Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1889-01-05
JOHN THE BAPTIST.
LESSON /, FIRST QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 8.

[Compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly, by per
mission Of H. ) Hoffman, publisher, Philadel-
phial
/. "The beginning OF the Gospel Of Jesus
Christ, the Son OF God.n We shall now be
privileged for six months TO study again the
earthly life, or rather the unearthly life ON
this earth, of our Lord Jesus Christ; for al
though He was perfect man, yet He was an
unearthly man, at home among men, SYM
pathizing with all men, and yet ever speak
ing Of and pointing men to home from
which He had come and to which lie was re-
turning. His thirty-three or four years on
earth as a man among men was but an event.
in a life which had no beginning and shall
have no end, for He was in the beginning
with God, ali things were made by Him and
for Him, and He shall subdue all things unto
Himself Although it is over eighteen hun
dred years since He was ON earth. yet he il q
real man today, unchanged and unchange-.
able, and as we read of Him In tho Gospels.
so we are to think of Him, saving, healing,
sympathizing, comforting; calling us to fol-,
low Him, serve Him, wait and look for Hin
while we yield our bodies unto Him that he,
by His spirit, may live His life over again in
each of bis followers. In the Old Testament
He was foretold as not only the seed OF tho
woman who should bruise the serpent's head,
but also as the seed OF Abraham in whom all
nations should be blessed, the Son Of David
who should sit on David's throne, the servant
Of God, doing all His pleasure. the Son Of
Man subduing all things unto Himself and
restoring the dominion lost by Adam, and
the Son OF God, equal with God and reveal
ing God to man. In Matthew's gospel we
learn of Him as Son of David, Son Of Abra-
ham, King of the Jews; while in this gospel
we see Him rather as the servant spoken OF
in lisa. xiii, /, Behold my servant" also
lisa. xxx, @; lii, IL; Eek. xxxvii, "a, %;
Zech. iii, s, etc. There il one word in this
gospel which peculiarly points Him out as
the servant; it is used about eighty times in
the New Testament, and half that number Of
times it is found in this gospel; ten or eleven
times il is found In this first chapter and is
translated immediately" "straightway,"
forthwith" "anon," but in tho Revised
Version it is always ''straightway." While
each gospel has its distinctive features, we
also find moro or less OF each in them all, and
this first verso brings before US Jesus, tho
Saviour, who saves not only from tho wrath
to come, but also from our sins; Christ, the
Messiah, the anointed King of Israel. and
tho Son of God, equal with God, ono with the
Father. The beginning Of the gospel or glad
i
as my own Saviour, and blessed be God while
there was beginning there shall be no end.
Q "As il is written in the Prophets" The
whole history of His humiliation, sufferings,
death, resurrection and future glory is all
written in tho Prophets, for they all spako Of
Him, the Holy Spirit speaking through
them.
Behold send my messenger before Thy
face who shall prepare Thy way" This is q
quotation from Malachi iii, /, and refers to
John tho Baptist as the herald of Jesus Christ.
Observe carefully Gabriel's announcement
concerning Kim in Luke i, 1917, and his
fathers utterance by the Holy Spirit in Luke
i, 76-79
3. Tho voice of one crying in tho wilder
ness" This is q quotation from Isaiah xl, 8,
and carries us beyond the first coming of
Christ, when He came to suffer, to His second
coming, when He shall comfort Jerusalem,
pardoning her iniquity and cause all flesh to
see tho glory of the Lord; when He shall APP
pear in His glory to build up Zion (Ps. eli, 49,;
when He shall appear tho second time with
out sin unto salvation Heb. tx, PSI the saliva
ton ready 10 DO revealed at the revelation Of
Jesus Christ. Il Pet. /, s., 49,
4. The baptism of repentance for, or unto,
tho remission of sins" Such was the preach
ing of John, and such was tho commission
to and tho preaching of the apostles luke
xiv, AZ; Acts iii, 10; V, Sn. with this diff
ference, that John pointed to Saviour
about to come, while the apostles pointed to
a Saviour who had come, suffered, was cruci-
fed, risen, assembled, and would mo again
to restore all things of which the prophets
had spoken (Acts iii, 1920.
The first essential to present happiness
and future glory is tho forgiveness Of our
sins, and that we cannot havc without re-
pentance-that is, n true turning from sin to
God, or, as our catechisn has it, "a change
of mind toward God. the effect of tho con-
viction Of sin wrought by the Holy Ghost"
5. There went out unto him oil Judea."
Great multitudes came to him confessing
their sins and desiring baptism, but his esti-
mate of their sincerity and truc repentance
we may gather frcm his preaching luke iii,
7-1S. No outward form or nero say SO Is
worth anything whatever i'll the matter Of
repentance, or faith, or service, nothing but
res t.honest heart work is OF any avail, and
John gave them to understand that unless
their lives proved their sincerity they would
like chaff come to the unquenchable fire.
q. Clothed with canlels hair John was
no fashionable preacher, either as to person
OF ST &c, loOu ana Iall0cHS were maSIerS or
small Importance to him, and as to his
preaching he sought not to please men, but
God Gabriel had said that he would come
in the spirit and power OF Elijah Luke i, 10,
and although he was nos Elijah John j. ~,
be was wonderfully like Ian.
z. "One mightier than l." And John did
not consider himself worthy TO bc privileged
to unioosc His shoes. Gabriel himself would
covet such an hunor. and what angel in
Heaven would TO- rejoice to do Linn the
lowlieSt service. Dut the is so mighty in
most of us that joins '-miShticr than l."
whom he so delighted 10 honor, findS us but
poor witnesses. lie is THE Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, tho Prince OF Peace
and if we only believed what we profess to
believe, that we are joint heirs with Him
who is Heir of all things, and arc thus ex-
allied through His suiferings, cur devotion to
Him would be such that thought of self
would not be tolerated We would say with
Paul, '.kor ME TO live in Christ and to die Is
gain; let Him be glorificd either by my life
or death" tPhil. i. -, I'D.