a s Heaven s answer t o Christ s c onsecrati on This

wa s the D ivine anointing for His public mi nistry
.

'

1 4s

B AP TI S M AN D T E MP TA TI ON OF JE S U S

Instead of a horn of oil poured upon His head, the

mere emblem of grace, He received all the fulness
Th e S pirit came in the form of a
o f the S pirit
dove It is usual t o thi nk of the dove a s in its
nature in some way a symbol o f the c haracter and
disposition o f the Spirit Dr Ho rton q u o t es an

o l d commentator :
Th e bird ( the d ove ) i s a lover
o f men and bears ills patiently ; for, robbed o f its
yo ung, it endures and lets the robbers approach it
just the same ; it is the purest of crea tures and de

light s i n sweet odour Th e rst mention o f the dove

in the B ible is as a messenger of good news, bea ring
an ol ive leaf A n o l d legend relates that when
es u s wa s dying a dove s a t on the c r o ss above His
hea d and the legend has been interpreted to mean
that even after the blo od of the L amb of Go d was
given t o redeem the world, it is needful that t h e

Spirit s h all come to soften men s hearts and incline

them to yield to God
There was another manifestation at the bapti s m
r s t, the open heavens, s econd the descendi ng of
the Spirit, then a voice Th e voice was the testi

mony of the F ather to H i s Son

This is M y b e

loved S on , in who m I am well pleas ed

F rom M at

thew s acco unt it would seem that the vo ice spo ke

to the people, decl a ring t o them that J esus was the

M essiah
F rom L uke s Gospel it would appear
that the words were spoken t o J esus Himself, as

suring Him of His mi ssion and of the Father s

i
r e in
T
e
Him
his
was
the
re
l
the
inner
l
u
a
a
s
,
p
z
'

M ATT H E W III

13

TO

IV , 1 1

15

meaning of the baptism o f Jes us F rom this time

His consciousness of M essianic authority was clear
A fter t his came the temptation I t wa s n eces
sary that Christ S hould be temp t ed before He o i
f er ed Himself as the R edeemer of the w o rld
Th e
rst A dam was tried in Eden and fai led Th e s ec
o n d A dam must also be put to the test before he
could go forth as L ord o f men Several reasons
may be suggested why He must be tempted One
wa s because He was human and must meet every
human experience His tempta tions were re al

H e su ff ered being tempted

A nother reason was
that until He had met and overcome the tempter
He was n ot ready to o er Himself t o men as a
Th e Spirit is not
s trong and victorious S a vi o ur
the tempter, but it is s a id expres s ly that Jesus wa s
led by the Spirit, driven , M ar ks sa ys, t o be tempted
He must be tried tested, proved before He went
forth to His M es sianic work We kn o w n ow th a t
Christ i s a bl e t o deliv er us out o f th e h ands o f
Sata n and to defend us a gainst his ercest as s aults
But if He h a d not Him s elf been put t o the test, i n
all points tempted like as we are, yet witho u t s i n ,
we could not have had this perfect condence A n
other reason why Jesus was te mpted was that
might understand from p ersonal experience the

ture and power of His people s temptation s

thus be able to sympathise wi th them in the
gles I n the Epistle to the Hebrews we
that because of His earthly experience of
.

1 6 B AP TI S M AN D T E M P TA TION OF JE S U S
.

i
t
on
g

He can now in heaven be touched with the

ii
n g of o ur i n r mi ti es
i
ee
g
There are practical l es sons we may learn from

this n a rrative o f our Lord s temptation One is

that Satan ti mes his temptations to o ur hours of
He does
t wea k n es s or o ur periods o f special stress
n o t tempt us with somethi ng we do n o t want, b u t
with something that app eals to our cravings at the

time Jacob could not have bought E sau s birth

right f or a thousand m es s es o f po ttage if E s au had
n ot been hungry that
day Satan watches, and
W hen he nds us exhaus t ed and wea r y, he tak es a d
vantage o f o ur condition He comes to the b oy
when he is lonesome and homesick , te mpting h i m t o
3 s eek companions that will ruin h i m
Jesus was hungry afte r His long praying a n d
fasting, and Satan tempted Him to u s e His Divine
power t o turn s to nes into bread M any t emp t a
t ions come to people who are hungry
They are
tempted to be dishonest, to take employment that
is sinful , or in some other way to sell them s elves
to get bread We need t o be watchful aga inst the
tempter always, but especially i n the times of our
weakness and craving
Why would it have been wrong for Jesus to ex ert
?
H i s Divine power to provide bread for His hunger

?
Is it wrong t o feed one s hunger Jesus afterward s
made bread by miracle to feed the h unger of thou
sands Why would i t hav e been a s in for Him to
supply bread i n this supernatural way for Himself
?
wh en He was h un gry
F or one thing, it wo uld

M ATT H E W III

17

1 3 TO IV , 1 1
.

h av e been rece ivi ng directi on from the Evil One

i nstea d o f from His F ather A nother rea son was

that He was in this world to liv e as men live If
He had used His Divine power to hel p Hi ms el f over
the hard points of human experience, He would not
have understood our l ife for we c a nnot d o thi s
3
Therefo r e, He never wrought a miracle for Himself
He met life just as we must meet i t enduring hun
ger, thirst, weariness, p ai n, wrong, withou t h aving
recourse to supernatural power
Still further, it
would have been distrusting His F ather for Him
to mak e bread o f the stones He wa s under the
Div ine care, and God had given Hi m no command
to turn stones into bread He must wait till His
F ather provided for His hunger

Th e answer of Christ to Sat a n s temptation i s

very suggestiv e He said that m an shall n ot live
by bread alone, but by e v ery word o f God Our
physical wants are not our only wa nts Sometimes

men ex cuse their s in by saying, Well , I must live,

as if hunger excused t heft o r fraud But it is not
true that we must continue t o live, or that l i vm g
is in itsel f the best thing for us It is tru e, h o w
i

ever that we must obey God s commandments and

do His wi l l We would better a n y day s tarv e than
commit even the sm al lest sin to get food Getting

bread should not be our rst object in li vm g i n n

deed, it is not our business at all L ife s rst d uty i,

is to Obey every word o f God , and then Go d will
provide for o ur wants
Th e s econd temptation was to p resum pti on
Th e
.

18

B A P TI S M AN D T E MP TA TI ON OF JE S U S

tempter ask ed Christ to throw Himself down fro m

the pinnacle of the temple , quoting a word from a n
o l d P salm to prove that He would not be hurt, but
that God would take care of Him Thus , the
tempter whispered, He would prove t o the people
that He wa s their M es siah What would have been
?
wrong in this
J esus said it would have been
tempting God If the F ather for any reason had
commanded Him to leap fro m the pinnacle into th e
street, then He could have claimed the promise of
protection But i f He had thus accepted th e s ug
gestion of the tempter, the promise would h ave been
v oid
We cannot claim protection in danger which
we enter without the Divine bidding Only when
God sends us and guides us do we h a Ve the Divine
shelter about us
Th e third temptation was the boldest o f all
Christ had just entered upon His public mi n i s try,
and at the en d o f it He s a w the cros s Satan s ug:
gested to Him the worldly way of honour and power
t
i n s t ea d of the lowly way o f su ffering , sacri ce and
,
This temptation Satan uses c on
i shameful dea th
t i n u a lly with men
He shows th em vision s o f

wealth, o f world ly success, and say s : N ow this all

may be yours I will give it all to you True, you
must give up some of your old notions You must
get over so me o f your scruples
B ut throw thes e
away and this door i s open to you , and s ee where

the path leads to all yon splendour and brilli a nce

You will go to P arlia
Y o u will be a millionaire

ment Y o u will have all the pleasure you want

.

C H APTER I V

TH E

BE GI N NI N G

R ea d

O F T H E G ALI L EA N M I N I STRY

Ma t th ew I V

1 2 25
-

M atthew s Gospel the story of the r s t months

of o u r Lord s public ministry is omitt ed S everal

chapters of J ohn s Gospel come in between verses

Th e m i s
1 1 and 1 2 of M atthew s fourth chapter
sion of J ohn the B aptist was to go before Christ
an d prepare His way
When he had done this , i n

t r o d u ci n g Him to the people, J ohn s work was

real ly en d ed B ut he continued to preach for some
months until he was arrested by Herod and ca s t
into pris on Then it was that Jesus went into
Galilee Why He did this we are not told Some

suppose it was to avoid John s fate but this

scarcely seems a sufcient reason Indeed , in Gali
l ee he would be n earer to Herod than in Jer usalem
Is it not more likely that it was just because J ohn
was now shut u p in prison a n d his voice silenced
that J esus went to Galilee ? J ohn had spoken of
Jesus c oming after him, and He came at once and
began to s peak
He dwel t in Cap er naum A t that time Caper

IN

20

MA TTH EW

21

I V , 1 2 25
.

nau m wa s an important city on the Sea o f Ga l ilee

N o w nobody kno ws certainly what its site was It
was a city of wonderful privilege F or a long time
Jesus made His home there It was ex a l ted t o
heaven in thus having the S on of God wal k on its
s treets , speak His blessed words to its p eople and
,
do His works o f mercy a n d lov e in its homes o f
s n er i n g and sorrow
B ut in s p ite of all thi s hon
o ur and favour sh o wn to Capernaum
Jesus
was
,
r ejected there
Matthew tells us that it wa s in fulllm ent of
p rophecy that Jesus went t o Capernaum He wa s
needed there It was a region o f moral a n d spir
i t ua l darkness
It is such places that always draw
Jesus Human need in every fo rm appea ls to Hi s
compassion When men travel over the world th ey
usually visit regions in which they will see s cenes
B ut J esus was
o f beauty, o f grandeur o f wonder
in t his world to d o go od, to save the lost, t o change
wildernesses into gardens of ro ses, and He went
where there wa s the greatest need , the deepest d a rk
ness Churches sometimes mov e away from sec
tions of cities which h a ve been emptied of prosper
ous homes and the attractions o f fa s hion Wh at
ever may be said o f the expediency of following the
drift of population with our church es , we need to
beware o f abandoning decaying comm unities , o f
taking away fr om the p eople who remain the bles s
i ngs of t h e Gospe l Jesus did not go into Galilee
He wa s a
a s a S ightseer, but as a missionary
t eac h er come fr om God to tell th e peop le of the l o ve
.

'

B E G I NN ING OF GAL IL E A N MI N I S TRY

2%

God f or them Th e s a me word s were us ed of

J ohn the Baptist in d esc r ibing H i s ministry Yet
there was a great d i er en ce in the t wo men and in
their prea ching John sp oke s ternly a n d severely
He spoke of the re, the fan , the a x of th e punish
ment o f s i n Jesus came with gentle an d win
ning words

5
Yet His rst call , like John s, was to repentance
A ll men need to repent We never can reach the
gates of hea ven unle s s we repent Th e prodigal s on
had to rise and leave the far country, a n d walk

bac k all the painful way to his father s house, b e

fore he could be restored to favour and be at h o me
aga i n That is what every impenitent man must
do Th e rst step in coming to Christ is repent
a nce
We must be sure that we k no w just what thi s
word means S ome person s im ag ine that if they
are sorry for doing wrong they have repented But
sorro w for a wrong way d oes not take u s out of
that way Tears of p enitence wi l l not blot out si n ;
we must turn about and walk in holy paths R e
en
n
t
a
e is ceasing to make blots on the r ec ord , and
c
p
j
beginning to live a fair, clean , whi te life
I t was a familiar and homely s cene which Jesus
s a w one d a y as He was walking beside the s ea

He s a w t wo brethren
casting a net into the

s ea ; for they were shers

It is interestin g to no
tice the k ind o f persons Jesu s sought for His dis
ci p les
He did not look for great a n d fam ous men
He did not go up to the temple and gather abo ut
of

'

MATT H EW
Hi m ra bb i s and pries t s

IV

1 2 25
-

He wanted men who were

openhearted, read y to listen to the truth and believe

it, men who could be inuenced by Him for go od,
who m He could train in the ways of H i s kingdom
Jesus i s alway s looking for men wh o will bec ome
His disciples He has a grea t work i n hand , a n d
needs and calls f or helpers He wants those who
will believe His message He do es n ot take prej a
d iced men, men whose o pinions are so obstin a tel y
h el d that they will n ot listen t o His word s n or a c
c ept His teachings ; He want s teachable men He

does not choose tho s e wh o are wise in thi s wor l d s

wisd om , for they might n ot readi l y a ccept the wi s
d om of God whic h H e teaches
N or does He seek
i dler s
He go es a mong those who a r e busy in the
duty of the day He found a k ing f or Israel in a
He f o und a prophet
b oy who was keep i ng sheep
t o succeed Elij ah in a young ma n who was p lowi ng
He f ound a missionary f or I ndia i n a
i n th e eld
humble shoemaker , busy at h i s ben c h , rea dy f or the
Divine c a ll , unable ev er t o sa y N o t o God I f we

wo ul d be c hosen t o ta ke a p ar t i n C h rist s great

work we must seek to be read y f or i t, with hea rt
warm , mind open t o receiv e truth , an d r ea d y, for
a n y serv ice to whic h God may cal l us
F irst of all , they must go w i th C h ri s t Thi s
meant, in their case, leav i ng their busi ness an d a t
taching themselves to His h ousehold I t may not

mean that to us ordinarily we ar e to co nti nue i n

the cal li ng in wh i ch we are when we g ive our s elves
to H im B ut a l way s i t mea ns joinin g o urs elves to
.

244

B E GI NN ING

GAL I LE A N MIN I S T RY

OF

Him in heart a n d life It mean s the complete s ur

r endering o f the mastership o f our li v es
N o longer
are we o ur own ; we belong t o Him We a re to go
where He bid s us to go and do what He bids us
to d o W e a r e to think of His interest s, not of our
own There can be n o serving o f Christ, no doing

A part
o f His work , without rst being with Him

from M e he said, ye ca n do nothing

But with
Him, we are ready for any service, an y duty, any
work , a n d n o thing is impos s ible to us
F irst, they were to be with Him a n d then He
would make them shers o f men Th ey had bee n
shers of s h ; they were to give up their old calling
and take a higher o n e Th e lessons of patience,
quiet w ai ting and persistence which they had
lea rned in their d aily and nightly work on the s ea
would be o f u s e to them in their new duties They
were to s h in the dark waters o f s i n f or p erishing
men and s ave them, take them alive Christ would

tea c h them their n ew calling

I will m ak e you

shers o f men
I t was holy ser vice t o which He
called them , and calls u s He does not want us to
fo llow Him just for the joy of His sal vation and the

comfort of His friendship He wa nts il s to be His

that we may win others also to be His
Instantly these shermen dropped thei r tackle
and their nets, left everything and went away with
They were not a moment in de
th eir new M aster
ciding They loved Him , and they were most glad

to go with Him
They straightway left the nets

and followed Hi m
S ometM es the s neer i s h ea rd,
.

Th ey had little to leave !

True, i t was not much

in money v a lue Yet these nets and this shing

business were all they had It was by these that
they go t their living Now at the call o f their new
Master they gave up all , cut themselves o from
means of support, burnt their bridges behind them
and in simple O bedience and faith went with H i m
That is wh a t we should d o w h en we hear the cal l o f
Christ We should obey instantly , without ques
t i on i n g
N o matter h ow great t h e s acrice i n
v olved, we should mak e it cheerfu l ly for His s ak e
Though to obey cuts us o ff from ou r ordinary means
o f livelihood and leaves us without provision even
for t o morr o w, we should not hesitate Christ wil l
tak e care o f His serv ants when they a r e faithfully

doing His will Th e straightw a y is al so an i m

portant word in the sentence A great man y peo
ple are fore ver postponing duties When Chri st

ca lls , they say, Yes, t o morro w

But ev ery call

s hould be answered instantly

Get th i s s traight

wa y into all your obed ience

Th e charge never could be made again s t Jesu s ,

that He thought only o f men s spiritu a l need s a n d

neglected their b odily wan ts Continually we s ee
Him doing good in common w a ys and helping peo

ple in their c o mmon need s Here He i s teac hi ng ,

prea ching,
healing
He did n ot give g ood a d
v ice, exhort people t o be true and honest, and then
be indi fferent to t heir su ff erings He fed them when
they were hungry, opened the eyes of thei r blind,
cured thei r s i c k c hildren , hea led their d i s ea s es
.

B E G I NN ING OF GAL I LE A N MI N I S TRY:

26

'

A lways this is the law o f Christ s ministry He

cares f or o ur whole being Every trouble of ours
whatsoever, whether of bod y, mind, or soul , moves
i m with compa s sion
It is a great comfort to us to know that our L ord
is not i n d ier en t t o our diseases , that He would
use the m for our spi r itual benet, that He is ready
to give us the grace we need if we endure them p a
t i en t ly a n d submissively, and that He will hea l us
when His wise purp ose in our afiction h as been

accomplished Jesus is the great Healer H e is

continually healing all manner of sicknes s and d i s
ease among the people Wherever the Christian
missionary goes, the hospital is set up alongside the
chapel In our c hurch work we should think of

men s bodies as well a s of their souls, if we would

wholly full Christ s mission and purpose

This picture of Jesus ought also to be a great
comfort to all thos e who a r e s u er i n g He is go
ing about everywhere healing Is He a n y les s
s trong now than He was then ?
D oes He l ov e us
less than He l oved the sick people in Galilee ? Will
: He not heal us, to o, in the way that is best ? In the
sic k roo m o f every C h ristian Jesu s sits to give
cheer Th e s u er er may k n o w as he prays for
healing, that his prayer will be heard a n d answered
S ickness h as a mission i t sets l essons for us to
learn I t is very unfortunate if one who i s sick
recovers an d i s not better in hea rt and life af ter
ward We should pray that the sickness may full
.

TRUE BLES SEDN ESS

Ma tth ew

1 -1 6

advice to L incoln about hi tching hi s

wagon to a star is the lesson Jesus sets for us in the
Beatitudes These b l es s ed s shine like stars far
above us in their brightness and heavenliness We
may s a y that we never can reach them and that
therefore there i s no use in our trying t o reach
them But the M as ter would h a v e us striv e after
the highest attainments
It has been noted that if the world would make a
o f beatitudes they would be just the rev erse of
set
those that J esus s poke None of the classes p r o
n oun ced bles s ed by H i m would be c a lled happy by
the world Th e poor in spirit, the meek, tho se who
hunger for goodness and holines s, are n ot the

l world s f avourites These are not the q ualities n a t

i ural men consider most worthy o f quest

Th e rst beatitude is f or the lowly ones

Bless ed

are the p oor in spirit

This beatitude i s n ot for
the poor i n an earthly sense, for o n e may be very
poor a n d yet proud ; and one may be rich in worldly

E ME RS ON S

'

28

M ATT H E W V

29

1 16
-

goods and yet be lowly in spirit in disp ositi o n }

i
Th e Bible everywhere praises hum ility God dwell s
wi th the humble Christ refers only once in the
Gospels to His own heart, and through the wi ndow

I am
He opens then it is this picture that we s ee

To be p o or in spirit
meek and lowly in heart
is to be rich toward God , wh ile pride o f heart is
spiritual pov erty Humility i s the key that o pens
the gate of prayer, while to the loud k n ocking of
pride there comes n o answer Th e kingdo m of
heaven bel ongs to the lowly They may wear n o :
earthl y crown , but a crown o f glory, un s een b y men,
rests upon their heads even here
Th e second beatitude is f or thos e who mourn
We do n ot usually regard m ourner s a s blessed We
pity them and think their condition unen vi able
Christ, however, has a special beatitude f or thos e
who a r e sorrowful P robabl y He means parti en
la r ly penitent mou rners, those who are sorr o wful
on account o f their sins In al l this world there is
nothing s o precious in the sight of God as the tear
o f contrition
N o diamonds or p earls shine with
su ch brilliance in His sight I t was Jesus Himsel f
who said there is joy in the p r es ence of the angels
of
God over on e sinner that repenteth Truly
blessed , therefore, are those who mourn over their
sins They ar e comforted wi th th e c om f ort o f

God s p ardo n and peace

But the bea titude refers al so t o tho s e wh o ar e i n
Blessing never i s nearer to us than when
s orro w
we a r e in affli c tion, if we s ubmi t ourselves to God i
,

30

TR UE B LE SS E DN E S S

in l o ve an d trust Some day we shall understand

that we have r eceived our best things from Heaven ,
not in the days o f our j oy and gladn ess, but in the
time of trial and a li cti on Tear s are lenses
through which our eyes s ee more deeply into heaven

and loo k more clearly upon God s face than in any

i other way Sorro w cleanses our hearts o f ea r th l i
ness and fert ilizes our lives We gro w the best
when clouds hang over us, because clouds bear rai n

and rain refreshes Then God s co mfor t is suc h a

rich and bless ed experience that it is well w orth
while to endure any sorrow in order to receive it
Th e third beat itude is for the meek
M eekness
Th e world calls it a
i s not a po pular q uality
craven spirit that leads a man to remain quiet uh
i, der insult to endure wrong wi thout resentment, to
n d then to give k i ndness in
be
treated
unkindly
a
g
i return
M en o f the world s a y that the disposi tion
o f meekn ess is unmanly, that it s h ows wea kness,
cowardice, a lack o f s pirit So it might be i f we
looked to the world for our ideal o f manhood But
we have a truer, a Diviner example for our model
of manliness than any that this world h a s set up
J esus Christ is the only perfect man who ever lived
in this world , and when we turn to His l ife we see
that meeknes s was one of the most ma rked qualities
of His character He was gentle of d isposition ,
never provoked, patient under wrong, silent under
r eproach When He was reviled , He reviled not
again When He s u er ed , He threatened not P os
s ess ing al l o wer, He n ev er lifted a nger to aven e
p
g
.

'

MA TTH EW V ,

31

1 16
-

a personal i nj ury He answ ered wi th tender love

al l men s wrath , and on His cross, when the blo o d

was owing from His wounds He prayed for His
murderers M eekness is then n o craven spirit,
since in Christ i t shone s o luminously Then it is
but an enr iching, grace
n o t an impoverishing
Th e meek shall inherit the earth
Th e fourth beatitude is for thos e who hunger and
thirst af ter righteousnes s This, stra ngely, is a
beatitude f o r dissatisfaction We know that peace
is promised to the Christian , and pe ace is calm r e
pose and satised restfulness Th e words hu n ger
a n d thirst appear to s u ggest experiences i n c o m
patible with rest and peace But when we think
more deeply, we see that spiritual hunger must
form a p ar t o f all tru e Christian experience Hun
ger is a mark o f health I t is s o in physical life ;
the loss of appetite indicates disea se S o a healthy
mi nd is a hungry o n e ; when o n e becomes satised

with one s a ttainments, one ceases to le ar n

In
S piritual life, too, hunger is health I f we become
satised with o u r condition of faith , lov e, obedience
and consecration we are in an unhappy condition
There is n o growth after that
O fttimes invalids
d ie a mid plenty, die of starv ation , n o t because they
can get no food , but because they hav e no appetite
There are many professing Christians who are
starving their souls in the mi dst of s piritual pro
v ision , because they have n o hunger There i s
nothing for which we should pray more ea rnes tly
than for spiritual longing and desire
.

'

T RU E

32

BLE S SE DN E S S

Th e fth beatitude is for the merciful

Cruelty
1 s opposed to everything Divine and heavenly
A ll
that is unloving is condemned in the Scriptures
Blessing cannot come to the resentful , the un f or
giving, the v indictive, t o those who have n o s ym
pathy with di s tress , no hand to help human need

In our L ord s picture of the last judg ment, in the

twenty f t h chapter o f M atthew, those on the ri ght
hand are those wh o have been k ind, gentl e, pati e nt,
thoughtful , ministering to s u er i n g and want
Jesus Himsel f s et an example o f mercifulness His
miracl es were for the relief o f those who were s u f
.

W e must note i n this beatitude also that we

re

in life what we givethe merciful shall oh

tain mercy Th e unmerciful shall nd the gates
cl osed upon them when t h ey cry for help A b oy
s tood before a perpen di cular cra g , and wh en he b e
gan
t
o shout he heard the echo of his own voice
l
i W h en he spoke gently, a gentle voice res ponded
W hen he spoke angrily, he was answered back in
angry tones It is s o in life Those who sho w
k indness to others receive kindness in r etu rn
Those who are bitter selsh a n d cruel nd this a
l oveless world t o live in
Th e sixth beatitude is for the pure in heart
There
There i s no beatitude for anything unclean
is no room with God for anything that d eleth If
we would ent er heaven we must prepare for heaven
To a child who expressed a wonder how he
h ere
could ev er get up t o heaven , it was s o far a way, a
ceive

MA TT H EW

V,
.

1 -1 6

33

wi s e mother s reply was, Heaven must rst com e

down t o you ; heaven must rst c ome into your

heart
Heav en must rea lly be in us before we ca n
enter heaven Just as we become pure i n hea rt
are we m a de ready for the heav en ly life
B ut what is heart purity ? I t is n ot s i nles sness,
for none are sinless A pure heart must be a peni
tent heart, one that has been forgiven by Christ,
cleansed by His grace It is on e al s o that is kep t
pure by obedient living and close c o mmunion with
Christ A n essential part of true religion before

G od is, t o keep one s sel f unspotted from the world

It is an evil world in which we live, but i f we care
fully follo w o u r M aster, doing Hi s will , keeping our
hearts ever open t o the inuences o f the Di vm e
Spirit , we shall be k ept, Divinely kept, from the co r
r uption about us A s the lily grows up pure and
unstai ned am id the soiled waters of the bog, so does
the l o wly, loving, patient heart of a Christian re

main pure in the midst o f all th i s world s evil

Th e seventh beatitude is f or t h e pea cemak er s
Some peo
To o many people are not peacemakers
ple seem to delight in nding d i er en ces between
neighbours o r friends which they try not t o heal , but

to widen Christ s beatitude is f or those wh o seek

al ways to mak e pea ce When we nd t wo pe rsons
in danger o f being estranged by some mi s un d er
standing, we should seek to get them together and
prevent their falling ap a rt If we would be true
peacemakers, we must never be quar relsome or ea s
ily o en d ed
St P aul s ays that love i s n ot pro
.

W
6

T RUE B L E S S E D N E S S

3 4a

th a t i s, it does not take account o f l i ttle or

grea t hurts, but is patient and forbearing It i s a
great thing to be a peacem aker Of t h e pea ce

makers it i s s aid, They shall be called sons of

God

Th e eighth beatitude i s f or those wh o are perse

Some peop le avoid

cu t ed for righteousness sake
persecution by conforming to the world , by being
ver y car eful never to o en d the world B ut Christ
Ewants us to be loyal and true to Him whatever the
cost may be B lessing comes upon th o se wh o suf

fer persecution for Christ s s a ke St P aul sp oke

o f the wounds and scars he had received in p er s ecu
tion as marks o f Jesus , honourable decorations We
must notice however, that it i s when we a r e perse

cut ed f or righteousness sake that we get this beati

tude Sometim es people s u er for doing wron g,

but the blessing cannot be claimed in this case It

is when we do the will o f God a n d s u er for it that
we can claim the D ivine blessing
We are commanded to rejoice and be exceeding
glad when called to su ff er reproach a n d injury f or

Christ s sa ke It is not easy to d o this, although

many Christians have actually rejoiced in pain and
trial , s o strong was their faith Ignatius , on his
way to R ome to be thrown to wild beasts, wrote

exultantly, Now I a m beginning to be a di s ciple

now am I made the ne ou r , ground by the

teeth o f the wild beasts, to be the bread of God

In two striking gures J es us showed His d i s
ci pl es what they were to be in the world, h o w they
vok ed ,

'

CH A P TE R V I
.

S OME

R ea d

WE

LA W S

! I N GDOM

OF T H E

Ma t th ew V

1 7 26 ; 3 8 4 8
-

not to thin k o f Christianity as a new reli

gion, distinct fro m that o f the Old Testament
R ather, the o n e i s a development fro m the other
'

Jesus was careful to s a y, I came not t o d estroy,

but to full
Then He add ed, V erily I say unto
r
n
o
e
o
ll
heaven
and
earth
pass
away
jot
o
u
T
i
,
y ,
o n e tittle shall in n o wise pass away fro m the law,

till all thi ngs be accomplished

This i s the law o f al l life
N 0 particle of matter
i s ever destroyed Its fo r m may be changed , but
nothing o f it passes out o f existence A log of wo od
may be burned in the re, but it is not destroyed
S ome of it lies in ashes and some of it escape s into
the air in the form o f sm oke and steam and chemi
cal elements, but not a j ot o r a tittle of the wood
has been d estroyed A ll the wisdo m o f the ages
s till exists in the world
Th e songs men have sung,
the words they have spoken, ar e living in the hearts
and l ives o f our race O ur a ge i s the inheritor o f
a l l p ast ages
Chri s tianity holds all that wa s good
are

36

MA TT HE W

37

V , 1 7 26 ; 3 8 4 8
-

true and beautiful in Judaism Jesus de

stroyed nothing o f the religion of Mos es He was
the fulllment of a ll the prophecies What went
be fore Him was blossom ; in Him the fruit a p

i
t
r
e
d
h
e
blo
som
not
d
estroyed
onl
y
e
a
T
s
a
s
w
p
fell O ff because it had fullled its purpose
Th e Old Testament i s not antiquated and o ut
gro wn I t, too is the word of God Wherever we
nd Divine truth we a r e to accept i t O f co urse,
there is a di ff erence i n the relative i mport a n ce o f

Scripture words there ar e least an d there a r e

gr eatest comm a ndments , but he who breaks the
least has grieved God and sinned against Him He
wh o obeys every word of God , however small it ma y

seem , has lifted himsel f up in the ran k of God s

children
Th e Sermon on the Mount teaches the spiritual
i ty o f all true obedience Th e s cribes and P h a ri
sees were great sticklers for the letter of the la w,
but they went little far ther They mi s sed its sp irit

They interpreted Thou shalt not k ill literally as

condemning murder, but they did not thin k o f a p
plying i t to murderous thought s Jesus spoke

startlingly, But I say unto you , that every on e who

i s angry with hi s brother shall be in d anger of the

That is, anger is murder

j udgment
S o serious
is this interpretation o f the law that J esus s ays we
cannot truly worship God while we have bittern ess
d welling in our heart
Hatred m ust give place to
love when we sta nd before Go d If we have wronged
a noth er, a n d the hour o f pr a er c omes w i th th e
y
and

S O M E L AW S OF TH E ! I NGDO M

38

wrong yet unrighted , we must stop before the altar,

i nterrupting our worship until we have gone to the
on e we have wronged and confessed and been for
ow s e rious
h
iv
en
P
erhaps
we
do
not
always
think
g
a n o en s e to God an unfo rgiving spirit is
! uar
r el ing is n ot only ethically unlov ely ; it is al so wick
ed ly a n d spiritually evil
A cts are bad but thoughts are taken note o f in
the presence o f God There is s in in a lustful look
as well a s in an unchaste act Our thoughts have
mora l quality Jesus enters into particulars and
names certain sins which His disciples should c a re
fully avoid Th e Christian life should be without
spot o r blemish One lesson He taught was rever

ence in speech
I s a y u nto you, Swear not at all
He does n ot refer to oaths taken in th e co urts o f
l a w, but to profanity in speech
M en were in the
habit o f s wearing by heaven , by the earth , by Jeru
s alem, or by their own head, by so mething , alw a ys
There is much irreverence in the conversation of
many people in our d a y Thos e wh o indulge in it
often do it almost uncon s ciously Some peopl e

far too many are recklessly profane Th e pro

f a n i ty one hears in many places , even from the
mouths o f boys, is shocking But there are man y
who thin k they never use profanity whose speech
is full o f such forms of oaths a s Jesus here refers to
We need to guard against every form o f profanity

in our speech, however veiled it may be Hallowed

by Th y n a me, we s a y in the L ord s prayer ; we

s hould be carefu l that God s name i s always hal

.

M ATT H E W

V,
.

26

39

38 4 8
-

lo wed in our thought a n d in ou r convers ati on also ,

that it is never us ed lightly o r irreverently
Jesus made a p l ea also for simplicity o f speec h

Let your speec h b e, Y ea, yea ; Nay, nay : and what

so ever i s more than these is of the evil one

There
is a common tendency to exaggeration and over em
phasis in speech Many persons alwa ys try to sa y
things in a s t rong and emph a tic way They a r e n ot
c ontent to s a y yes o r n o and stop with that They
rarel y tell anything p recisel y a ccording to the bare
facts, but colour even the c ommonest hap penings
I t would be a great deal better if we would learn to
u s e simple words without exaggeration o f any k ind

S ome o n e says Th e m ore s wearing the more ly

I t would be well if we wo uld remember th a t

ing
i n speak ing we are always overh eard by One to
whom the least shade o f untruth i s repulsive, and
who i s grieved by a n y profanity
It was the custom in the old days to return evil

f o r ev il, h urt f or hurt injury for injury

A n eye

f or a n eye, and a tooth for a too t h , was the l a w

It is the common la w yet with too m a ny p eo ple
Our hearts urge us to s eek revenge, and forg ivi n g
I n j ur i es I s n o t natural with us
It i s a l a w of th e
k ingdom o f heav en , which we a r e sl ow i n l earn i ng
Even m any wh o call themselves Chri stians claim

that they have a right t o return evi l f or evil A

person who returns kindness for unkind nes s, who
do es an obliging a ct for on e that was di s obliging,
i s not commended a s a ma n ly man Th e almost
un iver s al fee lin g i s t hat an o ff en s e must b e pun
.

S OM E L AW S OF TH E ! I NGD O M

40

i s h ed

But that is not the way Jesus teaches us

to d o when we have been wronged

I say unto
you , R esist not him that is evil : but whosoever
smiteth thee o n thy right cheek , turn to h i m the

other also
We are to endure wrong patien tly
We a r e to forgive those who have injured us
This is one of the hardest lessons we ha ve to learn
in becoming Christi a ns and in the c ultivation o f
the Christian graces It is h a rd when others treat
us unjustly to keep on loving them and to be rea dy
any moment t o do them good Y et that is the way
J esus Himself did, and He wants us t o be like Him
He su ff ered wrongfu lly, and went on loving He
taught that we should forgive those wh o have i n
jured us When one of His disciples ask ed Hi m
how often they should forgive others and suggested
seven times as a fair number , Jesus told h i m that
not seven tim es but seventy times seven , they should
forgive That is, they should never cease t o for
give
Th e word of Jesus which tell s us th a t when one
compels us to go a mile with him to sho w him the
way and give him help on his journey, we sh ould go
two miles, is s uggestive o f the spirit of all true
Christian life Some people d o the b est they pos
They try to carry o u t the
s i b l y can do for others
teaching of love in a very literal fas hion B ut they
never go an inch farther than they are required t o
go , they never pay a penny more th a n the l a w de
mands Jesus said , h owever, that we should culti
r
an
h
t
religion
doing
m
we
are
o
e
e
vate th e t
i
l
n
I
,
.

MATT H E W

V , 1 7 26

41

38 4 8

xpected to d o, going farther in helping others than

we are req uired to go L ove should always abound
in us We are never to measure and cal culate our
k indness to others, giving just s o much and no more
Ge nerosity is to be t h e l a w of all our life A ny
b ody can go one mile with an other but we a r e to do
more than others and go two miles
Th e law of love to n eighbours was ta ught i n the
Old Testament, but, like other D ivi ne teachings
which were not easy, the people made thei r own
glosses over the Divine commandment, chan ging
the sense to suit their own natural feeling s They

i nterpreted this a ncient law thus, Thou shal t l o ve

They de
t h y neighbour, and hate thine enemy
ned neighbours to include only certain plea sant,
congenial people, people wh o were k ind to them,
people who m they l ik ed Jesus taught a higher

law
B ut I s a y unto you , L ove your enemies , and

pray f or them that persecute you

A c c ording t o
His teac hi ng our neighbour is any one wh o needs
o ur h elp
Th e parable of the Good Samari tan wa s

Christ s own i l l ustration and expl anation of th e

meaning o f the commandment t o love our neigh
bour It was a Jew wh o was hurt, and lay bleeding
by th e roadside It was a hated a n d despised S a
maritan who proved n eighbour to him , stopping o n
his way, a t much c ost to his own interests, carin g
for the man , nursing him , and providing a place in
which he might recover N o matter who i t may be
t hat needs a n y help , ministry or comfort from us
we a r e n ot to ask about his nationality whether h e
e

S OM E L AW S OF THE ! I NGD O M

42

has been a good friend to us in the past, or not , or

whether he belong s to our setwe are t o help him ,

because he is on e of God s children

Th e Divine example is referred to in enforcing
the lesson God is kind to the sinner as well a s to the

r igh te ous man

He maketh His s un to rise on the
evil and the good, and sendeth ra in on the ju s t and

the unjust When He nds any one in d istr ess He

d oes not a s k who he is
He imparts bles s ing t o all
alike Since God is patient with tho s e who wr ong

Him and neglect Him, if we are God s children

we must show the same spirit
Th e M aster thus sets the highest standard for H i s
followers It is not enough for them to be as g o od

a s other people a r e
they must be better
What

do ye more than others ? was His question Any

body can love those that love him A nybody will
salute those wh o s alute him graciously Th e Chris

tian is to d o more
Ye therefore shall be perfect,

as your heavenly F ather is perfect

We should

keep before us a lways the q uestion , What do ye

more than oth ers ?

Christ ian boys among their
mates and frien d s must not be content to live as the

world s boys d othey must do more than they do ,

they must be better than they are Th e Christian
carpenter must do his work better th an the carpen
ter who does not know Christ a n d follow Him Th e
Christian girl must be more gentle, more patient,
more thoughtful , more unselsh , more kind , than
worldly girls are, bec a use s h e belongs to Christ In

a l l life s a a i r s , we must remember that having

.

'

C HA P TE R VI I
A LM S G I VI N G A N D PRA Y E R

R ea d

Ma t th ew VL, 1 1 5
-

characteristic of the P harisees i n our Lord s

ti me that they s ought publicity and display for
their religious acts They made their prayers in
as conspicuous a way as possible so that the people
would observe them , mar k their devoutness and be
impressed with their fervour and their earnestness
This was one thing in which the di s ciples o f Jesu s
were told that their religion must di ff er from that
of the scribes and P harisees
They were to take heed not to d o their ri ghteous
ness before men This does not mea n that they

were not to be good before people they were t o

live righteously everywhere There are many Di
vine words bidding us t o be careful of our conduct
in the presence of others J esus Himself in this

s ame Sermon s a d ,
S o let your light shine before
i
men ; that they may s ee you r good works, and glor

i f y your F ather
We a r e to live all the while s o
that we s hall be blameless, that those watching us,
t o nd fault, s hall have no reason for s pea king
I T was

4 4.

