LESSON IV.—SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 1900.
THE BAPTISM AND TEMPTATION OF JESUS.
13 "THEN cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, 14 to be baptized of him. But John would have hindered Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou 15 to me? But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer 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, 17 and coming upon Him; and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 1 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to 2 be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days 3 and forty nights, He afterward hungered. And the tempter 4 came and said unto Him, If Thou art the Son of God, com- 5 mand that these stones become bread. But He answered and 6 said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by 5 every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then 6 the devil taketh Him into the holy city; and he set Him on the 6 pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, If thou art the Son of God, cast Thy self down; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee;
And on their hands they shall bear Thee up,
Lest haply Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not tempt 8 the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh Him unto an ex- 9 ceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of 9 the world, and the glory of them; and he said unto Him, All 10 these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; 11 for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and 11 Him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth Him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto Him." Golden Text: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matt. 3:17. (1) Who came to the Jordan to be baptized by John? V. 13. (2) How did John feel about baptizing Jesus? What did John say of his unfitness for performing this rite? V. 14. (3) How did Jesus answer him? What reason did Jesus give why the baptism should take place? V. 15. Note 1. (4) When Jesus had gone up out of the water in which He had been baptized, what occurred? V. 16. (5) What else occurred at this time to confirm the Messiahship of Jesus? V. 17. Note 2. (6) What followed this manifestation? V. 1. Note 3. (7) How was His time spent in the wilderness? How long did the fast continue? What was His condition at its close? V. 2. Note 4. (8) Who came to Him? What did he say? V. 3. Note 5. (9) How did Christ answer him? V. 4. (10) Failing in this temptation, where did the devil take Jesus? Where did he place Him? V. 5. (11) How else did Satan suggest that Christ prove Himself the Son of God? What scripture did he quote to influence Jesus to do this? V. 6. (12) How did Jesus reply to him? V. 7. Note 6. (13) Where was Jesus next taken by the tempter? What was shown Him? V. 8. (14) What proposition did Satan make? V. 9. Note 7. (15) What command did Jesus then give the deceiver? To what scripture did He refer? V. 10. (16) What did Satan then do? Who came to Jesus? For what purpose? V. 11. 1. Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.—Jesus' baptism at the hands of John showed His acceptance of John's work, and of John himself. In this He set us and all His followers an example that we should do as He had done. The baptism was a symbol of Christ's death and resurrection—dead to sin, dead to the world and all its allurements, buried; rising from the water, rising to walk in newness of life, the beginning of a life wholly consecrated to God. In the rite of baptism we make public confession of our faith in the efficacy of Christ's atonement. 2. A voice out of the heavens.—God spoke the law in thunder tones from the clouds over Sinai; and God's voice is now, at the baptism of Christ, rolling down from heaven to testify of One in whose life that law found nothing to condemn. He came to live the life of a Saviour of the world, and with that life God was "well pleased." The fact that God was "well pleased" in Christ makes possible salvation through Christ. That meant a perfect Saviour, and only perfection would suffice. To Him also who has put on Christ these words of the Father are addressed. 3. To be tempted of the devil.—A temptation is a test. "In whatever form the temptations came, the battle was real. It was no mere form for example's sake. Satan was in earnest, and intended to prevent the coming of the kingdom of heaven with every force he could muster, and every scheme he could devise. And Jesus knew that He could choose good or evil, and that the result for Himself, for the human race, and for the kingdom of God, depended upon His choice. There was no foreordained certainty of victory."—Peloubet. How often it is that after the victory won at conversion there come the most trying tests! Notice that the word "devil," here used, is preceded by the definite article. It was Satan himself, the "destroyer," the "adversary," who in person tempted Jesus. "Devils" (plural) comes from a different word, "demons." 4. He afterward hungered.—In Paradise Adam and Eve yielded to temptation, in appetite, and were driven out of the garden of God into the wilderness; in the wilderness Christ overcame temptation in appetite, and made it possible for the gates of Paradise to be opened again to man. 5. If Thou be the Son of God.—Satan would create a doubt in the mind of Jesus that He was the Son of God, even tho he had heard the declaration from heaven, "This is My Son." So we may not expect that he will leave any scheme untried to create in our minds doubts of our acceptance with God. But in this thing Satan unvailed himself. The "if" told who the speaker was. For Christ to have performed a miracle to satisfy His hunger would have destroyed His power as a perfect Saviour. Adam failed as a man; Christ must win where Adam failed, and win as a man. Otherwise He would not have been "tempted like as we are." 6. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord.—Or make a presumptuous test. 7. All these things will I give Thee, etc.—"We find this temptation in the attempts of the church to fulfil its mission by worldly power and pomp, by dictating to governments, by secularizing the church, by statecraft and wars and persecutions. The result has always been a spiritual failure."—Peloubet.