Meeting the Master

Front matter

Class.

Book..

Gopigkls 10 .-

Contents

Chapter Page

I. Jesus and John the Baptist i

II. Jesus and the Woman of Samaria 13

CHAPTER I Jesus and John the Baptist

The following studies are designed to show the character of Jesus and the practical value of certain of his teachings, as these are revealed through the personal relations which the Master bore to individuals whom he met in his daily life. Character is revealed and developed in the personal reactions of common life more effectively than in any other way. Therefore one of the surest methods by which to gain an accurate idea of Jesus is to study the way in which he entered into intimate relations with those around him. Jesus moved through a real world of men and things ; he was flesh and blood with his disciples and his antagonists. Each person whom he met was in some way a foil, bringing out his own purpose and character. When we see him in these collisions of thought and action, we are able to understand him.

Brief Outline Sketches are furnished with each chapter. These are such rough cartoons or preliminary drawings as an artist might make before painting a picture. A few bold strokes are indicated ; the student will make his own completed study from these outlines.

DAILY READINGS First Week, First Day: "The Desert Preacher"

And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judsea, saying, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight.

Now John himself had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about the Jordan; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins, — Matt. 3: 1-6.

John the Baptist is a challenging figure. He looms in our imagination. He lives in the desert, in his rough clothing, eating his simple food, at home with the rocks and the stars and the rugged sincerities of nature. He is no dandy from the towns, no ladies' man, showing at his best in parlors and at banquets. His skin ;s brown, his muscles are firm, he is not afraid of the rain.

And his message matches his external appearance. It is full of rugged sincerity, short, snappy, searching. It digs to the roots of both personal and natural problems. It throws sin into its red glare of disaster. John calls things by their right names : he does not side-step ; he does not obscure the truth. He throws one burning word at his hearers: "Repent" He makes it an urgent matter. It cannot be put off to a convenient time; every man must square his life up to the demand of a righteous God and he must do it now.

And the message gains in dignity and grips with new power when we notice that the man has forgotten himself. He calls himself simply a Voice and a Way-maker. He, John, may be forgotten ; but the great Cause is on its way. "God buries his workmen, but carries on his work." John does not make us conscious of himself; he only makes us aware of something most vital and urgent, driving forward, getting the road ready for something still greater to come.

Has John a word for us in these bustling times? Have we ever considered what it means literally to use ourselves just for building a way for the Kingdom?

First Week, Second Day: "A Personal Consecration"

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer

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it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffereth him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. — Matt. 3: 13-17.

This was Jesus' public consecration of himself to the work which he was to do in the world. His baptism could not have involved the confession of sin and the reception of forgiveness, for which it stood in the case of the men whose conscience had been stung into response by John's message. Jesus did not hesitate to keep all the outward forms of the spiritual life, as they were observed at the time. He went regularly to the synagogue, he observed the times of prayer, he sent a man whom he had cured to the priest in proper form. Jesus was not careless or contemptuous of the forms of religion. He did not come to destroy them, but to fill them with a new life and spirit. His example gives no warrant or comfort to those who say that formal expressions of religion are unnecessary.

This experience of Jesus is similar to that through which we pass when we ''join the church" or are "confirmed" or are '"baptized." It is like that act by which at any time we express in a public way the purpose to give ourselves to a life of personal service to God. Jesus was ready to stand among his fellows and take upon himself a solemn consecration to a life of service to God and to his fellowmen.

Sometimes we are told that such consecrations are not necessary and, in general, hardly desirable. Of course, these experiences occasionally foster sham and cant ; and the present hatred of hypocrisy is very wholesome : but surely there could be no greater moment in the life of a sincere and unselfish man than that in which he commits his life to the service of a great cause. There is nothing to be ashamed oi in standing before his fellows personally to assume the highest duty and to pledge himself to the holiest of all friendship. When things go badly and work drags, it helps tremendously to remember the sacred hour of consecration. Your public acceptance of Christ as Lord has helped you : have you gained from it all that might have been possible?

First Week, Third Day: "When Men are Offered Crowns"

And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. And they had been sent from the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not, even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. — John i: 19-27.

John knew what the people were expecting their Messiah to do. Their patriotism was like tinder, waiting only for the spark of a great battle-cry and a leader, in order to break into a flame of revolution which should burn the Romans out of Palestine.

John also knew what it would cost him to fail to meet this popular demand. He must have had ambition ; without it there would be no deep joy in life. But the way in which we behave when men offer us crowns is the test of the strength of the soul.