M ATT H E W

VI

45

1 15
-

gai nst us W e are to show always to a ll men a n

example whi ch shall honour Christ
What is forbidden is , that we do our ri gh teous
n ess before other s in order to be see n of them
We
a r e to li v e f or the eye o f God , to get His praise
Some o f those who professed great dev outnes s i n

Christ s time, making much show o f piety in the

presence of men , were in their inner l ife c r uel , un
merciful , grasping and unholy Th e lesson Jesu s
ta ught wa s lowly humility, dev outn es s of heart, a
goodne s s which did nothing f or display, but wa s
always and everywhere true, f a i thfu l, genuine,
thi nking o nly of pleasing God
One special example in illustration of the l esso n
Jesus gives i s regarding the givi ng o f alms I t was
the custom of some of the people in those days to
give their alms very ostentatiously I f they did n o t
literally sound a trumpet ann ouncing their gifts,
they at least let all people know that they were con
tributing to the poor a n d h ow much they were con
tributing They wanted praise for their gen er os
ity Th e motive was, not to relieve distress, but

Jesus says they received

t o have glory o f men
thei r re ward That i s , they had the name o f being
charitable Their deeds were known a n d talked
about A nd the inference i s that they had n o oth er
reward They did n ot give their al m s t o please
God or because they cared f o r the p oor and s o they
had n o honour from God , and no love from men as
their reward
J es us tea c h es i n c ontrast, in a v ery em p hatic way,
a

ALM S G IVI NG AND P RAY E R

the t rue manner of giving alms

When thou
d oest alms , let not thy left hand kno w what thy
right hand d oeth : that thine alms may be in secret :
a n d thy F a ther who seeth in secret shall r ecom

pe nse thee
Th e lesson would seem t o be that our
doing good to oth ers should be, as far as possibl e,
absolutely in s ecret When others need our help in
their distress we are not to withhold it, but we are
We are even ,
n o t to speak to others o f what we do
as it were, not to let ourselves know of it We are
to give out of love to those who need to be h elped ,
not humiliating them by mak ing a s p ec tacle o f our
k indness Our giving , too, i s to be only for the eye
of God Then He wil l reward us and recompense
us
Th e l esso n i s a pplied stil l further to prayer

Wh en ye pray, ye sha ll n ot be as the hypocrites :

for they love t o stand and pra y in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets that they may be

They d o n ot pray t o God at all , and

s een o f men
their rea l desire is not t o receive blessings in a n
swer, but to have men think they are very devout
They have their rewardthat is, they get what they
seek for ; men s ee them We a ll need to guard
against the performance of our acts of dev oti on for

men s eyes and not for God s

J esus does n ot mea n to teach that we are nev er to
pray in th e presence of others P ublic prayer is a
d uty
What He is pressing is that we are n o t to
d o any reli gi ous act to h ave men s ee us and thin k
us religi ous W e are to pray to God on ly a nd our
.

M A TT H E W V I

47

1 15
-

prayer will receive His answer of love and grace

In all our life o f love and service the same rule
should be observ ed We should never seek honour
for anything we do We should shrink from praise
and publicity To s how consci ousness of our good
n ess and any worthy servi ce we have done is a
blemi sh W e should h ide away rather from praise
.

Of

men

F lorence Nightingale havi n g gone l i k e an a nge l

of mercy among the hospitals in the Crimea until

her name was enshrined d eep in ev ery soldier s

heart, ask ed to be excused from having her picture
ta ken , as t housands begged her to d o, that s h e might
d ro p out and be forgotten and that Christ alone
might be remembered as the author of the blessin gs
which her hand had distributed in His name

When thou prayest enter into thi ne I nner cham

ber , a n d having shut thy d oor, pray to thy F ather

Th e P harisees chose publ ic places as their pl a ces
o f private d evotion
They wanted people to s ee
how devout they were Jes us bids us guard against
a ll such display o f our religion
He teaches here
also the duty o f secret prayer We a r e to go away
a l one other persons a bout us d isturb our thoughts
Then we are t o shut the door to k eep out all the
worl d , that we may be entirely alone with God
He only is to hear us when we pray, and in Him
a lone must our dependence be
No one can a or d
t o leav e out o f his li fe the d a ily secret prayer
Jesus went O fttimes apart to meet with God
Th e form of prayer wh ich J es us gave H is di s
,

'

ALM S GIVI NG AN D P R AY E R

48
cip l es

was not meant as the only prayer they w ere

ever to us e, but a s showing the spirit in whic h they

should pray and the s cope of their re q uests

Ou r

This is the gold en gate

F ather who ar t i n heaven
of prayer I f we enter the temple at a l l we must

enter it as G od s children O f what open a n d lov

ing acc ess the name F ather assures us W e kno w

that He to whom we spea k has a: fath er s heart, a

'

father s gentleness, a father s y ea rning f or his child

A true earthly p ar ent withholds fro m his child
nothing that is good s o far as his ability goes God
withholds from His children nothing that is really
good W e s hould lea rn also fro m a little child
how to pray t o God We s hould come to H im in
simpl icity, with childlike cond ence, with u n ques
t i o n i n g trust, with yea rning love

Hallowed be Th y name To hallow is to honour,

t o make holy
I f we pray this pra yer sincerely we
will hallow the Divine name in our o wn hea rt , we
will pray with reverence and love Good Chri stian
people sometimes grow very car eless in speaking o f
God They become s o accustomed to using H i s s a
c red name i n prayer and conversation that they
utter it lightly, a s if it were the name of some f a
miliar fr iend A miner with black, grimy hand
l
a
m
m
lucks
pure
ower
from
the
ste
I
t
see
s
a
p
most a profanation t o touch that beautiful o wer
with th e soiled ngers B ut what shall we say to
our taking o n our unclean lips the holy nam e o f
God ? We should learn to hallow this blessed na me
Then we should hallow it i n o ur
i n o ur speech
.

M ATT H E W V I

49

1 15
-

l ife W e are God s chi ldren and we bear His name

We must take heed that in every a ct of ours , in o ur
behaviour, in o u r wh o le character a n d inuence we
s hould live s o tha t all who s ee us shall s ee in us
something o f the beauty o f God

Th y kingdom come
God s k ingdom i s where
God i s king In praying this petition we are t o
thin k rst o f our own heart Th e one place we can
surrender to God is our own life We cannot s ur
render o ur neighbour s heart to God A mother can
not ma ke God king in the heart of her child But
each one of u s is master in his own life and ca n

choose wh o shall rule in i t I n prayi n g Th y king

d o m come, our prayer mea n s nothing at all if it

d oes not rst o f all invite t h e Divine K ing t o b e
come o ur ki n g , to rule in us
Then the prayer
widens and we ask God to s et up His kingdo m in
our home, i n our community, then over the whole
world

Th y wi l l be done as in hea ven , s o on ea rt h

Some people always quote t his petition as i f i t
meant o nly submission to so me painful providence,
as i f God s will were alwa ys something t errible
They suppose it refers only to losing fri ends o r
money, to adversity o r calami ty, o r to being sick
But th i s is only a little par t
o r in some trouble

of its meaning It is for the doin g of God s will ,

not the su ffering of it, that we here pray O ur de

sire should b e always to let God s will be done by

us and in us It is easier , however, to make prayer s
like th i s for other p eo p le than for ourse lves W e

A LM S GI VIN G

50

AND P R AY E R

all th i nk o thers ought to do God s will , and we

do not nd it a di fcult prayer to make that they
may d o s o B ut if we off er the petition sincerely ,

it is a pr ayer that we ourselves may do God s will

as it is done in heaven We can pr a y it, therefore,
on ly when we are ready for implicit, un q uestioning
obedience

Then i t may sometimes it does mean the giving

up o f a s weet joy, the losing o f a gra cious friend ,
the s acrice o f s ome d ear presence the going in
s ome wa y of thorn s a n d tea rs
We should learn
always to make the prayer and then to hold o u r
l i fe c lose to the Divine will , never rebelling nor
murmuring, but sweetly doing or bearing what God
gives us to do or bea r

This seems
Give us this day our daily bread
a s mall think to a s k Why are we not taught to
pray for brea d enough to last a week , a month , o r
?
a year
I t s eems for o n e thing that J esus wanted
to teach here the lesson o f continual d ependence
He taught us to come t o God each morning with a

r equest simply for t h e d ay s food , that we might

never feel tha t we can get along without H i m even
for on e little d a y A nother l esson He wanted to
teach u s was that we should live by the day We

are not to be a nxious about to morrow s need s we

are to think only o f t o day s When to morrow

comes it will be ri ght to seek provision for it and
to take U p its cares a n d duties

F orgive us our d ebts, a s we also have forgiven

o u r d ebtors
Th e rst part o f this petition i s n o t
.

CH A P TE R V II I
W ORLDLI N E SS

A ND TRU S T

Ma t th ew VI

1 9 34
-

TH E Christian life is very simple if only we

under

principl e single hearted

tand i t I t has only on e

St P aul sta ted this principle
d evotion to God

when he said To me to live is Christ

Jesus

Seek ye rst His

s tates it here also when He says ,

k ingdom , and His righteousness

In our present passag e we have a whole scheme
To begin with, we must nd som ething
o f life
real a n d permanent to live for It concerns the

matter o f possessions Earth s banks are not a b s o

l utely safe, and if they were they are not eter
n al
We are immortal and we must nd a place

o f deposit secure f o r immortal years

La y not
up for yourselves trea sures upon the earth , where
moth and ru st consume, and where thieves break
through and steal : but lay up for yourselves treas
ures in heaven, wh ere neith er moth nor r ust d oth
consume, and wher e thieves do not break th ro ugh

n or s teal
How can we lay up treasures i n h eaven ? By l i v
s

'

52

M ATTHE W V I

53

1 9 3 41
-

ing for God , by committing our lives t o Jesu s

Christ, by spending our money for the glory of God
There are men who p o ssess little m o ney o r prop
er t y when they leave this world , but a r e rich i n
treasures laid up in heaven Pa ul had only the
c lothes he wore, a n o l d cloak and a few sacred
parchments, when his martyrdom came, but he wa s
rich beyond measure in glory There are mi llion
aires here wh o will be beggars in the other life, and
there are poor men here who will hav e an i n h er i
tan ce of glory in heaven

Ye
Single heartedness is the secret of true l ife

cannot s er ve God and mamm on

S ome people
see m t o think they can keep o n s afe terms with God
and at the same time maintain close relations wi th

the world Th e M aster s tea chin g here sho ws us

that it is i mpossible to be half God s and h a l f the

world s There is room for only one lord in our

life and we must s ettle who this will be I f we
be l ong to God the world i s o u r ser vant It seems
stra nge indeed that any on e with an immorta l soul

should be willing to have mammon m oney for

his god M oney may do much good and be a grea t
blessing i f it is used for God , b u t when a man gets
d own upon his knees to his money, cr a wl s in the
dust for its sake , and sell s his m a nho od to get it
it has o n ly curse for him One who truly serves
God cannot give money half h i s heart
God will
share a human heart with no other lord
A great many people are talking now about t h e
s ecret o f happy livi ng
Th e M aster gives it here
.

W OR LD L I N E SS AN D

54
'

TR U S T

A ux
unto you, Be not anxious
There is a great dea l of wor
i ety is very comm on
O ne
r yi n g in the world, even am ong go od p eople
does not meet very many who s e faces shine always
Th e majority of
W ith the light o f a per fect peace
Not many p ersons pass
f a ces sh o w lines o f care
undisturbed through all manner of experiences Is
worrying a s i n , or is it only an inrmi ty ? There
certainly a r e a great many cautions and war n ings
in the B ible against worrying
But h o w can we help it ? St P aul tells us h ow

to keep i t out of our life

In nothing be a n x

B ut how can we obey this counsel ? What

ious
shall we d o with the things that we would natura lly

worry about ? Here is the answe r : In everything

by prayer a n d supplication with thanksgiving let

That
your requests be made known un to God
i s , instead of worrying about matters that wo uld
naturally fret us, we a r e to put them out o f our

o wn hands into G o d s hands by prayer

Then we

have this assurance :

Th e peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall guard your he ar ts

and your th oughts in Christ J esus

It will help us with our lesson i f we look care
fully a t the connection o f the words as t hey stand

in the Gospel
Ye cannot serve God and ma m

mon Therefore I sa y unto you, B e not anxi ous

That is , anxiety comes from serving mammon We

s a y we are God s children , yet when mammon seems

to be fai ling then we begin to wo r ry That is,
we trust mammon more than we trust o ur F ather

Therefore I

s ay

MATTHEW V I

55

1 9 3 4:
-

W e feel sa f er when mamm on s abundance lls our

hands th an when mamm o n threatens to fail and we

have only God If we tr uly served God only, we
should not be afraid, thoug h we have nothi ng of
mammon , not even bread for to morrow

Jesus illustrates His teaching : B ehold the b i rds

of the heaven ,
your heavenly F ather feedeth

them
Elsewhere Jesus says that not even a
sparrow i s forgotten by our F ather Th e sparro ws
a r e the most useless a n d the most troubl eso m e of
all birds You can buy t wo o f them f or a farthing
Yet God wa tches over them, and not one of them
shall fall to the ground without His pe rmission If
God so cares for quarrelsome s p arrows , He will
care much more for His own children We are of
more value than many sparrows Two souls are

worth more than a thousand farthings i t took the

b lood of the Son o f God to buy us back from bond
age Birds d o not bear the Divine image They
have no spiritual nature Th e God who cares for
the soulless little bird wi l l surely care muc h m ore
thoughtfully, more tenderly , for a thinking , i m
mortal being, capable o f eternal life God is our

Father He is n ot the birds father ; He is their

creator and provider, but they are not His chil
A woman will give more thought to her baby
d r en
than to her c an ar y Our heavenly F ather will pro
vide more certainly f or His chi l dren than f or His
b i rds

Which o f you
W orrying is also most useless
b y being a n xi ou s ca n ad d on e c ubi t un to t h e mea s
.

56

AN D

V OR L DLI NES S
V

TR U ST

ure of his life

A Chinese philosopher il l ustr ated

the uselessness of worry in this way : Th e legs of

the stork are long, the legs of the duck ar e sho r t ;
o
cannot
make
the
legs
of
the
stork
short
neither
u
y
,
can you m ake the legs o f the duck long Why

?
worry
A short person cannot, by any amount o f
anxiety, m ake himself a n inch taller Therefore
why should he wa ste his energy and fret his life
away in wishing he were taller, and in worr yin g be
cause he is not ?
W orrying about a coming trouble does n ot keep
the trouble away W orrying over a loss do es not
bring back that which is gone P eople nd obsta
cles, d i fculties and hindrances in their life There
are hard conditions in their lot B ut is there any
use in worrying over these things ? Will it make
?
them any eas ier
Will anxiety cure the lame foot,
remove the ugly mole, reduce the undesired corp n
l en cy, or put esh on the thin b ody ?
Will fretting
make the heavy burden lighter, the hard work eas
ier, the ro ug h way smoother ? Will anxiety keep
the winter away, put c oal in the bin , or bread in the
?
r
pantry, o get clothes for the children
Even philosophy shows the uselessness of wo r ry

ing, since it helps nothing and only wa stes one s

strength , u n tt i n g one for d o ing his best B ut r e
l i gi on goes farther than philos o phy, and tells us
that even the hard things the drawbacks , the o b
s t a cl es , may be ch a nged into blessings if we m eet
them in the right spirit So we learn that we should
i
etl
y
wi
h
fa
th
accept
life
as it comes to us,
u
an
i
t
d
g
.

M ATTHEW

VI

1 9 34
-

f retti ng

at n othing, changing hard cond i tions t o

ea sier if we can, but i f not, using them as a mea n s
for growth and advancement
Th e fact that God cares for us ought to k eep us

f rom worry
Why are ye anxious concerning rai

ment ? Consider the lilies

D oes God re ally care
?
for owers
Y es , He wea ves for them t h eir matc h
less gar ments a n d ll s their little cup s with fra
n
r
s
a
ce
Yet
they
live
but
for
a
d
a
I
f
God
clothe
g
y

these f r ail p lants so gloriously for only a few hours

beauty, will He not far more surely cloth e His own
children ? It i s told of M ung o P ark , the great tra v
eler, that once in the desert he wa s famishing f o r
drink, and could nd n o water In his exhaustion
he had sunk do wn in the hot sands in desp a ir, and
had given up t o die He s a w a tiny shoot o f moss
growing in the sand, and the thought ca m e to him ,

God tends t his little plant He placed it here and

He is watering it Surely then , He will not forget

me, but will provide for me, t oo

He ro used up
from his despair and passed o n and was saved
Here we come upon the gr eat centr a l principl e

o f Christian living
Seek ye rst His kingdom ,
and His righteousness ; and all these things shal l be

added unto you

That is, we are to put al l the

energy of our tho ught and life into on e eff ort to

d o God s will
We are not t o take thought about

our raiment o r food th a t is God s matter, not ou r s

at all We a r e to take thought, ho wever, about our
duty, our work , the doing of God s will , the l ling
of our place in the world
Too many people worr y
.

'

58

WOR LDL I N E S S

A N D TR U S T

far more about their food and ra iment, lest they

shall be left to want, than they do about doing well
their whole duty That i s , they are more anxious
about G od s part in their life than about their o wn
They fear that God may not take care of them , but
they d o not have a n y fea r that they ma y fai l in
fa ithfulness t o Him
It will be a great point gained if we learn here

once for all that providing for our wants is God s

matter, n ot ours ; and that our rst and only care
This
s hould be o ur duty the doing of our work
God will never do for us, but if we are true to Hi m
we shall n ever have an y occa s i on to fret ourselves
about o ur c a re Sup p ose we are nearly starving ?
W ell, we must go on , doing our duty in the circum
s tances, and not worrying ; and in due time, per
haps at the last mo ment, but somehow or other, and
i n some way, the L ord will provide Or if n ot, He
will take us home
.

THE

60

GO LDE N

R UL E

prophets which come in sheep s clothing while i n

reality they are ravening wolves It is not an easy
going acceptance o f all sorts of people that is
taught What we are forbidden to do is to be cen
s or i ous
R ather, we a r e to treat others a s we would
have them treat u s
There are reasons en ough why we should not
judge others O ne is that it is n ot our d uty We
a r e not our neighbour s judge
He doe s not have to
answer to us God i s his M aster, and to Him he
must give account

A n o ther reas on is that God is patient with men s

faults, and we represent God If He bears with a

man s shortcomings , surely we should do s o, too

He i s patient with people in their indiff erenc e to
Him , in their disob edience , in t heir selshness
Should we be more exacting with o thers than God
i s ? Should we exercise severity where He shows
leniency ?
Another reason we sh ou l d not judge others is be
cause we cannot do it fairl y We see but the s ur

face o f people s lives We d o not kn ow what has

been the cause of the dis a greea ble features the
P erhaps if we knew all we
f aults, we s ee in them
would praise where we condemn A young man
was blamed by his fellow clerks for what they call ed
his stinginess He did not spend money as they
did They did not kn ow that an invalid sister in
another par t of the country, shut away in her r oom
with non e but her brother to c a re for her, rec eiv ed
nearly all of his monthly sal ary

M ATTHE W

VI I

61

1 12
-

'

A nother

reas on for n o t judging others is that we

ave
faults
of
our
own
which
should
make
us
sile
nt
h
When we glibly con
about t h e failings o f others

d em n our neighbour s shortcomings , we assume that

we ourselves are without sho rtcomings B ut quite
likel y we have a beam in o ur o wn eye at the very
time we are p ointin g o ut to our brother the m ot e
in his eye A mote is a mere speck ; a bea m is a
great log Th e meaning is that we make more of a

little spec k we see on another s life or in h i s con

d uct than we make of a very large fault in o u r
selves Our rst business certainly is with o urself

We shall not have t o answer for our brother faults ,

but we must answer for our own It i s not our
business to look after his blots and blunders, but
we must look after our own We should be severe
in dealing with our own faults and then we wil l ;
be able to help in curing the faults o f others
A nother reason against j udging i s that the l a w
o f love requires us to lo ok charita bly at t h e faults

and sins of others

L ove covereth a multitude o f

sins
A n artist placed h i s friend in the chair s o
that the blemish on one side o f his face would not
show in the picture That is the way love prompts
us to see our friends and neighbours , and show them

to others exhibiting the noble things in them and

thr owing a veil over their defects
Still another reason for not judgin g others is that
when we d o we are setting a standard for the judg

ing of ourselves by others

J udge not, that ye be
n ot judged
F or with what judgment ye judge, ye
.

THE

62

GO L DEN

R UL E

hall be judged
If you criticise others you must
expect them to criticise you , and they will Those
who deal gen tly with the acts of others may expect
i n return
gentle
treatment
by
others
P
eople will
1
o u give to them
give
back
you
exactly
what
t
o
y
,
Th e Master has more to s a y here about prayer

A sk , and it shall be
Th e pro mi se is very large

given you
Thus our F a ther throws wide o pen the
doors of all His treasure h ouses There seem s to
be nothing of all His vast p ossessions which He is

s
not ready to give His children for the asking
A ll

things are yours, and ye are Christ s

We need
not t r y to trim down the promise and yet we must
read into it other teachings a bout prayer Else
where we are taught that in all our praying we

must s a y Th y will be done

That is , we mu s t

submit all our req uests to God s love a n d w sdom

We do not know what things will really be bles s
ings to us What would not be, our F ather will
wi thhold
We get an important lesson h ere, too, on the man

ner o f prayer in the word s as
seek ,
knock
They tea ch importunity and growing earnestness
M uch that is called p raying is not wort hy the name
is not praying at all We have no burning de
S l re, and there is neither import unity nor intensity
What d i d you pray for this morn
i i n our asking
?
n
i g?
Do you remember
Th e F ather heart of God is unveiled i n the words
about bread and a stone a s h and a serpent It is

f ar mor e lik ely to be the other way, howev er

wh a t
s

MATTHE W

VI I

63

1 12
-

we as k would be a stone to us, would not be a bl es s

ing, and God, knowing what we really need , giv es
us a loaf instead of the stone we cried for We
know certai nly that our F ather is kinder t o His
children than ea rthly parents are t o theirsas
much kinder as His love and His ability t o give are
gre ater than the largest human l ov e and ability

Yet we must emphasise the words a s k ,

every one

that asketh, etc Some people never a s k and then

wonder why they do not receive Then , we must a s k

with the highest motives

Ye ask , and receive n ot ,
because ye ask amis s , that ye may spend it in your

S el s h n es s in prayer get s no an s wer

p l easures
Th e Golden R ule, as it i s cal led , is wonderfully
c omprehensive
It bids us consider the interes ts
of o thers as well a s of ourselves It bids us set our
neighbour alongside of ourself and thin k o f him as
having the same rights we have and requiring from
u s the same fairness of treatment t hat we give to
ourself It is in eff ect a practical way of putting

the command , Thou shalt lov e thy neighbour as

thyself
It gives us a standard by which to test
all o ur motives a n d all our conduct bearin g on
o thers
We a r e at once in thought to change places
with the per s on towar d whom duty is to be deter

mined and ask : If he were where I a m a n d I were

where he is , h ow would I want h im to treat me in

this case ?
Th e a pplication o f this rule would i n
s t a n t ly put a s top t o all rash , hasty acti o ns, f or it
commands us to consider our neighbour and ques
t io n our own heart before d oing anything It would
.

THE GO LDE N R ULE ;

6 41

'

slay all selshness, for it compels us to rega rd our

neighbour s r ights and interests in the m a tter as

precisely eq ual to our own It lead s us to honour
others, for it puts us and them on th e s am e plat
form , a s equal before God, and to be eq ual , too, b e
fore our own eyes Th e true application o f this rule
would put a stop to all injustice a n d wrong, for
none of u s would do injustice or wrong to ourselves
and we are to treat our neighbour precisely as if he
were ourself It would lead us to seek the highest
good of all other m en , even the lowliest and the
humblest, for we surely would like all men to seek
o ur good
Th e thoro ugh applying o f this Golden R ule
would end all conict between labour a n d capital ,
for it would give the employer a deep loving inter
est i n the men he employs and lea d him t o think
of their good in all ways A t the same time it
would give to every empl oy! a desire for the pro s
r
s
i
e
i
h
i
h
s
t
f
employer
and
an
interest
in
bu
i
o
s
p
y
ness It wo uld put an end to al l q uar reling and
strife in f amilies, in c ommunities, among nations
Th e pe rfect working o f this rul e ever ywhere would
make heaven , for the will o f God would then be
done on earth a s it is in heaven
.

'

CH A P TE R X
FAL S E

A ND

R ea d

TR U E D I SC I P LE SH I P

Ma t t h ew VI I

1 3 29
-

H
E
R
E
are
two
gates
one narrow and one wide
T
and two ways corresponding thereto Th e ea sy
way is not the good way This is true in a very
wide sense It is tru e in t h e life of a child There
is a bro a d way of ind lgen ce and indolence, b ut we
know where it leads There is a wa y of p a tient
obedience l n duty, an d the end of this is wor thy life
and n oble character It is true in young manh ood
and womanhood There is a way of pleasure, o f
ease, which leads to unw o rt hy ch a racter There is
a way o f self deni al , of discipline, of h a rd work ,
and this le a ds to honour Then t here is a broad way

o f selshness and s i n which never reaches heaven s

gates ; and there is a way of penitence, o f devotion
to Christ of spending and being spent in His ser
vice whose end is a s eat b eside the K ing on His
throne
It is a reason for great than kfulness th a t there
is a gate into the spiritual and heavenly life and
into heaven at the end Th e glorious things are not
.

65

FAL S E AN D TR U E DI SCIPL E S HIP

66

each They are hi gh , on d a z zling

s u mmi t s , b u t there is a path that lead s to them
We must note, however , that the gate is strait, th a t
i s , narrow
Some people have a way of saying that
it is very easy to be a Christian B ut really it is
not easy It was not easy for the S on of God to
prepare the way for us It was necessary for Him
to come from heaven in cond escending love and
give His own life in opening the way J esus said
also that a n y wh o would reach the glory of His
kingdom must go by the same way of th e cross by
which He had gone He said that he who will save
his life, that is, withhold it from sel f denial and s a c
r i ce, shall lose it and that he only who loses his
,

life gives it out in devotion to God and to duty

shall really save i t In one o f His par ables, too,
J esus speaks o f salvation a s a treasure hid in a
eld , and the man who learns of the treasure a n d
its hiding place has to sell all t hat he has in order
to buy the eld In another parable the same truth
is presented under the gure o f a merchant seeking
goodly pearls, who had to sel l all his stock o f pearls
that he might buy the o ne peerless pearl
Th e t rut h of the di fculty o f entrance into the
kingdo m i s put in another way in this Sermon on
the M ount There are t wo roads through this
world and two gates into the other world One of
these ways i s br oad and easy with descending
grade leading to a wide gate It req uires no ex er
tion, no struggle, n o sacrice to go this way Th e
other road is narrow and difcult and l ea d s to a
beyond

our

68

FAL S E

A N D TR UE

DI S CIPLE S HIP

ca st doubt upon, or at least t o start q uestions abo ut,

this or that teachi n g in the B ible, or to caricature
s o me Ch ristian d octrine and hold it up in such a

light as to make it loo k absurd Thus these false

prophets poison the minds of earn est young b e

l i ever s , and ofttimes d estroy their childhood faith
a n d ll them with d oubt and perplexity
Jesus makes it very plain in His teac hi ng that
not profession but obedience is the test o f Chris

tian life
N ot every on e that saith unto M e, L ord ,
L ord , shall enter into the kingdom o f heaven ; but

he th a t d oeth the will o f M y F ather

It is not
enough to believe in Christ, intellectually, even to

be altogether orthodox in one s creed It is n o t

enough to seem to h onour Christ before men , pray
ing to H i m and ascribing power to Him J esus tells
us that some a t leas t who thus seem to be His
friends, publicly confessing Him, shall fail to enter
the heavenly kingdom
Why are these confessors of Christ k ept out o f
the heavenly kingdom ? What are the c onditions
Th e answer is
o f entrance into this king d om ?
given very p lainly Those alone enter the kingdom
who do the will of the F ather who is in heaven N o
confession therefore, is true which is n o t attes t ed
and veried by a li fe of obedien ce a n d holine s s

Simply to Th y cro s s I cling is not all of the Go s

peli t is only hal f o f it N o one is really c l i n ging
to the cro s s who is not at the same time fai thfully
following Christ and d oing whatsoever He com
mands To enter into the kingdom o f heaven is to
.

M ATTHE W VII

69

1 3 29
-

have in one s heart the heavenly spirit W e must

d o God s will
We cannot have Christ for Saviour

until we have Him also as M aster We pray, Th y

will be d one as in heaven , s o on earth

I f th e
prayer is sincere, it must d raw our whole life with
i t in loving obedience and acquiescence to the Di
vine will
Th e illustration a t the close of the Sermon on the

M ount makes the teaching very plain

Every on e
therefore that hea r eth th ese words o f M ine, and
d oeth them , shall be liken ed unto a wi se man who

built his house upon the rock

Everything turns

on the doi n g or not doing of God s word B oth the

men here d escribed hear the words , but only one o f
them obeys, a n d thus builds on t h e im p regnable
f oundation
These two houses were probably very
muc h alike when they were nished Indeed , the
house on the sand may have been more attracti ve
a n d more showy than the house built farther up
o n the hillside
Th e di ff erence, however, lay in the
f oundations
There was a
There were two k inds o f ground
wide valley, whi ch was dry and plea sant in the s um
mer days , when these men were looking for building
sites Then a way above this valley were high ,
rocky blu ff s One man d eci d ed t o build in the va l
ley It would cost much less It was easy digging
and t h e excavations would be less expensive, for the
ground was soft Then it was more convenient
also , for the blu ff s were not easy of access Th e
oth er man loo k ed farther ahea d , however and d e

70

FAL S E

AN D

TR U E

DIS CIPL E S HIP

cided to build on the high ground It would c ost

a great deal m ore, but it would be safer in the end
S o the two homes went up simultaneo usly, only
the one in the valley was nished long before the
other was, because it required much less labour A t
last the two families moved into their respective
residences and both seem ed very happ y But one
night there was a great storm Th e r a ins poured
down in torrents until a ood, like a wild river
swept through the valley Th e house that wa s
built on the low ground was carried away with its
dwellers Th e house on the blu ff, however, was
unharmed
These two pictures explain themselves
He wh o
built in the valley is the man who h a s only pro tes
sion , but who has never really given his life to
Christ, nor built on Him as the foundati on Th e
other man who built on the rock i s he wh o h as true
faith in C h r i s t, con r med by loving obedience Th e

storms that burst are earth s t rials which test ev ery

life the tempests of death and o f judgment Th e

mere profes s or of religion is swept away in these
storms, for he has only sand under him He who
builds on Christ is secure, for no storm can reac h

him in Christ s bosom

.

CH A P TE R X I
J E SU S,

T H E H E A LE R

R ea d Ma t th ew V1 1 1

21 7
-

A F TE R the Sermon on the Mount, we have nar ra

tiy es of many healings Th e rst was that o f a
leper Th e case was remarkable becau s e the dis
ease was loathsome co ntagious and incurable Th e
leper s c ry to Jesus was very earnest He wor

shipped Him a n d said , L ord , if Thou wilt Thou

canst make me clean

He h a d no doubt of Christ s

power to cure him,

Th o u canst,
but he seems
uncertain regar di ng His willingness to d o i t I n

s t a n t ly came the answer,

I will
A s He s aid
this He reached out His hand and touched him
Straightway the cu re was wrought Th e ma n was
r eady to go bac k again t o his ho me and to ta ke his
place once more in society Mar velous wa s the
touch of Christ always It never took d el em en t ;
it was so full of health that it clea n sed the utmost
loathsomeness Th e same touch that changed the

leper s esh into cleanness changes the worst lives

i nto whiteness a n d wholeness
Th e nex t act o f healing was wrough t on a s l ave
.

71

'

JE SU S , TH E

72

HE AL ER

'

A R oman centurion had a servant who was very

sick and a great su ff erer

Someh ow the centurion
h ad heard of Jesus and the wonderful work s He
was doing, and he went to H i m beseechingly and
told Him of hi s tr ouble We learn much about th is

soldier from s eeing him a t J esus door He was

greatly distressed, a n d yet it was not his child tha t

wa s s ick i t was only his s lave This tells us what

kind o f a man t h e centurion wa s h e had a gentle

heart A ll o f us are continually betraying our
s elves through the little windows o f our common ,
B y the way a b oy treats his dog
unconscious acts
o r his pony, or birds a n d insects especially by his
treatment of h i s sisters, and by his man ner towar d
h i s playmates, and towa rd the poor and the weak ,
he is showing what is really in hi m
We s ee here also the immortality o f good deeds
It is sweet to be remembered, long after one has
passed out of life, by what one has done It was
a great while ago that this centurion went on his
errand but here we nd hi s gentle d eed s et down

among the memorials of Christ s own life A ges

since, a beautiful fern leaf grew in a shaded v alley,
and as it t el l it sighed that it would have no me
morial B ut the other d a y a man of science broke
o ff a piece of rock, and there his eye traced
.

Le

afa ge v ei n ing
,

A n d th e

f er n s

c l ea r a n d n e
life l ay i n ev er y li n e
,

br es ,

So it i s that go od deeds a r e kept in memory This

o n e o f the centurion s is found imbedded on a Gos

.

M ATT HEW VIII

73

'

217
-

pel page Every good d eed done in Chr i st s name

i s recorded in God s books and on human liv es It

i s worth while, therefore, to train our heart s to
gentle thoughts and our hands to gentle d eeds
Jesus received the Gentile soldier most gra
ci o u s ly and s a id a t once He would accompany him
home and heal the servant Here we have a reve
lation of the heart o f Christ He was quick to r e
It w i ll greatly
s p on d to every cry of s n er i n g
h elp us in our thoughts o f Christ in heaven , to
remember that He is the same now that He was
whi l e on the ea rth He is still q uick to hear our
prayers a n d respond to our requ ests His heart is
yet tender and full of compassion toward pain Th e
Gospel pages are not records of what Christ wa s ,
but glimpses of what He is
A nother lesson here i s for ourselves It is said
that Dr L ivingstone rarely ever o ff ered a prayer,
even in his early Christian life, in which he did n ot
plead to be made like Christ in all his imitable per
f ect i on s
This should be the daily prayer of every

Christian We should seek to have Christ s great

kindness o f heart Th e world is full of su ffering
and we ought t o seek in a l l possi ble ways to give
comfort, relief or help We have power t o s catter
happiness, to relieve di stress to give cheer and
hope W e may not be able to heal disea s es, but we

can love people in Christ s name, and give them

courage and strength to go on with t heir tr oubles
a n d be happy
But the c entur ion shrank n ow i n his lowlines s
.

JE SU S , TH E

7 4w

HE AL E R

from ha ving Jesus enter his home This was true

humility We cannot truly s ee Christ and not be
humbled Th e reason we are s o proud and self
conceited is because we d o not s ee Him If our
eyes but beheld Him in the glory and splendour of
His Divinity, all our vain pret ensions would i n
s ta n t ly shrivel
We should look at Christ with
long, loving gaze until a sense o f His Divine great
ness lls o ur hearts

A nother thing here to be noted is the centurion s

conception of Christ He th ought of Him as a
great Commander with all the forces of the universe

under Him Th e soldier knows only one duty to

obey and all these forces know only to obey Christ

Christ is the Commander of the army o f the uni

~
verse
Captain of the L ord s host
Th e stars
and planets are under Him and obey Him , all wi nds
and tempe sts and all the powers of nature are s ub
e
j ct to His s way A ll diseases , all events, come
and go at His word This ought to give us great
condence in the midst of dangers o f whatsoever

kind Diseases and pestilence s a r e only Christ s

soldiers They a r e obedient t o His will and can
never tra nscend it nor go contra ry to it They can
go only where and as f ar as He sends them Death
is o n e of Hi s soldiers, too, a n d can do only His com
mand Why then should we dread death , since it i s
the obedient s ervant of our K ing ? So of a ll events

and occurrences they are but th e m essengers o f

o ur M aster and cannot harm us
It was not n eces

s ary f or Jes us to go to the centuri on s house to h eal

.

JE SU S

'

76

TH E

HE AL ER

and the fever will ee away and quietn ess an d peace

will come

The fever left h er ; and s h e arose, and ministered

unto Him
S h e could not minister until the fever

wa s gone Nor can we minister while life s fevers

B ut when the fever leaves
ar e burning within us
us we at once ar ise and begin t o serve the M a ster
It would add im measurably to our power among
men and t o the inuence of o u r lives if we would
always get the touch of Christ upon our hands at
the beginning of each day A rchdeacon F arrar

says of his mother : M y mother s habit was every

day, immediately after brea kfa st, t o withdraw for
an hour to her own roo m , and to spend the time i n
reading the B ible, in meditation , and in prayer
F ro m that hour, as from a pure fountain , she drew
the strength and the sweetness which enabled her
to full all her duties, a n d t o remain u n r ufed by
all t h e worries and pettinesses which are s o often
the in t olerable trial of narrow neighbourhood s A s
I think of her life and of all it had to bear, I s ee
the absolute triumph of Christian grace in the
lovely i d eal of a Christian woman I never s a w
her temper disturbed ; I never heard her spea k one
word o f anger, or of calumny, o r of idle gossip I
never observed in h er an y sign o f a single sentimen t
unbecoming to a soul which had drunk of t h e river
of the water of life, an d which had f ed upon manna
in the barren wilderness Th e world is the better

for the passage of such souls across its surface

L et other weary mothers wait each morning to get
.


TT
MA
HE W VIII 2 1 7
.

77

'

touc h of Christ before they go to th e d ay s tasks

and frets Then the fevers of life will leave th em
and they will enter upon a day o f quiet pea c e and
gentle ministry
Th e closing words o f o ur passage presen t a most

remarkable picture
W hen ev en was come, they
brought unto Him many possessed with demons :
and He cast out the spirits with a w ord , and healed

all that were sick

It would seem that there were
s cores and hundr eds healed in one hour
th e

At

v n

e e

er e

th e

s un

wa s

s et ,

i c k 0 L or d a r ou n d T h ee lay ;
O i n w h a t d iv er s pa i n s t h ey m et !
0 w i t h w h a t j oy t h ey w ent a wa y !
Th e

v ent i d e an d we
O pp r es s e d w i t h v a r i ou s ill s d r a w n ea r : )
W h a t if Th y f or m we c a nn ot s ee ?
W e k n ow a nd f eel t h a t T h ou a r t h er e
On c e

m or e

ti s

a:

tou c h h a s s t ill it s a n ci ent p ower

N o w or d f r om T h ee c a n f r u itl es s f al l zi
H ea r i n thi s s ol em n ev en i n g h ou r
Th y

A nd

in

Th y

mer cy h ea l

us a ll

CHA P TE R X I I
TW O M I G H TY

R ea d

W OR!

Ma tth ew

23 3 4
-

J E S U S wa s going out upon the sea So He entered

Be
into a boat and His disciples followed Him

hold, there ar ose a great tempest in the s ea

It
was not an ordinary gust, but came with a sh ock as
Yet the b o at had gone out at
o f an e a rth q uake

C h rist s own bidding, and He Himse lf was in it

So we learn that even in the way o f duty, in the
course indicated by the M aster Himself and with
the M aster as companion , there may be great
Therefore we are not to regard op p osition
s torms
and di ffic ulties as in di catio ns t hat we are not in the
way of duty Hindrances and obstacles ofttimes

are part of God s di s cipline We grow in struggle

better than in ea se Conict is good for us It
tries our faith It tea ches us o ur o wn weak ness
and our dependence on God It devel ops our pow
ers V ictory is always better than peace Then
we never S hould be afraid of any storm when we
have Christ with us in ou r boat Th e bar q ue whic h
ca r r i es Jes us cannot be overwhelmed in the wa ters
.

