International S. S. Lessons.
"So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." —Neh. 8:8 LESSON VI.—SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 1894.
[NOTE.—The questions which follow are merely suggestive for the student on the leading points of the lesson: it is presumed that the thorough student will think of many more as he studies the subject. References, where verses alone are given, always refer to the lesson scripture printed above. All other references are given in book, chapter, and verse. The text printed is that of the Revised Version, not because it is especially preferred, but because it is not found in every family, as is the common version.] - THE beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
- Even as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way;
- The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight;
- John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins.
- And there went out unto him all the country of Judea, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
- And John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leathern girdle about his loins, and did eat locusts and wild honey.
- And he preached, saying, There cometh after me he that is mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
- I baptized you with water; but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
- And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan.
- And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rent asunder, and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him;
- And a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased.
Golden Text: "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Mark 1:11. NOTE.—This section includes the ministry of John and the baptism of Jesus. See Matthew 3, and Luke 3:1-23, and our present lesson scripture. The time of the lesson was probably A.D. 27. The place was doubtless at the fords of the Jordan, called Bethabara, a few miles northeast of Jericho. The preaching of John the Baptist was in the wilderness of Judea, a wild, mountainous, thinly-inhabited region, lying west of the Dead Sea and lower Jordan. It was not a desert in the sense in which we understand the term now. Jesus was at this time about thirty years old, and John six months older. The rulers were Tiberius Cæsar, emperor of Rome; Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea; Herod Antipas, of Galilee and Perea; Herod Phillip, of Trachonitis, Idumea, and the northern regions beyond Jordan. - In what words does Mark begin his gospel? Verse 1. Note 1.
- What prophecy does he introduce as predicting the forerunner of Christ? Verse 2. See Mal. 3:1.
- What other prophet predicted the same thing? Verse 2. See Isa. 40:3.
- Who was this forerunner? Verse 4. Note 2.
- What did John do in the wilderness? Verse 4. Note 3.
- With what success was John's preaching attended? Verse 5.
- What is said of his manner of life? Verse 6.
- Whom did he preach? Verse 7.
- What comparison did he make between his baptism and the baptism of Christ? Verse 8. Note 4.
- As John was preaching there, who came to him? Verse 9.
- What did he come for?
- What did John say as Jesus came to him?
"But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" Matt. 3:14.
13. What reply did Jesus make?
"But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffereth him." Matt. 3:15.- What did Jesus do after being baptized? See Luke 3:21. Note 5.
- What wonderful manifestation took place as he came up out of the water? Verse 10.
- With what precious words did God the Father own him? Verse 11. See note 6.
1. THE writer of this gospel, whose name was590Mark, also bore the Hebrew name John. He was the son of Mary, whose house at Jerusalem became the refuge, in the earliest church, of the Christian community. He was also the nephew of Barnabas, and the attendant of Barnabas and Paul on their first mission, but returned home from Perga (Acts 13: 5, 13), afterwards attaching himself to Barnabas, though subsequently reconciled to Paul. See Col. 4: 10. He is said to have been the founder of the Alexandrian church. While this gospel is much briefer than either Matthew or Luke, yet it is entirely independent, speaking of many incidents which the others did not mention. 2. FOR more than 700 years the prophecy in the fortieth chapter of Isaiah had lain dormant. Centuries had come and gone, and still its fulfillment had not taken place; but when John the Baptist came, new life was given to the words of God as they were fulfilled in him, and John knew that he fulfilled them. When the Jews sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was, he told them that he was not the Christ, neither Elijah, nor the prophet predicted by Moses, but that he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord, as saith the prophet Esaias." See John 1:19-28. Thus it is with every message that God has given to the world. The messengers whom God sends are those who have received instruction from him, and who are positive concerning their message. The world may often call them bigots, but they know that the message is from God, and their confidence is the confidence which they have in him. 3. The baptism of repentance.—Repentance is such a sorrow for sin as will lead us to turn from sin. Man has no power within himself to do this; therefore God gives repentance to everyone who chooses his way. See Acts 5: 31. Sin is the transgression of the law, and the law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments. All true repentance is, therefore, the basis of faith in God, and respect to his rule of righteousness, his holy law. Faith, then, does not lead men to transgress God's law, but to turn from its transgression. In fact, in harmony with the provisions of the new covenant, it writes God's law upon the heart. Heb. 8: 10. And because the repentant soul chooses the way of God, God remits his transgression of that law in the past. The baptism did not remit or take away the sins. It was but an act of faith. It was a baptism of repentance unto, or in order to, a remission of sins. See margin of common version. It was an outward sign of an inward work, and all true piety may be characterized by the same principles. 4. Baptize you with the Holy Ghost.—Matthew speaks not only of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but also of fire, and uses an illustration of what the baptism of fire means. The term "baptism" itself means immersion, and is always so used in the Scripture. John baptized, or immersed, in water. Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit, that is, immerse in the Holy Spirit; all of those who would submit to his will, and yield to him implicitly, would be not only imbued with the Spirit of God internally, but the same power will finally change this mortal body to an immortal, the same possessed by Christ at his resurrection. On the other hand, those who would not accept of him would be baptized with fire, even as the chaff was cast into the unquenchable fire. 5. "AFTER Christ rose up from the water and from the hand of John, he walked out to the bank of Jordan, and bowed in the attitude of prayer. A new and important era was opening before him. His former peaceful, quiet life was here to end. His deportment showed that he felt the importance and solemnity of the hour. He knew that trials, toils, conflicts, sufferings, and death were in the path his feet had entered. A sense of the sinfulness of men, and the hardness of their hearts, which separated them from God, convinced him that but few would discern his merciful mission and accept the salvation he came from heaven to bring them. Never before had angels listened to such a prayer as Christ offered at his baptism."—Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2. 6. "ANGELS were solicitous to be the bearers of the message from the Father to the Son. But no, direct from the Father issues the light of his glory; the heavens were opened, and beams of glory rested upon the Son of God, and assumed the form of a dove, in appearance like burnished gold. The dove-like form was emblematical of the meekness and gentleness of Christ. While the people stood spellbound with amazement, their eyes fastened upon Christ, from the opening heavens came these words: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' The words of confirmation that Christ is the Son of God were given to inspire faith in those who witnessed the scene, and to sustain the Son of God in his arduous work. Notwithstanding the Son of God was clothed in humanity, yet Jehovah, with his own voice, assures him of his sonship with the Eternal. In this manifestation to his Son, God accepts humanity as exalted through the excellence of his beloved Son."—Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, p. 61.