John knew, too, that the deepest needs of the nation could not be served by him, but that they must be satisfied by Jesus. While Jesus was living among them, the people did not appreciate this ; nor do we fully understand it even now. But John was clear in his vision on this point. So he met the test of being offered a crown and never swerved in his loyalty to his own life purpose and to his Master.

The secret of John's steadfastness and clarity of moral vision is due to the fact that he defined his life with reference to Jesus and His Cause. This does not mean that he had no work of his own to do. We could not get on, unless we could have a clear idea of certain work of our own which we must do with our might. To plan our life in the light of alle-

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giance to Jesus does not mean that it has no character or direction of its own. John's life took on a real significance only when he had related it to the greater mission of his Master. Precision of aim is derived from the 'clearness and worth of the objective. Steadiness also comes from the sense of a clear purpose. When headed toward a high end, men will not go to pieces when they are tested by the severe strain of personal ambition. Have you denned the objective of your life in reference to Christ and his purpose? Is your life really making the way ready for greater achievements by those who are to come after you?

First Week, Fourth Day: "The Index Finger"

On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! — John 1: 29.

The index finger is one of our most common and useful symbols. It points out an object to an inquirer. John the Baptist is the index finger, pointing his friends to the one object about which their love and loyalty ought to center. John did not gather a school of pupils to receive and extend his teaching ; he did not write books to expound his message ; he did not gather his friends into an institution which should perpetuate his work. He pointed those who followed him to Christ and he gave his testimonv that Jesus was the Son of God.

This does not mean that there should be no teachers or theologians or founders of institutions today; but it does indicate the fact that the great work of any person is to be the index finger, pointing out Christ as the Saviour of the world. But just what do we mean by pointing others to Christ? In the case of John, it involved two large considerations.

First, he had himself a clear conviction based upon experience that Jesus was the Son of God, to whom the personal loyalty of His disciples was due. If he had not been sure of this he could not have spoken with such certain accent.

Second, he established warm and frank personal relations with his friends and then he told them of Jesus the Sin-Bearer. John undertook what is now commonly known as "personal evangelism."

We must revive our fundamental convictions of the reality of Christ through fresh experience with him. Then we must point out the Master to others as Saviour of the world. The experience without the service may be only a selfish spiritual joy; the service without the deepened experience may be only a formal and barren religious act. What can we do to deepen our convictions about Jesus through experience? How can we make more personal contacts with others, for the purpose of leading them to Christ?

First Week, Fifth Day : "The Rising Sun and the Waning Star"

There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purifying. And they came unto John, and said to him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.— John 3: 25-30.

The question which John's disciples were debating with a Jew is without meaning to us today; but it was a matter of vital concern at that time. Religion consisted mainly in ceremonies. The proper way in which to accomplish purification was a burning question. So the ideas of religion change ! We must seek for the truth that lies beneath the discarded words and forms of the past. The right relation of the soul to God is still supremely important; we do not think that it can be determined simply by a ceremony. It is life that counts.

As the sun rises in the morning, the stars disappear in the brighter light. John rose like a brilliant morning star ; his radiance fell upon a bewildered and somber world. Then came the growing sunlight from the life and words of Jesus. John retreated into obscurity, and Jesus advanced into the favor of the people. He increased; John decreased.

How could there be a more biting test of the pure metal

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of a man's life than this? If there had been the least envy or jealousy in John's character, it would have come to the front at this time. But John was great enough to see another leader assume control of the cause that he loved, and not permit his heart to harbor the least envy. Sometimes it . takes more real devotion to surrender personal leadership to another than it would to make almost any sacrifice in the position of command.

Think of the causes in which you are interested. How ready are you to surrender leadership and put your pride in your pocket? When the time comes for you to resign the presidency, are you willing to work with the same zeal on a committee? Have you swept the last shred of envy out of the chambers of your soul?

First Week, Sixth Day: "What Ye Hear and See"

Now when John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, .he sent by his disciples and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh,, or look we for another? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. — Matt, n: 2-6.

Here is John in prison, kept there unjustly,, waiting for trial, for almost certain death, and eager for news of the Cause. A few rumors, often conflicting and always meager, sift in through the door of his dungeon. One says that the people are becoming convinced that Jesus is the great expected Leader ; another dashes John's kindling hopes by reporting that none except a few fishermen have followed him and that he is discredited by all the officials in the church. One day it is said within John's hearing that Jesus of Xazareth is healing all kinds of disease and that all the signs point toward his fulfilment of the promises concerning the Messiah; the next day there is a report that opposition is growing ai%d that the Jerusalem authorities are likely to take vigorous action against Jesus soon.

