DAY 304    Read Matthew 26:36-75; Mark 14:32-72; Luke 22:40-65; John 18:1-27.

Today's reading:  We are taken through the agony in Gethsemane, past the shameful betrayal, and into the courtyard at the home of Annas for an illegal night trial--and Peter's denial.

Memory gem:  "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak"  (Matthew 26:41).

Thought for today:
The tragic experience of Judas is a sermon that eloquently sounds a warning to everyone.  It is a supreme example of wasted opportunity.  Think of it: Judas was with Jesus three and a half years; he was given all the opportunities the other apostles had; yet in the end, that wonderful education, with Jesus as the teacher, brought him no good.  He died a lost man, as Jesus indicates in His great high-priestly prayer (see John 17:12).

Judas is also a disastrous example of wasted influence.  He could have been another Simon Peter; he could have written one of the books of the New Testament; we might today have had the "Gospel according to Judas Iscariot."  It could have been a blessing to the world.  He might have written some epistles.  Instead of this, his last contact with Jesus was that lying kiss which had its part in breaking the heart of the Saviour.

There are thousands like Judas today, wasting their influence.  You who are reading this now--if you have had a Christian father, a Christian mother, if you have had church privileges, if you have known what it was to serve God and now you are wasting your life--remember you are drawing nearer and nearer to that dark night on which Judas crossed over the line, never to return.

In the third place, Judas wasted his eternity.  Our life here on earth is brief, but we have time enough to prepare for the great eternity to come.  Someday the twelve apostles will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel; but Judas will not be one of them.  Another will have taken his place.  We cannot imagine those eternal vistas of glory, of joy, of learning, endless ages of service for Jesus, for it is written that the redeemed will "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth"  (Revelation 14:4).

DAY 303    Read John 17; Psalms 17; 69; 86; 87; 88.

Today's reading:  We have the privilege of "listening" as our wonderful Saviour prays for us.  We also read a few of the psalms that Jesus may have sung with His disciples--some containing Messianic prophecies.

Memory gem:  "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth"  (John 17:17).

Thought for today:
The seventeenth chapter of John contains Jesus' great prayer, His prayer as High Priest.  Here we find some wonderful, wonderful things.  Jesus was praying just before He died.  When a person is praying his last prayer on earth, and he knows it, it is a very solemn thing.  I have heard people pray their last prayer when they knew they were dying.  This is Jesus' last prayer for His people, this great prayer in the seventeenth chapter of John.

Here we have this incomparable high-priestly prayer of Jesus in which He asks for many things for His people.  He asks that we might be one.  You know, it is a shame to find Christian people broken up into cliques--warring, antagonistic groups.  It is a terrible thing for a church to have divisions in it because somebody wasn't elected to be deacon, because somebody said something about somebody else.  Those things are always going to happen, and if we do not have enough Christianity to have love for God and for unlovely people and to get along smoothly in those experiences, we are in great spiritual need.  We need to pray more for each other.

Jesus prayed for His people, that they might be kept faithful, kept from evil.  That was a wonderful prayer, and it included us today.  It was a prayer to keep His people from getting into wrong things, to keep us from getting so involved in business that we lose our hope and faith.  Jesus prayed for all that.  And He prayed that His people might live for God, carry out their mission, and go into all the world and give the gospel.  He prayed that they might eventually be with Him where He is going to be.

DAY 302    Read John 14 through 16.

Today's reading:  After the group in the upper room had sung a hymn, they went out into the moonlit night.  Along the way to Gethsemane, Jesus talked to them about serious and wonderful truths.

Memory gem:  "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also"  (John 14:3).

Thought for today:
I remember a little boy I knew, about five years old, whose grandfather loved him greatly.  He took the boy with him everywhere he went,  and sometimes he would take him on trips up into the Rocky Mountains, where he used to go trapping.  When the little fellow's legs would wear out, the grandfather, a strong man, would put him on his back and carry him for miles.

