The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1944-02-25
JESUS PRESENTS HIMSELF AS
THE MESSIAH

THE MESSIAH
LESSON TEXT: Mark 11:1.10, 1918.
GOLDEN TEXT: Again the high priest
asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the
Christ the Son of the Blessed2 And Jesus
said, am.-Mark 14:61, 81.
AS our Lord entered upon the last
week of His earthly ministry, the
time had come for Him to present
Himself officially to His people az
their Messiah. AS He did so, we
observe that He then had and now
has right to claim all that we have
and are, as well as to exercise judg-
ment over us.
I. His Right to Property wv. I'D.
We are so prone to call our pos
sessions our own, and to hold them
for our selfish purposes. Just mo-
ment's reflection makes US aware
that we are but stewards holding
our things, as we hold ourselves,
for the use of God.
That means that the Lord need
only send for what we have, and we
Should gladly yield it to Him. "The
Lord hath need" is the only requisi-
ton we need. He has absolute pri-
GRITTY. And yet the very fact that
He has need Of us and what we
have, dignifies our service or sacri-
fee on His behalf.
How surprising it was that the
One who made and upholds all
things (Col. 1:16, ~ should have to
say, "The Lord hath need of him."
in sending for humble beast of
burden. Yet therein lies marvellous
truth. He has graciously so ordered
the universe that He has need Of us
and of our possessions.
Let us also learn the important
lesson Of unquestioning obedience
taught in verse 4. ''They went their
way" to do what the Lord told them
to do. How greatly simplified and
glorified would be the lives of Chris
tan people if they would thus obey
Christ.
AS He came riding into the city,
we observe
ii. His Right to Praise wv. 7-1O).
God says, Him that offereth
praise glorifieth me" FPS. 50:23),
and the believer recognizes that
''praise is comedy for the upright"
FPS. 33:D. Jesus is entirely worthy
of the praise of every heart and
voice.
r. Presenting Himself as their Mes
siah, Jesus received the enthusiastic
acclaim of His disciples and friends,
who were probably joined by others
who were drawn by the excitement.
The Pharisees did not join in (see
Luke 1889, 40) nor did the city, not
even knowing who He was (Matt.
21:10, 11). So it is today; some love
and praise Him, some hate Him,
others just ignore Him. Of which
class are you?
He gave Jerusalem and the nation
a final opportunity to receive Him.
1t was not yet too late, but it was
their last chance. Such time comes
In the life of everyone of US. They
rejected Him. Do we?
But even though some did reject,
let us not forget that there were
those who shouted, ''Hosanna," who
cast their garments down before
Him and waved palms Of victory
and joy. Thank God for their holy
enthusiasm. Pray God that we may
have little more of it.
III. His. Right to Punish wv. Is
49,.
People like to hear about a God
of love, one who knows their weak
ness, and is kind toward their in
| firnities. But we must not forget
that God shows His love by a great
and holy hatred of sin, and a desire
to deliver us from that sin. This
means that He must and will deal
In drastic fashion with those who
persist in their sin.
A second time He drove out from
His Fathers house those who had
made it place of merchandise, Of
commercialized thievery.
This is majestic picture. The
Son of God and Son of Man steps
into the center of this unholy traffic
and with mighty, holy indignation
(not anger) drives it out. The peo-
pie who had suffered long because of
this religious racket, which paid a
nice "cut'' to the priests themselves
| (probably as "gift" even as such
things are managed now, were jubi-
liant.
We read in the same story in
Matthew 21:12-22 that the boys who
were in the temple (for such is
doubtless the meaning of children"
in verse 15) were so delighted at
this magnificent exercise of His di-
vine authority that they broke out
into ''Hosannas," which really
amounted to a holy ''Hurrah."
Well, why not? Hurrah for our
Lord! He will not tolerate iniquity
even though it hides under the cloak
Of religion. He is not afraid to speak
out and to act against sin and COR
ruption.
Possibly the church would reach
a good many more men and boys
in our day if it would step out in
faith to fight the wrong and support
the right. Then maybe the young
men would shout. "Hurrah for the