LESSON VII.-SABBATH, FEBRUARY 24, 1894

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 12, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 15.

LESSON VII.—SABBATH, FEBRUARY 24, 1894.

IN THE WILDERNESS AND AT NAZARETH.

Lesson Scripture, Luke 4:1-22.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness during forty days, being tempted of the devil.
And he did eat nothing in those days; and when they were completed, he hungered.
And the devil said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it become bread.
And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.
And he led him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them; for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
If thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall all be thine.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written,
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee: and,
On their hands they shall bear thee up, lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.
And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season.
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and a fame went out concerning him through all the region round about.
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; he hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.
And he began to say unto them, To-day hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears.
And all bare him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

LESSON SUMMARY.—This lesson is sufficiently outlined by the heading. Associate it with the fourth chapter of Luke, and you will know where to turn for some of the most valuable lessons that the Bible contains.

Where did Jesus go after his baptism?
What did he there endure for forty days?
At the close of the forty days' trial, when he was exhausted with hunger, what did the devil say to him?
What did Jesus reply?
What did the devil show to Jesus?
What did he offer him? and on what condition?
What claim and authority did he assert?
What did Jesus say to this?
Where did Satan next take Jesus?
How did he fortify his temptation?
How did Jesus meet his temptation?
After failing in all these attempts, what did the devil do?
Where did Jesus then go?
How well known did he become?
What did he do?
What did he do when he came to Nazareth?
What book was given to him?
What prophecy of Isaiah did he find?
When he closed the book, what were the people doing?
What did Jesus begin to say unto them?
How did the people receive his words at first?
What effect did his gracious words have on them?

NOTES.

1. The order of the three great temptations is given differently in Matthew from what it is in Luke; but there is not the slightest contradiction between the accounts. It seems evident that Matthew has given the exact order in which the temptations occurred, for the greatest temptation of all,—the one in which Christ called Satan by name, and told him to get behind him,—is by Matthew given last. Luke simply gives the facts, without indicating anything about the order of their occurrence.

2. In Luke's narrative we have an item that is not given elsewhere, and which is sometimes overlooked, namely, that Jesus was being tempted during all of the forty days of his fast. At the close of the forty days' fast, when Jesus was enfeebled and emaciated by hunger, the devil brought his greatest temptation to bear.

3. "It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The way in which Jesus met this temptation is an illustration of this scripture. He gave us an example of how to meet temptation. It is not by parleying with it, not by will power, but by the word of God. The Holy Spirit will bring the word to mind in time of temptation, providing we have made a study of it. It is thus that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him. Isa. 59:19. Jesus "did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth;" and in this, says the apostle, he was an example to us, that we should follow his steps. 1 Peter 2:21, 22. Accordingly, the beloved disciple says: "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." 1 John 5:18. How does he keep himself so that the wicked one does not touch him?—By the "shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Eph. 6:16. But "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom. 10:17. Therefore it is by the word of God that we are to be kept from sin.

4. It will be noticed that Jesus stopped short in the prophecy which he read from Isaiah. Compare Luke 4:18, 19 and Isa. 61:1, 2. He had come to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. He was also anointed to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God; but that was not his work then. He "came not to judge the world, but to save the world." John 12:47; 3:17. The scripture that was fulfilled in their ears that day was wholly a message of mercy, and as such it would be a response in the hearts of the people. "And all bare him witness." Involuntarily they uttered the "amen" with which the Jews were accustomed to respond. In their case was manifested the power of the simple word of God. They could not but be melted by it, until they hardened their hearts by unbelieving questions.

5. "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME," ETC.—All this was fulfilled hundreds of years ago. That is, all the liberty that Jesus came to bestow was then available for the men of Nazareth. The deliverance was for them. Then certainly there is no reason for us to think that we must wait till some future time for its fulfillment to us. Who are they that are bound?—It is all who are in sin. When the Jews boasted of their freedom, Jesus said: "Everyone that committeth sin is the bond servant of sin. And the bond servant abideth not in the house forever; but the Son abideth ever. If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:34-36, Revised Version. Christ came to proclaim freedom from sin to them that are bound by sin. The thought of such a possibility is almost too great for the mind to grasp, yet we have the word of God for it, and must believe it. But the power does not rest in man. It is "not by might, nor by power, but by

my Spirit, saith the Lord." Zech. 4:6. When we take God into the account, then it is not too much to believe that men may be perfectly freed from sin. No limit can be set to his power. The things that are impossible with men, are possible with God. Then shall we not yield ourselves wholly to him, submitting to him every moment, that his divine power, which brings to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), and which also keeps us in the way of life and godliness (1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24, 25), may abide with us continually?