MATTHE W V III

379

23 8 41
-

asleep
This shows that He was
weary He had been very busy in ex hausting la
bours and His strength wa s gone Mark suggests

this when he says t hat the disciples take H i m with

them, even as He wa s , in the boat

H e was not

weary o f His F ather s service, but He was wear y

in it There is a great di ff erence in the t wo k ind s
o f weariness
There i s an Old Testament story o f
another who slept in a storm, who was weary n o t

in , but of, God s work, and was eeing fro m duty

Jesus wa s weary and slep t the m oment H i s head
touched the hard pillow, but it was because He was
over wrought Th e sleep o f Jesus a lso shows His
humanity He needed rest just as we do We may
be sure that He sympathises w i th us in all our
weariness and fa intness H e k nows when our
work is too hard for us He does not blame us f or
being tired in duty, if we a r e ready, as s oon as we
a r e rested to work a gain
Th e provision of sleep
i s wonder f ul Th i n k h ow i t repairs the was te of
to il
S l eep t h a t k ni ts u p t h e r a vell d s l ea v e of ca r e
Th e d ea t h of ea c h d a y s life s or e l ab ou r s b a t h
B a l m of h u r t m i n d s g r e at n a t u r e s s ec on d c our s e
C hi ef n ou r i s h er in lif e s f ea s t

H e was

His d i sciples came to H i m, a n d a woke H i m

Sometimes now Christ seems to be asleep wh en His
disciples a r e i n danger He appears als o to pay
n o heed to th eir
er
i
l
He
is
wit
the
but
seems
m
h
p
,
n o t to be conscious o f their n eed o r to be caring
for them But He never really i s i ndi ff erent A t
.

TWO M I GH TY WOR KS

80

the rst call o f d an ger here He awoke Th e wild

storm did not d isturb Him, but at the rst voice
o f prayer He instantly resp onde d with ready help
for His people s time of need To Him the storm
was l ike a gentle lullaby a n d soothed Him to sleep
His perfect faith saved H i m fro m fear Th e disci
ples, however, lack ed faith , and the storm lled
them with dread

He arose, and rebuked the winds a n d the s ea ;

and there was a great calm

This s howed His
po wer He h a s power over all n a ture H e has
control o f a l l tempest s , all winds , all waves
We
need never be afraid when we are 1 n His c ar e
Wr i ters look at this event a s a parable of the
Church in storm s of trial or persecution Christ
s eems to sleep for a time and does not interfere
A t length , however, He s tretches forth His hand
or speaks His word of power, and the storm becomes
a calm
Th e story of the casting out of the Gadarene de
mons is given with greater fulness o f det a il in
M ark In these d emoniacs we have a sa mple of

Satan s work when he gets full c ontrol in a man

He destroys every beautiful thing in the life and
leaves only ruin No chains could bind the men
When s i n i s o n the throne all other inuences and

constraints become like spiders threads in compari

No cord is strong enough to bind the man
s on
who has yielded himself to the sway of evil Th e
love of a godly mother is a strong bond , but many
a child breaks o ff this holy chain and r us hes in to
.

M ATTHEW

V II I

81

23 3 4,
-

waywar d paths H ome ties are strong but these,

too , are broken asund er by the victi m o f Satan s

rule
One feature of t his case wa s th at the d emo niac
c ut and gashed himsel f with stones This illus

trates just what in many ways S in s captives al ways

do
They may n et literally go about insanely cut
ting their esh with knives or bruising their bodies
with stones, but they do gash and bruise their lives
Sin always wounds its v icti m s, and one of its fear
ful conseq uences is the sel f destr u ction it works
Every s i n o n e commits leaves an ugly scar
We
gri eve God by ou r wrongdo in g, we harm others
when we s i n against them , but we a l ways injure
ourselves b y every evil word we S peak by every
wrong a ct we commit, even by the evil though ts we
t hi nk in our hea rts Th e s elf hurt o f s in is on e o f
its saddest conseq uences
There are di ff erent theori es o f d emoniacal p os
session o f which there are so m a ny examples in the
Gospels We need n o t trouble ourselves in try ing
to solve the mystery J es us trea ted these cases as
if the demon was a distinct personality fro m t h e
man in whom he was dwelling for the ti m e It i s

the demons that speak in the words, What have

we to d o with Thee, Jesus, Tho u S on o f the Most

That is t h e way Satan always talks

High God ?
He resents any interference with his work He
wants to be l et al one , and t o be left in q ui et posses
sion of whatever he has under his p ower W h en
ever a move i s made again s t a n y entren c h ed s in o r
,

TWO MIGH TY WO R KS

8%

vi c e the sa me s crea m break s fro m th e P r i nce of

Evil, What hav e I to d o with Thee, Jesus ? To uch

an y s i n in the c ommunity and instantly
e
o
ar
u
,
y
greeted as Jesus was greeted by these demons B ut
we must lear n n o t to be inti mi dated by such cries

I t is the work o f Christ s Church t o disl odge evil

wherever it may be entrenched, a n d drive it out
Th e very purpose of Christ s coming into the world
was to destroy the works of the Devil
Th e demons were afraid of Jesus
In Mark th e

a ppea l is,
I adjure thee by God , to r ment me not
Th e torment they d readed was in being deprived
o f the opportunity o f tormenting the men in whom
they h ad possession Demons nd their pleasure

in destroying the bea utiful work of G od s hands,

and in ruining human lives Good men count that
d a y lost in which they have done no act o f kindn ess
to another Demons count the day lost in which
they have stained no pure s oul or led no one i nto
s in
Evil comes to us, pretending to be a friend
It h olds owers in its hands and whi spers en tr a n c

ing words, promising rich rewards

Only do this

and it will bring you pleasure, honour, wealth, joy

that is t h e way s in talks But thi s is all false
However plausibly Satan may pres ent his temp ta
tions under the colour o f pleasure, his secret a i m is
t o destroy the so ul he tempts
Nothi ng gives the
Ev il One such pleasure as to see a fa ir a n d beauti
ful life stai ned and debauched
It is most comforting to us to nd that Christ is
a b l e t o d i s l odge even t h e most obdur a te a n d per
,

TW O

84

M IGH TY WOR KS
'

and dreaded as dangerous demoniacs Yet it is a

more wonderful change that is ofttimes seen when
those who have been under the po wer of Satan b e
come Christians We s a y that miracles have
?
ceased , but have they really
We may not s ee rav
ing demoniacs restored to sanity, but we certainly
s ee those w h om Satan has broken in s i n s et free
from hi s terrible power and transformed into the
likeness of Christ Spiritual miracles are no less
wonderful than miracles of bod ily healing
It is stra nge h ow the p eople were a ff ected by thi s
m iracle
Jesus had come among them t o bless
them He would have gone on , working other
miracles, if they had b een willin g But the loss of
the swine was too muc h for them They besought
J esus to depar t a n d He did He would not s tay
where He was not wanted He went away, carry
ing wi th Him the blessing s He had brought and
mean t to leave So the sick remained unhealed , the
lame man still continued lame, dem oniacs remaine d
demon possessed
Jesus knows where He wants His saved ones to
witn ess for Him M ark tells u s that thi s man
wished to go with Him , but there wa s other work
for him to do There are d i er en t ways o f serving
Chr ist Some o f His disciples He asks to leave
home and friends and to follow Him into distant
lands Others He wants to bear witn ess , among
thos e who have known them, to the grace and love
If He wants on e young minister to go to
o f God
.

MATTHEW VIII

85

23 3 4
-

the foreign el d as a missionary, he must go But

we must n ot blame his classmate who does not go
to the foreign eld , but enters the eld at home
We serve Christ bes t when we serve in the place
and in the manner in which He direct s us
.

CH A P TE R X III
A PARALY T I C
'

FOR G I VE N

Ma t th ew I X

R ea d

H EALE D

A ND

1 13
-

J E SUS never rested He crossed the sea to save the

Then He returned at once
d emoniacs in Gadara
to Capernaum and found the people waiting for

Him : They brought to Hi m a man sick of the

palsy
Elsewhere we learn that four men brought
t his paraly t ic
Th e pictu r e is v ery suggestive
four strong men carrying their helpless friend to
the Healer We ought to hel p one another We
that are stro ng ought to bear the i n r m i ti es of th e
weak This applies both to physical and spiritual
weakness If there is a lame boy in the school , the
other boys S hould lend him their legs If one girl
is sickly a n d not able to go out, the other girls
should do all in their power to brighten her l on el i
ness and make u p to her her los s Then those who
have been healed a n d blessed by C h rist S ho uld hel p
to bring to Him their friends wh o need Him
It is interesting to notice here that four of this

si c k man s friends united i n helping him One o f

them a lone could not have carried h im Two o f
.

86

'

! s

PAR ALYTIC FOR GIVE N

A ND

HE AL ED

ferer It was shown in 1 1 1 8 very helplessness, as he

lay there on his mat, his trembling feebleness a p
pealing to the pity of C h rist There may hav e been
no words of pleading on his lips, but there was
faith, neverth eless , and the faith found express ion
i n wordless supplication more eloquent than the
stateliest human liturgy J esus s a w the fait h i n
the man lying in all his helplessnes s at His feet, ex
t
i
n
ec
p
g to be heal ed
This palsied man was a striking t ype o f every
sinner Th e sinner h a s noble faculti es and powers ,
made to s hine in great beauty, a n d to do great
things ; but they are palsied He cannot serve G od
acceptably He cannot d o any g ood thing He

cannot obey God s commandments He has hands,

but he cannot do Go d s work He h a s feet, but he

cannot wal k in God s paths He h a s lips and a

tongue, but he cannot speak With glori ous poss i
b i l i ti es in his being he is a poor, wretched, spiritual
paralytic
Here i s a man who once was mos t active in l i fe,
brilliant in thought eloquent in speech , skilled in
execution N ow he lies on his bed or is wheeled
about in hi s c h air, a complete wreck in body and in
mind Th e old powers are all there, but the blight
What a picture of t h e
o f paralysis is o n them
moral and S piritual para lys is w hi ch we s ee in the

impenitent s inner ! M ade in God s image, mea nt

to soar like the eag le in heavenly ights , there he
li es, dead whi le livi ng There was onl y One wh o
.

M ATTHE W

1x

"

89

14 3

.a

could heal this paralytic ; there is One on l y who can

give life to the spiritu ally palsied
When J esus s a w the man laid before Him , He

said , Thy sins are forgiv en

Had J esus misun

d er s to o d the poor man s prayer ? Had He given

the wrong answer by mistake ? Th e man wanted
his palsy cured , his friends had brought him the r e
t o have him healed, and then Jesus forgave his S ins
instead, leaving him still palsied What does all
?
this mean
A s we loo k more deeply we s ee that
there was no mistake Indeed , the prayer was
really answered, over answered We do not a l
ways kno w what we most need We think it is the
curing of our sickness, the lifting away o f our bur
d en , or the cha nging o f o ur c ircumstanc es when
o ur deepest , rea les t need i s the lifting away o f o ur
S in, the changing o f our relation to God This

man s d umb prayer was f o r healing He wanted

to wal k about again , t o use his hands a n d feet and
be active Th e M aster look ed at the palsied limbs
and quivering frame and s a w d eeper and answered
another prayer rst, because that was what the
poor man needed most to have done
P erhaps s i n had been the cause of his paralysis
M any a man with broken health and shattered con
s t i t ut i on knows well the c ause o f his physical
wrecking C h rist makes no mistake in His way
o f helping us
There are a great many troubles we
would like to have removed, Rut whic h we can keep
and yet be noble and useful and be saved B ut sin
we m ust get clear o f or perish forever, and Chri s t
.

'

PAR AL YTIC FOR GIVE N AN D HE ALED

90

answers our heart s needs before He gr a ti es its

mere wish es O fttimes then when we cry for com

fort or ease, God looks deeper and says, It is your

S in , my child , that i s your sorest trouble

Then
He does not give u s what we a s k because He wants
us to a s k for the curing o f the sorer, deeper trouble
rst
Some o f the people were o ff ended when they
heard J esus telling the man his S ins were forgiven

What right had He to forgive sins ?

So He
showed them another fo r m of healing to convince

Then
them that He had power also to forgive
sa ith He to the sick of the palsy A rise, take up thy

bed , and go unto thy house

F irst, J esus a n
s wer ed the deepest need , and then , when peace had

lled the man s soul and joy had overspread his

face, a n d h e wa s willing now to go on keeping his
palsy, S ince heaven had come into his heart then

the M aster gave him the other boon health Th e

palsy had a mission ; its mission was to bring the
man to the Healer and Saviour A s soon as its
mission was accomplished it was dismissed as a
s ervant no longer needed
Does Christ ever cause us pain or su f f erin g with
out some loving purpose ? Is He pleased to see us
s n er ?
N 0, every pang of ours goes to His heart
In all our afflictions He i s a ficted B ut He i s far
too kind to call away His hot handed angel P ain
before his work is done Th e surgeon would be
weakly cruel , not kind , wh o, because o f the p a

t i en t s cries S hould withdraw the knife when his

92

PAR AL YTIC FOR GIVE N AN D HE AL E D

to a foreign power It is a humiliatin g mark o f

subjugation It wa s supposed th at no publica n
was h onest f orth e a mount of the taxes was n ot
xed by law the collector took all he could get

One day in passing, J esus looked into M atthew s

Th e record says ,
booth and s aid , F ollow M e

He arose and follo wed Him

So the publican
became a d isciple Then a little later, when the
twelve apostles were chosen , M atthew was amo n g
the number
It is M atthew hi msel f who tells the story here,
and he tells it modestly Th e people found fault
because Jesus mingled with publicans and sinners

B ir ds of a feather ock together, was their taunt

Y et J esus only s a i d that a physician did not go
among well people, but among the s ick He w ent
a m ong S inners because they were th e p eople who
most needed Him
.

CHA P TE R X I V
THE
'

R ea d

PO W E R

OF FA I TH

Ma tth ew I X

1 83 4

O N LY c om paratively few of our Lord s heal i ngs are

recorded
He seems never t o hav e refused to hea l
any wh o c ame t o H i m or were brought to Him
Besides He healed s ome for who m no on e i n ter

ceded Here it was a ruler a n ex ceptional case ,

f or the rulers were not His friends
P robably this

man s great distress led him to seek healing for his

child even in S pite of his dislike of Jesus Th e ruler
a n d his prejudice were lost in the father

Th e man came himsel f, saying, M y daughter i s

Troubl e comes just as in evi tably

even now dead
and a s resistlessly to the mansions of the great an d
rich as t o the homes o f the lowly and poor None
are exempt We can build n o walls and set up no
doors to exc l ude sickness and death This is on e
lesson A nother is , that when sickness or any other
trouble comes to us, we ought t o send for Christ
We are t o send for physicians, too, in s ic k nes s

They ar e God s ministers of healing

U sually God
requires our co operation in al l that H e does f or us
.

93

TH E

94

POWE R OF FAITH
.

B ut we should al s o send for Christ He al one has

original power to heal Life is His gift and i s n u
der His care Health i s His alone to give Medi
cines u n blessed by Him give no relief O nly at H i s
bidding can any one be restored from illness While
we u s e al l the means within o ur reach , we should
u s e them with prayer for Divine blessing on them
and in dependence on Divine p ower When ever
any o ne i s S ick in our house we s hould s end for
J esus and put the case in His hands
Jesus was ea ger alwa ys to help those in trouble

He a rose at once a t the ruler s r equest and fol

lowed him to his home It seem s strange, when
we think who the man was, probably unfriendly to
J esus, that He s h ould s o q uickly rise and follow this
ruler B ut it was always thus He did not wait
to m ake inqui r y concerning the man , whether he
was worth y or not, before going with him Th e man
that needed Him was the man He wanted In this
alacrity in doing good J esus was only showing the
alertness o f Divine love In heavenly glory now
He i s a s q uick to hear a n d as prompt to answer our
cries a s He was that day in His earthly humi liation
He is al ways at our call He never has s o much to
do or s o many calls t o answer that He cannot attend
to our case Indeed when we come to Him with
any need He has no other thing to do but attend
to us We S hould be like our M aster in all this
We S hould be quick to respond to the calls o f need
and di s tres s about us We ou ght to trai n o ur
.

THE

96

POWE R

OF

FA I T H

l i ng of the crowd ? Th e multitudes were close about

Him, pressing up a gainst Him M any of them
touched Him Th e disciples thought it strange that
He should ask such a question
Th e people co uld
r
not help t ouching Him A h ! but there was on e
touch di ff erent from all the rest There wa s some
thing i n it which sent a thrill through Hi m There

was a heart s cry in it a piteo us, earnest supplica

tion I t was a touch of faith I t was not like the
j ostlings o f the crowd a n accidental or un con
s cious touch , the mere touch of nea rn ess
It wa s

i ntentional There was a soul s cry in it S o,

amid all the rude pressure o f the multitude, He
rec ognised it and turned about to s ee her that h a d
done thi s thing

Jesus always knows the touch of true faith and

prayer among all the touches of thi s great world
In o n e sense all men are near t o H im for He is
e verywhere
present W e cannot move v without
pressing up against Him B ut when among a l l

earth s millions o n e person intentionally reaches

o u t a h an d to feel for Him , t o touch H i m with a
purpose, with a longing o r a desire, to s eek for som e
blessing, o r to crave some help , He instantly know s
t h e p r es s ur e o f that touch and turn s to answer it
He knows when a hungry heart wants Him , no mat
ter h ow obscure the pers on, h ow po o r, or h ow hid
den i n the crowd
N otice His graciousness in answeri ng the wo m

J esus turning and seeing her said ,

a n s prayer

Daughter, be o f good cheer

This wa s a bit o f
.

'

'

M ATTHEW I X

1 8 3 43
-

Chr i st s wayside work He was h a steni n g w i th

J a i r us to his home, to restore his d ying child , and
healed this poor woman on the way We wou l d
cal l it incidenta l work, unpurp osed , unplanned
Th e thing s we s et out in the morn i n g t o d o are not
by a n y means all the things that we do i n any wel l
spent d a y If we have the life of Christ in us, ever y
o n e that touches us gets s o me blessing f rom u s
While busy at our work we S peak k indly t o those
wh o mee t us or who a r e near us , and an i nuence
o f warmth , cheer or encouragement, o r an i nspir a
tion toward better living, goes fro m us to them
We m eet one in trouble as we hurry by, and stop to
give a word o f comfort We hear o f a case o f dis
tress and we ma d or car ry relief Thus, if we hav e
the spirit o f Christ, our ways ide service wi ll be a
most valuable and i mpo rtant part of our wor k in
this world
W e do not k now h ow l ong Jesu s wa s detai ned i n
healing and comforting the woman on t h e way

Jesus c a me into the ruler s house, and s a w the

Th e c hi ld was dead a n d they were

ute players
preparing f or the funeral S o i t seemed th at He had
ta rried too long on the way To us it appears that
He ought not to have stopped at all to heal or t alk
with the woma n
She could hav e waited Th e
child o f J a i r us was d ying and there was n ot a mo
ment to lose B ut when we read the story through
t o the end we are glad that He did stop t o help the
woman We learn from His delay that J esus never
is in a hurry H e i s never s o mu ch en grossed i n

TH E

98

POWE R OF FA ITH

ca s e of need th at He ca n not stop to c onsider

ano t her He is n ever s o pressed for time that we
have t o wait o ur turn N o matter what H e is d o
ing, He will a lway s hear instantly our cry for need
A nother thing we learn from thi s delay is that
Jesus never co mes too late ; never waits to o long
True, the ruler s child died while He lingered , but
this only gave Him an opportunity for a greater
miracle He delayed that He might d o a more
m
i
h
i
T
lorious
work
for
t
s
f
ly
here
is
always
a
g
s ome good reason f or it when Christ s eems to delay
to answer ou r pra yers or come to our help He d e
lays that He may d o more for us in the end

Th e damsel i s not dead , but sleepeth

This wa s

Christ s word always about death

He said Hi s
friend L az arus was a sleep He says the s ame of all
H i s friends
They are not dead
Indeed , they
never lived s o really, s o r ichly , s o fully, a s they
live when we call them dead They are away from
all the limitations o f earthly life, s et free from the
hamperi ng prison of the esh , cleansed of all sin,

S pirits of just men made perfect

Christ changed
the whole aspect of death for H i s people To them

it i s but the passag e to life rich , blessed, glorious

l ife Even bodily death is a sleep , and S leep i s not
a terrible experience It i s restful and refreshing
and then we wake again from sleep and live on b e
yond it So the body S leeps, and will rise agai n r el
newed and wearing immortal beauty Chri st call ed
this child from her S leep very soon ; it will be longer
bef ore He wi ll c all those whom we l ay down i n
on e

THE POWE R OF FA ITH

1 00

k no w i f we believe that He is able to do i t O nce a

f ather c ame to Him for his dem oniac s on and his

prayer was, If Thou canst d o a nythi ng, have com

passion ou us, and help us

But the if m a rred

the request the father was n ot sure that Jesus

could cure his s on , and Jesus s ent him back to get a

better faith
If thou canst ! He answered
A ll

things a r e possible to h im that believeth

As

L ord, I b elieve ; hel p

s oon a s the man could say,

Thou my unbelief, Jesus cured the boy May it

n ot be that the reason wh y man y o f our prayers are
n ot a nswered is because we do not believe
t hat
Christ is able t o do what we ask of H im ? I f we
can believe He can give what we a s k I f we c an
n ot believ e H e c annot d o a ny thing f or us
'

'

C H A P TE R X V

TH E M I S S I O N OF TH E

R ead

Ma t th ew I X

T W E LVE

X
35

1 5, 4 0 4 2
-

J E SU S never rested He went about doing good

His work is summed up here in three words
teaching, preaching, healing He was in thi s
world to seek and save the lost and He went ev ery
where o n His holy miss ion of l ove He d id not stay
in on e place, because then other places would have
been neglected He knew that He had blessings
for the s a d , su ff ering world , and His soul was bur
d en ed until He had borne these bl essings to every

one s d oor S o He went everywhere, fro m house

to house He wa s a shepherd seeking the lost, and
we can s ee Him pressing through the d ark ravine,
up the steep cli ff s, out upon the wild crags and over
the r ugged mo untains, through storm and dark
ness, cold and heat, searching for the lost sheep
That is what He wan t s us to d o n o w, for we are
left in thi s world in His place, t o carry on His
work

W hen He s a w the multitud es He was moved

with compassi on for them

Christ s compa ss i on
.

1 01

M I S S I O N OF THE TWE LV E

THE

1 02

was wonderful Th e s ight o f s n er in g hum a nity

lled Him with gri ef We have a picture here o f
the way the world of people looked to J esus They

were distres sed and scattered, as S heep not having

a shepherd
This means that they were neglected
by tho s e who ought to have been their friends and
helpers Th e rulers wer e intended to be S hepherds
to their people Instead of this, they Showed them
no love , no kindness, no care, but wronged them,
robbed them J esus was among them as a true
s hepherd , and His heart was full o f c omp as sion
towar d them
O ut of the deep pity o f His heart J esus begins
now to plan for the great work o f s aving men

Th e harvest indeed is plenteous but the labourers

are few
He s eems to have been a lmost appal led
at the vastness of the work as He looked out over
His own people and thought of their condition But
His vision was not limited to His own country He
had come to save the world, the whole world, all na

tions N o wo nder He said to His disciples, Th e

harvest indeed is plenteous

To meet the great
need there must be many labourers enlisted This
i s the beginning of the grea t missionary movement
which is now reaching out a ll over the world

Th e l a bourers are f ew, said the M a ster as He

looked upon the great elds with their vast hu m an
needs t heir s orrows, their h un ger i n gs Indeed,
J esus himself was the only labourer at that time
Th e apostles were only a handful a n d they were
still untrained
.

TH E

1 04

M I S S I O N OF TH E TWE L VE

He called them to Him N o one is ready to go

out for Christ until he has come t o Him Dis
c i p l es h i p must come before service
There i s n o

place to sta rt but at the M aster s feet We must

lie on H i s boso m an d catch His S pirit It is not
enough to attend colleges and th eological semina
ries and be graduated from these It is not enough
to be commended by committees and mission
boards ; every o ne who would go as a worker f o r
Christ or as a missionary must rst come to Christ
Christ must choose and call His own apostles and
send them o u t with His benediction
N one are
ready to go until Christ has given them power a n d
authority He is the K ing, and He only can com
mission any to represent Him If we want t h en
t o help Chr ist save the world we must person
a lly surrender ourselves to H i m a n d let H i m p r e
pare u s and then sen d u s out with authori ty to rep
resent Him
Th e names of the apostles are given
They were
not famous men when they were chosen They
were very plain a n d ordinary men ; but afterward
they b ec a me men o f wonderful power and all the
world felt their inuence We s ee out of what
common s t u Christ can make great men , holy
saints and heroic missionaries There is something
in His method of preparing His apostl es that
those wh o would be preachers and teachers should
note He took these men into His family and kept
them there for three years He lived with them,
pouring the light and the love of Hi s holy life upo n
.

MATTHEW

IX

85
X

1 5, 4042
-

1 05

th ei r dull sinful lives, until they were li terally per

meated with His Spirit Thus He stamped H i s
own impress upon them s o that they were ready
to go out and repeat His life and teaching among
men P erhaps many of us scatter our work t o o
much If we would select a f ew persons and give
to them continually our str ongest a n d best i n
u en ce, mo n th after month , a n d year after year ,
carrying them in our prayers, and in our thoughts,
and d oing all we can to impress them and make
t hem noble, true and Christlike might we not d o
more for our L ord in the end than by trying merely
to touch a hundred or a thousand lives ?
Th e apostles had their eld laid out for them
They were not to go into the way of the Gentiles
This was not t h e nal command ; it was only for
the rst tour of the country Th e Gentiles were
not always to be left out from the pro clamation of
the Gospel Th e great nal commission was uni
versal ; they were t o carry to every creature under
the heavens the news o f salvation B ut as yet the
Gospel wa s n ot ready to be proclaimed everywhere
Th e blood of the L amb of G od had not yet been
shed Th e alabaster box o f the Saviour s precious
life had not yet been broken t o pour o u t the o w t
ment F or the presen t the messengers were not to
go beyond the limits of the J ewish nation
Th e great law of Christian life i s that we r eceive
in ord er to give that we are blessed in order that

we may be a blessing
F reely ye have received,

Christ h a s liberally b l es s ed us, but

f reely give
,

TH E

1 06

M I S S I O N OF TH E TWE LVE

the blessing i s n ot for ourselves alone Th e things

H e has given u s we a r e t o pass on to others
He
wants to reac h the many through the few We s i n
against Christ, and therefore against oth ers if we
keep in our own hands and d o not us e the goo d
things He has s o generously bestowed upon us W e
take the bread a n d a r e to pass it to tho s e who are
hungry We receive the cup and are to give it to
those next to u s We are disl oyal , therefore, to
H i m if we close o ur hands and hold the blessings
He gives us in tight cl a sp just for ourselves L et
us freely pa s s on a l l tha t Christ h a s s o freely given
.

t o us

T
T
S
E
B
T
H
U
E
I
O
N
OF
J
O
H
N
A
P
I
T
S
!

1 08

the full day burst upon the world He had n ot

the thousandth part of the light that we have, yet
?
Th e truth is ,
d o we never have our q uestions
there are very few of us who are not sometimes dis
heartened without a hundredth part of the cause
J ohn had B ut that is usually the wa y We a r e

amazed at ever y person s blindness or dulness but

our own O ther people s failures look very lar ge

to us but we d o not s ee our own at all We w onder
how M oses once, under sorest provocation lost his
temper and spoke a f ew hasty and impatient words ;
while we can scarcely get through a single sunny
day o urselves without a far worse outbreak at a
far slighter provocation We w onder how the b e
loved disciple, with all his sweet humility, c ould
O nce Show a n ambition for a place of honour , while
we ourselves are forever miserably scramblin g for

preferments We s a y, I s n t it strange that the

pe ople of Christ s time woul d not believe on Him

when they s a w all His po wer and l ove ?

Yet we
d o n ot believe on H im any more readily or an y
more fully than they did , though we have far
gr eater evidence We think it strange that the B ap
t i s t grew despondent when his trial s were so great,
though many o f us a r e plunged into glo om by the
merest t r i es

Somehow Jesus was not realising J ohn s ex p ec

t a t i o n a s the M essiah , and he thought that possibly

L ook
t here wa s yet another to come after H i m

?
we for another
It is t h e same yet with many
n d s unny they
a
eople
When
e
v
erything
is
bright
p
.

M ATTHEW X L

1 19

1 09

th ey surely have found Christ , and their

hearts are full of joy B ut when troubles c om e
a n d things begin t o go against them , they wonder
hether
after
all
hey
really
have
found
the
t
w
They begi n to q uestio n their own ex
Saviour
Christ does not do just the things they
He would do for them Their religion does
n dt support them as t hey supposed it would d o
If
they are indeed Christians , why does Christ let
?
s
r
them n e so much and not come to relieve them
So they sink away into the slough o f despond some
times losing all hope

But we see from Joh n s case how unnecessary

all th i s worry is Of cour s e, we must hav e s o m e
earthly trials Chr ist does not carry us to heaven
on owery beds of ease We must expe ct to bear
the cross many a lon g mile Th e true way is nev er
to doubt Him Suppose there a r e clouds , the sun
still shines behi nd them , undimm ed, and t h e very
clouds have their silver lining Suppose we have
d isappointments, Jesus i s the same loving F riend
as when all our h opes come to ripeness There i s
no need to look f or another ; all we want we nd i n
Him
I f we tu r n away f rom Him , where shall
we go ?

When John s me ss engers cam e w i th their ques

tion , Jesus did not gi v e a direct answer He went
on with His ministry of love a n d mercy that they

might s ee what His work wa s Then Jesus a n

s wer ed
J esus always answers M any o f o ur
a
yers
to
Him
are
mi
x
ed
with
doubts
M
an
y
o
f
r
p
th i nk

T
U
E
T
I
O
N
OF
J
O
HN
T
H
E
BA
P
I
S
S
T
;
!

1 10

them are full of complaints, fears and murmuring s

Still He never grows impatient with us He never
We must cause Him mu ch
s huts His door upon us
p a in by our distrusts and our unhappy fears We
wonder whether He loves us or not, whether He
really has forgiven us or not, whether or not He
will t ak e care of us all through our life Half th e
time we are worried o r perplexed about s ometh ing
and are full of frets and cares Doe s Jesus never
get t ired listening to such prayers ? N o , no ; He
listens always, and thoug h His heart must ofttimes
be pained by the discordant notes o f our murmur
ings and fears , He never grows impatient and never
chides but always answers He remembers how
frail we are, that we a r e but dust, and gives loving
answers
Th er e s n o p l a c e w h er e ea r thl y s or r ows
A r e m or e f elt th a n up i n h ea v en ;
T h er e s n o p l a c e w h er e e a r thl y f a ilings
H av e s u c h k i n d l y j u d gm ent giv en
.

Jesus let the messengers get thei r own c onc l u

s ions from what they s a w

Go and tell J ohn

the things which ye hear and s ee

Here we
s ee how Jesus proved His own M essiahship
Th e
best evidence of Christianity is not a long array of
arguments, but the things Christianity h as done

Th e tree s fruits are the best index to the tree s char

acter Jesus pointed to the miracles He had
wrought Yet it was not to the miracles as mi ra
cles merely as wonderful works, that He pointed ;
it wa s the chara cter of these works that prov ed His
.

! UE S TI O N OF JO HN THE BAP TI S T

1 12

injurious impres sion on others who do not know all

the circumstances , we must try to s et the matter
right It is very sad to s ee person s sometimes even
apparently glad to nd others un favourably r e
garded Instead of hastening to remove or c o rrect
wrong impressions, they seem q uite willing to let
them remain and even to conrm them by s i gn i
cant silence or by ambiguou s words Surely that
is not the Christ like way
J ohn was not a weak m a n , blown with every

breeze He was not a reed shaken with the wind

That is what many people are
A r eed grows in

soft soil by the water s edge Then it is s o frail

and delicate in its bre that every breeze bends and
S hakes it There are people of whom this is a true
picture Instead of being rooted in Christ, their
roots go down into the soft mire of this world a n d
are easily torn u p Thus they have no xed prin
ci p l es to keep them upright and make t hem tr ue
and strong and they are bent by every wind a n d
moved by every inuence They want nothing so
mu ch a s backbone Th e boy that cannot say no ,
when other boys tease him t o smoke or dri nk or go
to
i
s
laces
he
ught
not
to
go
only
a
reed
shaken
o
p
,
with the wind
Th e girl who i s inuenced by
frivolities and worldly pleasures, a n d drawn away
from Christ, and from a noble, pure, beautiful life
is another reed They are growing everywhere,
these re eds, and the wind shakes them every time it
blows Who wants to be a reed ? Who would n ot
.

'

MATTHE W X I

1 19

1 13

ather far be lik e the oak , growing with roots rm

as a rock , which n o storm can bend ?
It was a S plendid comm endation that J esus g ave

There hath n ot arisen a greater than

H is friend

John the Bapt ist

So a man may sometimes have
doubts and perplexities of faith, and yet be a good
and a very great man Christ does not cast us o
because we sometimes l ose faith O f course, we
ought never to have an y doubts about Christ, or
a bout His way being the best way, but if ever we d o
yield to such disc ouragements , we must n o t think

we have lost our place in Christ s love He makes

a great deal o f allowance for our weakness and f or
the greatness of our trials, and keep s on lov ing us
with out interruption Thousands o f good peo ple
have their times of despondency and Jesus is a l
ways gentle and tender to all in such experiences
He does not chide He d oes not break the brui sed
reed , nor quench the smoking a x He r es tores the
sic k or wo unded soul to hea l th
r

'

CH A P TE R X V I I
W AR N I N G
R ea d

A ND

I N VI TA TI O N

Ma t th ew XL, 203 0

IT

seems s trange to hear Jesus upbraid ing His

words usually were most gracious a n d loving
Here, however, we hear Him speaking in tones of
sharpness and severity Yet the phas e of His
character which is now reveal ed is n ot inconsistent
with other repres entations of Him in the Gospels
We must not think of Jesus as having no cap a city
for anger He was all love, but love can be severe,
even terrible While He was a friend of sinners
and went to H is cross to redeem the ung od ly, He
hated s i n He was just and holy
We S hould notice carefully, however, the reas on
for this upbraiding It fell upon th e cities in
whi ch Jesus had done most o f His mighty works
These were not His rst words to the people of
these cities There h a d been long months o f lov
ing ministry, with miracles of mercy, wit h words
o f grace, revealings of the F ather heart o f G od , and
o ff ers o f eternal life, before He spoke the wo r ds of
chiding we n ow hear Him sp ea k B ut t h e people
.

1 14

WAR N IN G AN D IN VI TATIO N

1 16

in our own day which have had exceptional privi

leges and have not improved th em ? What about
those who have been brought up in Christian homes,
amid the most gracious inuences wh o have s een
Christ continually and have known the beautiful
things of His love from infancy , and after all h a ve
ke p t their hearts closed upon Him , refusing His
love ? Th e question with which we are really pe r
s o n a l ly
is n o t Chorazin , its site, i ts
c oncerned
doom, or Capernaum , the improbability o f its iden
t ica ti on , but ourselves , o ur privileges and what
we are doing with them

M ore tolerable
S O we would better have been
born and brought up in some heathen land never
hearing o f Christ, than to have had the highest
Christian privileges and then to have turned o ur
back on the Saviour o f men I n the end we are
responsible for our own salvation E ven God ca n
not save us but by our consent Even the S on of
God, co ming to our d oor, and pressing His mercy
upon us, cannot bless us unless we receive Him We
can make the whole work of redemptionthe l ove
o f God , the cross of Christ, the strivi n g
of the

Spir it in vain s o far as we are concerned We

may per i sh with Christ at our d oor Chri sti an
privileges will not save us Th e question after a ll

is, What are you doing with Christ ?

Th e other part o f our pas sa ge is in a d i er en t
tone Here we nd mercy again in its most gra
cions mood Th e invitation in the closing verses
is better understood when we have s tudied t h e
,

MATTHEW X L

117

20 3 0
-

great words that precede it

A ll th i ngs hav e been

Al l
d eliver ed unto M e o f M y F ather , s a id Jesus
things had been put into His hands, all power al l
mercy, all gifts, all life This ought to be a great

c omfort to us , amid this world s mysteries and per

i
t
o
l
x
i
when
there
are
things
which
threaten
e
t
e
s
p
,
d estroy us
It is Jes us Christ, the Christ of the
Gospel , i n whose nail m a rk ed hands a r e a ll our
aff airs
There can be no revealing of the F ath er s ave as
Jesus Christ wills t o revea l Him It is very i m
portant then to learn h o w He dispenses the revela
tion which is in His hand exclusively Will He
impart it only t o a few great saints, to a l ittle com
pany of wise men , to certain rare S pirits ? Th e a n
s wer is in the gracious invitati o n which
fo llows ,

Come unto M e all ye th a t labour and are heavy

laden , and I will give you rest

Y et there i s a dis
tinct class o f persons to whom t h e gracious invi ta

tion is especiallygiven
all ye that labour and are

heavy laden
This d oes not mean the rich, the
noble o f birth , the high of rank , the wise, the great
a mong men
It includes the l owly, the oppressed ,
t h e ove r burdened , the weary , those who are in any
distress Need is the only condition There is no
one anyw h ere who desires the blessings of love, o f
mercy o f grace, to whom this wonderful invitation
is not given and who may not c laim it and accept
i t with all condence

P erhaps n o other of Christ s w ords has given

c omfort to more people than this promise o f rest
.

WAR N ING AN D I N V ITATIO N

1 1 8

It meets every h ear t s deepest longing What is this

rest ? It is not ces s ation fro m work Work is p a r t
It is necessary
o f the constitution of human life
to health , to happiness, even to existence God

works
M y F ather worketh , said Jesus, and I

work
Th ere is a cur s e on idlenes s
.

u tti n g
Th e b u s y c a r eer :
R es t i s th e tti n g
O f s elf t o on e s s p h er e
R es

is

n ot

q i

is rest o f soul that J esus promises Th e li f e is

at unrest It is all j angled and can have no rest
until it is brought into harmony Sin is the cause
o f this univer s al human unrest, and rest can come
only when forgiveness has come A nd this is the
rst r est that is promised Every on e who com es
t o Christ i s forgiven

There are two rests promised

I will give you

rest
Every weary one
This rest comes at once
who comes to Christ in penitence and with repent
ance is forgiven , reconciled a n d restored to Div ine
favour Then there is a res t which comes later and
only through self discipline a n d patient learning

Take M y yoke upon you , and learn of M e ;

and

ye shall nd rest To take Christ s yoke on us is to

take Him as our M a ster t o let Him rule our life
Th e tho ught of a yoke is sugges tive of bondage and
humiliation But the yoke o f Christ has nothing

galling or dishonouring in it
M y yoke is easy,
He s ays He is a gentle taskmaster He requires
It

WAR N IN G

1 20

A ND

INV ITATIO N

'

any experiences Even Jesus Himself h ad to learn

life s lessons I n the Epistle t o the Hebrews it i s

s ai d that He l earned obedience b y the thi n gs that
H e s n er ed
A ll Christian life is a school We enter it wh en
we rst come to Christ We begin at the lowest
grade We d o not have to wait until we k now a
great deal before we begi n to attend school School
is not for nished scholars but for the mos t ig
We may come to Christ when we k no w
n or a n t
He i s a teacher and He wants us
a lmost nothing
to become learners Gentlen es s is a less on which

we are to learn One young girl said, I never can

get over being jea lous I cannot bea r to have my
frien ds love anybody else I want them to love
only me
B ut S he must learn the less on o f gen
She must lea rn to w a nt her
e r os i ty in friendship
friends to love others I t probably will take her a
go od while, the lesson will be a long one, but she

must learn it because it i s i n Christ s curriculum

f or all His students, and no one can get His c er
t i ca t e of graduation without learning it
r
P atience is a lesson that h as to be learned A n
impatient person is not a c omplete C h ristian
Thoughtfulness is another necessary lesson There
are a great many t houghtless Christians Th e poet
tells us that evil is wrought by want of thought as
well as want of heart Many people are always
blundering in their relations and fellowships wi th
o thers
They say the wrong word , they do the
They l e av e undon e th e th i ngs th ey
Wr ong thi ng
.