And meantime John feels that he must know the truth. He has pointed out Jesus as the Messiah. Was he mistaken? Is his whole life a failure? Or does he need only to wait and be patient until the truth is finally known? "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." Anything can be borne more easily than uncertainty.

So John sends on his disciples to find out the truth. It is John's question that they ask. We can almost hear its trembling eagerness. It calls for an immediate and positive reply.

Was the answer satisfactory to John? And does the beatitude really mean something to us?

First Week, Seventh Day: "Greater than the Greatest"

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. — Matt, n: n.

At first glance the meaning of Jesus' tribute to John is not wholly clear. The first clause is plain enough. Jesus says explicitly that no man ever has lived who is greater than John. This refers, of course, to the nobility of his character and the real worth of the work that John did. Is this true?

The work of Moses seems incomparably greater. In the spiritual history of mankind certainly the character of the great, first man of faith, Abraham, seems more significant. But the work of all religious leaders must be tested with reference to its relation to Christ ; and John had the privilege of being the immediate announcer of Jesus as the Christ. In this respect, therefore, he was the greatest of men who lived before Him. And the self-forgetfulness and courage that we have noted in him also make John a great soul.

But Jesus adds the statement that the humblest member of the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. In what respect is this true? John was like all those who lived before him in that he did not have the privilege of knowing the Father in the light of the revelation which Jesus gave us. He did not have the joy of seeing defined in the life of Jesu§ the characteristics of that highest human life which is set before us there as our goal. And John never had the opportunity / of coming into contact with the creative energies which make

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the soul new through faith in a divine Redeemer. So it is true that the lowliest member of the kingdom that Christ established is greater than the greatest of the men who lived under the covenant of law and ceremonies. Have we ever compared our privileges as Christians with those of even the most favored and strongest souls before Christ came into the world?

The character of John is clearly outlined in the passages which we have studied, although they are not given to details. The Master's Way-maker is a free spirit, living near to nature and yet knowing the moral conditions of the time. He has a strong body behind him; he has not broken the edge of his manhood by early vice. We get the sense of the fundamental human traits of courage and strength from the first look at him: fuller acquaintance strengthens the impression.

John is fearless and practical in his public message and his personal interviews. In an age of subtle arguments and hairsplitting he tells the truth in plain terms. So he wins the respect of men, even when he cuts to the quick in dealing with their sins. Xo ethical leader can be effective unless he is as frank and fearless as John. In the end even his enemies honor him for his fearlessness. Note that John's honesty never took the form of denunciation in a negative spirit. He revealed their sins to men,, in order that he might help them to be rid of them.

The worthy causes that have been wrecked by the struggle for personal leadership litter the path of human progress. Individual ambition appears again and again at the critical moment in a conflict between good and evil, and the right cause is lost because a man could not subordinate his personal desires to his ideal. How big John looks from this distance ! He is ready to be forgotten, if only the great movement which he has ushered in may go on to success. With the centuries to give us perspective, it seems that this ought to have been a surrender relatively easy to make. But John had no such advantage in reaching his decision. He made the great surrender with no knowledge of its results to help him. It was a glorious surrender of personal prestige.

The only reason why John was able to give up his personal leadership with such serene faith was because he had put

[I-c] MEETING THE MASTER

the Coming One at the very center of all his conscious activity. He did not think or plan or act in reference to himself. This Jesus who was to save mankind was the supreme fact in all his estimates of responsibility and duty. It is not using mere formal religious terms when we describe John as a "wholly consecrated" man. Our ideas of consecration have gathered too much around public oral expressions of purpose. But John did the real thing. He did not talk about it ; he went straight to work and did it. His consecration was not an act to be boasted of. It was quiet and thorough. But it is the supreme glory of his life.

Then one day down to the shore comes a carpenter from the village of Nazareth. The two face each other. How the depths of Jesus' soul must have responded to the heroic figure and stirring message of the great Way-maker ! Two plain men, as the world judges, faced each other: the one proclaimed the promise of a world's redemption, the other brought in his hands the fulfilment. John caught up in himself the best of his race, he embodied the burning desire for truth and righteousness of its greatest heroes ; and Jesus, we believe, gladly and proudly received from his Forerunner the commission to go forward to realize all that John had thought or dreamed.