One evening they were in the mountains miles away from home; and, although it was after sunset, the grandfather had to go further up the canyon to look after some traps.

He found a large rock with a hole in it about five feet from the ground, just about the size of the little boy.  So he put him in it and said, "Now, don't be afraid; nothing can get you up here.  You can go to sleep if you want to; nothing will harm you.  And I will come back in an hour and take you home."

The little boy lay there.  The night closed in, dark, the wind moaned around that big rock, and the coyotes began to howl.  And if there is anything on earth that is mournful, it is that.  And the boy had an imagination which had often gotten him into trouble; but his grandfather had said, "I will come back," and on that promise he fell asleep.

Grandfather did come back, and he carried the boy home.

I know how the little boy felt; I know how scared he was, because I was that boy.  But Grandfather said he would come back and he had never told me a lie.  Neither my grandfather nor my father ever told me anything that was not true, so I believed every word they said.  I always found it to be true.

Jesus has told us, "I am coming back."  He didn't do it to fool us; He didn't do it to calm us and then leave us alone forever--for eternity.  Oh, no, He is coming back.  "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

DAY 301    Read Matthew 26:17-35; Mark 14:12-31; Luke 22:7-39; John 13.

Today's reading:  Apparently Jesus spent Wednesday and most of Thursday in quiet retirement somewhere outside the city.  The record picks up the narrative on Thursday afternoon with preparation for the supper in the upper room.

Memory gem:  "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup ye do shew the Lord's death till he come"  (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Thought for today:
Jesus is sitting at a table, a table in an upper room.  Around this table with Him are gathered twelve men, young and old.  The work of our Saviour is nearly finished.  The next few hours will witness His betrayal, His condemnation, His crucifixion, His burial and resurrection.  It is one of the greatest crisis hours of all the ages.

Look at the interesting mix, those disciples at the table.  There is one class not represented among the twelve; as Alexander McGuire reminds us, no perfect people were among the apostles.  Those pioneers of Christianity were not more wise, true, or noble, nor more worldly, false, or cowardly than are Christians generally today.  They were like us.  They were relatively obscure men and, as a lot, apparently not greatly gifted.  They were mostly unlearned and weak in themselves; yet they could do all things through Christ who would strengthen them.

Someone has said that charcoal needs a rearrangement of its atoms to become a diamond.  So it was with these men as they sat there around the table.  Among them was the betrayer, the one with dark thoughts.  He was present at this sacramental service.  He partook of the bread and wine.  He heard the words, "This do in remembrance of me"  (Luke 22:19).  Sitting there in the very presence of the Saviour, the betrayer considered his own dark purpose.

Jesus had made every effort to save Judas.  He had washed his feet in the ordinance of humility.  He had broken bread with him and shared with him the wine, the symbols of His own broken body and shed blood.  What an appeal the Saviour had made to him!  Until Judas closed the door and went out into the darkness, he had not passed beyond the possibility of repentance.  Now he had made the final decision.  He had crossed the boundary line.  He went out, "and it was night."

DAY 300    Read Luke 21:5-38; Matthew 25.

Today's reading:  We have another account of our Lord's great prophecy.  We assume that, while He is speaking, darkness falls, and He tells a story based on a wedding procession that could be seen in a village below the mountain.

Memory gem:  "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh"  (Luke 21:28).

Thought for today:
We are looking out on a civilization that, in the view of many people, is in danger of collapse.  Human civilization is not able to save itself; that is clear.  After thousands of years, war is still with us; crime is here and climbing fast; fear, heartache, death have not been conquered yet.  The return of Jesus is God's answer to earth's great problems.  "The kingdom of this world" must become "the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ"  (Revelation 11:15).  That is the only hope, the gloriously certain hope, called in the Bible the "blessed hope."

Christ has given signs of His coming.  He says that we may know when He is "near, even at the door"  (Matthew 24:33).  These signs have appeared.  Now we know of a surety that the Lord's coming is at hand.  "Heaven and earth shall pass away," He said, "but my words shall not pass away"  (Mark 13:31).