M ATTHEW

X L,

20 3 0

1 21

ought to hav e done They are always h urting other

people s feelings , givi n g pain t o gentle hearts Y et

it is all from thoughtlessness

I didn t mean to

O ff end him
I didn t mean to be unkind I just

never thought
There a r e few lessons in Chris
tian life that more p eople need to l earn than this o f
thoughtfulness
We have to learn to trust W orry is a sin I t
is probably a s gr eat a s i n as untruthfulness or pro
f a n i ty or bad temper
Yet a good many Chri stian
people worry at rst, and on e o f the most impor

tant lessons in Christ s school i s to learn not to wor

ry
Joy is a lesson t o be learned P eace is another
Humility is another P raise i s a great lesson A ll
life is a school , and it is in learning these lessons
th at Jesus says we shall nd r est Christ Himself is
o u r teacher , and with Him we S hould nev er fail t o
learn , though it b e only s l owly Then as we learn ,
o u r lives will grow c ontinually more and more into
quietness and peace A ll our questions will be in

the faith that accepts G od s w i l l as h o l y an d go od

ev en whe n it i s ha rde s t
.

CH A P TE R X VI I I
Two S A BBAT H IN CI DENT S

R ea d

TH E question

Ma tth ew X I I

1 14
-

of

proper sabbath observance arose

several times during our L ord s public ministry

Th e Jewish l a w made c a reful pro vision for the keep
ing o f the seventh day of the week , but the R abbis
had added many rules of their own , making the s a b
bath really a burdensome d a y J esus did not recog
nis ethese added req uirements, a n d hence often dis
pleased the rulers by what they con s idered viol a
tions of the law
Th e criticism at this time was caused by our L ord
and His disciples going through the gr a i n el d s o n
t h e sabbath
P robably they were on their way to
the morning synagogue service Th e discipl es
were hungry and as they walked alon g by the
standing grain , which was then ripe, they plucked
o s ome o f the heads and rubbing them in their
,
hands and then blowing away the ch a , they ate the
grains
Th e P ha ris ees wer e always watching J esus that
t hey might nd something of which t o accuse Him
.

1 22

TWO S AB BATH I N CIDEN TS

1 934J

he and his companions were hungry

Have ye not

?
read
It was in their Scriptures David, eeing
from Saul , went to A himelech v ery hungry, he and
h i s companions and asked for something to eat
There was no bread about the place save the shew
bread
I t was not lawful for any but the priests to

eat this bread B ut the men s need satised the

c ust odian o f the tabernacle that he might deviate
f rom the letter o f the law in this emergency
Th e a ct of the disciples in plucking and rubbing
out the heads o f grain to satisfy their i mmediate
hunger was a work of necessity an d therefore not a
S in Though the letter o f the law may have been
v iolated , yet it was not violated in its spirit What
W ork s o f necessity are cannot be es tablished by
minute rules and regulations
Th e settling o f the
question must be left in each particula r case to the
enlighte ned consciences of faithful followers of
C hri st
Jesus made a s tart l ing clai m when He said to His

One grea ter than the temple is here

It
c ritics,
is usually supposed that He refers t o Himsel f But

a gr eater thing
a m a rginal reading suggests
meaning the l a w of love That is, love i s always
the highest law This d i er en t rendering seems to

be favoured by the words which follo w

If ye had

k nown what this meaneth I desire mercy, and not

s a cr i ce
ye would not have condemned the guilt

L ove would have made you think o f t h e

less

men s need as higher than the ob s erv an ce of the let

.

"

M ATTHEW

X II

1 25

1 1 44
-

'

ter of a s a b b a th r ul e No Divine law means to h a ve

men go hungry

Then Jes us uttered a n other startling w o rd , F or

the Son o f man is lord o f the sabbath

He thus
claimed the right to interpret the laws of the s a b
bath In M ark we have also this strong a s serti on ,

Th e s abbath was made for man , and not m an for

Th e sabbat h was part of the D ivine

the sabbath
constitution which God had ordained for H i s chil
d ren
Christ came not to destr oy, but to full He
took the sabbath, therefore, and s tripped from it the
burdensome regulations which men had attached
t o it and put into it its true spiritual meaning
He set the Church free from the cumbrousness o f a
rabbinical sabbath , and made i t a day of j oy and
gl adness, a type and foreta ste of heaven
A lmost immediately afterwards another question
o f sabbath ob serv ance arose
It was in the syna
gogue A man was present wh o had a withered
hand
A gain the P harisees were watchi n g Jesus to
s ee what He would d o
They asked H i m if it was
l a wful t o heal on the s abbath day They were n o t
humble seekers for the truth but were looking for
a ground of accusation against Him It was a
violation o f the rules of the P harisees to attend the
sic k or even console them on the sabbath Jesu s
k new the intention of the P harisees in their ques
ti on and bade the man arise

Then He asked them , What man shall there be

o f you , that shall have one sheep, and if this fall
into a pit on the sabbath day, will he n ot lay hol d
.

1 26

O SABBATH

INCI DENTS

it, and lift it out ?

In thi s He appealed to s im
ple common sense W hatever their traditions said
about t h e sabbath day, the practise of the people
would be on the merciful line Th e Tal mud says
that if the animal is in no danger in t h e ditch it
S hould be allowed to remain unrelieved ov er the

But the f orm o f our L ord s q uestion

s abbath
shows that this was not the practise of t h e people

What man shall there be o f you , that shall have

o n e sheep , and if this fal l into a pit on the sabbath

day, will he not lay hold on it and lift it out ?

Then He ad ded , How much then is a man o f mo r e

value than a S heep
If it was right to help a shee p
out o f a pit on the sabbath , it certai nly was right
to relieve a human s u ff erer fro m his sickness on
that day

So we have the lesson , Wherefore it is lawful

to do good on the sabbath
It i s right for physi

cia n s to attend t o their patients on the L ord s d ay

It is right for those whose duty it naturally is to
nurse the S ic k to care for them o n the sabbath It
is right to visit the sic k when they need our sym
pathy and when we can carry to th em blessing or
cheer It is right to vi sit those wh o ar e i n afic
tion when we can carr y comfort to them ; to visit
th e poor when we can minister to their needs or
relieve their distresses Espec ial ly i s it right t o
d
o
h
out
among
the
unsaved
w
en
we
can
any
o
g
,
th ing to bring them to Christ I t is right to gather
ch i ldr en f rom th e s treets a n d f rom
n eglected

on

TW O SABBATH I NCIDENTS

1 28

the man to stretc h forth hi s hand Th e a rm was

withered , dried up, dead H ow could the man
stretch it f ort h ? But when Jesus gave the com
mand it wa s implied that He would a lso give p ower
to obey Th e man must mak e the eor t t o d o what
he was bidden to do That was t h e way he sho wed
his faith Then with the eor t came new life in to
the dead ar m
Whenever Christ gives us a co mmand He is
ready to give us strength to obey it W e may say
the thing req uired i s impossible, but i t is the priv
i lege of the C hr istian t o d o impossible things A ny
bod y can do possible things ; b u t when Christ is
working in us and t hrough us we need not a s k
whether the things He commands are possible or

not
I can d o all things in Him that strengthened

me
P eople o ften s ay that they cannot begin a
Chri s tian life because they have not the strength to
do what Christ requires of them True, b ut if they
will begin to obey they will be en a bled to obey,
helped by the Master Him s el f
'

CHA P TE R X I X
GRO W I N G H AT R E D To J ESU S
'
R ead
'

TH E h eart

Ma tth ew E
XI L,

22 3 2, 3 8 4 2
-

Christ was a gr eat magnet that ev er

drew t o i t a l l human su ff ering and hum an need
Th e description given o f H i m in a q uotation f ro m
Isaiah, in the vers es i mmediately precedin g th i s i n
ci d en t, are wonderfully suggestive
His comp as
si on and His gentleness a r e dep i cte d i n th e word s ,
of

b r u i s ed r eed s h all He n ot b r eak

A n d s mok ing ax s h a l l H e n ot q u ench ?

'

the Mess iah f ound i t s

perfect real i sation in the life of Jesus He wa s the
friend of the frail , the feeble, and the bruised I n
those days men despised the weak Th e d eformed
and the incurable were not considered wort h s a v
i n g, but were thrust out to perish
Jesus, however
h ad speci a l c ompassion f or that wh ich wa s crushed
or broken H e invited the weary to co me t o Him
Th e sic k, th e l am e, the blind , t h e paralyz ed and
al l su ff er ers s oo n l ea rn ed that He was th ei r f ri en d
Th i s prop h e ti c p i c ture

of

1 29

GR OWI N G H ATR ED TO

1 30

JE S U S

W herever He went throngs followed Him ,

and

these thr ongs were made up l ar gely o f those who

were distressed and those wh o had brought di s
tressed friends to be helped o r healed
Now it was one poss es sed with a demon, and al so
blind and dumb , that was brought to Him N oth
ing is to ld o f the manner o f the cure A ll we lea rn

is that He healed hi m, insomuch that the dumb

N o wonder the multitudes

man spake and s a w

?
were amazed
Can this be the s on of David they
They thought that possibly a man who did
a sked
such wonders might be the M essiah , yet it did not
seem to them that He was Or it may be that they
feared to give expression to the feelin g knowing
how bitter the P harisees were against Him
When the P harisees heard what the people were
suggesting they became greatly excited and s et to
work to a choun t for Jes us and His power They
felt that they must account for Him i n some way,
must give the multitude s ome ex planation of H i m
which would satisfy them and prevent their con

cluding that He was the M essiah In M ar k s a c

count o f thi s incident we learn that there were
scribes and P harisees present that d a y who had
come down from J erusalem to watch Jesus and to
make a report o f what they s a w and heard They
s et to work to create in the minds o f the people the
impression th a t Jes us was working in co operation
with evil S pirits and that it was thr ough their
power t hat He did the wonders they had seen Him

do So they answered the people s question , Can

.

GR OWING H ATR ED TO JE SU S

1 32

Hi s F ather

They

sought thus to S lander H i m a n d

make Him an impostor, an enemy o f God
Wicked men ofttimes resort to the same c our s e
in our own days when they are seeking to destroy
the inuence of Christianity They cannot deny
the g ood that i s do ne, but they seek to account for
i t by alleging wrong motives in those who d o the
go od Sometimes they try to blacken the names o f
those who represent Christ They start ev il st ories
about them, to defame their character That is,
they accuse the saints of being in league with S atan
Th e answer of Jesus to this charge is clear an d

convincing
K nowing their thoughts
He n u

d er s t oo d well their motives

He knows a ll men s
thoughts We can c ar ry o n no schemes or con
We can
s p i r a ci es without H i s k nowing O f them.

keep no secrets from Him His answer was : Every

kingdom divided against itself is brought to desola

tion
This proved at once the absurdity an d pre
i
r
n
o
s
e
f
the
charge
His
enem
es
had
made
s
e
t
o
u
s
o
s
p
Yet He wa s
They s ai d He was an agent of Satan
not doing the work o f Satan, but the work o f God
Satan had a man under his power whom he wa s
destroying Jesus had taken the man , d riven out
the demon , O pen ed his eyes and ears and healed him
Who could believe that He was in lea gue with the

Devil and was thus undo ing the Devil s ruinous

?
work
If Satan c asteth out Satan; he is divided

a gainst himself
This shows the folly o f their
charge A ll t h e works o f Ch rist were good works
He came to bl es s men , to s av e them, to hea l th e s i ck,
.

'

MATTHEW X I I

1 88

22 8 2, 3 8 -4 2
-

to make the lame walk , t o raise the dead A r e these

the works O f the Evil One ?
One o f the strongest ev idences of Chri stianity
is in what it doe s for the world When the disci
ples of John ca me as king for their M aster in hi s
dungeon , whether Jesus was indeed the M essiah ,
they were bidden to tell John what they had seen

Jesus doing
the blind receive their sight, and the
lame walk, the lepers a r e cleansed, a n d the deaf

These were al l
hear, and the dead are raised up
works of lov e, a n d they proved th a t Jes us was the
Mess iah , the Son o f God Men are trying t o pro ve
to d ay that He is n ot Divine, denying His miracles,
tak ing away every vestige of the supernatural from
His person , His life, His work But look at Chris
ti a n i ty, not as a creed merely, but as a regenerating
force Look at the ma p o f the world and nd the
white spaces which S how the eff ect of Christianity
in the coun tries where it has gone W a s it a n i m
postor that wrought a l l this ? W a s it on e i n lea gue
with B eelzebub who left all these records o f bless
i ng, wh o transformed these countries ? Was it a n
agent o f Satan that made the home life of Chr istian
lands that built the churches, the as ylums, the hos
l
s
n
a
i
the
orpha
ges
the
sch
ols
and
th
t
t
a
h
o
a
a
s
p
,
,
,
given to t h e world the sw eetness , the beauty, the
joy, the comfort, the fruits of love, which are every
where the results of Christian teac hi ng and culture ?
Could anything be more absurd than trying to
a ccount for the mighty works o f C h ri s t b y s ayi ng
th e Devi l d i d th em through Hi m ?
.

GR OWI N G HATR ED TO JE SU S

1 34

Jesus gives the true explanation o f His work s

in the words : If I by the Spirit of Go d cast out

demons, then is the kingdo m o f God come upon

you
Christianity i s the kingd om of God in bat
tle with the kingdom of evil Th e work o f C h ri st
in this world is to des troy the works of the Devil
This is a work in which ever y follower of Christ

has a part
He that is n o t with M e said the M as

ter, is against M e ; and he that gathereth not with

Me scattereth
One o f the most frequently misunders tood of al l
the words which Jesus S poke is found in His reply

to His defamers : Therefore I s a y unto you , Ever y

sin and b l asphemy S hall be forgiven unto men ; but
the blasphemy a gainst the Spirit shall not be for

given
Doe s not this seem to refer to the act o f
the P harisees in imputing to the P rince of evil
works which Jesus had done through the Sp i ri t ?

h
T
o
u
One writes,
e conclusion o f the whole is
y

are on Satan s side and knowingly on Satan s side,

in this decisive struggle between the two kingdoms,

and this is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost a n

unpardonable s in
Thousands o f peop l e, however, have stumbled at

this word of Chri st s and fallen into great darkness ,

fear ing that they themselves had sinned a sin which
never could be forgiven There is not the slightest
reason why this saying o f Christ should cause a ux
i ety t o any who are sincerely s triving to f ollow
Chr ist It may be said that those who have an y
a n x iety concernin g them s elv es a n d their s p iritua l
.

GR OWI N G H ATR ED TO JE SU S

1 36

that love is holy , that roses become c oal s of re

when they fall upon unholiness
Th e s cribes and P harisees demanded a sign , some
thing that would assure them that Jesus was what
He claimed to be Sincere and ea rnest inquirers
after truth always nd Christ most patient in a n
s wer i n g their questions and m ak ing thei r real dif
cu l t i es plain
When Thomas could n ot believe on
the testimony of the other disciples , an d demanded
to s ee for himself the hands with the print o f the
nails, J esus d ealt with h im most patiently He is
always gentle with honest doubt and q uick t o m ak e
the evidence plain to it B ut the men who here
demanded a S ign were not hones t seek ers a f ter
tru th Jesus knew t heir thoughts and spoke to
them in words of judgment They were an evil and
an adulterous generationestranged from God ,
false to Him They had h ad S igns , but they h a d
disregar ded them Nineveh repented at t h e preach
ing of Jonah, and before them now was a greater
than Jon a h Th e queen o f t h e South came fro m
afar to hea r the wisdom of Solomon and a grea ter
than Solomon now stood before them B ut they
believed not, repented not Impen i tence gets no
Si gn
.

CH A P TE R X X
T H E P A RA BL E OF T H E
.

Ma t th ew XML,

'

R ea d

J E SU S wa s a l way s teach i ng

SOW ER

1 9 ; 1 8 23
-

p ar t icular
d a y His p ulpit was a s hi ng boat, from whic h He
S poke to the mu l titudes standing on the S hore P er
haps there was a sower somewhere in s ight, wal k
i n g on h i s eld , carr ying his bag o f grain an d sling
ing his seed broad c ast Th e s igh t s uggested th e
arable
p
Chr i st H imself i s the great Sower, b ut we al l ar e

s owers
sowers of someth ing N ot all wh o s ow
s catter good s eed ; there are sowers o f evil as wel l
as of go od We should t ake heed what we s ow, for
we shal l gather the h ar v est i nt o our own b os o m a t

the l as t
Whatsoev er a ma n s oweth , that s hal l

that, and n ot som ething el s e

h e also reap

I n the parable the seed is good i t is the word o f

G od
Th e s oi l likewise is good i t i s all al ike , in
the same eld Th e d i ff er en c e is i n t h e c ondition
o f the soil
Th e rst thing t hat strikes us in reading the p a ra
ble i s the grea t amoun t o f waste of good there seems
l
o
f
s
to be in the world On three parts
the oil noth
O n th i s

'

1 37

THE

1 38

S OW E R

PAR ABLE OF THE

.

ing c ame t o har vest W e th i n k o f the enormou s

waste there is in the L ord s work, in the precious

s eed of Divine truth which is scatter ed in the world
W hat comes of all the s ermons, of all go od teach

ing, of the wholes o me words spok en in people s ears

i n conversation, of wise s ayings i n books ? What
waste o f e ff ort there is whenever men a n d women
tr y t o do g o od ! Yet we must n ot be discouraged
or hindered in o ur sowing We should go on s c a t
tering the go od seed everywhere whether it all
grows to ripeness or n ot E v en the seed that seems
to fail may do good in some way other than we in
ten ded and t hus not be altogether lost
.

Wh a t th ou g h
A n d th e

th e

s ee

bi r d s tak e

be

i t
y

c as t

et

th e

b y th e

bi r d s

way s i d e
are

f ed

Th e wayside is t oo h ar d to tak e in the see d that

falls upon it There ar e many l iv es that are ren

dered incapable o f fruitfulness in the s ame way
They are trodden down by passing feet
Too many
people let their hearts become like an open com mon
They have no fence about them
They shut noth
ing out They r ead all sorts o f books , have al l
kinds of compan i ons, and al low all manner of va
grant thoughts to troo p over the elds Th e result
is th a t the hearts , once tender and sensitive to every
good inuence, become i mperviou s t o i m pressions
They s i t in church, a n d the
They feel nothing
hymns, the Scripture words and exhortations , the
app eals and the prayers fall upon their ears , b ut
Or, if they are heard, they a r e
a r e n ot ev en heard
.

TH E

1 40

PAR ABL E OF

THE S OWE R

feet is all worn o ff L ife is full of this impulsive

z eal or piety which starts o ff with great glow but
soon tires M any people begin a book , read a f ew
chapters and then drop it and turn to another
They are quic k friends, loving at rs t, but i t i s s oon
over
One of the pictures of the crucixion repr esents
the s cene o f Calvary after the body of Jesus had
been taken down and laid away in the gr ave Th e
crowd is gone Only the gh a stly memorials of the
terrible day remain O ff to one side o f the picture
is an a s s nibbling at some withered palm branches
Thus the artist pictures the ck l en es s of human a p
l
e
a
u
s
O
nly
ve
days
before
palms
were
waved
p
,
in wild exultation as Jesus rode into the city
Th e goodness of too many people lacks root Th e
resolves of too many lack purpose Th e intentions
of too many lack life and energy There are many
shallow lives in which nothing good grows to ripe
ness What this soil wants is the breakin g up o f
the rock What these shallo w lives need is a thor
ough work of penitence, heart searching and heart
breaking, the dee pening o f the spiritual life
Th e third piece of soil in which the seed fell was
preoccupied by thorns whose roots never had been
altogether extirpated Th e soil was neither hard
Th e seed began to
n or shallow, but it was too full
grow, but other things were growing alongside of
it, and thes e, being ranker than the wheat and grow
ing f aster, choked it out
.

MATTHEW X III

1 41

1 9 ; 1 8 23
-

o f the parable
Jesus
tells
us
what
these
thorns
\
s tand for They are the cares, r iches an d pleasures
Cares are worr ies , frets, distra e
o f this world
tions M any people seem a lmost to enjoy worry
ing But worries ar e am ong the thorn s whic h
crowd out the good M artha is an illustration of
the danger of care There are plenty of modern
examples however, a n d we s carcely need to recall
such an ancient case as hers
R i ches , too , are thorns which often chok e out the

go od i n people s lives One may be rich and his

heart yet remain tend er and full of the sweetest and
best things B ut when the l ove of money gets into
a heart i t crowds out the lov e of God and the l ove
of man and all beautiful things Judas i s a fear
ful example Th e story o f Dem as also illustrates
the same d anger A good man said to a f r iend :

If you ever s ee me beginning to get rich , pray for

my soul
Th e pleasures of the world a r e also tho r ns which
crowd ou t the goo d It is well to have a musements ,
but we must guard lest they come to possess our
heart W e are not to live to have pleasures ; we
a r e to have pleasures rather only to hel p us to live
Th e fourth piece of soil was al together good
It
was neither trod den down , nor shallo w, n or thorny ;
it was deep plowed and clean Into i t the seed fel l
and san k and grew without hindrance By and by
a gr eat harvest waved on the eld
Th i s i s the ideal for all good farm i ng
Th e
.

1 42

TH E

PAR ABL E OF THE

S OWE R

farmer must hav e his eld in con di tion to

the seed and to give it a chance t o gro w That is
all the good seed wants This is the ideal, t oo, for
a l l hearing o f the word o f God
I f only we give it a
fair chance in our l ife i t wi ll yield r i ch blessing
.

TH E PAR ABLE OF TH E TAR E S

1 44

those who receive the Spiritlove, joy, peace,

l ong s n er in g There are also fr uits in the a ctivi
ties o f the Christian life, in the words on e S peaks ,
in the t h ings one does, in the touches of life upon
life
We here c ome upon the truth o f an Evil One wh o
is in the world , an enemy o f Christ, marri ng o r

destroying Christ s work Th e Bible does not tell

us about the origin of evil , but it everywhere takes
for gr anted that there is a k ingdom of evil , at the
head of which is the great enemy of God and man
Evil is not dropped accidentally int o lives or homes
o r communities
Th e bad work i s done designedly

While men slept his enemy came and sowed tares

a lso a mong the wheat, and went away

P eople sometimes wish that there was no evil in
the world B ut, unfortunately, the feet o f the A d
ver s a r y go in every path
He is always watching
for opportunities t o steal in an d d o misch ievous
work while no one is watching He is represented
here a s coming by night when good people a r e
asleep Our hours of greatest peril are tho s e in
w h ich we a r e least conscious of peril What can
we do t o prote ct ourselves in these unsheltered , un
watched times ? If a man knows that a thief is
coming, he will be on the watch But the thief

does not come t hen h e c omes when he knows that

n o one is watchin g How can we keep ourselves
safe from the d angers we know not o f ? A ll we can
do is to keep our lives ever in the hands of the un
Sl eeping Christ
of

'

MATTHEW X III

1 45

24 3 0 ; 3 6 4 3
-

W e are in danger of underestimating the enm i ty

Satan , and the evil wrought by hi s sowing His
purpose is t o destroy the work o f
o wn distinct
Christ Whenever any good seed has been sown in
a heart, he comes and tries to get some bad seed i n
am ong it He whispers his evil suggestions i n our
ears, even while we are reading ou r B ible, praying,

Th e Devil is
o r parta king of the L ord s Supper
far more busy among good people than among the
bad Those who are wholly given o ver to s in he

ff
can a ord to let alone t hey are safely his already ;
but those who are trying to be Christian s he seek s
t o d estroy
Young people need to guard against
the balef ul evil which seeks entrance in vile books
and papers , in indecent conversation or unchaste

pictures When a n O fcer in General G r ant s pres

ence was about t o tell an obscene story, he glanced

about him and said, There ar e no ladies present

Th e general promptly answered, But there are gen

Nothing that should n ot be said

tl emen present
in the presence of a l a dy should be s ai d i n a n y
presence
In the early s tages of growth the tare o r d arnel
i s s o much like wheat that the two can scarcely be
distinguished Evil in its rst beginnings is s o
much like good that it is often mistaken for it By
and by, however, as they gr ow, the true character
o f the tar es is revealed
Seeds o f evil sown in a
heart may not for a while make much S ho w A
child under wrong inuences or teachi ngs m ay for
a time seem v ery innocent and bea utiful , b u t a t
of

'

'

THE

1 46

PA R ABL E OF THE TAR E S

length the sinful things will show themselves a n d

M any a man falls into
will shoot up in strength
ruin at mid life through bad habits which he began
to form when he was a boy Th e time for young
people to k eep their hearts against evi l is in the
time O f their youth

Th e farmer s s er vants wished to clean out the

t ares before they had come to ripeness Th e farmer

s aid , however :
N 0, you would d o more h arm than
good if you began to d o this Wait until the har
vest, and then we will separate the tares and the

whea t
Good men must live among the evil in
this world Sometimes they grow together in the
s ame home, o r in the same gr oup o f friends , o r are
associated in the same business, dwelling in con
Even in the
s tant communication and associati on
apos tle family t here was one traitor Besides the
i mpossibility o f making a separation , there is a

reason why the evil S hould remain the h ope that

they may be inuenced by the good and may yet
themsel ves be cha nged into holines s Every Ch r is
tian S hould be an evangelist, eager in h i s desire and
e or t to bring others into the kingdom of God
In Old Testament days God tolerated m an y ev ils
like polygamy, divorce blood revenge, a n d did not
root th em out at once because the peopl e were not
then ready for such heroic work We are not to
grow lenient and t olerant toward sin , but we a r e
to be wise in our eo r t in rooting it out Espe
ci a l ly must we be forbearing a n d pati ent towar d t h e
I f our neighb our h a s faults, we a r e n ot to
s inn er
.

TH E

1 48

PAR ABL E OF THE TAR E S

were obscure and hard to unders ta nd become very

pl a in as we go on ; experience reveals them to us
Then the o fce of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into
all truth
S ome people talk about this world as if i t b e
longed to the Devil Indeed , Sata n himself s aid
that all t h e kingdoms o f the world were hi s I t
looks sometimes, too , a s if this were true B ut

really this is Christ s world A fter H i s r es ur r ec

tion Jesus Christ sent His disciples forth into all
the world, claiming it, bidding t hem go everywhere
to make disciples of all the nations
J esus taught plainly that there is a person al
spirit of evil , called the Devil He says here dis

t i n ct ly, Th e enemy that sowed them is the Devil

Th e Devil is the enemy of Christ
N O sooner had
Jesus been bap t ised than Satan began his a ssaults
upon Him , seeking to overcome Hi m and des troy
Him S atan is the enemy also of every Christian
He tak es t h e utmost delight in getting his po ison

into the lives of Christ s followers Someti mes p eo

ple think that they can play with evil safely, but it
is always perilous play, a n d every one who thus
v entures will surely be hurt One grea t comfort
we have in thinking o f Satan as the enemy of souls
and o ur enemy is that Christ overcame hi m at
every point While S atan is our enemy, s trong and
alert, he is a van q uished enemy We cannot our

s elves s tand against him , but with Christ s hel p we

can stand
In all these things we are m ore than

conquerors throug h Him that loved us

.

CH A P TE R X X II
P I CT UR E S OF T H E
R ea d

Ma t th ew XI I I

I N GDO M
4
4
1
52
3 33 ;

TH E

parables of Jesus are unforgettable pictures

They are s tories laden with truth
So me prea chers
tell stories which thrill those who hear them , and
yet they are tales with no l esson Th e parables o f
Jesus a r e homely and interesting, and yet they a re
vital with spiritual meaning
Th e musta rd see d is little so smal l that one can
scarcely s ee it Yet it has life in it, and when it is
s o wn in a eld it grows and become s a tree, so
large that the birds c ome and nest in i ts branch es

There would be no reason f or our L ord s telling us

about this little seed and its plant merely as a bit
o f natural history
It is beautiful and interesting
even in this way, but He had a further purp o se in
His parable He uses it as an illustration of His

kingdom in the world

Th e kingdom o f h eaven is

l i ke unto a grain of mustard seed

Christian i ty
began in a very small way A little baby lay in a
manger, sleeping its rst sleepth at was the b e
ginning of the kingdom of heav en i n t hi s Wor ld
.

1 49

PI CTUR E S OF

1 50

TH E

KIN GD O M

kingdom im plies a king Christ ruled over a very

S mal l kingdom that night His mother loved Hi m
a s mothers always love
their children , and He
r eigned in her heart
Some shepherds came in dur
i n g the night and saw the Child K ing and wo r
s hipped Him
Their lives were never the s ame
again, f or one who h as had a vision o f Christ can
never lose the inuence ou t of his heart They r e

turned to their l owly duty k eeping watch over

their ock but they were better shepherds after

wards and better men Th e k ingd om of heaven had
entered t heir hearts
But the beginning of the k ingdom was s mall in
d eed
like a mustard seed F or thirty years it
Th e c hild
s eemed to hav e n o appreciable growth
grew, but dwelt in a lowly h o me in a pea sant vil
lage His childho od was n ot unusual He was
n ot a precocious boy
There was n o hal o about His
bro w Nothing s howed t hat He was k ingly
There were no a s h i n gs of d ivinity on His face
He did no brilliant things He wrought no mira
cles He went t o school and learned His lessons,
but revealed no greatness A ccording to the rules

o f H i s people He entered the carpenter s shop at

twelve a s a n apprentice, and f or eighteen years

worked at the carpenter s bench

Th e k ingdom of
heaven i s like unto a grain of mustard s eed

W hich indeed i s less than all s eeds

W e k no w what the kingdom o f Christ is to d ay
I t h as touched many lands with its holy inuence
I t h as be c ome a gr eat tree with wide spreadin g
A

P I CTUR E S OF THE KIN GD O M

1 52

into great spiritual beauty Her friend s wond ered

what had wr ought the change A t len gth the s e
cret was discovered in a verse of Scripture which

Whom having not seen

s h e carried in a locket

ye love
Th e leaven works al s o in communities
Neighbourho ods ar e chang ed , transformed by the
Gospel I n mi s si on lands there are many notable
illustration s
I t is
Th e truest work of C h ristianity i s quiet
a religion less of organi z ation than o f personal i n
uen ce
It is n ot al ways the most active person
who does the most f or the advancement o f the king
d om o f God ; ofttimes it is the q uiet man o r woman
whose life is h oly and beautiful , that really does
the most for the changing o f other l ives M any an
invalid, who can not take a n y active part in the
a ffairs of the Church , yet exerts a sweeten i ng and
ennobling i n uence i n a home, in a commu n ity,
which f ar surpasses in i ts value the busy mi nistry
o f one who i s a l wa ys go i ng about talking, do i ng
.

'

Th e lesson from the leav en i s th at i t d oes

i ts
work by being put into the midst of the l oa f I t
will n ot d o any good i f laid o n the shelf, i n how
ever close proximity t o the dough I t must be in
the ma ss There are some Chr istian p eople who
seem to feel no resp onsibility for the touching o r
inuencing of other lives They incline to keep
B ut leaven
a way from peo ple and t o be exclusive
W ill never do its work if kept wrapped up i n a
.

M ATTHEW

X III

1 58

3 1 33 ; 4 4 52
-

did He wa s

by go ing am ong people Thus Jesus

called a friend of publicans and sinners He ate
with them and mingled with th em in all social
ways, and His pure, loving, gentle life left its i m
pr ess ou their lives J esus did not teach His dis
ci p l es to hide away f ro m people , to keep out o f the
world, but to live in the world , to be friends o f men ,
to seek to inuence others by bei n g with them He
said t hey were salt, but salt to d o its work , t o per
form its mission, must be rubbed into that which it
i s to preserve
We need to t a k e th e lesson Be leaven wherever
you ar e L et your goodness be felt L et your
kindness touch others Let your example have in
it a contagion of j oy, of peace, of u n s el s h n es s , o f
sweetness of purity, which shall be a benediction
everywhere B e sur e that y ou m a ke one little spot
o f the world better, cleaner , whiter, brighter, glad
der because you live in it

In another parable J esus speak s o f a tr easure

hidden in the eld ; which a man found , and hid ; and
in h i s joy he goeth and selleth a l l that he hath, and

buyeth that eld

There were no ban ks i n ancient
times , especially in unsettled countries It wa s
common therefore to hide treasure in the ground
Not infrequently d id on e come upon such concealed
treasure Of course, Jesus had spiritual treasure
in His thought, as He is illustrating the kingdom o f
heaven We do not d rea m o f the wealth o f invisi
ble riches that are al ways close to us as we go
through this world A man may wor k for years i n
.

P ICTUR E S OF

1 54

TH E

KIN GD O M

eld, digging and ploughing over it, not think ing

of anything o f value in it, and then suddenly som e
day discover that there are valuable mineral s or
even gems hidden under h i s pick and plough

Dr Newell Dwight Hillis says : L ecturing in

K entucky recently , I saw a cave of diamonds , newly
d iscovered
One day a farmer, ploughing, thought
the ground sounded hollow Going t o the b a rn he
brought a spade and opened up the apertur e F ling
ing down a rope, his friends let the explorer down ,
and when the torches were lighted, lo ! a cave o f a m e
t h ys t s and sapphires and diamonds
F or genera
tions the cave had been undiscovered and the jewels
unknown Wild bea sts had fed just above those
ashing gems, and still more savage men had lived
and fought and died there A nd yet j ust beneath

wa s this cave o f ashing jewels

W e d o not kno w what hidden treasur es o f spir
i tua l good there are all t h e while s o close to us that
o ur hand could take them if we s a w them
Some
times we come suddenly u pon them, and then we
S hould instantly seize them and appropriate them ,
whatever it may cost us Th e man in the parable
sold all he had and bought the eld in which the
treasure was concealed We S hould be ready to
give up all we have to get the S piritual riches that
W e nd
Th e par able o f the pearl teaches almost the sa m e

Th e king
less on as that o f the hidden treasure
d om o f hea ven is like unto a man that is a mer
c han t s eek ing good ly pearls : and having found on e
a

CH A P TE R XX II I
T H E DE A T H OF
R ea d

J OH N

TH E

BA P TI S T

1
I
w X V, 12

a tt h e

J O H N T H E B A P TI ST was one of the noblest men that

ever lived Jesus said o f him that no gr eater man
had arisen His mission was only a brief one His
o ne denite errand to the world was t o intr oduce
J esus as the M essiah He preached about s i x
months before J esus was baptised, and continued
to preach a f ew months afterwards Then he wa s
cast into prison because o f h is faithfulness and
never came out
Th e fame o f J esus reached everywhere, even to

Her od s palace, a n d n o one could have been more

unsympathetic toward Him than Herod Th e i n

u en ce of Christ s life wa s like the light, or like

r
the fragrance O f owe s i t d i u s ed itself every
where J esus was talked about all over the coun
try P eople told each other the stories they had
heard of His wonderful works Thi s sick woman
Th e
a n d that lame man had been healed by Him
demoniac boy at the other end of the village h a d
been taken t o Him, and he wa s now well and sane
.

1 56

MATTHE W X I V , 1 1 2
.

1 5 71

as a n y other young fello w in the town Jesu s

never can be hid N O matter how q uiet, humble
and obscure we may be, if we are living a true, beau
tiful life the inuence o f our life will r each f a r
and wide
It wa s a strange eff ect that the news a bout Jesus

had on Herod When he heard it he said , This i s

Jo hn the Baptist
I t wa s Herod s guilty con
s cience that put this uncanny fancy into hi s mind
He never had been able to get the memory o f th at
terrible crime o ut of h i s thoughts A guilty con
science is a fearful avenger
Conscience obeyed
brings peace, b ut conscience disobeyed causes un
told bitterness No earthly su f f ering is s o terrible
a s remorse
F or a time conscience may seem to be
a sleep , but no one can t ell when it will aw ak e
A
chance wo rd , a s udden noise, some unusual occur
rence, the glimp s e of a face in a cr owd a letter , a
sentence in a b ook, a sickness, the death of a friend

and the memory comes up again It was s o with

Herod that day
Herod was not s o bad a s Herodias He was
d riven o n to his c r ime by her
He laid hold on

John and bound him , and put h im in prison for the

sake of Herodias
Here we s ee illustrated the
power of a bad inuence Herod cast John i nto
prison to please the wo man he had t a ken unlaw
fully t o be his wife Thousands o f men owe what
ever is good and beautiful in them to the woman

whom they love and honour as wife A go od wife s

inuence is sim p ly immeasurable She in s p ires i n
.

DE ATH OF JO H N THE BAPTI S T

1 58

her husband all right impulses, all noble a spira

tions all lofty ambitions , al l gentle sentiments
B ut when a man has a bad woman for his wife he
is under an inuence which may kindle in his breas t
every unholy passion and feeling and compel h i m
to deeds that ar e malign and dark Herod was bad
enough himself, but when he too k Herodias to be his
wife he sold himself into a bondage o f S in yet worse
than that of his own wicked heart We need t o be
most careful un d er whose inuence we allow our
lives to fall Th e whole f uture of young people
depends ofttimes on the character o f those whom
they admit into their lives a s friends
What Herod was angr y at in John was really one
He had s a id
o f the noblest things John ever d i d

f rankly t o this guilty ma n , It is not lawful for

thee to hav e thi s woman for thy wife

John was
a lion hearted preacher Wherever he s a w a s in
he denounced it, whether it wa s in a lowly peasant,
a proud P harisee, o r a k in g To his eye a s i n was
black , whoever i t was that had s inn ed John d id
not sof ten his terms of speech because it was a te

t r a r ch s s i n he was reproving
He did not preac h

against Herod s s i n in Hero d s absence either but

went and told th e king of it r ight to his face He
knew that delity to the truth might cost him hi s
life, but that d i d not a lter his duty We would
better die any day for being true than save our life
by being untrue to God It does no good man any
r eal h a rm to be cas t i nto prison, or even to b e
.