With what quiet majesty Jesus steps forth to give himself up in an act of public dedication to a life of unselfish service ! Xo stir was made in Jerusalem the day the young Teacher from Nazareth came to the Jordan to devote himself to his Father in heaven. He was thoroughly his own master. He announced no program ; he made no claims. But the universe itself felt the significance of his decision that day. A new base line was run from which we may survey the moral and spiritual world with confidence. It is an example of the fact that the greatest forces are not noisy.

Then also began a new era of gladness in human life. The figure of the bridegroom, with whom his friends rejoice, is one of the most accurate descriptions of Jesus that we have. Jesus is the creator of the deepest joy that we ever can know. Nothing does Jesus greater injustice than to represent him as renouncing gloomily all that makes life glad or calling upon his disciples to do so. The passing amusement and the foolish jest are never associated with Jesus; but he was at home with all wholesome human joys, at weddings and banquets,

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with the crowd and among his friends. Art has put a halo around his head ; but no nimbus separated him from the happy life of his human comrades.

At the very outset., however, the names that Jesus accepts as his due are the most sacred that could be given him. He is the Lamb of God and the Son of God. He is wholly one with his associates in daily life; but he is also apart from them in the majesty of his nature and the divine quality of his character. The supreme titles were not given to Jesus at the close of his career alone, but also, with great distinctness and full realization of their meaning, at the beginning of his public life. We cannot get our ideas of Jesus correctly dehned unless we start with the testimony of John. Undoubtedly both John and Jesus grew into deeper appreciation of what the words Son of God meant as the months passed by; but they started with this fundamental idea clearly in their minds. There was only one spiritual leader in all history entitled to bear these names.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER THOUGHT AND . STUDY

1. Who were the forerunners of Luther and Lincoln? What was their share in the careers of these men?

2. How would you put into words that would be understood today the idea of John when he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"?

3. Can you enumerate the spiritual privileges that we possess because Christ came into the world? How can we realize these more fully in our everyday life?

John the Baptist

1. A free spirit, living near to nature, yet knowing the moral conditions of the time.

2. Fearlessly preaching righteousness, preparing men to receive and follow Christ as Master.

3. Ready to yield his personal leadership when the greater Leader should appear and the cause demand it.

4. Defining his whole life and work in reference to Jesus.

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5. Dying at last because of his moral loyalty and fearlessness.

1. Consecrating himself publicly to the life work that he had chosen.

2. Worthy to be pointed out as the Lamb of God and to be revered and followed as a personal Master.

3. A Leader and Comrade in whose presence one feels happy and strong, like friends around a bridegroom.

4. The Helper and Healer of the people in all their varying needs.

CHAPTER II Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

Second Week, First Day: "A Courteous Request"

When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples), he left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs pass through Samaria. So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph: and Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. For his disciples were gone away into the city to buy food. — John 4: 1-8.

The report that Jesus was making more disciples than John was spreading among the people. When the Master learned of this he started for Galilee. He was unwilling to have any such apparent conflict between himself and John. Note this fine exhibition of sensitiveness and loyalty.

When he and his disciples came near Sychar it was noon, intensely hot, and the disciples left Jesus near Jacob's well, where undoubtedly there was shade and a place to rest, while they went up to the village to buy what was necessary for their simple meal. How does this show the instinctive courtesy and respect of the disciples in their personal treatment of the Master? A true son of his own race, Jesus must have been stirred by thoughts of the great heroes of his nation, as he sat by the well where of old Jacob used to water his flocks.

When Jesus saw the woman he asked her quietly and courteously for a drink. This was entirely in accord with the customs of the time, although it was unusual for a man to talk with a woman alone. The picture that we get of Jesus here is that of a natural, simple, and gracious man, to whom his friends yield the respect that is given spontaneously to one whose worth is self-evident. He is weary, thirsty, and sincere in his craving for a drink of water.

But was there not something deeper in his mind as he put forward his courteous request? Did he not see in this meeting with the woman an opportunity to render a service to her deeper, spiritual needs?

Second Week, Second Day, "The Flame of Race Hatred"

The Samaritan woman therefore saith unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his sons, and his cattle? — John 4: 9-12.

The moment Jesus spoke the sentence the quick ear of the woman detected his "brogue." He was a Jew. For generations Jews and Samaritans had hated each other. They called each other hard names ; they spat in each other's faces at the slightest provocation. The sound of the hated dialect stirred her into rage. Of course, this was not personal. He never had injured her; so far as we know they never had met before. Yet her people hated his people, and that was enough. How does this temper enter into our daily life now? Are we tempted to criticize or disparage individuals simply on the ground of their race or color?