A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty.  A little longer, and He will wipe away all tears from our eyes.  A little longer, and He will present us "faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy"  (Jude 24).

DAY 299    Read John 12:20-50; Matthew 24; Mark 13.

Today's reading:  We are still on Tuesday of the Passion Week.  After the Greek seekers found Jesus, He went with His disciples out of the city and gave the remarkable prophecy about signs of His second coming.

Memory gem:  "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come"  (Matthew 24:14).

Thought for today:
Now comes the question, Will the world in general be prepared to meet Jesus?  The answer is found in Matthew 24:30.

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

Why will a great many people not be prepared for this wonderful event?  It is because they say that the Lord delays His coming (see verse 48).  They do not expect Him to come soon.

What will the world in general be doing when the Lord comes?  Verses 37 to 39 say that affairs will be going on as usual--social life, business life, "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until...the floods came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."  It will be an unexpected event to most of the people of the earth.  The whole human race will be face-to-face with the ultimate, with finality, with the end.

Remember this, Christ appears the second time "without sin"--that is, not dealing with sin on the cross as He did before--but "unto salvation"  (Hebrews 9:28).  This blessed hope will change a human life (see 1 John 3:3).

We do not know the day or the hour of Christ's return.  Not even the angels know this (see Matthew 24:36).  But we are to know when it is near.

"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come"  (Matthew 24:42).

"The proper attitude for a Christian is to be always looking for his Lord's return," said D.L. Moody.

The best days, the days of heaven on earth, are still ahead.  Jesus is coming!

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Difficult or obscure words:
John 12:36.  "Did hide himself"--meaning that Jesus went away into seclusion.  This was the end of His public ministry.
Matthew 24:28.  "Carcass...weagles"--better: dead body, vultures.  This was probably a popular proverb of that time.  The intended application cannot be determined with certainty.  The proverb was used in a similar way in Luke 17:37.

DAY 298    Read Matthew 22:23 through 23:39; Mark 12:18-44; Luke 20:27 through 21:4.

Today's reading:  The confrontation between Jesus and the religious authorities continues.  When the challengers finally retreat in confusion, Jesus sits and watches people give their offerings.

Memory gem:  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind....Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"  (Matthew 22:37-39).

Thought for today:
The first four of the Ten Commandments concern our relationship to God, and the last six, our conduct toward men.  We may refrain from worship of other gods, the making of idols, and profane swearing; we may remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, but if we are hateful and mean and bitter and petty and dishonest and hardhearted toward our fellowmen, our religion is vain.

Love is the fulfilling, not the abolishing of the law.  "Love thy neighbor," and so love God (see Romans 13:8-10).

When "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit"  (Romans 5:5), we shall indeed love our neighbor.

Not only are we to show love to our neighbor in kindness and courtesy and aid to those in physical need about us, but we are also to help those who are suffering from the deeper and more terrible spiritual hunger in the world.

"Love thy neighbor," and the church will never lack support; it will not be driven to seek the revenge of oyster suppers, grabbag socials, and games of chance.  Your tithes and offerings will support the ministry of Christ's church with liberality and dignity.

"Love thy neighbor," and the work of God will go forward because you may be the only Christian somebody knows; people who never read a printed Bible are always reading living ones.

If we love our neighbor, our service to others is looked upon in heaven as if it were done for Christ Himself.

DAY 297    Read Matthew 21:23 through 22:22; Mark 11:27 through 12:17; Luke 20:1-26.

Today's reading:  Tuesday of that eventful week was a busy day.  When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem that morning, a delegation of religious leaders challenged His authority and tried to trap Him into saying something they could condemn.

Memory gem:  "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's"  (Matthew 22:21).