1 60

DE ATH OF JO H N TH E BAPT I ST

moments o f passion compacts are made which

darken all the future, and solicitations a r e yielded
to which cost a lifetime of sorrow and remorse
Th e whole matter o f making promises should be
carefully considered
Some people promise almost
anything they are asked to pro mise, and then never
think of keeping their promises We should never
make promises in blan k , as Herod di d , not knowing
what the pledge may involve
It is not often that a mother encourages her own
d aughter in crime but it was s o in the case of

Herod ias Th e chil d was put forward by her

mother, the record says Th e brazenness o f the

gi rl is only eq u al ed by the guilt o f t h e mother
Salome went to her mother f o r instructions when

What sh al l
s h e had received Herod s promise

I choose ?
With half a kingdom to choose from ,
?
what did this mother bid her child to ask
A
ghastly crime To o many mothers, with all the
world, and heaven , t oo, to choose from , select for
their chi ldren , not the things which would truly eu
rich , ennoble and beautify them, but things which
in the end can only ruin their souls and blot the
joy and bea uty of their lives They choose for them
worldly and s inful compani ons, who will lead them
away from God They teach them t o look for
money, for worldly possessions f or itting earthly
honours, rather than for nobility in earthly life and
for true riches in heaven It was an a wful choice

which Salome made at her mother s bidding

It was a bitter moment for Herod W i th all h is
.

M ATTH E W

X IV

1 61

1 -1 2

wi ckedness he wa s n o t himsel f ready for such a

crime as hi s wife demanded o f him He wa s

grieved ; but for th e sake of his oaths, and of them

who s a t a t meat with him , he co m manded it to be

given
Herod hated himsel f that minute for hav
ing been ensnared by his wife in her foul p lot o f
vengeance Yet s uch a poor slave was he that,
though clai ming to be a king, he c ould n ot refu s e
the iniquitous request True, he had pr omised and
s worn , repeating his oath many times , but noth ing
promised even on oath i s binding when it requires
o ne to s i n ag a inst God There are s ome things we
have no r ight even to swea r away One of these is
right Herod had sworn to give Salome wh a tever

s h e as k ed , even t o half his kingdom

But John s

h ead was n o part of Herod s kingdomi t wa s not

his t o give If, in a thoughtless moment, we hav e
promised to do anything whic h would injure a n
other, we d a re n o t keep our promise A n engage
ment to s i n should always be br oken
Into the dungeon
S o the crime was enacted
This
s tole the executioner , and John was beheaded
seems a strange fate t o befall a serva n t of God
We know it was not an accident however , for there
is One wh o wa tches over human d estinies, s o that
not even the lowliest can fall without Divine per

missi on John s mis s ion wa s to introduce the M es

siah His work wa s nished , therefore, when Jesus
began to preach Hence we c a nnot lament here an
unnished life Then John died for h i s fa ithful
ness to duty
.

1 62

DE ATH OF JO H N THE BAPTI S T

It i s not long years that make a complete caree r

A life is complete whether lon g or short, which ful
l s the purpose o f its creation ; and the longest life
is incomplete and a failure if it does n o t do that
for which it was m ade It is better to d ie youn g,
with a life pure and unspotted , than to live to old
age in evil and crime It wa s a thousand times bet
ter to d ie a s John did than to live on as Herod and
H erodias lived on
B ut was it worth while f or John to die when
nothing came from his faithfulness for Go d ? Th e
guilty pair continued in their guilty relati ons Still ,

let us not s ay that John s faithfulness was i n v ai n ,

.

f or

No

l if e

pu r e in i ts pu r p os e a n d s tr on g in i t s s tr ife
a l l li ves n ot b e pu r er a nd s tr on g er th er eb y

C an b e
A nd

'

A ll

these centuries since that day Joh n s r e

proof of Herod has been ringing in men s ears

John died for his fai thfulness , but his testimony

lives as part of the world s moral force

It is a pathetic sentence which close s our story

His disc i ples came, and took up the corpse, and

They
buried him ; and they went and told Jesus

did love s d uty to their master s remains : then they

c a rri ed their sorrow to Christ They were per
l
e
x
d
and
dismayed
but
they
took
their
perplexity
e
p
,
and dismay to the right place We shou l d put into

Christ s hands the things we cannot understand

sure that blessi n g an d good will always come

T HE MUL T I TUDE S F ED

1 64

that J esus was the S on o f God, these revealing s of

His compassi o n are w o nderful It c o mforts us to
k now that there is the same compassi o n yet in the
breast o f the risen Christ in glory He d id n o t lose
His tenderness o f heart when He was ex a lted t o
heaven We a r e t o ld that a s o ur High P riest He
is touched by every so rr o w of our s Every wrong
that we su f f er reaches Him Every sorr o w o f o urs
thrills through H i s heart It wa s not their hun
ger , their poverty, their sicknes s , n o r a n y of their
earthly wants that appeared to H i m their greatest
trouble, but their spiritual needs O ur w o rst mis
fortunes a r e not what we call calamities M any
people may seem pr o sperous in o u r eyes, and yet
w hen Christ l ooks up on the m He is m o ved with
c ompassion , because they a r e like s heep with no
heavenly S hepherd
Y et the rst help C h r i s t gave that day was the
healing o f the sick He thinks of our b odies as
well a s our souls I f we would be like Him , we
must help people in their physical needs , and then ,
like Him , also , seek further t o d o them g oo d in
their inner life, their spiritual life T here are
times when a loaf o f brea d is a better evangel than a
tract A t least the l o af must be given rst, to pre
pare the way fo r the tract
A s the day w o re away it became evident that the
people were very hungry T hey had brought no
provisions with them , and there were no places in
the desert where they could buy fo o d Co mbining
the s tories i n the di fferent Gospels, w e get the co m
.

MATT HEW X I V ,
.

1 8 21 ;
-

XV , 29
.

1 65

39

narrative of w hat happened Jesus ask ed

P hilip , Whence are we to buy bread , that these

may eat ?
P hilip thought it was imp ossible for

them t o make provision for suc h a throng

T wo

hundred shillings worth of bread is n o t su fcient

for them that every o ne may take a li ttle

T he
apostles c ould think of no way to meet the need of

the hour but by dispersing the people

S end the
mult i tudes away, that they may go into the vil

l ages, and buy themselves fo od

T o this s ugges

tion the M aster answered, T hey have no need to

g o away ; give ye them t o eat

We are like t h e disciples We are conscious of
having but little o f our own with w hi ch to help or
bless other s and we c o nclude hastily that we can
not do anything I f we feel responsibility, we mee t
i t by deciding that it is impossible fo r us to d o any
thing O ur usual suggesti o n in such cases i s that
the people go elsewhere t o nd the help they need
We suggest this pers o n or that person who h a s
means, o r who is kno wn to be generous, t hus pas s
ing o n to others the duty which G o d h as sent rst
t o our door
We are never so consciously power
less and empty in ourselves as when we stand b e
fore those who are su ffering, those in perplexity, or
those wh o are groping ab o ut f or peace and spiritual
help O ur consciousness o f our own lack in this
regard leads us often t o turn away hungry ones
wh o come t o us f or bread Y et we must take care

lest w e fa il to d o our own duty t o C h ri st s li ttle

ones
e
l
e
t
p

TH E

1 66

MUL T I T UDE S

FE D

Jesus s aid to His disciples that day, T hey have

no need t o go away ; give ye them t o eat

T hat i s
precisely what He says to us when we stan d in t h e
pr esence o f human needs and sorrows He says ,

F eed these hungry people

T here is n o use send

ing them to the w o rld s villagesthere is nothing

there that will feed them Nor need you send them
t o people who seem to have more than you have
they have no duty in the matter Whenever Christ
sends t o us th o se who are in need , whether it be
for physical o r spiritual help we may not l ightly
turn them away T he help they actually need we
can give them T hey would not have been sent to
us if it had been impossible for us t o do anythi n g

for them If we u s e the little we have in Christ s

name, He will bless it s o that it shall feed the hun
ger of many
T he disciples had but little in t heir h a nds to do
w ith that day F ive loaves and two shes might
feed one or t wo hungry men, but they would be
nothing for ve th o usand people A young Chris
tian is asked to teach a S unday school class , but

says : I have n o gift for teaching I have nothing

to give these children

A young man is asked to
take p ar t in a meeting, but he says he cannot We
are all the while excusing ourselves from helping
others pleading p o ver ty or un tn es s T he gr eat
lesson we should get here is t hat however littl e we
may have o f ability, when our little is blessed by t h e
M aster, we can d o large things with it
We learn how to us e our resources of ab ili ty by
.

T HE MUL T I T UDE S

1 68

FED

T he miracle seems t o have been wrought in th e

disciples hands as the bread was passed t o the p eo

ple T hey gave a n d still their hands were full I n
the end all were fed S o with o ur small gifts, when
Christ has blessed them , we may car ry comfort and
blessing to many people I t was a boy wh o had
t hese loaves
Here is a go od les s on for the boys
S ome one says that this boy was a wh o le Chris
tian Endeavor S ociety himself He and Jesus fed
thousands of people with what ordinarily would
have been a meal for but o ne o r t wo T he boys d o
n o t know h ow much they ca n do to help Christ bless
the world through the little they have T he young
girl who thinks s h e cannot teach a class in S unday
school , and takes it at last tremblingly b ut in faith ,

nds her poor barley loaf grow under Christ s

touch , until many children are found feeding u p on
it learning t o love Christ a n d h o nour Him T he
young man who think s he has no gifts for Christian
work nds , a s he begins that his word s are bles sed
to many
In the closing of the story we have a lesson on
caring for fragments T hough Christ had so easily
made the little into a great supply of bread, yet it
wa s He who gave the c o mmand to gather up the
fragments, that nothing might be l o st, n o t even a
crumb of bread We are al l apt t o be careless
a b o ut frag ments especially when we have plenty

T here is no waste in God s world

T he decay o f
rocks f o rms the soil o f plants T he d ecay of plants
forms the molds i n w hi c h future plants will grow
.

MA T THE W X I V

1 3 21 ; X V , 29 3 9
-

T he water di ssipated in the air becomes clouds

rain

1 69
an d

We should be careful of the fragments of

M any of us waste mi nutes enough every
o ur time
day to make hours Every moment is valuable,
since in it we may speak the word or do the kind
ness w hi c h will bless another We should take
c are of the little bits of money Many are carel es s
o f the pennies, a n d thus waste c o untless p o unds
We should be careful of all our opportu nities for
hono n r 1 n g Chri st and d o ing g oo d M any o f us every
day miss chances of doing kindness to others
chances of which we may hear again by and by in

the M aster s words , I wa s hungry, and ye did n ot

give M e to eat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me n o

drink
We must n otice, a lso that the dis c iples had
more bread after feeding the vast multitude than
they had at the beginning We thi nk that giving
empties our hands and hearts We s a y we cannot
a ff ord t o give or we shall have nothing for our
selves Perhaps the disciples felt s o that day
But they gave, and their store was larger than b e

fore S o the widow s oil was increas ed in the emp

tyin g T he disciples said that M ary s ointment

was wasted w hen s h e pour ed it upon t h e M aster s

feet B ut instead of being wa s ted i t wa s i n
creased, s o that no w its fragr an c e ll s all the earth
.

C H APT E R X X V

J E S U S W A L! S
'

R ea d

ON

TH E S E A

Ma tth ew X I V 22 3 6
-

I T wa s

after the feeding of the ve thousand A s

w e learn from John s acc o unt the people were s o

excited by this miracle that they wished to ta ke
Jesus by force and make him king T o prevent
this act Jesus sent the multitude away and then
w ent up into a mountain fo r prayer
Bef ore going into the moun tain , however, He sent
His disciples out upon the s ea in the boat, to go b e

fore Him to the other side T he record s ays He

constrained t hem It ought to have been a com

fort to them that night, in the midst of the storm ,
to remember that their going out up o n the lake was

n ot at their own suggestion then they might have

thought it a m i s ta k & but that the M aster had bid
den them to go T hey were in the way o f o bedience,

and when we are doing Christ s will we are under

Divine protection and need fear no storm
We must n o t expect that every voyage we take

at Christ s bidding shall be with o ut sto r m We

may be pleasing God and yet meet dangers When
.

no

JE SU S WALKS ON

1 72

THE

SE A

that there i s no o ne wh o cares , no one who thinks o f

us B ut the picture here i s the true o ne Christ
cares, watc h es, keeps His unsleeping eye upon us ,
keeps Hi s o mnipotent hand on all a ffairs s o that
n o harm can c o me to us on ocean or o n Sh o re
When He came He came as no other friend could

come
He cam e unto them walking up o n the s ea
N 0 human help c o uld possibly have g o t to them
that night in the wild s ea T heir friends , though
standing on the Sh o re, and seeing their peril , c o uld
n o t have d one anything fo r them S o we may stand
and l ook at o ur friends in their sorr o w, and o ur
hearts may break f o r them , but we can d o n o thing
We cann o t get t o them thr o ugh the wild waves

B ut there is O ne wh o ca n reach them Jesus can

walk on the r oughest billows as if they were a
crystal flo o r
S ometimes Jesus alarms His friends by the way

He c o mes t o them It was s o that night

When
the disciples s a w Him walking on the s ea , they

were tr o ubled
In their t error and superstition
they th o ught it must be an appar iti o n , a n d they
were a ff righted Yet it was their best friend , and
He was c o ming to deliver and save them T hey
were terried because He came in such a strange
way It is the same with us o fttimes He c o mes
in the black cl oud o f trial , Sickness, l o ss, bereave
ment, disappo intment, and we think it is some n ew
peril , when really it is our S avi o ur We shoul d
learn to s ee Christ in every pr ovidence, bright or
painful T he sternest things of life carry in them,
.

MAT T HEW X IV

1 73

22 8 6
-

only w e have fa i th to re c ei v e them , D ivi ne bless

ing and go o d

It is I ; be not afrai d
A s soon as the discipl es
heard the voice o f J esus they recognised Him and
their fear changed to joy S o it was with M ary
at the sepulchre He whom s h e t ook to be the gar
d en er was her own M aster ; she kne w Him a s soon
as He spoke her name

T hen c omes the story o f P eter s venture and fail

ure P eter was always impulsive A s soon as he
heard the voice of Jesus , and knew wh o it was that
was walki n g on the waves, he was seized with a de

sire to rush to meet Him

Bid me come unto

T hee, he cried Jesus said , Come, and f o r a

time P eter walked on t h e waves and did not sink
His faith was simple and he was upheld by Divine
power But soon he took his eye o ff his Lord and
looked at the tossing waves a n d instantly he began
to sink T hat is the way most of us do We go a
step or two as i f we were borne up on wings , whi l e
o ur fai th is strong and our eye is xed upon Jesus
But soon we begin to look at the d angers , and then
our faith trembles and we begin to sink If we c o uld
always keep our eye upon Christ, not thinking of
the perils our fait h would n o t fail

Jesus stretched f orth His hand, and took hold

of him
In his fear and helplessness P eter did the
right t hingh e turned to Jesus for hel p , crying,

Lord , save me
S aid an old A lpine guide to a
tourist wh o w as ti mid at some point of danger ,

if

'

'

1 7 41

JE SU S WALKS O N T HE S E A

T hi s hand never lost a man

C hrist never l ost a
man out of His hand
A s soon as Jesus was in the boat with the d is
cip l es , the st o rm was over, the boat was at the land ,
and the tired r o wers, afte r their long night of toil ,
dr o pped their oar s, a n d all went on Shore S o will
it be at the end of life, i f we have Christ with us
A s the morning break s we will pass out o f the
storm into the quiet ca lm and will nd oursel ves on
the shore of eternal b l essedness

1 76

T HE CA NAA N I T I S H WO MAN

We may notice here that while the trou b l e was

in the child it was the mother s heart that carried

t h e burden
Whenever we s ee a child sick or in
a n y pain or distress , and the m o ther watching the
mother su ff ers m ore than the child Children never
can understand how the hearts of their parents are
bound up in them

T o this woman s intense pleading with Jesus , her

appea l s to His mercy, her c ries of distress, Jesus
answered her not a word T his is o ne of the
strangest incidents in all the sto ry of Jesus U su
ally He was quick to hear every req ues t made of
Him by any su ff erer S carcely ever had any one
to ask twice for His help His hea rt instantly r e
O fttimes He gave the
s p on d ed to cries of distress
hel p unasked Yet n ow He st o od and listened to

this woman s piteous pleading, a n d answered her

not a word Like a miser with hoards of gold , at
wh o se gates the p o o r knock , but who , hearing the
cries o f need an d di stress, yet keeps his gates l o cked
and is deaf to every entreaty s o Jesus stood u n

moved by thi s w oman s heartbroken cries Why

was He thus s ilent ? Was this a weak h o ur with
Him , when He could not give help ? T he m o st com
passionate man has days when he can d o nothing,
but there never were such hours in the life of Jesus
Was it because He was so engrossed in His own
coming s o rr o w that He c ould not think of any other

?
one s trouble
No, for even on th e cross He fo rgot
His own anguish , and prayed for His murderers
and car ed for Hi s mother Evi dentl y the reason
.

MAT T HEW XV

1 77

21 28
-

for His silence was to d raw out the wom a n s faith

He was preparing her to receive in the end a far
richer better blessing than s h e could have received
at the beginning
O ur L ord sometimes yet seems t o be silent to Hi s
people when they cry unto Him T o all t hei r earn
est supplications He answers not a word I s His
?
silence a refusal
Does it indicate that His h eart

has grown cold , or that He is weary o f His people s

cries ? Not at all O fttimes , at least , the Silence
is meant to make the supplicants more earnest, and
t o prepare thei r heart s to receive better blessin gs

T he woman s cries seem to have disturbed the

disciples T hey grew almost impatient with their
M aster fo r keeping her waiting s o lo n g T hey
wanted her d aughter healed because they could not

e ndure the mother s crying

Yet Jesus was in n o
haste to yield t o her impl o ring He i s not s o ten
d er hearted that He cannot see us s uer when s uf
f er i n g i s the best experience for u s
He does not
immediately lift burdens fr o m our sh o ulders when
it is needful fo r our gr o wth that we bear t h e bur

dens longer T here i s about some people s ideas

of Christ a mawkish sentiment, a s if He were t oo
gentle t o endure the sight of s n er i n g Here we
get a glimpse o f a di ff erent quality in Him He
d o es not promise a lways to save us from s u ff ering
His pr o mise rather is t o bless us through the s u er
ing It is p o ssible to be too tender hearted toward
pai n and distress It is possible for parents t o be
t oo emotionall y ki nd t o their children
U n con

{THE CA NAANI T I S H WOMAN

1 78
1

trolled pity i s pos i ti ve w eak ness, and ofttim es

W orks great injury

C h rist s gentleness i s never too tender t o b e wise

and true as well a s tender He never makes the

mistake of yielding to a n y one s entreaties so long

a s denial is better than the granting o f the favour
He never lets us have what we want because He can

No t o our tearful cries Nor is

n o t bear to s a y
He s o emotionally kind that He cannot bear to pun
ish s i n He will not let even His truest disciples
unchastened
when
only
by
chastening
can
He
o
g
s ave them or best promote their spiritual growth

But one thing we must not forget i t i s love that

prompts what seems severity in Christ He was
Silent here that in the end He might give the full
rich bles sing which He wished to give this w oman ,
but which i n the begi nn i ng She could not receive
He denies us our requests and i s Silent to us when
we cry, that He may dra w out our faith and give
us His best blessings in the end
Jesus told the woman that it was not meet to take

the children s bread and c ast it to the dogs T his

seemed a strange word to fall from the lips of the
gentle Christ If it had been some P harisee who
s poke t o this poo r woman as a dog it would not

have seemed out of keeping

Even if Christ s
own discipl es had spoken thus t o her
we
could
,
have understood it, for they had not yet got away
from Jewish prejudices, nor had their hearts gro wn
e
n
t
l e wi th l ove f or a ll hu man i ty B ut i t certai nly
g
.

TH E CA N AA N I TI S H

1 80
L

WO MAN

w o rth y t o be th ough t T h y chi l d

N o r s i t t h e l a st a n d l owe st at T h y b o ard ;
Too l on g a wa n d e r e r a n d t oo of t begu i l e d
I o nl y a s k o n e r e con ci l i n g word
I

am

n ot

It is most interesting to trace the growth of thi s

woman s faith T here were many di fculties in her

way, but s h e surm o unted them all S he was a Gen
tile and her Healer was a Jew When s h e rst
came t o Jesus s h e was repulsed and called a dog
B ut none o f these disc o uragements chille d the ar
dour of her faith o r hindered her in her determina
ti o n S o at last s h e g o t the blessing a n d won fro m
the lips of Jesus o ne o f t h e highest commendations

ever given by Him to any on e

O woman , great is

thy faith
Large faith gets large bless ings ; small
faith receives but small fav o urs We sh o uld go to
God mak ing large requests, believing Hi s pr omises
We should never be discoura ged by delays by seem
ing repulses, by o bstacles and hindrances We
should ght our way t o victory With innite ful

ness in o ur F ather s hand , we sh o uld n o t live in

spiritual hunger as s o many of God s children do

T his is a wonderful saying

B e it d o ne unto thee

even as thou wilt

T hese words simply throw

o
r
heaven open to u faith We can get we do get
wh at we will S o upon o urselves c o mes the r e
s ponsibility o f the less o r the more bles sing w hich
we receive from the bountiful God
.

C H ART E R X X V I I I

PE T E R
'

R ea d

C ON F E SS I ON

Ma t th ew X VI

1 3 28

J E S U S h ad led the dis c i p l es to a qu i et p l a c e, awa y

from c rowds and ex c itements T he time had c om e
t o dec lare t o them His M essi a hsh i p
I t wa s a n ew:
epoch in His ministry
He asked t wo questions T he rst r ef err ed t o

the opinion of the people c on c erning Him

Wh o

?
Th e disciples
d o men s a y that the S on of man i s
told Him that there were di ff erent op l n l on s ab out
Hi m
S ome thought He wa s John the Baptist
r ise n a gain ; others, that He was Elij ah returned t o
earth ; still others that He was Jeremiah , or some
other one of the old prophets T here still i s a wide
d iversity o f opinion among people concerning J esus
S ome thi nk He was only a man , others, that He
w as a great tea c her, but nothi ng more O thers
then think that He wa s the only b egotten S on of
G od , D ivine as well as human

Jesus a sked an o ther question , But wh o s ay ye

that I a m ?
What other people though t a bout
Him was n ot hal f s o i mportant as the op i n i o n th e
.

181

PE T E R S CONF E SS ION

1 82

disciples themselves had of Him We may b e able

t o state what the creeds s a y ab out Jesus Chris t, a n d
yet n ever have brought o urselves to answer the

more important question , Who do you th i nk that I

am ?
S ome people tell us that it makes very little
di ff erence what our beliefs are, even about Christ
that conduct is everything in life But it is of
greatest importance what we t hink of Christ If
we think of H i m as only a man though the best o f
men , the wisest of tea chers, we may learn much
fro m His words and from His life ; but can one only
a man be to us all that we nee d to nd in H i m t o
whom we lo ok for salvat io n ? We may change the

question a little and ask : What is Jesus Christ to

you ? Is He only in your creed ? or i s He also in
y o ur life as your personal S aviour, L ord , F riend,

Helper ?
T his is the question that decid es our r e
lati o n to C hrist

P eter was always the rst on e to answer C hrist s

questi ons So metimes he answered rashly and n u

wisely ; this time he answered well

T hou art the

Christ, the So n of the living God

It wa s a noble
a nswer
J esus was the M essiah promised through
the ages , c o me at length to save His people fr o m
their sins T his is the true th o ught about Christ
God sent Him to earth on a n erran d of love He
became man , thu s drawing close t o us He was
also the S on of God , Divine, possessing all p ower,
innite in His love a n d grace, able t o d o for us all
that we need, and to lift us up t o eternal life and

glory If our belief is like P eter s and Christ is a l l

.

'

P E T E R S CON FE SS ION

1 8 4:

the L ord s words, it is a great c omfort t o know

that the Church o f Christ is i ndeed founded up o n
a rock , an impregnable rock
A s soon as P eter had declared that Jesus was
the M essiah, Jesus lifted the veil and gave the dis
ci p l es a glimpse of what M essiahship w ould m e an
to Him T hey were thinking about a worldly
Messiah Jesus swept all this dream away and
told them that, i nstead o f being an earthly con
r
as
r
He
going
to
a
c
ross
T
hat
the
way
u
e
o
w
a
w
q
,
s

marked out f or Him from the beginning the will

of God f or Him , Go d s plan for His life T hey w ere

s o o verwhel med by His s aying that He must be
k illed that they had n o ear for the bright, j oyous

w ord , the note of v ictory which came after that

He w o uld rise a gain the third day However, Jesu s
Himself s a w through the darkness to the light that
s hone b eyond
He knew that He must su ff er and
d i e, but He knew a lso that the grave could not hold
Him and that He would come a gain It is always
in the story of D ivine grace as it was with Jesu s

Chr is t the cross i s the way to glory Beyond

every dar k valley in the C hr i stian s path i s a hill

to p bathed in light
P eter was always maki ng m i stakes J es us com
mended h i s c onfession B ut a little later we agai n
nd hi m s peaking rashly and ignorantly When
Jesus had said that His M essiahship m eant su ffer
i n g and death , this impulsive dis c iple, in his great
l ove for his M aster, possibly, t oo , lifted up by the
i
e of
s
h
ra
i
s
c
onfess
i
on
w
hi
c
t
r
had
e
h
h
as
t
M
e
p

of

'

'

'

MAT T HEW X VI

1 85

1 3 28
-

given , sought to interfere

B e i t far fro m T hee ,

Lord : this shall never be unto T hee

He would
have held his M aster back fro m His cross B ut sup

pose Jesus had listened to l ove s entreaty that d a y

and had not gone forward ; what would the world

have lost ? We should never meddle w ith God s

plans, whether for ourselves or others T his i s one
of the dangers of friendship A lov ed one of ours
i s c alled to some hard serv ice, t o some great s el f
denial or sacrice I n our warm hearted a ect i on
w e try to hold our friend back from the c ostly call

ing We may s a y almost a s P eter s aid , T hi s s hal l

never be unto thee

T he answer of J esus to P eter s ra sh though lo v

ing restraint is full of suggestion

He tu r ned and

said unto P eter, Get thee behind M e, S atan W hat

P eter said had pr oved a temptation to Jesus, s ug
i
n
e
t
s
to
Him
an
easier
way
in
place
of
the
w
ay
to
g
g
the cross T he friends of S t P aul on ce tried t o
keep him fr o m going t o Jerusalem when a prophet
had foretol d that he w o uld be seized and b o und
there S t P aul begged his friends not t o weep and
break his heart by urging him not to go on to peril
which had been foretold T hey were only making
it harder for h i m t o do his duty It i s a constant
danger of f riendship that we Shall try t o keep our
l o ved ones fro m hard tasks to which God is cal ling
them
Jesus lifted a nother veil He told h i s disciples

that not only was the way of the cross G o d s way

for Him , but al so that His followers must go by the

'

PE T E R S CON F E S S I ON

1 86

same way
If a n y man wou ld come after M e, let
him deny himself, a n d take up his cr o ss and fo ll ow

Me
We never c an go after Christ and walk only
on owery paths T here i s n o way t o heaven but
the way of self denial and sacrice

We may notice that it is his c ross, that is, his

o wn cross, that each follower of Christ must t a ke
up and bear Each life has i t s own burden of duty,
o f struggle , of self denial of responsibility Each
o ne must take up and carry his own load for him
self Each one must bear his own burden T his
is a most so lemn t ruth No on e can ch oo se f or us ,
no one can believe for us, no one can d o our duty
for us A thousand people about us may do their
o wn par t with beautiful faithfuln ess , but if we have
not done our part we stand unblessed amid all the
multitude of t hose wh o have d one their pa r t and
received their reward
O ur L ord closes with the question n o one ever

has been able to answer, What shall a man be

pr o ted , if he shall gain the whole world and forfeit

his life ? Even the whole world , with all its wealth
and splendour, would gi ve n o real benet t o us if
our life s h ould be lost We could not buy pardon ,
peace or heaven , even with the treasures o f the
whole earth in our possession T hen we could not
keep the world and carry it with us into the oth er
life even though we had won it all
.

TH E TRA NSF IG URAT ION

1 88

It is interesting to lear n fr o m L uke s Gospel that

Jesus was praying when this wonderful change in
His appearance o ccurred W hi le He knelt before
His F ather, the change began t o come on His face
It is recorded of certain saintly men that a like
c hange has come upon them when they pr ayed We
learn thus that prayer has a t r a n s gur in g power
Communing with God brings heaven down into our
life It was after M oses had Spent fo rty days on
the mountain alone with G o d that the people s a w
the dazzling brightness o n his face So it was when
S tephen was l o oking up into heaven , beholding the
gl o ry o f God, that even h i s enemies saw his face a s
if it had been the face of an angel O nly the up
ward lo ok can give heavenly beauty O ur commun
ings make our character If we think only of
earthly things we shall grow ea rthly If we dote
o n gold our lives will harden int o sordidness
If
we look up toward God we shall grow like God A
life of prayer will transform us into spirituality
and bring upon us the beauty of the L o rd
Not only was the face o f Jesus t r a n s gur ed , but
His very garments shone A writer suggests that
the garments here may represent the circu m sta nces

and experiences of the Ch ristian s life When one

l ives near Christ everything that concerns him is
t r a n s gu r ed
F or example care Every life has
its cares, its burdens its anxieties , its experiences
th at w o uld naturally fret and vex the S pirit S t
P aul tells us that if we make known all ou r requests
to God, the peace o f G o d shall guard our hearts and

MAT T HEW XV II

1
8 1 4

1 89

20

our thoughts T he same is true of life s toils and

tasks M any of us nd life hard , with its inces sant
duty and d rudgery But when the secret of the
L ord is in the heart, we can sing songs of j oy even
in the most wearisome way T he same is true of
s o rrow Every life has sorrow But if Christ is
o urs, we have comf ort in sorrow T hus all the gar

ments of life all life s experiences and conditions

are brightened by peace in the heart
While the disciples were awed by the Shinin g on
th e face and garments of their M aster, they became
aware of the presence of heavenly visitants beside

T here appeared unto them M oses and Elijah

Hi m

talkin g with Him

H ow they learned who these
men were we a r e not told P erhaps the M aster told
them afterward T his was something very won
d er f u l
F or m o re than nine hundred yea r s Elijah
h a d b een in heaven and f o r more than f o urteen hun
dred years M o ses had been away from this world ;
but both reappear here on the eart h , still living,
Speaking and working T here are many proofs o f
immortality ; here is an illustrationwe s ee two
men long centuries a fter they had lived on earth,

still alive and busy in God s service It will be the

n
a
same with us
d our friends thousands of years
after we have van i shed from earth we shall still be
alive and active T his is a great t hought I f we
could only get i t into o ur heart, how much grander
it would make all life for us ! We Should then for m
our plans t o cover thousands of years , not merely
the little spa c e which we now c all time
.

T HE TRANSF IG URAT ION

1 90

T he tr a n s gur a t ion was not a purposeless inc i

dent in the story o f Jesus Evidently it was in
tended to prepare Him for what wa s before Him It
had j ust been mad e known to Him that He wa s to
die at Jer us alem He may not have been depressed
H e may have known l o ng before that He wa s go
ing to the cross Yet as He now s et out on His
last j ourney a n d s a w the end He needed encourage
ment and cheer and it wa s for this that the trans
g ur a t i on was given , with its embassy fr o m heaven
and its conrming voice When we keep this pur
pose i n mind the meaning of the s everal incidents
becomes plain
It is interesting , with this in mind , to think of
the t a lk which these tw o men h a d with Jesus It
was ab o ut His decease, His ex o dus fr o m this world ,
L uke tells us T hey h a d been sent from heaven to
comfort and strengthen Him as He s et out on His
journey to His cross He would have bitter s or
rows and great su ff erings, and they came t o spe ak
their word of cheer before He entered the ex p er i
ence N o doubt, all the way unto the end , His heart
was braver and str o nger because of this visitati on
M ay there not incidenta lly be a hint in this
heavenly visitati o n of the kind of empl oyment that
s hall ll the hearts and hands of the redeemed in
?
the o ther life
P ossibly we may b esent to distant
w o rlds o n errands of l ove, to carry help to weary
o nes A t least we are sure that heaven is not a
lace
of
idle
rest
We
shall
serve
Christ
a
n
d
i
n
,
p
.

1 92

T HE TRAN SFI GUR A TI ON

aid a week befor e that He must su ff er and be

killed T heir idea of the M essiah had been the
kingly and earthly on e T heir faith must have been

strengthened by the words, T his is M y beloved

S on , and by the command that they sho uld listen

to His voice and to H is voice only Even if they
could not understand, a n d if the thing s He sai d
seem ed to des troy thei r h op es , they w er e c ontent
n ow to hear

T here are times when God s ways with us see m

mysterious , when we think disaster is c o mi ng t o
every fair prospect in our life In all such hour s
w e should remember that He who rule s over all i s
the S on of God, our F riend and S aviour, and our
trust in Him never should fail We should listen
always quietly and submissively to what He says,
and when everything seems strange and dark we
What s o stag
s hould never doubt nor be afraid
ger ed the disciples then concerning the M essiahshi p
o f Jesus we see n ow to have been the m o st glorious
and loving wisdom S o in our strangest trial s there
are the truest wisdom a n d the richest love T his
voice came out of the cloud ; out of the cl o uds th at
h ang over us c ome the voices of Divinest love
When Jesus a n d the disciples came do wn next
morning from the M ount of T ransguration they
found the other disciples in trouble In the M as

ter s ab sence an epileptic boy had b een brough t to

them for healing T hey tried to cure h im, b ut
failed When Jesus appeared , the distressed father
knelt b efore Him , pleading that He might have
s

MA T T HE W

XVI I

1 4 20
-

1 93

mer cy on h i s s on He to l d h i s story i n al l i ts

patho s the b oy s gr i evou s s uer i n g and his bitter

disappo i ntment when the disciples could no t cure
him Jesu s listen ed w ith c omp a s sion a n d

said , Brin g him hither to Me

A w ord from Hi m

was eno ugh

T he b oy wa s c ur ed f r o m th a t h ou r
.

C H APT E R X X I X
A LE SSON

R G I VE N E SS

0N FO

Ma t th ew X VI I I

R ea d

21 3 5
-

P E R H APS no other lesson is harder to learn than to

be forgiving It never gets easy to bear injury or
wrong Yet the lesson i s essential We can a s k
fo rgiveness for ourselves only when we are r ea dy
to forgive those who trespass against us
Jesus had been s peaking t o His disciples ab out
forgiving others He s aid if any o n e sin against us
we should rst go and talk the matter over with h i m
privately M utual explanations will likely settle
the matter It will be still better i f the two kneel
and pray together before they begin to talk about
their d i er en ce If the matter can not be settled
between the two, then on e or two witnes ses are to
be taken along If one man still remains i mp l a ca
ble, the other has done his part
It was always P eter wh o spoke rst , and when

he heard the M aster s words, he asked Jesus h ow

of t his brother should s i n against him and he for
give hi m T his qu estion still troubles many pe o

ple In s ome persons minds patience quite s oo n

.

1 94

A LE SSO N ON F O R GI VE N E SS

1 96

times it is by an a fi c tion w ith c ompel s men to stop

a n d thin k of their relations to God , r eveal ing t o
them their sinfulness S ometimes it i s by a deep
searching of heart, pro duced by the Holy S pirit
T here i s n o man wh o some ti me or other is n ot
called, even in thi s p res en t life, b efore God f or a
r eckoning
T he r ec kon i ng i s i nd ivi dua l each on e must
s tand before the judg ment s eat and give an a c count

his own life A m ong the king s serv ants one

of
was bro ught unto him, that owed him ten thousand

talents
We need not trouble oursel ves about the
exact money equivalent of these gures It i s
en o ugh to know that the gures stand for our debt
to God, and that this is immense It makes it pl ai n
t o think of Sin as a debt
We owe to God perfec t
obedience in act word , thought, motive D uty is
what i s due to God and the o b ligation is beyon d
c omputation We may atter oursel ves that we
are f airly good people, because we stand w ell in the
community ; but when we begin to reckon with God ,
the best of us will nd th a t our deb t to Him i s of
vast magnitude

It transpired a t on c e that thi s ser vant had not

wherewith t o pay
T here was n o p o ssibility that
he ever could make up the amount that he owed to
his king S o it is with those who a r e called t o
make a reckoning with God T here i s n o p os s i b i l
i ty tha t they can ever make up to Him their enor
mous debt M any people i ma gl n e that in s ome way

they ca n get clea r of thei r gui l t they d o not try

.

MAT T HEW XVIII

1 97

21 3 5
-

to know h ow S ome suppose they c an d o it by tears

o f repe ntance ; b ut being sorry that we a r e in debt
does n ot cancel the debt S ome fancy that because
their sins d o not trouble them any more, therefo re
the debt has b een overlook ed But fo rgetting that
we owe a man a thousand dollars will not releas e us
from our debt t o him We a r e h o pelessly in deb t
to God, and have noth i ng wherewith t o pay
I f the la w had been enforced , the serv ant wou l d
have been sold a n d his wife and family and al l that
he had But th i s s ervant c ame t o his king and

begged for time

L ord , have patience with me,

T his ap peal t o the king

an d I will pay thee all

touched his generous hea rt

T he lor d of that ser
v ant, being moved with c ompassion, released him ,

and fo rgave hi m the debt

T his is a pict ure of the
D iv ine forgiveness We never can pay the enor
mous debt we owe t o God , b ut His mer cy is s ui
cient to wipe it a l l away Bankrupt s sometimes
pay s o many c ents on the dollar and a r e a ll o wed by
their creditors t o go free B ut that is n o t the way
God forgives He does not require anything on our
part, because we have nothi ng to give W e ar e jus
ti ed freely by His gra c e
O ne would think that t his serv ant, after b eing for
given such an enorm ous debt, would have gone out
with a heart kindly dispos ed toward all men But

the reverse was the c as e He found one o f his fel

low servants, wh o ow ed hi m a h undre d shillings :
and he laid hold on him, and took him by t h e throat,

He had forgotten
s aying, P ay w hat thou o w es t
.

'

1 98

LE SSON ON F O RGI VE N E SS

the way he had been forgiven A little while ag o

he was at his lord s feet, pleading for time and for

patience B ut the memory of thi s wonderful for
n
i
e
e
had
failed
to
soften
his
heart
v
s
s
g
What his fello w servant owed him was a mere
trie in comparis o n with his great debt to the king,
yet he demanded payment and refused to sho w
mercy How is it with us ? T his morning we

knelt at God s feet, implored His forgiveness , and

received fro m Him t h e a ssurance that all our sins
were blotted out T hen we went o ut and some on e
said a sharp word to us or did something t o pique
us, inj ured us i n some way How did we treat our
fellow wh o did these little wrongs to us ? D id we
extend t o h i m the same patience and mer c y that
God had shown to us in the morning ?
S oon again the servant wa s before h i s k ing H i s
harsh treatment of his fellow servant had been r e
ported V er y stern was the judgment the un f or

giving man n ow heard : T hou wicked servant, I

forgave t hee all that debt
should est not thou
al so have had mercy on thy fellow se rvant , even as I

had mercy on thee ?

T he king wa s right in hi s
severe censure T he man w ho h ad r ec eived such
kindn ess at his hand should certainly have been
kind to his neigh b our who had wro nged him i n such

a little matter
A n old S pani sh writer says, T o
r eturn evil f or good is devilish ; t o return good for

good is hu ma n ; t o return good for evil is go dl ike

Jesus makes the a p plicati o n o f H i s parable v ery

plain : S o shall also m y heavenly F ath er do unto

.

