aluable pearl? In due time he
used this story to illustrate the wisdom of staking all on one
superlative venture. Look at his parables, and see how he made use of
the interests of men in making clear the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God. The sower, the lost silver, the prodigal son, children
in the market-place, the rich fool, the vineyard and the
laborers--these and many more show how richly the relationships of men
with their fellow-men instructed him.

#117. The Bible Taught Him.#--He was most familiar with its teachings,
and knew how to use them on the spot, without reference to commentary
or concordance. We find in his sayings reference to, or quotations
from, the following books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 1 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 2
Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,
Jonah, Joel, Hosea, Micah, Zechariah, and Malachi--22 in all. Had all
the utterances of our Lord been given to us, I doubt not that we
should have found that he quoted from every book of the Old Testament.
For bear in mind that we have only a very small part of what our Lord
said preserved for us. His recorded words are only 38,422, or the
equivalent of ten short sermons. But for three years he was speaking
incessantly.

#118. Prayer Taught Him.#--His habit of spending all night in prayer
was not one acquired of a sudden. No doubt he spent many a night in
prayer while he was still at the carpenter's trade. But the
prayer-habit is one calculated to shed much light on things that lay
hold on eternal truth. All spiritual seers are men of much prayer.

#119. Finally, His Visits to Jerusalem Taught Him.#--Not in vain did
he go at least 18 times to that city before his public ministry began.
It was in this way that he saw the formality of the Pharisaic party,
and the self-seeking of scribe and chief priest. So when he denounced
them so fiercely in later times, he did it not out of an experience of
day before yesterday, but out of years of observation. Such were some
of the influences that surrounded him, and the teachers that prepared
him during those thirty years of silence for his great work. Thus,
when the fulness of time came, he stepped forth full armed for the
contest with the powers of darkness.

Test Questions

Where were Christ's thirty years of silence spent?

What was our Lord's trade?

What can we say of the religious life of his mother and of his fa