Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-18
JESUS BEGINS HIS MINISTRY.
Matthew, WHIPS.
Golden text Repent We; for
the kingdom Of heaven Is at
hand. Matthew, iv.17.

Matthew passed over the Judean
ministry of the Lord Jesus without any
reference to the events of that period.
He selected such parts of Christs
words and works as would help him
to develop his theme that the Master
was the Messiah We are indebted to
John for the knowledge that We possess
OF the Lords activity during the six
or seven months that followed our
study for last week. Some of the most
valuable teachings of Jesus were taught
during that period. He offered Him
self to the Jewish political and ecclesi-
astical leaders as the Messiah, but they
rejected Him. In His conference with
Nicodemus, the brilliant scholar and
member of the Sanhedrin, Jesus re-
vealed Gods love for men and taught
the necessity of the spiritual birth that
requires one to be born again." In
His conversation with the woman of
Sychar at Jacobs well, the Master
taught the message of religious liberty
that is foundation of all freedom. He
attended wedding in Cana of Galilee
with some of His early disciples who
had attached themselves to Him.
While there He Sanctified marriage by
performing His first miracle that re-
vealed His power over nature. After
this event Jesus returned to Judea to
continue His work there and the dis
cipleS, who were with Him at the
wedding, went on to their home in
the Sea of Galilee
When Jesus learned of the imprison-
ment of John the Baptist, He showed
His courage by returning to Nazareth
He came alone this time, but showed
His devotion to the principles of His
herald by taking up the slogan of
John, Repent We, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand" John had been
put in prison because he demanded
understood the end that the Baptist
faced might be His, when He COM
menced to preach Repent ye' In His
demand for repentance. which calls
literally for change of mind toward
sin and toward God, Jesus proved His
heroic spirit. He made no offer of per-
sonal benefits. He did not appeal to
men on the basis of fear or the hope
of obtaining positions of power in the
kingdom. Everywhere in Galilee, ex-
cept in Nazareth, the Master received
a hearty welcome. In His home town,
they refused to believe that He was the
Messiah and they tried to kill Him.
This resulted in His making Caper-
naum the headquarters for His cam
paign in Galilee. Matthew says that
In making this city His home Jesus
fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. Our
Lord knew Capernaum and its moral
needs. He was moved by a missionary
impulse in making His decision. He
had few followers there. They were
probably responsible for the request
the Roman official sent to Jesus, when
He reached Nazareth, to come down
and heal his child. Jesus cured the
nobleman's child without going to
Capernaum. This insured the Master
OF good opening in that strategic
center.
Training School Started.
The teaching, preaching, and heal |
Ing OF the sick by our Lord attracted
the multitudes wherever He went |
The crowds followed Him one day, so |
that John tells us, that Jesus was |
forced to borrow one of the boats of |
Simon Peter for pulpit. Jesus never
allows any one to serve Him without |
showing His appreciation. He directed |
Simon to put out his boat and make |
another effort to secure fish after they |
had tried all night and caught moth |
Ing. Peter demonstrated his faith in |
the leadership of Jesus Christ by obey |
ing His commands and obtained such |
a great multitude of fishes" that they |
had to call their partners to assist |
them at their catch, which was so large :
That their boats were in danger Of |
sinking. 1t was Immediately following |
this experience that Jesus summoned |
four OF His early disciples to leave their |
business and follow Him, so that they
could learn "how to take men alive"
Our Lord did not call these men to
enroll in His Training School of Re-
IlO1N1IC Er1rnQ
personal fitness for the proposed work.
The two pairs of brothers were among
His earliest followers. They were tried |
men, but not perfect. The glory of the
Lords Gospel is that He can use men
and women who have failed and whose
lives have been marred by sin. The
steadfast faith and friendship of these
four had been tested. They were en-
gagged in probably the most profitable
IDENTIFY they were men of means for they
had hired servants. They certainly
possessed some social standing, because
one at least Of that group was acQuaint-
ed with the high priest.
Having seen the value Of the leader
ship Of the Lord Jesus in their business
affairs, they Immediately left all and
Christ. They knew the risks
of personal danger that they faced.
The imprisonment of John and the
open break that Jesus had with the
Sanhedrin warned them of their own
possible danger. Zebedee, their father,
evidently approved of their decision, for
he permitted his wife to join the group
Of the Lords disciples that followed
Him and ministered unto Him. He re-
joiced that he could make his contri-
button in this way to help establish the
Kingdom OF God among men by per-
hitting them to go with Christ, and he
tarried behind TO help support them by
carrying on the business and taking
care of the nets. No men ever made
greater sacrifices for Christ than these
fishermen of Galilee made, when they
left their all to enroll in Christ's peri
patetic school to learn the greatest bust
ness Of all the ages.
Learning from Christ.
The men who responded to Christ,s
call were gripped by the personality Of
the worlds greatest Teacher His mes
sages thrilled them, for He taught with
authority, not as the scribes. His
methods were full of suggestions to
them. They learned by their contact
with Christ as they went about with
Him throughout all Galilee They were
instructed by His teaching in the syna-
gogues. They were inspired by His
preaching the gospel OF the Kingdom
of God. They were influenced by His
philanthropic acts and His power as q
healer of all manner of sickness among
the people.
The curriculum of the apostolic COL
lege covered all the needs of men. They
saw intellectual men, like Nicodemus,
recognize that Jesus was Teacher sent
from God, although He had not grad
uated from any one of their great rab-
binical schools. His words and works
demonstrated that He was from God
beyond contradiction. His spiritual in
terpretations of the Old Testament re-
vealed such deep insight into their
meaning that the scholars connected