Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-08-04
THE SUNDA Y SCHOOL,.
LESSON VI, THIRD QUARTER. INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES. AUG. s.


Verses e-t1-Gciden Text, Mark |, IL.
Commentary BY the Rev. D. N. stsarns-
i. .The beginning Of the gospel Of Jesus
Christ. tho Son Of God. . This Is the gcs-
pa specially of service In it We aFe ne
minded Of tho words, Behold, I viii bring
forth my Servant, tho Branch 7 while 2 Be
hold, the Man whose namc is the Branch,"
Is seen more clearly in Lakes gospel
(Zcch iii, s; vi, 1sl Hero Jesus Is tho
patient servant and sacrifice for others,
spending and being spent 70 serve tho
cons Of men. This gospel Is written that
the same life of unweariod service may DO
in some measure reproduced in Us I'll Ger.
iv, III, but as we are in this first verso in
troduced to the Son of God SO we must DO
sonsof God before We can servo God Let
my son go that he may serve me, y said
the Lord of Israel Tx. iy, 23).
2 ~As it is written in the prophets, Be-
hold, send my messenger bcforc Thy face,
which shall prepare Thy way before tlsoor'
Tho wholc story Of His sufferings and
glory IS written in the prophets Il Pot i,
IL; Lake xiv, s5-27}. They elso spakc ef
the hcralds who should preccdc Him, John
the Baptist. in the spirit and powered Eli
himself before his second coming. Conn
pare Nal iv, 5; Luke i, II; AIath. xvii, 10
10. AS to preparing HIS way, every be-
lever can, in nacasGrc, he His messenger
10 do that Whas an honor to be sent Of
Him IN His nalne
3. The voice Of one crying in tho viii
derness, Prepare sc the way Of the Lord;
make His paths straight When John
Is
the prophet, he said that he was neither,
but only oice proclaining the Christ
(John l. 2gt He sought no honors for
himself, bnt rejoiced to decrease that Christ
might increase (John iii, 90, SOD.
4 John did baptizc in the wilderness
and preach the baptism of repentance for
the remission of sins. A sample Of his
preaching may be found IN Math iii, s-ia,
and Luke iii, 5-is. He made 1t plain that
unless their lives aftcrwsrd manifested
that they had become new creatures their
baptism would amount TO nothing One
Of the last commands OF Christ was that
repentance and remission OF sins should be
preached In His name among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem (I.ukc xiv, Id.
8. ''And there went out unto him all the
land OF Jutiaaa, and they of Jerusalem, and
wore all baptized Of him in the river Of
jordan, confcssing their sins. There
must be a sense Of sin, q true conviction
Of sin, and tho deeper the better, before any
one will come 70 Christ, for IIo caine not
to call the righteous, hut sinners, to repent
ancc. This is the work of the Holy Spirit
John xvi, S, nlargin), and He uses TIC
word and the lives Of believers. In Acts
v, 81; xi, Is, Christ IS said to give or grant
repentance.
6. And John was clothed with cancels
hair, and with girJlle Of a skin about his
loins, and he did cat locusts and wild
honey" Thus was Elijah clothed Gil
Kings i, 81, and, as to locusts, they were
among the creatures which God Ind per.
mitted Israel TO cat (Ilcv. ri, 23). John
was certainly not extravaganza in the mat
ter OF food and raiment What contrast
was Isaac, who loved Ilsau because of his
vcnison and would bless him only IN con-
ncction Herewith (Gcn. ky, rs; xvii,
3, ~. Jesus has taught Us not 10 think too
much about either food or rainent Math.
", (; vi, PSI, but has assured US that II We
make His Kingdom and His Righteousness
our first concern lie will sec 60 all ournced
In that direction AlGth. vi, 33).
T. And preached, saying, There comotb
ono mighticr than after me, the latehct OF
whose shoes l am not worthy to stoop
down and unloosc John sought not to
attract people TO himself, but to the Lamb
OF God, whom he camc to herald. He had
no ambition to make himself a namc but
only to honor Him of whom he said, "IIo
must increase, but must decrease John
iii, 500 He sought not great things for
l. VII :. INIT .tfitx rd
was Not T. tGal ii, 90; | Cor. Ky, 10l
8. Il indeed have baptized youwith Wa
ter, but He shall baptizo you with the
Holy Ghost. Both Matthew. and Luke
add and with fire. (Math. iii, III; Luke
iii, 49, which fire seems, from the context
to refer to tho Judgments Of His second
coming as King and Son Of Man. As the
Servant, which He is peculiarly in Mark,
Ho does not speak Of fire. But how much
We do need to Be illlcd with the Spirit--in
fact, it is a command laid upon us, and as
much q command rs not to hc drunken
(Epb. V, 1s). Then what comfort, ~
know that He, who Is our Saviour, Brother,
Friend, is the one who baptizcth with thc
Holy Ghost John j. 35). We need not
think we must beg and cntreat Him, but
simply ask Him lLulse xi, l3).
0. And it came to pass In those days
that Jesus eaino from Nazareth Of GaliIec
and was baptized Of John in Jordan" lii
Luke iii, 20, it Is written that Tic WINS
about 30 years Of age. In Math. i'll, II
Is, IL is said that at first John forbade Him
because Of Johns greater need TO DO hap
tiled of Him, but Jesus said, Suffer it to
be SO now, for thus it bccomcth us to full
fill all righteousness He hunhled Him
self from heaven down to the manager Of
Bethlehem, and the home in Nazareth,
and the life of rejection, oven to Gcthsem-
anc and Golgotha, all for us, and surely
it is becoming in us TO humble ourselves
for Him, yet it seems strange TO say 30,
for, whereas He actually came down from
great glory, we, being nothing, have moth
ing to como down from but sinful pride.
10. And straightway coming up out Of
the water He saw the heavens opened, and
the Spirit like dove descending upon
him. Here in this gospel we meet the first
Immediately, used about 80 times in the
New Testament, and 40 times in this Cos
pei and / times in this chapter, some
times translated 'anon" or forthwith.
1t is the word for good servant. The
opened heavens make us think Of Eek. |,
Math iii, John /, Acts vii and x, Rev. liz
and xix, in each of which chapters heaven
Is opened and always concerning Christ
or His church. The Spirit coming as q
dove makes US think of the dove that found
no rest except in the ark while the waters
of Judgment were ON the earth. Jesus, tho
true ark, is the only place where the Spirit
can rest fully If We are filed with tho
Spirit. We win rest only in Jesus.
H. And there came a voice from heay-
en-, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, In
whom am well pleased. See also chap
ter tx, z, where tho same testimony was
given at the TRANSPORTATION In john viii,
80, Jesus says, i do always those things
that please the Father, md in Rom. Ky.
5, it Is said. Even Christ pleased not him
self . Since the Father is wen pleased
with Jesus, when VIC are well pleased with
Jesus and accept and abide IN Him, Ged
Is well pleased with US for jesus sale.
Let us abide In Him Il John, Ii, 2s).