CHA PT E R X X X
J ESU S

ON

R ea d

TH E W A Y To J E R U SAL E M

Ma t thew XI X

2 ; 1 3 26
-

T H E word s , He departed fro m Galil ee, h ave a

signicance, when we con s ider the circumstan c es,
which gives them a peculiar sadness T his was our

L ord s nal departure He had been brought up

in Galilee M uch of His public ministry had been
wrought there In that part of the country He
had met with the kindliest reception He had
multitudes of friends in Galilee He had per
formed countless mira c les there and had been a
comforter o f numberless S o rr owing and s n er i n g
ones Now He was leaving the dear familiar scenes
and the people He loved s o well N o wonder th e
throngs foll owed Him T he farewell must have
been tender
S ome incidents of the j ourney are given O ne
was a discussion with the P h a risees concerning
divorce Jesus in His words gave most impo rtant

teac hi ng on the sacredness of mar riage

T hey
are no more two , but one esh
What therefore

God hath joined together, let not man put asunder

200

MAT T HEW X I X

2 ; 1 3 26
-

A nothe r i n c ident w as the b ringing

201

li ttle ch i l
dren to Him that He might bless them It is n ot
s aid that the mothers brought them , but t his i s
probab le T he l anguage in L uke strengthens thi s

i nference
T hey were bringing unto Him thei r

bab es, that He should tou c h them

T he discipl es
p robably thought the ir M aster ought not to be
troubled wi t h b abies and little children, a n d s o they
rebuked those w ho w ere b ringing them But J esus
wa s moved w ith indignation w hen He sa w w hat H is

di sciples w ere doing, and s aid , S uer the little

ch i ldren, and forbid them n ot to c ome unto Me

T his w as on e of the f ew times when it i s said Jesu s
wa s angry It grieved Him to hav e His disciples
try to keep the children away from H im He would
not hav e any on e kept from c oming t o Him, b ut if
any a r e more we l c om e than others they a r e c h i l
d ren
A s tor y i s to l d of a J esu i t m i ss i onary that once
when exc essively wea r y in his labours , and when
people w ere c oming to h im in such numbers that h e

c ould n ot get even a moment s rest, he retired to

his tent, telling his attendant t o let n o on e s ee hi m

I must have sleep , he s aid , or I

for a ti me
shall die N o matter wh o c omes, d o not dist urb

me, he said He had been in his tent but a f ew

minutes however, when the servant s aw him at the

d oor, beckoning to him

He seemed t o be in dis

tress
I made a mista ke, he said
I made a

mistake If a little c hild c omes, wake me up

of

JE S U S O N T HE WAY T O JE RU SALE M

202

Exhausted a s he wa s , he must b e c alled from his

sleep if a child wanted hi m
T hi s illustr a tes the spirit of the M aster in this

beautiful i nciden t
D o n o t keep the little chil
dren away S u ffer t hem to come F or o f such is
the kingdom of heaven T hey are dear to G o d T o
thrust one of them away is t o thrust God Himself
away Whoever may be kept away let it never be

a little child
V ery beautiful is the pi c ture we s ee He wel
comed the children t o Him , to o k them in Hi s arms,
laid His hands on them and blessed them We m a y
be sure always of the love of Christ for children ,
His interest in them , His watchful c a re over them
and H is pleasure in every e ffort to bring them to
H im
A nother in c ident i n this j ourney t o J erusalem is
that of the young ruler who came to Jesus with
such earn es tness and then went away from Him so

sadly A ll that is told us about this yo ung man s

coming t o Jesus Shows us His sincerity and earnest

ness
T here ran o ne to Him , and kneeled to Him
T he running shows h o w eager he wa s , and his
eagerness tells of an unsatised heart He seems
to have attained the best that a yo ung man could
reach witho ut taking Christ int o his life He was
young , with powers fresh and fu l l He was rich,
with the honour, ease, distinction and inuence
that riches give T he fact that he was a ruler
sh o ws the c o ndence his fello w men put in him
His moral character was ab o ve reproach, for h e
.

204i JE SU S
I

TO

ON T HE WAY

JE RU S ALE M

time of his great folly He had used all his money

in getting t o his new home and n o w had nothing
with which to begin life there T his incident illus
trates the unwisdom o f th o se who think only of this
life and make n o p rovision for eternity

A nswering the young man s qu estion, J esus

turned his thoughts t o the comma ndment s

If
thou wouldest enter into life, keep the co mmand

ments
He referred him to the law, that he might
show him how he had missed the mark , h ow far
short he had come of gaining life by his own ob e

T hou knowest the commandments

It
d i en ce

is easy enough t o i magine one s self quite obedient

while one puts easy interpretation u p on the Divine
But when o ne has seen the law i n all its
la w
lofty purity, in its W ide spiritual appli c ation , in
its absolute perfection , a n d then h a s compared his
own life with it, he soon learns that he needs a
S aviour A pupil may think his writing fair until
he compares it with the copy at the top of the p a ge,
and then all its faults appear T he y o ung a rtist
may think his pictur es ne until he look s upon the
w o rks o f some great master, and then he never
wants t o see his own poor painting aga l u
S o long
as one has no true concepti on of the meaning o f the
c ommandments he may think himself fairly good ;
but when he undertakes what the c ommand ments
really require, he is at once convicted of sin
T here must have been pity in the heart of J esus
as He looked up o n the young man and heard him

All these things have I o b served f ro m

s a y glibly,
.

MAT T HEW XI X

205

2 ; 1 3 26
-

my yout h
He did n ot know what he was sayin g
when he Spoke thu s of his o wn obedience But

Jesus very frankly answers h is question O ne thing

thou lackest
He wa s not far from the kingdom
of God, and yet he wa s not in it M any men are
good , almost Christians, and yet not Christians I t
may be on ly one thing that is lacking, but that one
thing is the most important o f all , the last link in
the chain that would unite the soul t o the S aviour
It i s the nal step that ta kes one over the line, fro m
death to life, out o f condemnation into glorious
blessedness O ne ma y go to the very edge and not
s tep over, may reach the d oor and not enter
Al
most a Christian is n ot a C hristian A lmost saved
i s still lost
J esus made a v ery large d emand upon this young

He s ai d to him , S ell whatsoever thou has t,

ma n

a n d come follow M e
and g i ve to the poor
T his is not a prescription for being saved by good
worksthat is n ot the way Christ saves men He

s a w t his young man s lack , that with all his ex

cel l en t qualities h i s heart was sti l l wedded to the
world, a n d the test which He gave required him to
give up that which stood between hi m and eternal
life He would not be saved by giving his riches
t o the poor
Charity is not a way of salvati o n B ut
the young man could not be saved until hi s idol was
br oken S o the only h ope was to get him to give up
his money and to take Christ into his heart
It was a hard battle that was fought thos e mo

ments in this young man s breast It grieved h i m

.

JE S U S ON T HE WAY T O JE RU S ALE M

206

n o t to be able t o enter the circle of C hrist s fol

lowers, but he could not pay the pri c e

His coun
t en a n ce fell at the s aying a n d he went away s or

r o wf ul
He wanted to go with Jesus, but he c o uld
n o t accept the conditions Let us think o f him
af ter this day He kept h i s m o ney, but every time
he looked at it he would be fo rced t o remember that
he had gi ven up Christ and eternal life fo r the sake
o f it He would s ee written over h i s piles o f g o ld

and his deeds and bonds

T hese thi ngs cost me

eternal life
His experience was just the reverse
o f the man wh o found the pear l of great price and
then sold all he had and b o ught it T he young
ruler fo und the pearl , a sked the price, and con s i d
ered th e purchase, but d i d not buy it, because he
was n o t willing t o pay s o much
A s the y o ung man turned away Jesu s was

grieved, and said to the disciples , How hardly

s hall they that have riches enter into the kingd o m

S o it i s not easy t o be rich and t o be a

of Go d 1
Christian Chr ist spoke many earnest w o rds con
cerning money and the danger o f loving m o ney
Yet not many people seem to be afraid of getting
ri ch O ne morning a pasto r found on h i s pul p it

desk a bit of paper with these w o rd s o n it : T he

prayers of this congregati o n are requested for a

man who is growing rich

It seemed a strange r e
quest, but no d o ubt i t wa s a wise o ne N 0 men
m o re need t o be prayed fo r than those who are b e
c o ming prosperous , becoming rich F rancis X avier
s a i d th a t amon g a ll th e tho us an d s wh o h ad c o me t o
,

C H A PT E R X X X I
T H E L ABOU R E R S I N T H E VI N EY A RD

R ea d

Ma t thew X X 1 1 6
,

T H E key to this parable is found in what goes j ust

befo re A young man came to Jesus ea ger to f ol
l o w him and asked what he must do
Jesus said
he must give up his riches and go with Him T he
young man found the cost too great and went away
s o rrowful T hen Jesus spoke seriously to His
disciples a bout how hard it was f o r a rich man t o
enter into the kingdom o f G o d It cann o t have been

a hig h spiritual th o ught which was in P eter s mind

when he said to Jesus, Lo we have left all and

followed T hee ; what then shall we h a ve ?

Evi
d en t ly he was thinking that they had d one a v er y
w orthy thing in leaving all and going with Christ
But his question showed a spirit which wa s n o t
pleasing to the M aster, a mercenary S p irit, a disp o
s itiou to get the best out of duty and service and
s acrice
He exp ected reward and large reward
for faithful servi ce
In true f ol l owm g of C hrist such a question is
never asked L ove never thinks of wages in any
.

208

MAT T HE W XX

1 16

209

thing it does If, as a man does for another hard

a n d self denying things, he is always thinking o f
the way the other will pay him , ex p ec ting large
compensation , there is n o l ov e whatev er i n what h e
does He i s a hireli n g A mother never a sks , as
She ca r es for her sick c hild, l osin g rest, s uff ering,

What Shall I get for this ?

T he answer J esus gave P eter assured h i m that
the disciples wh o had lef t all should be a mply r e
warded But the parable we are n ow studying is

not always thought of as a part of our L ord s a n

s wer to the question T he c hapter division in our
Common V ersi o n obscures this fa c t In the R e
v i sed V ersion , however there is no b reak in the

passage T he words, F or the kingdo m o f heaven

is like, c onnect this parable directly with the fore

going incident and Sho w that Jesus would w a rn
P eter a n d His disciples against the dis p osition to
b argain and haggle for pay, or to comp a re their
work with that of others, quib b ling ab o ut propo r
t io n a t e re ward s
T he parable makes it pla i n , rst, that an agree
ment was made with the labourers T he house
h o lder needed men , and when the rst came they
"
accepted his o ff er of a shi lling a day and agreed t o
work for that L ater in the day, at di er en t hours,
o ther men were also engaged and sent into the vine
yard S ome were even ta ken on only an hour before
the day closed E vening came a n d t h e w orkmen
.

21 0 THE
.

LABO UR E R S IN T HE V INEY A R DI

gathered to r eceive their pay It happened that

t hose who were last engaged and had w o rked only
one h o ur were paid rst T hey received the full

a m o unt fo r a day s work

We need not raise the
questi on of fairn ess It is evident that the men
who had been in the vineyard o nly one hour had n o t
d o ne as much as those who began in the early m orn
ing and had wrought all through the long hours

r
T he pa able was sp oken for a denite purpose t o
condemn the greedy, grasping, bargaining spirit,
a n d to commend the thought o f doing duty for its
own sake whether there is a dequate com p ensation
or not T hose who came at later hours made n o
bargains as to their w a ges, leaving to him wh o em
ployed the m how much they Sho uld receive
T he parable is not meant to be a less on in busi
ness No doubt it is better usually to have an u n
d er s ta n d i n g as to wages s o that there m a y be no
misunderstanding at the time o f settlement But

it is in the F ather s business that Jesus is giving

instru ctions, and here we need not trouble ourselves
to put our contracts down in black and white, and

need n o t ask, What Shall we get for this ?

When the rst came, they sup posed that they

would re c eive more ; and they likewise receiv ed
every man a Shilling A n d when they received it ,
they murmured against the ho u seholder, saying,
T hese las t have spent but one hour, and tho u hast
made them equal unto us, who have borne the bur

den o f the day and the sc o rchi ng h eat P eter could

s c arcely help hangin g h i s h ea d when the M as ter
.

21 2 THE

L ABO URE R S IN T HE VI N EYARD

should envy another lab ourer who had don e

much less than himself

T hese rst men were v ex ed b ec ause they did n ot
receive more for their w ork than those who had
come in at later hours T here are some wh o are
e nvi o us o f others because they s eem t o have easier
work, lighter burdens, more cheerful circumstances
T his is an unhappy mood T hey thi nk Go d is not
quite just and fair t o them T hey fret and chafe
when they s ee others called to more prominent posi
tions T hey tell of w h at they have sacriced , h o w
hard they have worked , how much they have done ,
and d o not hesitate t o fret and complain because
they have not the rec ognition they think they de
serve O ther men who have bee n Christians not
half a s l o ng a s they have, and have not given o r
worked as they have done, ar e o fcers in the Church,
are talked about and praised among men for their
worth and serv ice
I
T his is a most unwhol esome dispo siti on I t
makes one wretched and unhappy T he true Chris
tian spirit is glad for all the yea rs of opportunity

to do God s service It begrudges even o ne opp or

t u n i ty that has been lost
I t d oe s not c o mplain

that it has served s o long it grieves al ways that

it has not served longer and more faithfully
T he questi o n of pay or reward for Christian work
i s one that s hould never have a place in any heart
A ll service Should be inspired by love O f course,
T he minister,
W e have to live, a n d i t costs t o live
for ex ample, wh o devote s his w hole l ife to th e work
W ork

MAT THEW XX

21 3

1 16
-

of C hrist has to li v e But when Jesus sent out His

disciples to preach He warned them especially
against anxiety concerning their food and raiment
T hey were not to provide luxuries for themselves

T hey were not t o have extra garment s they were

g o ing out under their M aster s command and He

w o uld s ee t hat they should be cared fo r T he min
ister ought to be supp o rted , ought to have his need s
provided for B ut when he haggles about th e ma t
ter, shows anxiety and frets and c omplains, he is
not pleasing the M aster , nor practising the Spirit
and the disposition which He commends
T he motive in Christian service should always be

like the M aster s We Should work f o r love never

for rewa rd We sh ould never say to C hrist, when

called t o a n y hard service, What shall I get for

this task , t his sel f denial , thi s sacrice ?

We
s hould be rea dy to go anyw h ere, to do anything,
that the M aster w o uld have us do We should never
bargain for any reward , whatever we may do We
know that we Shall have a reward, but we sh o uld
never let that be our motive We Should devote
o urselves with all the earnestness and all the
energy we have to the service of C h rist, whether we
are t o receive pay fo r the work or n o t
A n ancient legend tells of o ne who went about
carrying in o ne hand a burning torch and in the

other a g o blet of water, crying, With this torch

I will burn up heaven and with this water I will
put out hell , that God may be served fo r Himsel f

alone
T his par able teaches that a l l our s er vi c e
,

21 4

T HE L AB O UR E R S I N T HE VI N EYARD

of Christ is to be lowly and self forgetting We

a r e to be eager to do G o d s will whatever it m a y be,

serving unto the uttermost but never thinking of
reward We shal l have reward if we are faithful ,
but o ur servi ce i s never to be fo r the reward T he
true reward i s that Whi c h comes i n the s ervi ng
itsel f
-

JE SU S NE AR I N G JE RU S ALE M

21 6

inspiration in C hrist s example here for al l wh o

are called to s n er and endure fo r His sake We

s ho u ld be eager to d o God s will however hard it

may be ; and we should train ourselves to look b e
yond the su ff ering and the trial to the bless ing and
j oy that will come after
He took the disciples apart and t old them what

lay before Him

Behold, we go Up to Jerus a lem ;
a n d the S on of man s hall be delivered unto the chief

priests and scribes

T he astron o mer knows, when
others do not, that the dark shad o w of the eclipse
is traveling toward the s un ; and Jesus knew, when
n o others s a w it , that the blackness of the cross wa s
a pproaching Him and would overwhel m Him , and
knew the very moment He would enter it O ne of

Holm a n Hunt s pictures represents Jesus as a b oy

in the carpenter Shop It is evening, and He is
S tretching out His arms, the light o f the
W eary
s etting s un shining in from the west, casts His
s had o w on the oor o f the Shop , and 1 0 ! it is in the

form of a cr o ss T he art ist s thought is that thu s

early the shadow of the cross fell upon Jesus th a t
fro m the beginning He was c o nsci o us of the fact
that He must die by crucixion What a pathos it
adds to the life of Christ t o rem ember this : that al l
the ti me, in the midst o f His human j oys , while He
was scattering blessing s among others, while He
wa s working miracles of mercy ; in all the holy
peace and calm of H i s soul , that dark Shad ow hun g
over Him c ontinuallyH e was going at last to be
Yet th e c ons c io usness never kep t Him
crucied

MATT HE W

XX

1 7 3 4:

21 7

fro m speaking one gentle word, nor from doing one

kindly deed , nor fro m being chee rful a n d loving
K nowing from the beginning all that l ay before
Him , He went on with H i s daily duty quietly and
j oyfully T hi s reveals something o f H i s love fo r

us and His j oy in doing the F ather s w ill

T here is a strange c o ntrast between the words o f
Christ as He spoke to the disciples of H i s approach
ing d eath an d the coming of thi s mother with her

ambitious request : Comman d that these my two

s ons may sit, the one on T hy right hand , and the one

on T hy left hand in T hy kingd om M others sh ould

be a m b i ti on s fo r their boys, and wan t them to have
high places T hey should make sure, however, that
the places they desire for them are rea lly hi gh

places
Earth s pinnacles are not always su c h

T aking out of S alome s request its mistaken worldly

thought, no parental ambition for a child can be t
ter t han hers , that her sons should have places near
to Christ It is to be feared , however, that very
many parents think more of getting for their chil
d ren high positions in this world than pla c es near t o
Christ and high in holiness
Jesus spo ke to the sons in reply, not to the

mother : Ye know not what ye ask

I t was an
ignorant prayer which they had o er ed T hey did
not know what they were asking for We kno w
that o ne dark day two malefactors had the places

o n the L ord s right and left hand We all many a

time a s k fo r things which we w o uld not dare r e
T here
q uest if we knew w hat they would cos t us
.

21 8

UE SUS NE AR I NG JE RU S ALE M

is a h eathen story, says Geo rge M acdonald , whic h

tells that o nce a man asked for this gift not to die ;
and i t was granted h i m by t h e F ates He was t o
live o n forever B ut he had forgotten to ask th a t
his youth a n d health and strength might last f o r
ever also ; and s o he lived on till age a n d its i n r
mi t i es and weakness were weighing him down , and
his life gre w to be a weariness and a burden to him
Existence ( for i t could not be called life ) was one
l o ng torment f or him ; and then he wished to die
and c o uld not He had asked for a thing which he
was tota lly unt to enjoy, but he h a d to take th e
c onsequences of it when it was once given
T he
better way t o pray is t o let God choose for us and
to give what He sees b est for us and in the w ay H e
k n o ws i s the best

T o s i t on M y right hand, and on My left hand ,

i s not M ine to give ; but it i s for them for who m it

hath been prepared of M y F ather

S o there are
places in heaven higher and nearer Christ than o th
er s
S urely, too , the high places ar e wort h striving

for We s ee how men s cramble after earth s pos i

tions ; heaven s are innitely better But h ow c an

?
w e gain the seats nearest to Christ n o w, in glory
We have many hints A little farther o n in thi s
passage w e are taught that th e p ath of lowly, self
forgetful service leads upward in Spiritual life In
R evelation our L ord s ays that they who overcome
in their struggles with s i n and trial shall s i t with
H im on His throne
In D a niel we are t old that
they wh o turn many unto r i ghteousness ; that i s ,
.

220

JE SU S NE AR ING JE RU S ALE M

T he S o n of M an came not to be ministered unto ,

b ut to minister
T he art o f photography i s now
s o perfect that the w hole side of a great newspaper
c an be taken in miniature s o small as to be c arried
on a little pin or butt o n , and yet ev ery letter and
point be perfect S o the whol e life of Christ is
ph o tographed in this on e little phrase He came

not to be served i f t h is had been His a im He wou ld

n ever have left heaven s glory, where He wante d

n othing, where angels praise d H i m and ministered
unto H i m He came to serve He went about d o
ing g oo d He a l together forgot Himself He served
all He met who w o uld receive His service A t l a st
He gave His life in servinggave it t o save others ,
t o redeem lost s o uls He c ame not to be mi nistered
unto, but to minister
Y ou pray
Y o u s a y you want t o be like Christ
Him to print His own image on y o ur heart Here
then is the i mage It is n o vague dream of p er f ec
tion that we are to think of when we ask to be like
our M aster T he o ld monks thought that they
were in the w ay t o become like C hrist when
they went into the wilderness, away from men, t o
live i n cold cells or on tall c o lumns B ut surely
that is not the th o ught which t h is picture suggests,

such a dream o f uselessness

T o minister
that
is the Christlike thing Instead of eeing away
from men , to live with men, to serve them t o live
for them, t o seek to b less them, to do good , t o give

our lives for them that is the meanin g of the

rayer
for
C
r
istlikeness
h
p
.

'

CH AP T E R X X X II I
J E SU S E N T E RI N G J E R U SA LE M
R ead

Matth ew X X L ,
'

1 17

TH E tr i u mphal entry was one of the most

emark

able incidents i h our L ord s life U sually Jesus

made no public demonstration , did nothing to draw
Indeed, He
a ttention t o Himself i n a n y way
avoided publicity ; He d id n o t strive n or c ry aloud ;
neither did any on e hear His voice in the streets
He spok e t o His disciples condentially of His M es
O n thi s
s i a h s hi p , b ut did not publicly proclaim it
occasion , however, He made a public demonstr a
t i on , riding into the c ity a s a k ing would r ide , thu s
proclaiming t o the multitudes assembling for the
p a ssover feast, the fact of His M essiahship How
s hall we exp l ain thi s ?
M ay we not s a y that i t
was a nother way of presenting Himsel f to the p eo
ple, o er i n g Himsel f t o them as their M essiah , f o r
the last time ? A pr ophet had foret o ld that He
w ould thus in this s pecta c ular way ride into the
c ity, but He did n ot do i t merely t o ful l prophecy
T he prophecy wa s part of the w ill of God for hi m
a n d there wa s a reason fo r i t b eyon d t h e fullling
of Wh at had b een foretold
r

'

221

JE S US EN T E R I N G JE R U SALE M

222

'

T wo disciples were sent from B ethphage ( house

o f gs , the precise site undiscoverable n ow ) into a n
unnamed vill a ge near by, to prepare fo r the great

occa si o n N ote their obedience

T he d isciples

went , and did even a s Jesus appointed them

T hey
were glad t o have a part in the honourin g o f their
M aster N o doubt they themselves shared the ex
e
t
i
n
c
a
t
o
s
o f the multitude regarding Jesus, h o p
p
ing that the time had n ow co me for Him to assume
Hi s place a s K ing
It wa s a l owly errand on whic h

t
they were sen
t o bring to their M aster the animal
on which He was to rid e but they were proud t o
be ch osen fo r t his service We Should be glad a l
ways to r un any errand, even the humblest, fo r o ur
M aster If He were here n ow and wanted t o ride
s omewhere, wh o would not be glad to l end Hi m a
beast to ride on ? W h o would n o t be eager t o bring
Him His horse and help Him to mount ?
Jesus has told us that we may do just such er
rands for H i m if we will , since what we do for any
o f His little ones even the least, in His name, i s
d o ne for Him We may s o s et Jesus before us that
our very drudgeries shall be made D ivine ; we may
thus transfo rm them int o heavenly ministrie s by
doing them for Him T he angels never think ab o u t
the degree of honourableness in the tasks they are
T he K oran tells of an angel sent from
s et to d o

heaven to d o t wo things to save K ing S olom o n

fro m committing a sin , a n d to hel p a little yello w
ant with its burden up a hill ; an d d i d b oth ta sk s
w ith equ a l a l a cr ity
.

224

JES U S E N T E R I NG JE RU SALE M

'

in the way
X erxe s , history tells us , w h en pass
ing over the brid ge of the Hellespont, found the
road strewn with branches o f myrtle, while burn
When A lex ande r the
i n g perfumes lled the air
Great wa s entering Babylon , ower s were strewn
b efo re him It is no wonder that these Jewish pil
grims hono ured Jesus t hat day F or the moment
they regarded Him as indeed their M essiah They
wer e es corting Him into the c ity, as th ey though t,

to take His place on D avid s thr o ne T hey were

n o t deceived e ithe r , f or Jesus was really g o ing to

His coronation , though not to such a cor o nation
a s they thought
He wa s to be crowned , but with
thorns T he people were indeed escorting the
M essiah, b ut not such a M essiah as they were look
ing for T he time o f His triumph wa s indeed at
hand , t hough not su c h a triumph as they expected
to s ee His kingdom wa s not of this world His
glory was to b e r eached thro ugh i gnominy and
shame He wa s the king o f sorrows , because
through sorr o w He prepared redempti o n for the
world T he strange pageant of that day was a
picture, a Divine fo reshadowing, of the c o ming d a y,
when all nations shall j oi n in honouring Chris t a s
K ing
Glad w ere t h e songs that rang out on th e ai r that

morning : Hosanna to the s o n o f David : Blessed i s

He that cometh in the name o f the L ord

T he peo
ple were disapp o inted in a s ense In a little while

all their bright hopes had vanished Jesus went to

a c ro s s i nstea d o f a throne
S oon Hosann a wa s
.

I
X
AT
T
HEW
X
M

225

1 17
-

'

changed to
Cruci fy Him
S o on the palm
branches were withered and trodden under foot by
the throngs Y et the pe ople sang th at mor n ing
b etter than they knew T hey thought of the restor

o
a
s
w
D
a
v
id
s
kingdom
the
K
ing
that
c
ming
i n g of
;
wa s rea lly far more glorious than D avid T hey ex
s
liberty
fro
h
R
oman
yoke
J
esu
brought
t
m
e
d
t
e
e
c
;
p
liberty from the yoke o f S ata n and s i n T hey ex
r
restoration
of
homes
i
c
hes
and
honours
ec
t
e
d
;
,
p

Jesus has restored us to our pla c e in our F ather s

family T hey looked f or prosperity a n d peace
amon g the n ations ; He brought the peace of God
and the pro sperity that comes by righteousness
T hey ex pected the c onquest of all nations by their
Messiah ; He will c onquer the whole world by His
grace and truth T he ea rthly blessing s they looked

for as a result of th e M essiah s c oming were but the

s hadows o f the heavenly j oys whi c h He a c tu al ly
b rought
A remarka b le s c en e o cc urred i n th e te mple

Jesus entered into the temple of God , and c ast out

all them that sold and bought

T he temple wa s the
house of prayer , but it had been chang ed into a den
of robbers, as Jesus says Not only d i d these
traders desecrate the sacred h ouse by m ak ing it a
market place, but they robbed the people by usury
and o vercharging J esus c ast out the traders and
the money changers and c leansed the holy plac e
T hus it is that He would do when He c omes as Ki n g
i nto our h ea r ts Ma d e to b e temp l es o f God , h ouses

'

JE S US E N T E R I NG JE RU SALE M

226

of prayer, hom es of p urity and peace, sin h as turned

them into dens of r obbers , desecrating them and

lling them with unholy things Christ s rst

work is to drive out all that d eles them , all that is

unholy, and make them ready to be God s dwelling

places
T he rulers were v ex ed w hen they s a w all that
J esus had done T hey seem t o have been especially
ann oyed by hearing the children singing their h o
sannas to Jesus He reminded them, however, that
their own S criptures had foreto ld this very scene :

Did ye never read O ut o f the mouth s of babes and

?
sucklings th ou hast perfected praise
Everywhere
in the B ible we learn that children are d ear to God
He wa nts t heir earliest love He is pleased to hear
their voices in s o ngs of praise A sweeter music

rises to h eaven fro m the children s singing than

fr o m trained choirs of insincere, formal , o r mere
pr o fessional w
o rshippers T he children sh o uld a l
ways h e in the church serv ices and should j o i n in
the songs T he s ervice i s completed, perfected by
their voices
T he great triumph of Christ is still going on in
this w orld T he pal m branches which were waved
that d a y have long since faded , a n d the music of
the songs h a s died away on the air ; but uncounted
millions are following in the proces sion of those
who honour Him
A mo n g these ar e prophets ,
apostles, martyrs and s aints of all ages Countless
multitudes hav e b een gathered from t h e darkest
a bed es of s i n , a n d , wearing white garments washed
.

C H APT E R XXX I V
TW O PA RA BL E S OF

J U DGM E NT

R ea d Ma t th ew X X L, 3 3 4 6
'

T H E parab le i nterprets itsel f T he people of Israel

w ere fami liar with the u s e of a v ineyard as an
image or illustration of themselves T he prophets
had empl oyed it It is easy to explain the parable
in its his torical sense, but it has a reference also
to us God is c ontinually pl a nting vineyards a n d
leaving them in the care of husbandmen He h as

plac ed o ne in your care i t is your own life He

has placed in it many vines, which , if well tended
and c ultivated , will produce rich fruits He h as
p ut a hedge about it , the walls and defenses of your
own home and of the Church, and the restraints and
and a ssocia
s afeguards of Christian friendships
tions You were not born in a heathen land , your
life o pe n and unfenced like a public c ommon to be
trodden down by every unholy foot God ha s made
every provision for His vin eyard that i s necess a ry

fo r its fruit f ulnes s It is well watered the i n u

onces of Divine grace o w all thr o ugh y o ur life
He
h as done f or His v ineyard all that could b e done It
.

228

MAT T HEW XX L ,

229

33 4 6
-

i s yours n ow to keep and care for, not as owner, but

as tenant Y ou a r e not your o wn ; you belong t o
Christ ; your life i s H i s , and you are t o keep it and

cultivate it for Him You are really o ne of God s

tenants He has let to you a little vineyard , for

whose care and cultivation you ar e responsible
Yet He does not compel you to obey Him , t o kee p
your heart, t o bring fo rth fruit ; you are free, but He
holds you accountable for the way you keep your
vineyard

T he a nalogy i s f ollowed : When the season of the

fruits drew near , he se nt his servants t o the h u s

b a n d men , to receive his fruits

T hi s is the way
the husbandmen were to pay their rent ; they were
to give to the owner each year a cer tain proporti on
of the fruits of the vineyard God ex pects us to
r eturn something to Him of the fruits of the vine
yard He has let to us It belongs to Him a n d He
has done all that needs to be done to render i t fruit

ful He expects a proper rental

T he rental of
this vineya rd was to be paid , not in mo n ey, but in
the fruit o f the vineyar d itself
T his is suggestive
God is not satised with the mere giving t o H i m of
money or of a portion of the earthly possessions
that may belong to us O f course our money is
part of o ur vineyard a n d should pay rent, t oo ; a
s hare of its fruits or earnings sh o uld be returned to
God , t o W hom it all actually belongs But the v ine
yard proper is o ur own life a n d we a r e t o pay our
rental to God the owner in the fruits of our life
in lo v e, o b ed ience, w or s hip , h ono ur, s ervi c e
No
.

TW O

230

PARABLE S O F J UD GM E N T

am o unt of money will ever satisfy God if we d o not

also l o ve Him and d o His will
T his business like illustrati o n o f o ur relation t o
God is very suggestive We a r e His tenant s , and
all we are and all we have belong to Him Every
tenant must pay a pr o per rent or he can n o t rem ai n

o n the pr o perty that h a s bee n let to him T he

larger o ur vineyard a n d the greater our privileges
a n d blessings , the m o re rent we must pay
If we
d o not thus make s uita ble return we a r e robbing
God
T he reception given t o the servants sent to r e
cei ve the rental was not merely disc o urteous , it was

cruel and an act of rebelli o n : T he husbandmen

took his servants, a n d beat one, and kill ed an o ther,

and stoned another

T he servants who come to us
are those that God sends t o us to call us to duty
O f course, n o ne of us ever treat the messengers God
sends to us a s H i s ancient people treate d the p r Op h
et s
We do not beat our teachers and p reachers
We d o not st o ne them an d kill t hem We a r e very
kind to them We Show them courtesy We even
l o ve them very much a n d , as a rule, we listen with
great respect to what they have to s ay t o us We
never think o f arresting them and putti n g them in
prison or o f sawing them asunder S urely, then ,
this part of the parable cannot have a n y application
to us
B ut, wai t a moment O n what erran d are the
serva nts sent ? What is their r equest o f us ? T hey
come to get the r ental which we owe to God, to r e
.

TWO PARA BLE S O F JUD GM E N T

23 2

despising, sinning B ut God d o es n o t grow weary

He c o ntinues to send His mes sengers N ot only is
this true o f the impenitent, but to every believer H e
sends again and a gain , seeking for fruits and n d

ing none We never can measure God s patien c e

B ut we must remember th a t there will be a last
call

M ar k
A f ter wa r d h e sent unto them his son

He had yet o ne, a beloved s on : he sent him

s ays,

last unt o them T here i s a m a tchless pathos in

these w o rds when we thi nk of them as referr ing t o
G o d and dening the acts of His love and mercy
A ll he had left n ow was his s o n His Servants had
all been sent , and the last of them had been killed
T here was no other messenger that he could send
unless he Shou ld send his s on If he gave him
he gave all , for he had not many sons, but one,

his o nly beg o tten s on

S o he sent h im last unto

them
He kept nothing back, spared not even hi s
own s on in his great d esire to have men reconciled
t o him
T hus the sending of Jesus was the climax
of a long history of gracious acts o f love
T here is an o ther thought here He sent h i s s on
last T hen there i s n o messenger of mercy a fter

Jesu s He is God s best and nal gif t T here is

n o thing more that even God in His innite p o wer
and love can do t o induce men to be reconciled
When men reject Christ they throw away their last

hope of mercy they lose t h eir last chance N o

other messenger will be sent n o o ther can be sent

T hi s is th e h eir ; c ome, let us kill him, and tak e

.

MATT HEW XX L

23 3

33 4 6
-

his inheritance
T he rulers killed Jesus that the
power might still be theirs T here are many no w
wh o rej ect Christ for very much the same reason
T hey thin k that the way t o get liberty, pleasure and
ain
i
to
thrust
C
hrist
t
o
gether
away
from
their
s
a
l
g
l ives To be c ome Christian s would interfere t oo
much with their plans, perhap s with their business ,
T hey think that Christian
o r with their p lea sure
people make great sacrices But the Bible puts
i t very di ff erently
I t tell s us that those who r e
ceive C hrist instead of losing, gain a glorious in
her i tance ; they become children of God , and if c hil
dren , then heirs to an inheri tance unfad ing T he
rulers killed thei r b est friend when they killed
Jesus Had they ac c epted Him they wo ul d h a v e
j
r eceived His inheri tance, beco mi ng
oint heirs with

R ejecting and killing Him , they lost the

Christ
v er y inheritance they thought to seize T hose who
n ow rej ect Christ r eje c t the only O ne who could

give them eternal life S ince Christ i s Go d s last

messenger of mercy to men , the rejection of H i m
i s the thrusting away of the last hope of mercy

T he stone which the builders reje c ted , the same

w as m a de the head of the corner

T hey did not
think Jesus suitable to be their M essiah , and s o
they rej ected Him ; now, however , He is K ing of
glory T he very men who rejected H im and cru
ci ed Him , when they awake on judgment morn ing
s hall s ee Him whom they thus despised sitting as
their Judge But again , we must not apply it to
th e rs t reje c ters only
A great man y people n o w
.

TW O

23 4

PARABLE S O F J UDGM E N T

think Christ unsuitable to be their L o rd T hey do

not c onsider it an honour t o be calle d a Christian
T hey b lush t o o wn His name or enr o ll themselves
am o ng His foll o wers T hey do n o t care t o build
their life on Christ B ut He has now the highest
hon o ur in heaven No highest angel is ashamed
t o own His name
R edeemed spirits praise H i m
day and night T he F ather h a s exalted Him t o the
throne of p ower and gl o ry Why then s h o uld s i n
ful men be ashamed to own Him a s Lord ? T hey
should remember further that God h a s made Him
the cornerstone o f the whole building not made with
hands N o life that is n o t built o n Hi m ca n stand
If men ever a r e saved it must be by this same Jesus
w hom they are n ow rejec ting
.

T HE KIN G S MARR IAGE

23 6

FE A S T

T he forms of O riental life are preserved in the

framework of the parable
T he king sent forth

his serva nts to call them that were bidden

T hey
had already received a preliminary invitation , a n d

n ow they are formally called by the king s messen

gers T he refusal to accept such an honour was a
distin c t and intenti o nal insult and showed that they
were in heart rebellious and disl oyal T he mean ing
of the parable is plain God was the K ing who made
the feast T he invitation shows the Divine ear nest
ness in seeking to b less men God does not merely
i nvite the m o n c e a n d then if they refuse give no
more thought to them ; but He in vites them again ,
and most urgently presses upon them the invitation
We all have been invited m a ny times to the feast
of D ivine l ove T he invitations begin t o fall upon
our ears in childhood, a n d are repeated all through

If God is in earnest about anything,

our life

says D r M arcus Dods it i s about thi s ; if the whole

force of His nature concentrates on any one mat
ter, it is on this ; if anywhere the amplitude and
intensity of D ivine earnestness, to w hich the most
impassioned human earnestness is a s the idle, va

cant Sighing of the summer air i f these are any

where i n action , it is in the tenderness and sin

cer i ty with which God invites you to Himself

A fter all that G o d had done for H i s pe o ple and
a l l His eor t s to win them to accept His love , they

treated His mercy with contempt

T hey made

light of i t
T hat is, they simply ignored the i n vi
tati on , paid no heed to it, treated i t as a matter of
.

MAT T HEW XXII

23 7

1 14
-

i mportance, a n d hurried on to their own b us i

ness It is in this way that a large class of people
always treat the Gospel invitation T hey do not
oppose C hrist in a n y a c ti v e way T hey do not rush

into great wickedness t hey are fairly mor al peo

ple T hey speak patronisingly of the Gospel and
the C hur c h But they pay no heed to the calls o f
C hr i st T hey treat them as if the Gospel w ere only

a sort o f child s play, s o mething for s i ck people

and th e very old, but not important enough for
them t o give thought to T hey treat the Gospel a s
if there were no real importance in the messages of
love it brings which break so urgently upon their
ears T hey regard their worldly busin ess as of far
more importance than personal s alvation
S ilent neglect is one of the most o en s ive ways

of treating any one, and those who make light of

the Gospel insult God even more than those wh o
openly refuse its invitations Y et t hese people
imagine and often s a y that they have never r e
j ect ed Christ because they have shown n o open
enmity to Him Countless thousands of soul s have
been lost by s imply making light of the guilt and
danger of sin and neglecting the way of mercy
T hose wh o were rst invited a n d made light of

the invitati o n went their ways, one to h i s own

farm an o ther to his merchandise

T h at is , thei r
business was more important in their estimation

than their king s feast It is easy t o s ee the s ame

spirit to day T here are thousands who h ave mor e

no

TH E

23 8

KING S M AR R IAGE F E AST

interest in their business a a i r s than they h av e in

the a ff airs of God s kingdom

T hi s is the way some of t h e king s s ervants

treated h i s son s marriage and the invita tion to it

which they received T hey made light o f it, paid
no respect whatever to it and went on with their
busin ess as if they had never received an invi t ation
to the royal m a rriage T hen there wa s another

class of the king s servants who r o se up in anger

against the messengers, laid hold upon t hem and
treate d them shamefully and killed them T here
are those who are not content with ignoring Chr ist
and His messenger s, but become o p en enemies and
violent rejecters
T he king turned to others when the rst invited

had refused
T hey that were bidden were not

w orthy
T his does not mean that th o se who had
been invited were too wicked to be saved, for the
Gospel i s o ff ered for the w o rst T heir u n wo r th i
ness wa s Sh o wn in thei r refusal to accept T he
nal responsibility when men are shut o ut of

heaven cannot be laid on G o d hi s part i s fully and

faithfully done T he feast is ready, even at innite
cost T he invitations are given in all sincerity and
pressed with Divine ur gency But if men will not
accept t h e mercy, there the matter must end T hey
will n ot be compelled to come to the feast T he
weakest sinner ca n refuse the greatest hon o ur of
D ivine love T he nal resp o nsibility rests upo n

the rejecters
T hey would not come is the r ea
T he k i ng then b ade h is
s on that they are shut out
.