Thought for today:
In the United States we are blessed with a government which derives its just powers from the consent of the governed; a land where everyone has the right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience; a land where the highest law stated that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Think what this means to us all--Jew and Gentile, Protestant or Catholic, or in whatever other circle of connection we find ourselves.  We are free to serve God without molestation.  This is the principle that Christ taught; we are to render to Caesar--civil government--that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's.

We must never forget this last part of it--the things of God are to be rendered to God:

    1. Our faith: "Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him"  (Hebrews 11:6).
    2. Our love: "And he answering said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself"  (Luke 10:27).
    3. Our obedience to God's commandments: "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven"  (Matthew 5:19).

To serve our country best, we must serve God best--with better homes, better churches, better schools, but above all with better hearts.  Back to God!  Back to the Bible!  Back to prayer!  Back to faith!  Back to obedience!

DAY 295    Read Matthew 26:16; Mark 14:1-11; Luke 7:36-50; 22:1-6; John 12:1-11.

Today's reading:  These two events occurred before the beginning of the Passion Week--probably on the night after the Sabbath.  It was the reaction of Judas to Christ's rebuke at Simon's feast that precipitated the betrayal.


Memory gem:  "Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her"  (Matthew 26:13).

Thought for today:
Someone has said that the very name "Judas Iscariot" seems to have a hiss in it.  We may have thought of him as a gnarled, twisted character from boyhood on, sulking through life with a malevolent gleam of hate in his eye.  But that is certainly the wrong idea.  Judas had many attractive virtues.  He was a man of real promise, faithful in many of the tasks assigned to him in Christ's earlier ministry.  The name Judas means "praise."  His second name, Iscariot, may sound harsh and bitter, but some think it simply means "man of Kerioth," identifying the town from which he came.  True, he became a thief; he became bitter and critical.

At the feast where a penitent woman anointed the feet of Jesus with costly spikenard perfume, Judas found fault.  He said, "This should have been sold and given to the poor."  He had come to the place where any special honor shown Jesus irked him.  One might say that he lived in the negative.

This reminds me of a minister who, while riding on a tramcar in New Your City, passed a beautiful church.  A fellow passenger turned to him and said, "If those Christians would stop building fine churches and give their money to the poor, it would be much more to their credit."

        "I have heard a similar remark before," said the minister.
        "Indeed, and by whom, may I ask?"
        "Judas Iscariot," was the reply.

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Difficult or obscure words:
Matthew 26:7.  "Alabaster box"--better jar, or flask.  These ancient flasks carved from soft stone had the content sealed in, so that the flask had to be broken open (see Mark 14:3).

DAY 279    Read Matthew 13:1-53; Mark 4:1-34; Luke 8:4-18.

Today's reading:  Much of Jesus' teaching was in the form of parables--stories about familiar objects or experiences to dramatize spiritual truths.  Today we read several of these.

Memory gem:  "He that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty"  (Matthew 13:23).

Thought for today:
" 'The sower soweth the word.'  Christ came to sow the world with truth....He who had stood in the councils of God, who had dwelt in the innermost sanctuary of the Eternal, could bring to men the pure principles of truth....It is to His personal ministry among men, and to the work which He thus established, that the parable of the sower especially applies.

"The word of God is the seed.  Every seed has in itself a germinating principle.  In it the life of the plant is enfolded.  So there is life in God's word.  Christ says, 'The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.'  John 6:63.  'He that heareth My word, and believeth on him that sent Me, hath everlasting life.'  John 5:24.  In every command and in every promise of the word of God is the power, the very life of God, by which the command may be fulfilled and the promise realized.  He who by faith receives the word is receiving the very life and character of God.

"Every seed brings forth fruit after its kind.  Sow the seed under right conditions, and it will develop its own life in the plant.  Receive into the soul by faith the incorruptible seed of the word, and it will bring forth a character and a life after the similitude of the character and the life of God."--Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 37, 38.

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Difficult or obscure worlds:
Matthew 13:21.  "By and by"--literally: immediately, or at once.  Old English usage was the exact opposite of our modern meaning.