Middletown transcript., 1914-03-21

GOLDEN TEXT-"Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
| into the kingdom of heaven; but he that
doeth the will OF my father who is in
heaven. Matt. 7:21.
The paragraph selected for our
study is wisely entitled Lessons by
the Way" and easily falls into three
sections. There are two parallels
about the kingdom, a reply as to
who shall be saved, and an answer
to the advice given Jesus about Herod
seeking after his life.
The first section is properly por-
ton of the preceding paragraph which
relates to the incident of the woman
healed on a Sabbath.
/. What the Kingdom of God is
like, w. 1921. The word, there
fore" ". 18, R. W, links this
section with the lesson Of
last week wherein we observed
the effect upon his adversaries when
Jesus worked his miracle of healing
upon the woman ". 13), and they
we're put to shame" V. II. With this
fact in mind it is easy to reconcile
the principles advanced by the two
different parallels, viz, the fact of
.intense opposition on the part of his
enemies, and that of rejoicing on the
part of his friends.
Symbols of Evil.
The faithful servants of an absent
but expected Lord are to watch for
him that they may give him suitable
welcome when he comes. This king
dom is to be outwardly prosperous
and grow to that extent that it shall
be a shelter to the birds, which rep
resent the nations, Eek. 1928. But
at the same time there is to be an in
ward growth as well, one of leaven
(yeast), putrefaction. See I. Cor. 5:67,
also Gal 5:S, 9. A mustard seed thus
growing large is abnormal; the birds
are symbolic of evil; so Jesus teaches
us here as elsewhere (Matt. 1924
30), that the kingdom is to be of
mixed character, an intermixture OF
good and evil, opposition and victory.
History has abundantly fulfilled these
predictions, though at the time Jesus
uttered these words nothing seemed
more improbable than such suggest
ed development, either of outward
prosperity and power, or of such
possibility of finding evil within.
Common Question.
u. Who shall be saved, w. 22-3o.
What is more natural in view Of these
thoughts than to ask this question,
question that is a most common one
still. Notice, he did not answer in
way to satisfy idle curiosity, but di-
rected each to his own duty, to see If
they themselves had entered the king
dom rather than be concerned about
how many are to be saved. The sec
ret then is still a secret. He told
them to strive" (contend earnestly
to enter in. Soon the door will be
shut, now they are able to enter, then
not at all He is the door" John
1879. There is one form Of work
which is essential to the salvation OF
the believer, see John 6:29. Works,
altruistic service, is an essential part
of Christianity, being an evidence OF
faith, James 2:17, IS, but altruism is
not the whole Of religion as some
seem to imply. We do not drift into
the kingdom, Acts 14:22; l. Cor. 1924
27; Heb. All; 2 Pet. 1:10. All one
needs to do to be lost is to do moth
ing. To be saved calls for an hon
est, earnest effort. Jesus again sug-
gests his return as he reveals the
kind of seeking which fails to find an
entrance. In another passage Matt.
7:13, 14) Jesus states this same
thought. The way of unrighteousness
is broad, easy to follow and many
walk therein. Whereas the way OF
life is narrow, straight, and few
choose to follow it. To be even so
familiar as to have eaten and to have
drunk in his presence, or to have lived
on the same street, will not suff1ce,
and will not merit an entrance. In
another connection Matt. 25) Jesus
taught that even if admission is
claimed on the basis of actual service
rendered there was still lacking one
thing, viz, the Lords knowledge of
them. To be casually, specifically
familiar with him is not enough-they
did not know him. Many of our
first" people will then be last,
when that door is closed, and they
find themselves without.
Contempt for Herod.
III. Warning about Herod, w. 81
35. Why the Pharisees gave Jesus
this warning is hard to tell. They
were not interested in hi safety par
ticularly and perhaps only wanted to
frighten him and thereby limit his in
fluence and activity, see Neh. 6:9-11;
Amos 7:12, 13. There s no doubt,
however of the truth of their words
and we know that Jesus never need !
lessly incurred danger. He had his !
work to do and could not be killed
until it was done, John l1:S-10. The |
mention Of the usurper called from |
Jesus a revelation of his compassion |
ate love for the city of Jerusalem in
spite of the way it had treated him.
His contemp. for Herod, that fox,
is the only record of such words hav-
ing passed his lips. His dealings with |
Herod were most solemn. The figure |
Of the hen and her brood as applied |
to himself is another one of those as
sertions he made which prove his |
deity He could have given that
doomed city safety, comfort and rest,
but its day was about at an end. Re
jecting the Messiah consequently left |