24 0

T HE KING S MARR IAGE F E AS T

us a s i n di viduals, not in c ompanies B eing in a:

good fa mily, or a mong holy person s , or in a Church
o f saintly members , will not excuse the l a c k i n th e
on e of us who may lack the prescribed garment
When the king asked the man Wh y he had come t o
the feast without the wedding garment, he had noth

i n g to answer
He was speechless
He had n o
ex cuse to oer He knew that he a l one was to
blame for this want of preparation, s ince h e had
r ej ected what was freely o ff ered to h i m S o w il l i t
b e with any wh o refuse the grace of God T hey a r e
n ot speec hless now ; they nd many exc uses when
they are urged to a c cept Christ But when they
s tand a t length before the Judge, they wi l l b e
S peechl e
s s ; they w ill have noth in g t o sa y f or th em
.

C H A PT E R XX X V I
TH R E E !

R ead

U E STI ONS

Ma tth ew XX I I

T H E Phar i sees,

1 5 22 ;
-

34 4 6

those last day s in the temp l e,

were i n continual and bitter controversy with
Jesus T hey sought to trouble Him, to ensnare or
enta ngle Him in His talk We may be glad, h o w
ever for the questions they asked, because they
drew from Him great utteran c es which are of price
l es s value to us
F irst, they took counsel together and p repared a
question which they th o ught would entrap Him
w hi chever way He answered it T h ey beg a n by
pr ai sing His sincerity a n d truthfulness, a s if to

atte r Him T hen they asked, I S i t lawful to give

tribute unto C aesar , o r n o t ?

T hey thought He
could not p o ssibly avoid being ensnared If He
s hould a nswer Y es, He w o uld be denounced as lack
ing in patri o tism If He Should answer N o, He
w ould be denounced as disloyal to R ome B ut He
w as not ensnared by their question
He knows

men s thoughts He knew their hypocrisy and false

ness, and easily bafed them His answer lays do w n
on

24 1

THR EE

24 2

QUE S T I ONS

great principle
R ender therefore unto C aesar

t h e thing s that ar e C aesar s ; and unto God the

things that a r e God s

T he use o f the coinage of
Caesar by the people was an admission of his s ov
er ei gn ty
B u t there wa s s o mething higher than
that God was over all , and no duty to H im must
be neglected T hey must be g ood citizens o f R o me,
but there was a higher citizenship and they must
also be go o d citizens of heaven
T he S adducee s came next with their question
a b out the resur rection T hey did not believe in th e
resurrection nor in the existence of spirits, and
they thought their question would c ompletely puz

In the resurrection
whose wife shall
z l e Him

T hey
s h e be of the seven ? fo r they a l l had her
thought to make the doctrine o f resurrectio n r i d i c
T he answer wa s w o nder fully w i se T hey
u l o us
were thinking only o f the earthly life, but in the
immortal life all will be d i er en t In the resur
rection there will be no marriage Christ does not
mean that the l ove whic h binds husband and wife
together and gr o ws into such sacredness and beauty
in true marriage Shall perish in d eath and have n o
existence in the resurrecti o n life L o ve never dies

i t is immorta l
It is only the incidents of birth ,
death and marriage that have no existence beyond
the grave

T hen a lawyer had a question to ask Jes us

try

ing Him , the record says

Which is the great

commandment in the law ?

T he question was a
th eo l ogi c a l on e tha t was dis c ussed mu c h amon g
3.

T HR EE QUE S T IONS

24 4

L ove t o man is second also in the sense that it must

spring out o f l ove fo r God T here must be a rst
befo re there can be a sec o nd T here can be no l o ve
fo r o ur neighb o u r if there is n o t rst l ove for God

We love because He rst loved us

We l o ve our
neighb o ur because God loves us and we love God
and because this love warms o ur heart t o ward oth
er s
B ut when we truly love God we will love our
br o ther also
T here has been altogether too little stress put b y
the Christian Church in the past o n this command
ment of l o ve to o ur neighb o ur A careful study of
the teachings o f Christ will Show that He Himself
i nsis ted continually on love as the very proof and

test of Christian life We cann o t get God s f o r

r
e
n
l
l
e
n
a
i
e
s
until
we
forgive
our
f
We
v
e
s
e
o
g
to l ove our enemies if we would be the children of
our F ather B y this shall all men kn o w that we

are Christ s disciples because we l o ve one another

T he epistles, t o o, are full of teachings concerning

the duty o f l o ve S t Pa ul s wonderful thirte enth

chapter o f F irst C o rinthians Sh o ws h ow essential
l ove is and then Shows us the way we must live if

we are indeed Christ s S t John also makes it

plain to us that if we love G o d we will love our
br o ther also T he claim that we love God cannot
be true if it a ppears that we d o n o t l o ve o ur brother

If a man say, I l o ve G o d , and ha teth his brother, he

is a liar : f o r he that loveth not his brother whom
he hath seen , cannot lov e God whom he hath not

s een
.

MAT THE W

XX II ,

1 5 22 ; 3 4 4 6

24 5

'

Jesus asked the P harisees a question, too What

think ye of the Chr ist ? It was not an easy question

t o answer
T hey had very mistaken ideas about
their M essiah M any stumbled at the M essiahshi p
of Jesus because it was not what they were expect

ing Even Christ s own disciples did not under

stand the matte r T he J ews were l oo king fo r a

king who would reign o n David s thr one a n

earthly monarch , a universa l conquero r T he

P harisees sai d the M essiah was to be Dav id s s on

Jesus then asked them another hard q ues tion

Ho w then dot h David in the S p iri t call h i m

Lord ?
B ut they had not th o ught ab o ut the par
t i cu la r S cripture to which Jesus referred
If they
had, they would have had di fferent ideas of the
char acter and reign O f their M essiah

J esus then asked them again , If David then call

N o wonder
eth H i m Lord , how i s He his s o n ?
that no one wa s able t o answer Him a word after
hearing thi s question T he questi o n wa s Simply
unanswerable on any t h eory that made the M essia h
o nly an ea rthly monarch I t is unanswerable also
o n any conception of the character of J esus whic h
c o nsiders H i m as n o more than a man I f David
called t h e M essiah his Lord the M essiah must be
Divine, the S on o f God We may worship Him ,
therefore , and give Hi m the s upreme pla c e i n all
our lives
I t i s thus indeed , that C hrist o er s Himsel f to
us in the S criptures He claims the supreme i n
dividual l ove of His followers He who lov es father
.

'

T HREE QUE S T I ONS

24 6

o r mother m o re than Him is not worthy O f H im

He claims the place of absolute M as ter i n the life
o f every man wh o w o uld be His We mus t Obey
i mplicitly unquestioningly, wholly
We cannot
take Christ merely a s S aviour , trusting in Him as
o u r R edeemer, without at the s ame ti me taking Him
a s Lord, as M aster, and o beying Him
What David
did in calling the M essiah his L ord i s what every
o ne who accepts H i m must do S t Paul put his
wh o le creed i n a Single sentence when he said of

Christ, Wh o se I am , whom also I serve

T he c on
f es s i on o f T homas Sh o uld be the confession of every

o ne wh o re c eives Christ and b elieves i n H im My

L ord and m y God

.

THE L E S SON

24 8

O F WAT CHFULNE SS

only
T he s tupendous events w o uld c ome n u

Th e
h eralded
I t would be as in N o ah s days
ood came suddenly T hose who were rea dy en
t er ed the ark and were saved, but the rest perish ed

S o shall be the c oming o f the S on of man

T he great lesson Jesus taught His disciples wa s

i n the word Watch l which s o unds in ever recur

ring s trokes i n His disc ourse like a great bell
Q uestions as to when o r how are discouraged , but

they are always to watch

Watch therefore : for

ye know not on what day your L ord c ometh

We must b e a lways watching watch ing our

s el v es , lest w e d o wrong ; watching our G uide, th at
w e may follow Him closely and carefully ; wa tchin g
o u r duty, that we may always know it an d do i t ;
watc hi ng for danger for on every h and danger
l urks It is not a s afe world to live i n that is, i t
i s not safe unless we watch , and unless we are in
D ivine keeping S atan is so wa ry, his approa c h es
a r e s o ins i dious and stealthy a n d s i n is s o allurin g
,
a n d dec epti v e, that only s l eeples s vi i lan c e ca n i n
g
s ure safety
In t his passage, h o wever , th e w atch i n g i s f or th e
coming of Christ, f or which we are command ed t o
be always in readiness He w il l s urely come, a n d
His coming will b e s udden a n d unannounc ed
T here will h e a great na l c om i ng of Ch rist, b u t
really He i s a l ways c om i ng T he o nly w ay, ther e
f ore, to b e prepared f or Him a t any mo s t sudden mo
ment i s to b e rea dy a ll th e time I f ther e is on e
.

'


MATTHEW XX I V 3 2 5 1
.

24 9

vigilan c e a n d c ease to
w atc h, that may b e the hour when He will c ome
T here is an old legend of a man who waited a
thousand years before the gates O f paradise wat c h
At
i n g fo r them to open that he might enter in
l a st, yielding t o weariness, he slept f or just one
hour A nd during that hour the gates opened f or
a few moments and closed ag ain
T hus b y being
o his guard a litt l e w hi le he missed his opp or
t un i ty
T he coming of C hrist will be s o sudden
that n o prepar ation can be made for it after He a p
pears We must learn to l ive s o that there will n o t
b e a m oment, day or night, when we would b e afraid
o r ashamed to have Him come i nto our house or
place of business and nd us as we are T here i s
no day which may not be our last T herefore, we
should keep our work done up to the moment n
i s h in g it every evening as i f we were nev er t o c ome
b ack to i t a n y more
Chri st illustrates H i s tea c hing to mak e it more

e mphatic
I f the master of the house h a d known
in what watch the thief was coming, he would hav e

watched
T hieves d o not send a not i cation of
the hour when they will break i nto the h ouse ; they
make their co ming as steal thy as possi ble T hey
c o me wh en they will be t h e least expected and w hen
the master of the house is least likely t o be w atch
ing If one would be prepared ag ainst them when
they come, he must a l ways be prep ared Christ will
come as a thief in the night T hat mean s that H i s
c oming wil l b e w i thout warn i ng, without an y token
h ou r when we relax

o ur

'

THE

25 0

LE SSO N O F WATCHFULN E SS

to indicate His approach A ll eor ts of wise men

t o compute the time and settle up o n a year or a
d a y when He will c ome are useless , for Jesus Him

self s aid , O f that day a n d hour knoweth no one,

not even the angels of heaven

What is it to be ready for th e comin g of C hr ist ?
F o r one thing, it i s to b e at peace with God , recon
ciled to Him, sa v ed In a sense , death i s a coming
o f Christ to indivi duals , for it ends their probation
and ushers them into the presence of God What
is it to be prepared for death ? N o one is prepared
wh o has not a c cepted Christ a s S avi o ur a n d L ord ,
n di ng forgiveness o f sins and n ew life a n d l ove in
Him N o thing c ould be more terrible than the s ud
d en coming o f death to one whose Sins are not for
given and who is thus unprepared t o meet his God
But forgiveness is not t h e only thing in prepara

t i on for death O ne s w o rk should be well d o ne

T here is a st o ry o f a man wh o had wasted his life
and wh o at last near the end , found peace in b e

l ieving A friend said t o him, Ar e yo u afr ai d to

die ?
He answered , N o, I am not afraid to die ;

but I am ashamed t o d i e
He mea nt that while
his salvation was a ssured in Christ, he was a shamed
t o go home having wasted all his years and having
done nothing fo r the h o nour of his M aster We
s hould do our best possible w o rk every day, that w e
should never be a sh a med to have Christ c ome
Jes u s s o ught t o mak e the meaning o f H i s wo rd s

very clear
Who then i s the faithful and wise

servant, He asked, who m his lord hath s et o ver

.

25 2

THE LE SSON

O F WATCHF UL N E SS

all active work an d spend the Sh ort and uncertai n

time in praying and reading the Bible ; but thi s

Christian woman s way was the better way Long

before s h e had made her peace with God, and all her
life had l ived in readiness for eterni ty When the
w arning came that the time was gr owm g short, s h e
T hus f ar s h e had done her duty
was not us ter ed
a s well as s h e could , and all s h e had to do n ow wa s
the work of the f ew remaining days and hours T his
s h e did with love and faith, and with diligence, and
w hen the M as ter c a me s h e quietly went away home
with Him
While there i s reward for the ser vant wh o i s
faithful there is punishment f or the evil servant
wh o fai ls in his duty Judgment will come up o n

T he lord of that servant shall

h i m s uddenly

come in a day when he ex p ecteth n o t

T hat is, the
T here are several
l ord of the unfaithful serv ant
He
t hings said here ab o ut this unfaithful servant
is unbelieving T he delay of his lord leads him to
conclude that h e is not going to return at all H i s

he b e
unbelief leads him t o abuse his position
comes tyrannical and despotic in his treatment o f
those placed under his care T hen his own habits
bec o me unworthy ; we nd him eating and drinking
with drunken men T hese are characteristics of
th o se who reject C hr i st th ro ugh unbel ief an d b e
come unfaithful
T he punishment of the unfaithful servant is
vividly described It is a fearful thi ng to live r e

r
l
r
n
a
d
of
life
s
sacred
trusts
and
sole
m
n
es
o
es
s
g
p
.

MAT T HEW XX I V
s ib i l i t i es

I t is

32 51
-

25 3

a terrible thing to die after having

lived thus We Should compare these two pictures

the faithful and the unfaithful servant and

kno w positively w hi c h on e of the two i s our own
portrait
.

CH AP T E R XXXV III
TH E

W ISE

A N D FOO LI S H VI

R G I NS

s o ns T hey are based on the promise of Christ s

return He is surely coming again , when , n o one
can know B ut we should live always s o as to be
ready for His most sudden c o ming any moment
T he ten virgins were a like in some ways A n ou
lo oker i n the early evening c o uld n ot have told
which were the wise and which the f oo lish Each
had her lamp In any Christian congregati o n the
members may all seem alike tr ue friends o f Christ
as they s it in their pews in common w o rship o r a t

the L ord s ta ble T he testing comes in other ways

A l l the virgins slept while the bridegroom tar
ried T here was nothing wrong in this We all
have to sleep s ome time We Should be sure that
we a r e safe ag ai nst any surprise while we are
asleep , that no duty has been omitted before we
slept which i s essential to a complete life T he
wise virgins were ready for the comn g of the wed
ding party at any hour, however l o ng the delay

might be We are not required to wak e and wa tc h

.

254

25 6

T HE WISE AN D F OO LI S H VIRGIN S

great stress, but in the hour of trial , we shall f a il

B ut if we have Christ with His Divine fulness we
can draw from Him for any s orrow, struggle or
hard duty
M idni ght c ame and brought great c ommoti on
T he virgins were all sleeping waiting until they
should be summoned to g o o ut to meet the bride
groom L ife i s full of emergen c ies which c o me s o
suddenly that there is not time to pr epare for them
I f we a re n o t ready at the m o ment of need we can
n o t become ready N o w it wa s that the watchful
ness of all the virgins wa s tested T he delay h a d
been s o l o ng that a l l the lamps were burning l ow
N o w appeared the wisd o m of the ve who had oil
in reserve T heir l amps were quickly lled , and
they were ready to g o with the bridegro o m N OW
was br o ught o ut also the fo lly of the other virgin s
T heir lamps were going out and they had no oil t o
rell them
It is such occasion s as these that test character

T hey Show what is in u s N o one is ready fo r life s

s udden emergencies unless he has made preparation
in advance for anything that may happen O ne
who has missed hi s lessons and t r i ed in school
d ays will by and by nd the doors o f opportunity
s hut t o him , because he is not rea dy to g o in M any
a man fails in l ife because through ea rly neglect he
has not the training for his place or business, th e
reason being that he wasted the time when it was
his duty to make the preparation M any a woman
f ai l s i n her homemaking and wrecks her o wn hap
.

'

MAT T HEW XXV

25 7

1 13
-

that of her family, b ecause at th e right

time s h e did not learn the simple household arts
which t a girl f or bei ng a good wife T he foolish
virgins missed the wedding j oy and were Shut out
i n the d arkness because earlier i n the evening they
had not laid up a reserve of oil Many pe ople s r e
l igion fails t hem i n times o f need, bec a us e they have
not really the word o f God laid up in their heart

A ma n h as on l y a s mu c h r e l igion a s he ca n com

mand i n trial
I t wa s a natura l r equ es t th at these distress ed vir

gins made : Give us of your oil for our l amps ar e

going out
A t rst thought, t oo, we would sa y
that the w ise Vl r gi n s should hav e g r anted this p a
thetic request of their sisters I f you were v ery
hungry and I had even a c rust of bread , it would
not be r ight for me t o eat al l of my crust mysel f

We a r e taught that we should bea r one another s

bur dens and that the strong should help the w ea k
Y et the refusal o f the wise is reasonable and r igh t

when we look a t it thoughtfully

If you and you r
n eighbour have e ac h signed a note for a certain
s um, t o fall due on a certain date, a n d you by dint
o f economy and persev er a nce have bee n a ble t o lay
b y just enough to meet your Obli gat ion , while your
neighbour, wasting h is hours on t r i es h a s ma de
n o provision fo r the day of settlement ; and if o n
the morning when the note f alls due he Should come
beseeching you t o give him s o me of your m oney t o

h elp him pay his debt, would you give it t o hi m?

D oes the la w of lov e require that y ou sho uld i

s
n
es
i
p

an d

TH E

25 8

WI S E AN D F OO LIS H V IR GI NS

T here i s also an important Spiritual lesson whi ch

the parable is meant t o teach that the gifts and

blessings of grace are not transferable No matter
how eager ly o ne may wish to impart them , he can
not do i t If one woman has improved her op p or
t un i t i es and grown into rened and disciplined
character, while h er Sister has missed her chance
a n d has grown up into weak and uncultured wom
a n h o o d , the rst cann o t give of her strength , self
contr o l , a n d noble spirit to the other, to help her
through some special emergency I f one man has
studied diligently and learned every less o n , at last
reaching a position o f emi nence and power , he can
not give o f his trained ability t o his br o ther , wh o
has t r ied thr o ugh years, to help to make his life
a success A br a ve soldier in the battle cannot
share h is discipline a n d courage with a trembling
c omrade by his side In temptation , one who i s
victori o us cannot give part of hi s strength to a
friend by his Side who is about to fall We c annot
share our fo rgiveness o f s i n with our dearest friend
Each o ne must live his own life, bear his own b ur
den and have the grace of the H o ly S pirit f or h im
self No one can give another these gifts
It was a tragic moment when the foolish v i rgin s
got b ack t o the house and fo un d themselves t oo

late : T he d oor was shut

It had sto od open long
enough for all who were ready to enter T hen i t
w as closed and could not be opened again T hi s
teac hes us the meaning of opp o rtunity We may
T here
a pply it to the matter of personal salvati o n
.

C H AP T E R X X X I X
TH E PA R ABL E O F TH E TA LE N T S

R ead

Ma t th ew X X V

1 4 30
-

T H E particular teaching of this p a rable is n ot the

same as that of the p a rable of the virgins T h at
wa s the duty of preparati o n , this is the duty of

w orking using one s powers and capacities

Every o ne of us has received a t al ent or talents,

T he M aster has
s o me portion of our Lord s g oo ds
gone away, leaving us to use what of His He has i n
trusted to us until He returns T hen we shall have
to give account to Him It is not a voluntary mat
ter with us, nor is it a matter of indi fference

whether we will be Christ s servants or not

Christ
is the ri ghtful L ord of every man Declining to
a ccept Him and to enter His service does n o t
exempt any one from the resp o nsibility
When the lord of these servants went away he
left his property in the hands o f his upper servants

as stewards or trustees He delivered unto them

his goods
P erhap s we do not realise how en
t i r el y Christ has intrusted His a a ir s and His i n
t er es ts in this world to His followers
T his puts a
.

260

MA T T HEW XXV

26 1

1 4 -3 0

erious responsibility on us If the Gospel is to get

If the work of the
t o men , we must proclaim it
Church is to be done, we must do it T he only hands
Christ has for work in thi s world are our hands
I f the s orrowing are to receive comfort, we must

give it If t h e world i s to s ee the bea uty the gen

t l en es s , the patience, the compassion , the helpful

ness of God, we must be the interp reters of these

D ivine a ff ec tion s C h r ist h as delivered His good s
t o us
We notice also that in t h e distribution of talents

the same is not given t o all

U nto one he gave
ve talents, to another two , to anothe r on e ; t o each

according to his several ability

Each person r e
c ei ved what he was able to care for
T his prin
N O one
ci p l e is observed i n all Divine endowments
h as d uties al loted to him which he h a s not the abil
ity to perform N othing impossible is ever as ked
o f any p erson M en di ff er in their ability to m an

age the 1 r Lord s a ffairs , a n d the talents giv en into

their hands v ary accordingly T he merchant does
n o t take the ma n with capacity only for lifting

heavy bales and put him in the counting room h e

makes h i m a porter When a woman wants a ne
dress made, s h e does not give the costly materials
t o a washer woman , a hairdresse r , or to a teacher of
German or music but to a skilful dressmaker O ur
Master gives each particular disciple the d uties he
has ability to do We n eed never say, therefore,
that we can not do the things that seem to be r e
o
uired
o
f
u
s
We
can
d
wh
a
tever
we
are
ive
n
g
q

THE

26 2

PARABLE OF T HE TALE N T S

by our M aster to do He makes no mistakes in th e

allotment of tasks
T he story t h en tells what the serv ants d id w ith

their share of their master s good s

He that r e
cei ved ve talents went and trad ed with them , and

made other ve talents

T his man used faith
fully w hat had been put into his hands, and the r e

sult was that it was doubled h i s ve talents b e

came ten He used h i s gifts

traded with them,
and in the trading came the increase
T his is the Divine law in all life God gives one
a gift of music , b u t it is only in its p o ssibilities as
yet It must be cultivated, developed, disciplined,
o r it never will become o f any practical value Love
m ust be exercised if i t is to grow It is only a
capacity at rst T he same is true of all human
powers , whether of body, mind or heart Th e
trouble wit h t oo many pe o ple is that they are indo
lent and d o n o thing wit h their natural gifts, and
then thes e gifts never increase T alents that are
exercised, put to work traded with , always mul

t i p ly
T he hand of the diligent m a keth rich
T he boy who is s o Shy and d i fd en t that he can
s carcely speak a word in public , by using his small
ab i lities becomes a great orator able t o sway a
vast multitude T he girl whose v o i c e is sweet but
undeveloped, p u ts her talents t o use, and by and by
Sings s o as to thrill countless hearts
T he man with the two talent s was faithful , t oo

He also that received the two gained o ther two

Not many of us wo u ld claim, or at lea st our more
.

26 4

T HE PARABL E O F T HE TALEN T S

the comm o nplace and gave him distincti o n Pres

ently he had fo ur ta lents T he practical less on in
all the p a rable i s the using of our gifts, that, if we
really have o nly t wo talents, we should not vex our
selves , but sh ould go t o w o rk with wh at we have,
and it will grow by and by into s om ething worthy
Dr William J D awson speaks in one of hi s S er

mons of the comm onness and pitiableness of con

tented i n s ign i ca n ce
T here i s no dishonour in

o ne s being lowly and obscure, but it is dish o nour

able for a man with ne natur al gifts thr o ugh indo
lence and lack of earnestness, to remai n contented
in his i n s ign i ca n ce
T he talents were not given to the servants ; they
were o nly committed to them t o be used T he n

there would be an accounting

A fter a lon g time
the lord of those servants c ometh , and maketh a

reckoning with them

T here is an importan t sug

gesti o n in this l o ng t i me
We are given plenty
o f time t o make use of our talents I t takes time to
le ar n to work well a n d to develop and train our
fac ul ties to their bes t Even if we have buried our
talents f or a season , there is still ti me to dig them
up and try t o put them to bet ter use We owe f a r

m o re than we can tell t o God s patienc e in waiting

s o long f or us
But we must never fo r get that th e
L ord will c o me, and we shall have to re ckon with
Him for whatever o f His we have
T he character of the reward sh oul d b e noticed

T he succes sful man was n o t given a year s vacatio n

He was n ot given
th a t he might take a l o ng r est
.

MAT T HEW XXV

26 5

1 4 30
-

an ea sier position where he would have less care

and less work T he reward for d o ing his work
well was more work Because he had d o ne wel l
with the little that had been entrusted to him , more
was put into his h a nds T hat i s the way of h on

n o t rest and lu x
o u r a b l e promotion among men
ury, but a higher position with harder w ork , i n

creased b urden
the joy
J oy i s promised , t oo

of thy L ord, the j oy w hi c h comes of ser ving, o f

doing the L ord s w ork T he d eepest joy ex per i

en ced i n this w orld is the j oy which co mes of s erv
.

I ng

But one of the ser vants had fa il ed to d o h i s best

with his ta lent

He also that had received the

o n e talent came
T he story of the o ne t al ente d
man is pathetic, a n d yet i t has its startling lesson
If only he too, had been faithful , doing hi s best
with his little gif t, he also w o uld have multiplied
his talent M any who have done the most for the
T he dis
W orld had only one talent to begin with
c over y that we have only o n e talent never should
d iscourage u s
We sh o uld a ccept what we have,
however small it may be, and s et ab out making the
T he last
m o st of it and d oing the most with it
thing t o do with our gift o r ability is t o despair
ab o ut it and then hide it away

T he gifts that are n o t u sed are lost

T ake ye

a way therefore the talent from him

I n all life
i t is the s a mc f a cul t i es unused are lost, become ex
tinct N atural eyes would lose the p ower o f sight
i f one lived in darknes s continually and never
.

26 6

T HE PARA BLE O F T HE TA LE N T S

used them T he eye that is never turned toward

God by and by loses even the power to l ook God
ward T he capacity fo r believing, which never b e

li eves , at length ceases to be able to believe

Ca

i
t
a
c
n
is
extirpated
by
d
suse
T
he
lesso
comes
i
p
y
with tremend o u s fo rce t o the young If they will
n o t us e the spiritual p owers G o d has b estowed upon
them , these powers w ill b e taken away from them
.

T HE L AS T JUDGM E N T

26 8

ti o ns
Yet in our th o ught o f the grandeur of thi s
Scene we must not lose sight of the individuality of
the jud gment We s h al l be there, but n one of us
will be lost in the crowd ; each one Shall have a
personal judgment During a war the telegraphi c
reports from the eld say that in a great battle ten
thousand men were sl ai n Not knowing any of
them pers o nally, we think only o f the vast a ggr e
gate number B ut supp o se some friend of ours

brother o r father was among the Slain ; we think

n o more then of the ten th o usa nd , but of the o ne
A nd every one of the ten thousand i s m ourned i n

some h o m e is somebody s father , husband, brother ,

F r o m that battleeld ten th o usand
s on , friend
cords stretch t o ten thousand h o mes T he heaps of
slain are simply ten th o usand individuals S o in
that c o untless throng on j udgment day, not one per

Every one must

s on will be l o st in the multitud e

b ear his own burden

T here will be a division that daythe whole h u

He shall separate
ma n family will not be a s one

them o ne from an o ther

O ur L ord s t eachings are
full of this thought of nal separation T he tares
and the wheat will grow togeth er until the harvest ;

but then there will be an infallible separati o n not

a tare will be gathered into the barn with the
wheat T he net draws good and bad sh to the
shore, but there the two classes are separated T he
ten virgins were t ogether during the time of wait
ing, but the midnight cry caused an instant, n al
an d irrev ocable separation , a s the doo r opened f or
.

MAT T HEW XXV , 3 1

.

269

46

th ose wh o were ready to enter and s hut upon those

wh o w ere unprepared Nothing i s more plainly
taught in the w ord of God than that the evil and
the good, the believing and the rejecting, the right
eons and the unrighteous shall b e separated at the
last day, each going to his own place T hese s ep

a r a t i on s will cut v ery c lose in many c a s es

T hen
shall two men be in the eld ; one is taken, and one
i s left : t wo women shall be grinding a t the mill ;

one is taken , and one is left

When we are sure

of our place on Christ s ri ght hand , we should never

rest unti l we are sure also that al l those whom we
love shall be in the same company
T he K ing speaks to the people as if He had p er

s on a l ly lived among them,

I was hungr y, and ye

gave M e to eat
It seems from this pictur e of the
j udgment that the eternal destiny of men shall be
settled by their works F eeding th e hungry and giv
ing drink to the thirsty are mentioned as reason s
f or the favour Shown to t hose upon the ri ght han d
But a careful study of the pa ssage Shows that in the

j udgment all will turn upon one question h ow

men have treated J esus Christ I f they have b e
li eved on Him, lo ved Him , honoured Him , and lived
for Him , they w ill b e honoured by Him , gathered
at His right hand a n d a dmitted t o His kingdom
of glory But if they have not believed on Him,
have not honoured Him , have not l i ved f o r H i m
in this world, they will b e rejected by Him at the
l ast and shut out of the h eavenl y kin gdom I n
.

T HE LAS T JUDGM ENT

27 0

other words , all w ill depend upon whether men h e

lieve or do not believe on the L ord Jesus Christ
B ut believing in Christ means more than giving

assent to a correct creed i t means a lso a life o f

o bedience a n d service T he whole o f Christian life

is love, not only love for Christ, but love for Christ s
own I f we love God, we will love our brother also,
says the beloved disciple If we do not love o ur
brother, i t is evident that we do not love God If
we have the love o f Christ in our hea rt, it will Sho w
itself t o all those who belong to Christ Whil e
there is love f or a l l the w o rld , there Should be a
Special love for th o se who belong to the M aster
T he K ing speaks as if He had come to the people
in the great compan y in many attitudes and exp er i

en ces o f personal su ff erin

and
need
I
was
a
g
stranger, and ye too k M e in ; naked, and ye cl othed
M e ; I was sick, a n d ye visited M e ; I was in pri son ,

and ye c ame unto M e

T here is s omething very p a
thetic in this thought of Jesus as a stranger, as hun
gry, or as sick, coming to our d oors in those whose
appeals are made t o us If we allowed it to enter
our heart and exercise its pr o per e ffect upon us, it
would inspire in us sympathy and love, and w ould
make us very gentle to all who a r e in need
Mr
Wesley, one winter day, met a po o r girl in one of th e
s chools under h i s care
S he seemed almost frozen
He a sked her if s h e had no clothing but the thin gar
ments s h e was wearing S he said s h e had not
His hand wa s in his pocket in an instant, but there
wa s no money th ere He went to h is room, but th e
.

'

T HE LAS T

27 2

JUDGM E N T

of love Every lowly, faithful Christian i s pr epa r

ing fo r himsel f many a blessed surprise in glory
Jesus is still in this world O nce He was here
in human f o rm , as the S on o f man N o w He is

here in His Church

Ye a r e the body o f Christ,
said the a postle T he smalles t kindnes s sh o wn to
a Christi a n , even the least, Christ accepts as done
t o Himself
P arents understa nd this A ny hon o ur
sh o wn to a child, a father receives as Sho wn t o h i m
self I f a son is in a strange land a n d meets with
s o me misfortune, or is sick , and some one nding
h i m there as a st r anger in trouble shows h i m kind
ness, no greater act done to the parents at home
wo uld be as pleasing to them a s is that little minis
try to their child in a foreign land Christ loves His
people s o much that whatever is d one t o any of
them He accepts as if He Himself had been the
r ecipient of the kindness
T he same is true, on the other hand, of an y u m
kindness o r any lack Of kindness Shown t o an other

I was a stranger, and ye took M e n o t in ; naked,

and ye clothed M e not
I nasmuch as ye d i d it

not unto one of these le a st, ye did it not unt o M e

We must beware h o w we treat the l o wliest Chris
tian , for if we neglect him in his need it is a s if
Christ were in the same need and w e had neglected
.

Hl m

u sh I p ray y ou !
W ha t i f th i s f r i e n d s h ou l d happe n
H

to b e

od

We must lea rn that we are judged not only by

the things w e do, b ut by the thi ngs we fail to d o
.

MAT T HEW XXV

31 46
-

T hese persons had not been cruel o r un k ind to

of

27 3
an y

Christ s little ones no such charge is made

gai n st t hem ; they had not done the kindnesses

which they ought t o hav e done In the parable of
the Good S amar i tan neither the priest nor the
L evite did any harm to the wounded man , and yet
they are severely c ondemned T hey sinned against
him griev ously b y n ot do i ng the th i ngs of love
w h i c h he n eed ed to h ave d one f or hi m
a

'

C H APT E R X LI
T H E A N OI N TI N G
R ea d

OF

J E SU S

Ma t th ew X X VI

1 16
-

W E enter now up o n the last events of our L ord s

life We are within two days of the passover We

have a glimpse o f the plotting o f the priests and
elders, and their desire t o ta ke Jesus by subtlety
t o kill Him
T hey wished , however, to wait until
a fter the feast, fearing excitement and tumult, and
had s o determined T he culmination o f the pl o t
was hastened, however , by the unexpected treachery
of Judas
T he incident of the anointing is given here a p
p a r en tly out o f its proper order , pr o bably because
o f its inuence on the treason o f Judas T he inci

d ent occurred, a c c o rding t o John s G o spel , s ix days

before the pass over Judas wa s o en d ed by

Christ s reb uke of his criticism of M ary s anointing,

a n d under the sting of this went to the priest , o ff er
ing t o betray Christ
B ethany was a sacred place to Jesus T here He
found a home of love where His heart was res ted
many a time after the conicts and c ontrovers ies
o f the day in the te mple
T here His greates t mira

cle was wrought the raising of L az aru s We

.

274

T HE AN O I N T I N G OF JE S US

27 6

lso f amiliar We s ee
her three times in the Gospels , and each time Sh e

i s in the same posture a t Jesus feet When we

have our rst glimpse within the B ethany home, we

nd M artha in her characteristic attit ud e serv

ing ; and M ary we s ee sitting at the M aster s feet,

e agerly listening t o His w o rds
O ur next view o f
M ary is when Jesus came back to Bethany after the
d eath of Laz a rus, and the sisters c ame out t o meet
Him Again , she is at the feet of Christ, this time
in deep sorro w, seeking comfort A nd here again

we nd her at the M aster s feet , and now it is in an

act of hon o ur and a n expression of love and grati
tude to Him
We think o f M ary, therefore, as a woman wh o

was always at Christ s feet In the bright, happy

days , She s a t there as a learner When gr ief was
in the h o use a n d Jesus ca me, she went to His feet
for comfo rt T hen when the tr o uble wa s over, we
nd her a gain in her wonted place, hon o uring Him

with her heart s richest and best gifts T here is

no tter place for the redeemed life t h an at the

M aster s feet
M ary came in during the feast and anoint ed
Jesus We must distinguish this anointing from
another by a woman who was a Sinner T h at
anointing was an expression of penitence ; this was
M ary br o ught the
a n outburst of grateful love
best she had , the r i chest gift in all her p o ssession
Her o intment was very costly We sh o uld bring
No o i ntment in the world is
our best to C hri s t
T he picture of M ar y is

MAT T HEW XXVI

277

1 16
-

half s o prec ious to Him as the love o f a human

heart ; we should bring Him our best love, giving
Him the rst place in o ur a ect i on We sh o uld
give Him the best of our life, the best of our ti me,
the best of our service
It seems a s a d pity that any o c c asion s o sacred a s
this should be marred by human littleness a n d

To
meanness T he disciples had indignation

what purp o se is this waste ? they asked J ohn

tells us that Jud as led in the criti c ism , and when
we know this, we are not surprised Judas though t
it wa s waste when the ointment wa s poured out on
the f eet and head of Jesus T here still a r e many
people wh o think everything wasted that is not
c oined into dollars, o r that doe s n o t Sho w in dire c t
practical usefulness B ut the tru th i s, that much
of the richest and sweetest blessing scattered in
this world i s the odour from the breaking of ala
baster boxes It is well to give food and clothing
to the poor, but sometimes love and sympathy are
.

O ne of the mo st b eautiful ministri es of modern

C hristian l o ve is that of the ower mission s i n

m any K ing s Daughters circles and Christian Eu

d ea vour S ocieties
T he little bouquets of ower s
that are sent out carry the fragrance of the love of
Christ int o many hearts and h o mes and leave n u
told benedictions there Y et these owers are very

much like M ary s alabaster box , a n d some peo p le

would call the money wasted that is Spent in t his
w ay But the truth i s, the odour of lo ve a l w ays
.

THE A N OI N TI N G

27 8

O F JE S US

carries a blessing wherever it reaches Besides ,

Christ looks into the heart an d i s pleased with love
there, whether th e expression of the emotion take
the form of garments for the poo r o r owers for the
sick room
It is beautif ul to read how promptly Jesus came

to M ary s relief when s h e was blamed

Why

?
tr o uble ye the woman He asked It wa s a shame
fo r big, str o ng men like the apostl es to pounce with
such ill manners and c owardly ruden ess o n a timid
young girl like M ary T hey o ught t o have been gal
lant enough to encourage and praise her deed of
l ove

S he hath wrought a go o d work upon M e, said

J esus T his was what gave her act distinction and

honour i t was wrought f o r the M aster A nything

d one for Christ is lifted up to h o n o ur
It is this
that m ak es all lowly C hr istian service beautiful
i t is s o methi ng d o ne fo r Jesus
Judas had said the
m o ney o ught t o have been given to the poor B ut
Jesus said they c o uld always do g o od to the poor,
but they could not show kindness to Him much
.

'

T hen Jesus said further that this o intment had

been poured on His b o dy t o prepare Him fo r burial
Mary pr obably did not know He was s o near death ,
but Jesus kne w it and accepted the h o nour as fo r
His funeral We do not know half the real mean

ing of our lowliest deed s o f l ove In M ark s GOS

pel we read that J es us said : S he hath anointed

M any p eo
My b ody beforehand for the burying
.

