Montgomery County Sentinel

Thursday, January 1, 1942.
Improved SUNDAY Uniform ion International SCHOOL LESSON-: By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST. D. D. Of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
Lesson subjects and Scripture texts selected and copyrighted by International Council of Religious Education; used by permission.

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS: MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE
LESSON TEXT - Matthew 1:1, 17; Mark 1:1. 14. 15; Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-5.
GOLDEN TEXT Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.-I Timothy 1:15.

A new year of God-given opportunity with the assurance of His grace and strength for our daily need. Such is the precious gift we hold in our hands- as we enter on A. D. 1942

With the new year, we enter upon a new course of study-carefully planned ahead through 1947, if the Lord tarries. We begin very appropriately with a study of the life of Christ as presented in the first three Gospels, known as the Synoptic Gospels.

"Synoptic" is a combination of two words, meaning "a view together," and refers to the fact that Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us the same general view of Christ, although differing somewhat in their emphasis.

Matthew, writing his Gospel especially to the Jews, presents Christ as King. Mark, for the Romans, presents the Servant. Luke presents to the Greeks the Son of Man-the perfect Man, and John, for the Christian church, reveals the Son of God. But note that all the Gospels are for us. and in them we find the fourfold picture which presents the many-sided glory and beauty of our Lord. Turning to our scriptures we see-—

I. The King (Matt. 1:1, 17).

These verses come at the beginning and end of the kingly genealogy of Jesus. It is important that the descent of a king be carefully recorded and studied. for it alone can prove his right to the throne.

We know that Israel rejected Jesus as King, but we also know what prophecy reveals that He will one day take the throne of David and reign. Does He have that right?

In Matthew 1:1-17. we have His national and royal descent. Being son of both David and Abraham, He is heir to both the promise and the throne. As King of Israel, there was no need to trace His lineage back further than Abraham through David, but we find that in Luke (3:23-28) the Son of Man is traced back to Adam. Mark has no genealogy for reasons noted below, and John also has none, for the Son of God is eternal, infinite, without need of genealogy.

Turning now to Mark, we find Him presented as

II. The Servant (Mark 1:1, 14, 15).

A servant needs no genealogy, he needs only to be able and ready to work, and that is just what we find in Mark. The account plunges at once into the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." who is ready to serve-by life or by death-yes, even by the death of the cross.

The forerunner, John the Baptist, bears his witness. Jesus is baptized. John is imprisoned, and immediately Jesus begins to preach, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel." The key verse of Mark is 10:45: For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." The characteristic words are "straightway," "forthwith," and "immediately." The Greek word thus translated appears about 40 times in the book. The Servant of God went quickly about the Father's business. Christians. can we say the same for ourselves?

III. The Son of Man (Luke 1:1-4).

Luke undertakes to write, under the control of the Holy Spirit. a careful account of the saving work of Christ, but he makes it doubly clear that he writes from firsthand knowledge. "Eyewitnesses" means those who made a personal investigation, hence, those who knew Christ as the Son of Man, the One who became flesh and dwelt among us.

"Ministers" means literally those who served under Jesus, His personal assistants; again emphasizing His personal ministry as "the Son of man who is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (as Luke 19:10, the key verse of this Gospel, expresses it).

IV. The Risen and Ascended Lord (Acts 1:1-5).

Christ who was crucified arose a Victor over death and the grave, and ascended to the Father, where He now appears as our Advocate.

That does not mean that His work on earth terminated. for we have in Acts what Dr. Morgan fittingly calls "the book of the continued doing and teaching of the living Christ by the Holy Spirit through His body. which is the church."

The Gospels (Acts 1:1) told only that "Jesus began to do and to teach." Acts continues, but does not complete the story. Christ is working today in and through surrendered believers. Will He have liberty to work through you and through me this year of 1942? If so. it is sure to be a happy--yes. blessed-New Year.