C H APT E R X LII
TH E LA ST S U PPE R

Ma t th ew X X VI

Re a d

1 7 30
-

'

J E SU S l eft the temple for the last time on T uesday

evening and spent Wednesday in retirement He
gave instructi o ns t o tw o of His disciples on T hurs
day morning, concerning preparations fo r the pass
over T hey were t o go t o a certain man and tell

him , T he T ea cher saith M y time is at hand ; I

keep the passover at thy house

T he man was to

be known by a certain s ign h e would be carrying

a pitcher o f water A S women carried the burdens
i n those days , the sight o f a ma n carryi ng water
was uncommon Hence the identicati o n would
be easy Evidently secrecy wa s inten d ed in the
choosing of the place fo r the pass over It is
th o ught t hat the reas o n fo r thi s secrecy was to
keep fr o m Judas the knowled ge o f the place, as he
was watching for an opportunity to betray Jesus
T he M aster i s al ways c o ming to peo ple and saying

I keep the passover at thy house

He wants to
be a guest in every family Blessed is the home that
opens to Him and gives H im i ts upper roo m as His
guest chambe r
.

28 0

MAT T HEW XXVI

28 1

1 7 30
-

It was a s a d announcement t hat Jesus m a de to

t h e disciples that night when they had gathered

ab o ut the table
V er i ly I s a y unto you , that one o f

you Shall betr a y M e Jud as himself wa s a t the ta

ble, and possibly one reason why Jesus made thi s
ann ouncement was to give him an opportunity to r e
pent even a t the las t moment It is remarkable
t hat not one o f the disciples seems to h a ve s us
d
e
h
a
n
t
e
d
c
one
as
the
traitor
wh
o
m
Jesus
a
t
o
p
y

refer red T hey did n o t begin to s a y : I w o nder

?
which of us it is ? Do you think it can be A ndrew

?
Do you suppose it can b e P eter
I nstead o f s u s
i
i
n
n
o
c
each
o
e shudder ed at the possibility that
p
,

he himsel f might , a fter al l , be the one

Is it I ,

?
Lord
they a l l beg a n t o s a y
S urely not I ! is
the more accurate rendering We should ex am i ne
ourselves rather than look a t other s for s ins we
nd condemned
It is very muc h easier to s ee fau l ts in our neigh
bours than in ourselves, a n d to think oth ers capabl e
of d oing ev il thi n gs rather than suppose i t possible
that we should d o them But our business is wit h
ourselves al o ne We do not have to a nswer for th e
sins of our neigh b ours T hen it i s not enough t o
a s k merely whether we have done such and such
things ; we Should ask also whether we are in dan

ger of c ommitting them

L et hi m that thinketh

he standeth take heed lest he fall

We do n ot
know t h e dark possibilities of evil whi c h lurk in our
hearts We dare not say, when we lea rn of some
on e wh o h a s fallen into terrible s i n , that it wo uld
.

THE LAS T

28 2

SUPPE R

have been imp o ssible for us t o have done the same

thing What man has d one, man may d o

T he answer o f Jesus , He that dippeth his hand

with M e in the dish, the sa me shall betray M e, was

not meant to point out any individual a s the traitor
He merely meant to indicate the greatn s s of the

crime that one o f those who had eaten at His

table, and enj oyed the familiarity o f cl o ses t fr i end

shi p and they all had wa s now t o betray Him

In the East, those who ate t o gether , by that very act
pledged to each other loyal friendship and p r otec
t i on
T his made the crime of Judas all the
d arker and blacker
What Jesus said about the trait o r is very s ug

e
t
s
ive
He s aid , Good were it fo r that man if he
g

had not been born

I t is a great privilege t o live
It is a great t h ing to be able to stay in this world
for a certain number of years and lea ve our impr ess
upon other lives It is a great thing t o s o w seeds
which may bring multiplied harvests of blessing
i n the future
But there ar e those that live who
would better never have been born Judas had a
ma gnicent opp o rtunity He wa s cho sen to be an
ap o stle He would not have been thus chosen if it
had not been possible for him to be a faithful and
worthy ap o stle He might have gone forth to help

bring the world to Christ s feet, and h is name might

then have been written in heaven N ow, however,
the face o f Judas is turned to the wall and the place
is blank which might have been ll ed with a st o ry
of noble deeds He wr ecked all the possibilities of
.

28 4

T HE LAS T SUPPE R

ily accept H i s gift

T ake, eat ; this is M y body
It is not enough that God loved the world and gave
His S on for its redemption It i s not enough that
Christ off ered Himsel f as a sacrice f or men T hese
s tupendous acts of love and grace alone will not
save a n y one We have a responsibility in the mat
t er
We must reach out o ur hands and take what
i s graciously o ff ered t o us B read must be eaten
befo re it can bec ome susten ance, s o Christ, as the
bread of life, m
ust be r eceived into our lives befo re
it can become the food of our souls M uch of the

s
failure of Chri tian life i s at this very point we
d o not take what Christ o ff ers and even presses
upon us We pray for blessing, while all the time
the blessing i s close beside us, w aiting o nly to be
received a n d appropriated
A fter giving them bread, Jesus took a cup from

the table and gave it to them , to o

He took a cup,
and gave thanks, and gave t o them , saying, Drink

ye all of it
A little later that s ame evenin g
Jesus Himsel f took a cup fro m the hands of the
F ather and drank it to its bitter dreg s I nto that
cup there had been poured, as it were, all the

w o rld s sorrow Yet full as it was of the v ery gall

a n d bitterness of human guilt, He pressed it to His

lips and d rank it, saying, Th e cu p w hich th e

F ather hath given M e, s hall I not drink it ?

T his cup , however , which Jesus handed t o His
disciples was a cup of blessing Into it He Himself

poured , as it were , the concentrati o n of all h eaven s

joy and glory A gain , however, w e must n otic e the
.

MAT T HEW XXV I

1 7 30
-

28 5

I t is not enough that

words, Drink ye all of it
the cup shall be prepared and then o ffered to us

U nless we a c cept the blessing of C hrist s atone

ment, we s hall not be help ed
Jesus said that this c up represented the c ov enant

T his is M y blood of the covenant , which i s p oured

out for many unt o remission of sins

In ancient
times covenants were sealed by the bl ood of ani
mals T he co venant o f redemption was sealed b y

Christ s own blood

Christ s dying was not an

i t was part o f t h e great purp o se of

t
acciden
His life, that f or which , a bove all else, He
came into the world We are saved , not merely by
being helped over the hard place s , not m erely by
being taught how to live, not only by having a per
feet example s et before us , but by having our sin s
remitted No one c an be saved until h e i s f or

given , a n d n o man s s in i s put a w ay e xc ept through

the b lood of Chr i st
Jesus announced to the disciples that thi s wa s
the last time He would eat with them at a n ea rthly

table
I shall not drink henceforth of thi s fruit
o f the v ine, until that d a y when I d rink it new with

you in M y F ather s ki ngd om

In telli n g them
this, He gave them gr eat comfort in the a ssurance
that He would s i t down with them again , by and
by, in the heavenly kingdo m T he earthly supper
was only a symbol ; the hea venly w ould be a glor
ious reality
Jesus left the upper room with a song on Hi s

l i ps
When they had sung a hymn , they w ent out
.

T HE LA S T SUPPE R

28 6

into the mount o f O lives

He knew where He was
g o ing and to what Just bef ore Him was Geth
semane, with its agony B eyond this experienc e
would come His trial , and next day His death Yet
He went t o these terrible ex perien c es with a song of
prai se
.

PE T E R S DE N IAL

28 8

and lead them once more, away beyond the grave

Ho pe never failed in the heart of Chri st He was
n ever discouraged
P eter was always the rst of the disciples to
Speak T he most ho l y occa sion could not awe or
quiet him He had heard the M aster s warning,
but he resented it T here was n o need t o fear for

him , whatever others might do

P eter a nswered
and said unto Him , If all s hal l be o ff ended in

T hee, I will never be o ff ended

His self con
d en ce w as v ery strong
It wa s not possible, he
It was
s aid , for him t o be untr ue to his L ord

P eter s rash boldness that made him weak Jesus

r epeated His w a rni n g, making it personal

V er
i ly I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock

c row, tho u shalt deny M e th rice

S till P eter r e

s ented the warning

P eter saith unto Him , Even

i f I must die with T hee, yet will I n o t deny T hee

We would s ay that such solemn w ords spoken by
the M aster could never be forgotten , and that i t
would be actually impossible for a disciple s o fore
warned t o com mi t such a s in against hi s M aster
that same night Yet the f act that P eter actually
d enied Him with such positiv en ess, and s o repeat
ed ly, sh o ws h ow terrible the temptation was a n d
h o w weak the strongest friend of C hrist is in su c h
a n hour
Gethsemane c ame next with its h o ur of anguish
T hen came the arrest, on the edge of the Garden ,
when Jesus was betr a yed by one of His disciples
and led away to the pala c e of the hi gh pr ies t It
.

MAT T HEW XXV I

28 9

69 75

3 1 35

was far o n in the night

N ow P eter wa s sitting

T here a r e Several steps

without in the court

leading t o P eter s present position in the c o urt that

we must recall in order t o unders tand his denial
It began farther back Earlier in the evening he
disregarded, even resented , the w arning that he
would deny his Lo r d that night
T hat was a
serious mist a ke We would better listen when God
speaks t o us in this way P eter was not a hy p o
cr i te
He was sincere, he loved C hrist, but he was
too self con d en t He lacked that distrust of self
which should lea d the best and holiest t o know that
o nly in Christ a r e they safe P eter was w ea k that
night because he sought n o D ivine help
Next we nd hi m sleeping when he ought to have
b een watching T hat hour i n the Garden was
given in order that the disciples might be prepared
f o r temptation P eter did n o t improve it and was

found unready He failed in love s duty to the

M aster Next was hi s rashness in drawing his
sw o rd T his act made him liable to arrest and led
him to try to hide his identity and his connection
with Christ, lest he might be seized by the o fcers

A gain we nd him following Jes u s afar o h

T his
sho wed timidity and failing f aith His courage
was g o ing F ollowing at a distance is always peril
ous It shows a weakening love and a trembling
l oyalty It is in itself a partial denial T he only
r eally safe place is close up t o C h rist
A nother fatal step was taken by P eter when he
w ent i n and sa t down a mong the s er vants in the

PE T E R S DEN I AL

29 0

court He was in b a d company He had seated

himself a mo n g Ch r i s t s enemies His object was to

conceal h i s discipleship He wan te d to be thought
one of their c o mpany when he s a t d o wn am o ng
m o ckers and revilers He hoped thus to es c ape de
t ecti o n
T hus he acted denial befo re he spoke it
Had he been a lt o gether loyal a n d faithful he w o uld
have kept out of such company and as nea r his
M aster as possible T he only true and safe thing

t o d o when among Christ s enemies is to take one s

right place quietly and rmly at the beginning
S tarting wrong puts one in a false position , in
which it is almost impossible to be faithful after
w ard P eter was i n a bad place for a disciple when

sitting without in the court

He was ready to
f a ll
We must guard a gainst taking the steps that
lead to denial of Christ

P eter s denial was not prem edi tat ed , as was the

betrayal by Judas He was caught in the entan
l
e
e
n
f
circumstances
His
rst
denial
a
s
m
t
o
w
g
p a rtly o wing t o the suddenn es s of the assault and
his previ o us false steps
He wa s n o t false a t
heart, but loved his M aster even when denying Hi m
We must remember that when all the other disc i
ples f orso o k Jesus , P eter was the o nly o ne, save
John , wh o followed Him when in the hands o f H is
enemies T rue , he followed H im afar o ff , timidly,
yet he fo llowed We must keep in mind his char
acter alsoimpulsive, impetuous, always doing
r ash things, yet withal bold and l oyal
T hese c o n
s i d erati ons p alliate though t hey do not excuse
.

PE T E R S DE N IAL

29 2

the m o st highly fav o ured friend , the

n o blest confess o r, t o turn his back upon his L o rd ?
When the shado w falls on your friend , when the
tide turns against him , when others have f orsaken
him, i s that the time fo r you , his long time b o som
c o mpanion , the recipient of his favo urs, t o turn
craven and leave him al o ne ? How muc h P eter
might have c o mf o rted Jesus in His tri al ! Instead ,
h o wever, the only w o rds the M as ter heard fr o m

His friend s lips , as he sto od amid enemies a n d r e

vilers , were w o rds of denial , which cut like s word
thrusts into His heart
A Simple lie bec o mes a lie sworn to and then a
lie sworn t o with imprecati o ns and curses S imple
denial is bad enough , but this a p o stle even went s o
f a r as t o invoke curses up o n himself if he were a
disciple, if he ever knew the man , and to utter oaths
to emphasise his denial H ow this aggravated h i s
d iscip l e,

s in

But how c ould an apostle who had been with

J esus s o l ong, hearing and using only pur e speech,
curse and swear in this way ? T he answer is, that
i t must have been an old habit with S imon the s h
erman , which now cropped out in the excitement
T his is a way o ld evil habits have It is impossible
t o ro o t them out s o that they will never give tr o uble
again T hey are like weeds ; you may dig them out
and think there is n o t a ro o t left in the ground , and
fo r a while none may be s een ; but some day they
will reappear B ad habits o f a n y kind fo rmed in
early life al way s leav e weak points in the character
'

MA T T HEW XXVI

29 3

6 9 75

31 35
-

is very easy to fall again i n sudden temptation

where one h a s fallen before I t is always easy to
take o l d paths on which the feet were once accus
O ne wh o drank in his y outh , though
t omed to go
he be comes a total abstainer and i s tru e for year s,
is never as safe at that point a s one who never a c
quired the habit It is so with lying, swearing , Ob
s cen i ty, dishonesty and all v ices

A t last P eter came to himself

P eter remem
bered the word w h ich Jesus had s aid
A nd he

went out, and wept bitterly

T he cock c rew, and
then J esus turned and l o oked upon P eter, wh o,

glanci n g up at that moment, caught his L ord s eye

T he cock cro w and the look aroused him t o a sense
o f what he had done An i n cident, a remembering , a
look , were the means by which the sinning ap o stle
wa s brought t o repentance We can think of that
l o ok Jesus was in the hands of mocking enemies ,
and while they were s co fn g and beating Him , there
fell on His ear the voice of His favoured disciple,
d enying Him with curses and imprecations S urely
this was the bitterest dr o p in the bitter c up of that
terrible night What pain and sorrow there were in
the look that fell upon P eter ! B ut, thank God , the
l ook broke his hea rt and saved him He went out
into the night, but not like J uda s , to despair He
went out into the night, but the angel o f mercy
went with him a n d poi n ted him to hope He wept

bitterly, but t h e memory o f that l o ok grieved ,

c hiding, yet full of love told him that he had not
It

29 4

PE T E R S DE N IA L

yet lost his place in the M aster s heart He r e

e
n
t
ed of his s i n and was saved to become one o f
p

the noblest o f o ur L ord s apostles So we may

th ank God fo r this sad story , because it Shows us
such a door of hop e when we have sinned

JE SU S IN GE T H S E MANE

29 6

P eter, the desertion by the other disciples , the r e

n
and
crucixion
by
the
people
He
had
come
t
i
o
ec
j
to s ave A ll thi s He s a w from Geth s em an e But
that which made the essence o f the anguish that

night was that He died for s i n

T he L ord hath

laid o n Him the 1 n i quity o f u s all

What that
meant we never can kno w He was dying, the just
for the unjust He bore our s i n in His own b od y
on th e tree W e may n ot try to fathom the mys
t er y, but the fact we should never allo w to be for
gotten
T he h umann es s o f Jesus also appea rs in th e Gar
He craved the sympathy o f His friend s in
d en
His su ff ering While they could not lessen the
anguish nor bear any part of it for Him , th e con
s ci ou s n es s that they were close by and were think
i ng of Him , feeling with Him, would make Him
stronger to endure T her e is a picture which shows
two women seated side by side One i s in deep
sorrow Some great grief has fallen upon her
heart and crushed it Her face tells of deepest
a fiction T he other woman has com e in from
without She is sitting beside th e suff erer, in s i
lence, holding her hand, while her face exp r esses
deep sympathy Th e nea r presence of o n e we l ove
when we a r e in any trial makes us stro n ger t o eu
T his s ugges ts one way in which we may do
d ure
good T rue sympathy with those in tro ubl e is o ft
times the b est service we can render them
N 0 longer does Jesus Himself need that we
s h o ul d wa t c h wit h Him, but i n the pers o n s o f his
.

MATTHEW X X VI

36 56

29 7

l ittl e on es He is ever saying to us, A bide ye here,

and watch with Me

While Jesus wanted His
friends near to H im , yet they could n o t share the

actual experience of that hou r

He went fo r ward

a little, and fell on His face, and prayed

We, too ,
must meet all our d eep est experiences alone E ven
our tenderest human friends we must leave back
a l ittle way In sorro w others may hold our ha n ds
and we may lean upon their strong arm f o r s up

port ; but that is all the sorro w itself we must en

dure without companionship No one can take our
pain and bear it, o r our sorrow and endure it
T he prayer which Jesus o ff ered in t h e Garden

was very intense, My F ather, if it be possible, l et

t his cup pass away from me

Without attemptin g
to fathom the mystery o f Hi s experien c e as He
prayed this prayer we get some suggestions fro m
it for ourselves F or one thing , in all o ur t r oubles
we should seek refuge in prayer Ther e is no other

place to go
Being in agony He prayed
He
let His heart cries go out in plea dings and supplica
tions Whatever ou r trial may be, it is a co mfo r t
to kno w that we may take it to God in prayer
A nother lesson is that h owever ea rnest we may
be in our pleading, we must always submit our r e

quests to the will o f God

Nev erth eless , n ot as I

will, but a s T hou wilt

How can we k now what i s
?
best
Even Jesus in His an g uish would not trus t

His own judgment, but said, If i t be possibl eas

T hou wilt
Our prayers should always be mo d
el ed on o ur Master s
A n ythi n g but G od s wil l
.

JE SUS IN GE T H S EMANE

29 8

would b e a mistak e It may be that the sorr ow

from which we implore God t o save u s is bringing
blessings we could n ot aff o r d t o miss So we can
only safely leave all to Him
It was a bitter disappointment to Jesu s when,
after His rst great struggle, He returned to the
discipl es and found them asleep He had l onged
for their sympathy He felt that if they were wak
ing and watching He would be stronger to endure
the a nguish He came back seekin g refreshment
In
a n d renewal o f strength fr om their sympathy
s tead of watching, however, the discipl es were
s leeping
We may n ot chide them , however How
is i t with ourselves ? Jesus is ever setting us to
watc h with Him and for Him D oes He always
nd us awake when He comes ? Is He never d i s
a ppointed i n us ?
D e we never l ose interest in His
?
s ervice
He s howed the pain of H i s disappointment in

the way He s poke t o th e disciples

What, could

ye not watch with M e one hour ?

It was to P eter
He sa id this specially, because P eter was the o n e
who had boasted but a little while before that what
ever others might d o he woul d be loyal T he time

they were expected to watch wa s short only one

hour
It is very s a d that the help Jesus crav ed
that n ight from His o wn disciples they f ailed to
ive
Him
He
is
calling
us
to
watch
with
Him
g
Even in His D ivine glory He stil l craves human a f
We still may
f ect i on , trust and faithfulness
rieve
His
h
e
rt
by
l
ack
of
delit
y
We
ha
v
e
c
o
n
a
g
.

JE SU S

3 00

IN

GE T H S E MANE

for a r e n ot given t o us , but we are stren gthened s o

as to a cc ept the pain a n d endure it
Very s a d was the word which Jesus spoke when

He returned to Hi s discipl es the last time

Sleep

on now, and take your rest

T heir Opportunity
for watching with Him wa s n ow gone He did not
need them any more, because the struggle was over
Waking n o w would d o no goo d, and they might as
well sleep on T here is a time for each duty, and
the time soon passes T he time to show sympathy
with a s u er i n g friend or neighbour is while the
T here is no use in our
s u er i n g i s being endured
coming next day when the need is past T he time
to watch against a danger i s when the danger is
impending ; there is n o u s e to wake up when its
work is done Watching then will not und o the
evil We may almos t as well then sl eep o n and
take our r es t
T he betrayal o f Jesus is g raphically described

in Matthew s Gospel It was one o f the twelve

who did it T his makes it terribly s a d
It wa s a

strange place to s ee an apostle o n e who had lived

with Jesus in such close relations, eating with Him,

n
enjoying all the con d e ces of His friendshi p act
ing now a s guide t o those who came to a rrest his
Master T he kiss, which was the honoured token
o f a ec t ion and the sacred seal o f friendship , be
came in this case the token o f disloyalty and the
sign o f treason T he last word Jesus spoke t o
Judas shows l ove, ready even then to accept the
.

MA T THEW XXV I

3 01

8 6 56
-

'

recrean t di s c ipl e
F ri end, d o that for ,w hi c h tho u

art come
T here was a bewilder ed attempt by the dis c iples
to defend thei r L ord against those wh o had laid
hands upon Him But they did not know what
they were doing They were loyal and devoted , but
powerless in their fright and confusion ! uickly
Jesus bade them put up their swords He was not
dependent on human forc e He could by a word
have had l egi o n s o f angel s sent to His defense But

that was n ot God s way H is hour had com e

T hen a l l the discip l es l eft Him , and ed

Shall
we call them c owards and chide them with aban
doning their L ord ? Y es , but thei r L or d was i n
n i tely patie n t wit h them
.

CH A PT E R X LV

TH E TRI A L OF J E SUS

R ea d Ma t t h ew X X VI

W E speak

57 68
-

the trial o f Jesus , but really it wa s

not a trial T here was no intention o f giving Him
a fair and just hearing T he S anhedrin had rmly
made up its mind to c ondemn Jesus, and they went
through the form of a trial not to discover the tru th
about Him , but to endeavour to get some pretext
for what they had determined to do When we
thin k who Jesus wa s , looking at H i m in the light
o f our belief in Him as the S on of God , the scen es
o f His trial reveal H i s enemies in strange char acter
indeed T hi nk o f men arresting the S on of God ,
bindi n g His hands, a n d putting Him on tri a l in
their courts !
Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane,
just after the close o f His anguish there T he e f
f ect of His arrest on the disciples was t o cause them
t o scatter a n d leave Him
While they all ed,
John seems to have returned very soon , and we
think of him as following close behind his Mas ter
on the way t o th e pala c e of t h e high priest P eter
of

8 02

THE T R IAL OF JE S U S

'

3 041

studyi ng an c ient fossils, saying that h i s dedu c ti o n s

demolish the statements of the Bible But another
man also hostile to Christianity, fo l lows , with his
little hammer, and reports other deductions w hi ch
sweep away the theories and co n clus ion s of the
rst S o it is with all oppositio n to Christianity
One witness antagonises another Ami d enmities
and as s aults, t h e New T estament stan ds really n u
assailable, an impregnable rock, and Christ H i m
self abid es, th e same yester day, an d to d ay, yea , and
.

A t length , however, t wo men were found who

seem ed to agree in their testimony, sayi ng the same
thing P rob a bly they had been drilled and taught

just what t o say

A fterward came two, and s a id,
T his man said , I am able to d estroy the temple o f

God , and to build it i n th ree days

R ea l l y Jesus

never s aid this What He did s ay was, D estroy

this temple, and in three days I will raise it up ,

referring to the temple o f His b ody T he Jews
t aught that any word spoken against the tem p le
wa s blasphemy Jesus had not said, how ever, that
He would destroy the temple, but that i f they d e

stroyed i t meaning His bod y H e would res tore

it foretellin g Hi s own resur rection T he witnesses
perverted His words , however , so as t o give the i m
pression that Jesus had actually spoken blasphemy
against the temple T here always are those who
insist upon garbling and misrepr esentin g what
Jesus said in order to bolster up their own pec uliar
opinions
.

MATTHE W XXVI

3 05

5 7 68
-

Jesus r emai ned silent before al l that t h e false

witnesses s aid
Jesus held His p ea c e
T here
wa s n o reason why He should speak , for there were
His calmness angered the
n o charges t o answer
high pri est, and he stood up and ercely demanded ,

An swerest T hou nothing ? what is i t which these

witness against T hee ? Stil l He a n swered not h

in g T here is a t ime to k eep si l ence When others
s a y false o r bitter things o f us or t o us , it is usually
better not to answer again A nswering does no
good when enemies are in such mood It only irri

tates the m the more i t does n ot con vinc e them or

s often their hea r ts

T here is somethin g very maj esti c in ou r L o r d s

s ilence a t thi s time
T her e He stood , pale and s u f
f er i n g, yet meek , patient, undisturbed , showing no
bitterness, n o r esentment, n o anxiety c oncerning

the outcome o f H i s trial

W h o , when He was r e
viled, reviled not ag ain ; when He s u er ed , threat
ened n ot ; b ut committed Himsel f t o Him that judg

et h righteously
T he less o n is for us and we
sh ou l d not fail to get i t when we are wrong ed o r
hurt, when others s a y fa l se things of us or bitter
things to u s , we should keep love in o ur hearts, and
say no unloving word a n d cherish no unloving
thought, committing al l the wrong, the injustice
i nto the h ands o f our F ather, wh o j udgeth right
.

eou s ly

But a s there is a tim e to keep si lence, there is al s o

a time t o S peak D espairing o f getting any rea l
gr ound ( i f c harge fro m the false witnes s es, the hi gh
.

THE T R IA L OF JE S U S

3 06

priest determine d to make Jesus convi c t Hims elf.

He demanded o f Him whether He wer e indeed th e

Christ
I adjure T hee by the livin g God, that
T hou tell us whether T hou art the Christ, the S on

o f God
Insta ntly the silence was b r oken Not
t o h a ve S poken n o w woul d have been t o deny H i s
o wn Mes siahship
To answer would cost Him His
life, but He paused not a moment to think o f t h e

cost There come t imes in every one s experience

when silence w o uld be disloyalty t o Christ We
should have courage then to speak the tru th r e
r
l
d
a
es s of consequenc es
g

Not only did Jesus answer the high priest s ques

tion, but He went farther a n d gave him and hi s
fel low judges a glimp s e o f th e glory o f His p o wer

Hencefort h ye s hall s ee the Son of man sitting

at the r ight h a nd of P ower, and comi ng on the

c l ouds of heaven
R ecall this scene before th e

council the pale, meek One, standing there as a

prisoner, bound , mocked, spit upon , smitten T hen
go fo rward and think o f the other scene which His
own words bring up, when this s a me Holy One shall
s i t on the throne o f H i s glory, wearing the crown of
universal power, and when the priests , scribes and
elders o f that ancient court shall stand before Him,
and recognise H im a s the very priso ner on whom
they l ooked with such contemp t that ni ght o f His
trial W h o can conceive o f the shame, the remors e,
the an guish, of that momen t ? T he rulers suppos ed
that Jesus was on trial befor e th em ; really th ey
were on trial b efore Him
.

CH AP T E R X LVI
TH E CRU CI FI X I ON

R ea d

Ma t th ew X X VI I

33 50
-

TH E story of the crucixion h as the most sacred

and tender interest for every on e wh o loves Jesus

Christ It is not merely an account of the tragic
death of a good manH e who was crucied was

the world s R edeemer, our R edeemer, s uer i n g for

us S ome of the old prea chers used to s ay that our
sins dr ove the nails in the hands and feet o f Jes u s
He di ed for us S t P aul speaks also of being cru
ci ed with Christ
He means that Christ s death
was instead of his death No other death in all h i s
tory means t o the wo rld what the d ying of Jesu s
means
T hey led Jesus out to Golgotha There He wa s

met by those who o ff ered Him wine to drink min

gled with gall

It is supp osed that the act was
one of kindness , that the mixture was intended to
stupefy Him so as to deaden in some measure the
awful su ff ering of crucixion But Jesu s refused
the d rink He would not have His sen ses dulled
as He entered upon His great work of death fo r the
.

308

MATT HE W

XXVII ,
.

33 50

3 09

w o rl d, n o r w o uld He hav e His su ff ering s as R e

deemer lessened i n any degree
Th e garments o f men wh o were c ruci ed were by
custo m the perquisites o f the soldiers in charge of

the crucixion T hey parted His garments among

them , casting lots

We l ove to think o f the gar
ments which Jesus had wo rn Perhaps they had

been made by His mother s hands or else by the

hands o f s ome o f the other women w h o followed
Him and ministered unto Him o f their substance
T hey were the garments the sick woman and other
sufferers had t ouched with reverent faith , receivi ng
instant healin g What d esecration it seems wh en
these heartles s R oman soldiers take these gar ments
and d ivide them among themselves ! Then what
sacrilege it i s when the soldiers throw dice and
gamble for His seamless r obe unde r th e very c r oss
where the Saviour is dying !

R o ma n s ol
They s a t and watched Him th ere
diers kept guard , but they were n o t the only watch
er s
There was the ca reless , hear tless watch o f the
soldiers T hey knew nothin g about Jesus T hey
s a w three poor Jews on three crosses , and had no
conception of the character o f Him wh o hung on
the middle cross It is possible yet and a l ways to
look at Christ on the cross and s ee nothing more
than these soldiers s a w We all need to pray to
have our eyes opened when w e loo k at C hr is t c ru
ci ed , that we may s e e in the l owly su ff er er the So n
of God, b ea rin g the s i n o f the w orld
.

'

T here were also j ealous watchers , the enemies o f

Jesus, s o full o f hatred that they even hurled scoff s
hung in silence upon that centra l cr oss

T hen there were loving watchers the women and

John , Christ s friends, with hearts broken as they

looked at their L ord dying in shame and anguish
T hen there were wondering watchersangels , who
hovered unseen above the cross and l ooked in
amaz ement upon the su ffering Son o f God , eagerl y
desiring to know wh at this mystery meant
A ll the words that Jesus spoke on the c ross were
full of meaning One, th e very rst, was a prayer

for His murderers, F ather , forgive them ; for they

k now not what they do

Th e words seem to have
come from His lips just as the nai l s were bein g
driven through H i s hands and feet T he torture
was excruciating, but there was no cry of pain , no
execration of those wh o were causing H im such bit
ter anguish ; only a n intercession D ora Greenwell
in on e o f her poems illustra tes the story in a strik
ing way T here wa s a youth who h a d blotted f rom
his soul every grace of goodness, who one day, i n
deance o f God, ung up into the air a dagger

meant for God s own heart Out of t h e s k y came

a hand that caught the dagger s hilt, and pres ently

there fell from the wound ve drops of Chr ist s dear

blood, freely spilt for human guilt T hen a little
l eaf came oating t hrough the air and fell at the

youth s fee t On the leaf was written a prayer for

mer cy Over whelmed by this Divin e a n s wer t o h is
.

81%

T HE CRUCIFI XION

ing oth ers i n th e most wonderful way of all by d y

ing for them He could have save d Himself, how
ever, from the cros s if He had desired His o er i n g

was voluntary He said , I lay down my life

No one t aketh it away from Me

He said He coul d
have summoned twelve legions o f angel s to deliver
Him He could have saved Himself, but then He
would not have saved others T he soldier cannot
save himself and save his country Jesus could
n o t save Himself and redeem the world
S o He
gave His own life a willing s acrice to r edeem l ost
men
It was a strange s c ene that c ame on at noon

day
F rom the sixth hour there was darknes s

over all the land until the ninth hour

A yet

deeper darkness hung round the R edeeme r s sou l

those hours It was s o dark that He even thought
Himself fors ak en of God
We never can understand the mystery of it, and
we can k now only that He wrapped the gloom of
death about Himself that we m ight b e c lothed i n
garments of light He died in darkness that when
we walk in the valley of the s hado w of death , the
light of glory may shine about us Hi s head wore
a matted crown of thorns, that under our heads
may be the pillow of peace He drank the cup of
woe t hat we may drink the cup of blessing
Mr s Browning, in one of her poems , has pi c tur ed

with rare beauty the e ff ect of Christ s death upon

two seraphi m who lingered a little behind the hosts
of heaven wh o h a d gathered that day rou n d the
.

MA T THEW XXV II

31 3

33 50
-

One o f them, as he thi nk s o f the m eaning

of
th e wonder fu l sacri c e, is troubled by the
thought that men will n ow h av e more reaso n t o l ove
God than even the a n g els have T he other remon

Y es , but not
str ates , saying , D o we l o v e n o t ?

h e an swered :
a s ma n shal l ,
c r os s

wi t h th i s b l ood on u s a nd th i s f ace ,
S t i ll h a p l y p al e wi th s o rr o w th a t i t b o r e
O h ! n ot
,

ou r b e h a l f and t end e r eve rm or e

W i th n a tu r e al l ou r own u p o n u s g az i n g
N o r y et wi th th e s e f o rg i vi n g h a nd s u p r a i s i n g
Th ei r r e p r o ach f u l wou nd s a l o n e t o b le s s !
A l a s C r e at o r ! s ha ll we l ove Th ee le s s
Tha n m o rta l s s ha l l ?
In

Jesus cried a ga i n wi th a l o u d voi c e, a n d yi eld ed

up His spirit
Hi s l oud cry, It is nished ,
which John r e c ord s , wa s a shout o f v ictory His
work was c omplet ed Th e atonement was made

Then followe d the w o rd , given by L uke, F ather,

int o Th y hands I c ommend My spirit

Th e shad
o ws were l i fte d
There was no l onger any feelin g
of forsakenn ess
A gai n we hear the sweet n ame,

F ather, sh owing that the joy had been restored

W e s ee a lso in thi s word what death was to J es us
only the br eathing out o f His spirit i nto His

F ather s h ands
We cannot s ee into th e l i fe b e
y o n d, but r evel atio n assur es us of the D ivin e pres
ence close beside u s
D yin g i s but eein g fro m the
body into the arms o f the F athe r A l l this i s o u r s
b ec ause Jesus tast ed death fo r us Beca u s e He had
the dark n ess, w e h ave the l i gh t
.

CH APT E R X LV II
TH E RE SURREC TI O N

R ea d Ma t th ew X X VI I I

1 20
-

W E thi n k of deat h o r di narily as the end of a man s

life He ca n do no more w ork in this world Only

his inuence remains But it wa s not the end o f

the life of Jesus Christ He came a gain from the
gra ve a fter a brief rest a n d took up on c e m o re His
work o f red emption
T he women watched b esid e the gra ve a fter the
burial of the body there until they were compelled
to hasten into the city before the gates would be
Meanwhile they were in deep
S hut upon them
grief Th e sabbath was a s a d a n d dark day for
them T hey were ea ger to get back to the grave to

honou r their L ord s dead body S o at the very

dawn , after the sabbath , as soon as the gates would
be opened, they le ft their h o me and hastened away
to His grave, carrying S pi ces a n d o intments t o
anoint His dead body
No on e s a w the res urrec tion W e are to l d some

thing, however o f what took place

T here was a
great earthqu a ke ; for an a ngel of th e Lo rd de
.

314

31 6

THE R E S URREC T ION

hat h been c ru c i ed He i s n o t h e re ; fo r H e is

This was the rst a n

r isen , ev en as He said
I t wa s made by
n ou n cemen t of the R esurrectio n

a n angel to the L ord s wom en friends T hey had

a mple proofs of the fact therea fter
N 0 event in all history is more inco nt estably sur e
than t hat Jesus rose agai n from the dead N or can
the importance o f the fact be overestimated

Everything depends upo n C hrist s R esurrection

A ll the hopes of redemption waited outside tha t
s ealed sepulchre
Jesus had said that He wou l d
rise ; His Messiahship therefore d epended f or con
r ma tio n on His rising
H e had ma de promises
to Hi s discip l es that He would come again from
d eath and live forever
Indeed , His kingdom de
p end ed a l together upon Hi s rising I f He h ad r e
mained under the power of death , no s o ul th a t
trusted in Him could have been s a ved F or a
Saviou r vanquish ed and hel d a s a prisoner could
not be a deliverer o f others A Savi our lo cked in a
grave c ould not appea r before God to i ntercede for
ni en, c ou l d not walk w i t h His people i n thei r t rials
and sorrows, c o u l d n o t l ead the d yi n g safely
through the valley which He had n o t Himsel f been
able to p a ss through V ictoriously, could not bring

believers from death s prison from whi c h He h a d

n ot Himself been able to c om e

T hese a r e hints o f what depen ded upo n Ch rist s

rising from the d ea d T hus we S ee so mething o f
the tremendous importance o f the fact which was
a nnoun c ed by t h e angel t o the w o men th a t ear ly
.

'

MAT T HEW

x x v1 1 1

31 7

1 20
-

mornin g
He is not here ; for He is risen
We
have a l iving Christ, therefore, for our Saviour He
was victorious over all enemies then , over death ,
the last enemy T herefore, He i s able to delive r

us from all our enemies and from death s p ower at

the last He stands before God for us , and also
walks with u s on the earth in all o ur experiences,
a l iving F riend, to love, to help, t o comfort, to de
l iver, to keep, a ll who have committ ed th emselve s
t o Him in trusting faith
T he angel sent the women on an e rr an d t o t h e

disciples to bea r to them the glorious news

Go

They obeyed
quickly, a n d tell His disciples

promptly and w i t h joy

T hey departed quickly
O n their way Jesus Himself appeared t o th em

Behold , Jesus met them, saying, A l l hail

No
tice that it was as they were hastenin g in the pat h
o f obedience that they met their L ord
It is a lways
and only in the way o f duty that we ever meet
Christ, and nd blessing and joy H a d the wome n
l oitered by the grave instead o f hasteni n g away a s
they were bidden , Jesus would not have app eared
t o them
It i s only in the way o f obedience, in the
service of love, that Jesus meets us Ther e are
Christian mourners who never go away from the
grave where they have laid their loved ones T hey
h ear the words of hope which the Gospel brings , but
s i t still in their grief, and n o comfort reaches the i r
s a d h earts
Jesus does n ot meet them I f th ey
wou l d rise and hasten on erra n ds o f l ove to th e liv
i
i n g, th e Div i n e c o m fo r t w o u l d c ome to th em
They
.

T HE R E SURR EC T ION

31 8
'

would meet Jesus Himself in the way, and r eceive

His A ll hail !
Grief is often selsh It forget s
the living in its sorrow for the dead T o suc h
mour ners true comfort never comes R ise up and
go on errands of service, and Jesus will meet you
T he women worshipped their Master, rejoicin g
that they had Him back again from the grave He
then Himself sent them on an errand to the disci

ples
Go tell My brethren that they depart into

Galilee, and there shal l they s ee Me

Whenever
Jesus makes an appointment with His friends , He
will keep it, He will be present, and will hav e
blessings to bestow upon t h os e wh o meet Him there

S uppose that some o f our L o r d s discipl es had

stayed away fro m the appointed meeting in Gali
lee, not quite believing H is promise, or havin g other
things to do instead , what would they h ave missed ?

Or they might have said , It is a l ong di sta n c e to

the place
or, T he mountain is steep, and I do

not l ike t o climb i t ; or, I fear it will rai n or be

stormy or, P erhaps He will not be there at all

I cannot understand how He can indeed be risen

F or any of these reasons or for any other rea so n
some might have been absent that wonderful day
But they would then have missed the glorious sight
o f the risen Jesus, and would not have received His
T o the end of their lives
co mmission and promise
they would have regretted that they had not kept

their L ord s appoi n tment that day

Jes us makes appointments with us to meet us at
o f prayer i n Chu r c h s erv i c es , at the holy
times
1
%
.