Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-12-30
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
INTERESTING AND INSTRUCTIVE
LESSON.
Reflections Of an Eievatinr Charactes
Wholesome Food for Thought
Studying the ScripturaI Lesson In
teIIigently and Pro6tabIy.
Lesson for January ..


Golden Text.-''I'his is my beloved Son,
in whom am well pleased Matt. 3: II.
Jesus and John is the subject treated in
the lesson this week, and the text may be
found in Matt 3: III
In order To understand the reason for
the immense sensation that Johns preach
ing caused among all classes throughout
Judca, we must remember that the Jews
were by nature people given to deep in
| terest in things religious; true, it was
| chiefly the outer forms Of religion, but
| nevertheless any man who came preach
ing new doctrine, or Il new form OF an
old doctrine, was pretty likely to get a
much wider hearing than he would have
to-day. Then, again. the idea of the king
dom of heaven was by no means a wholly
new one, though John preached it in
new and startling fashion. The Jews
looked for a time when the Messiah
should come to establish his kingdom,
throw off the rule of Rome, and bring to
the long oppressed people peace and pros
perity. So that when John began to
preach that the kingdom was mt hand, the
crowds flocked TO hear him; and though
| the preparation that he demanded was a
spiritual rather than political one, still
est held them. But when the Pharisees
| and Sadducecs came, he spoke TO them
with terrible sternness. John was not
persuasive preacher. lie did not attempt
| to win these religious monopolsts. but told
| them just what God thought of them, as
he conceived it.
The time of settlement is at hand. What
John meant. though perhaps even he did
f.tll ,Ix-a hat hon.
Christ in his perfection offered himself
| to those men and their countrymen. they
| by their own acceptance or rejection Of
him would pass judgment upon them
| selves. The baptism with water which
John administered was Unto repent
| nnce" not in the sense that it led 10 re-
pcntance; for it was but a symbol Of
| repentance already begun. And VIC must
| never forget what readers Of the English
| versions are so likely to overlook, that
repentance means not simply sorrow for
| sin but amendment of life, change OF mind
| and will.
The baptism of Jesus by John has many
difficult things about it, Some things may
| be suggested that will remove part of the
difficulty. In the first place. this was not
4 baptism of SORROW for sin; with such,
Jesus COllu nave ITO part. IL Nonfu Dt u
mockery for him, the one perfectly holy
being, TO submit to an ordinance with such
a meaning. But the baptism symboiized
| the 'change Of mind" the metaonia, which
John preached as the preliminary for the
| coming of the kingdom. What John de-
| manded of those who came TO him was not
| the same in each case, though the princi-
| pie was the same; of each man, OF each
III .I.A..
spiritual change, a leaving OF the old, II
taking on of the new. TO the multitudes
he commanded generosity; to the tax-gath-
erers, commercial honesty; to the sol
dicrs, an abandonment of violence, and
obedience to orders. (See Luke ): 1910.
The common element was that the old
] must be put off and the new put OH, to
make ready for the new kingdom. Now
| to such a message Jesus himself. we may
reverently say, could yield a kingly obe-
! dience. He had no sin to put away, but
he had behind him thirty years of quiet
| life. with its simple pleasures, its hours
OF medita tion. its uninterrupted commun-
ion with the Father; now was to come a
great change, a plunge into a most abb
sorbing. cXhausting life, a life with scarce
| " any leisure, with an oyerpowering
weight Of responsibility, Il great mysteri-
ous burden OF the sin and sorrow of his
fellow men Was it not most appropriate
that the consecration of himself to this
new and tremendous task, which surely
involved the most strenuous act of will
upon his part. should take the form of a
baptism unto the change of mind" unto
the new kingdom?
ITO fulfill all righteousness tt is use
less to attempt To explain this phrase. For
an explanation you must read the biog-
raphy of Jesus. His whole life is its def
milton. To fulfill is to make full, to make
real. 10 make complete. Righteousness is
goodness. and so acceptableness TO God.
BY his obedience To the Fathers will, by
his self -consecration to the great work of
re,leeming men, Jesus in life and death
and resurrection made real, made possible,
goodness for all men. That WAS his work;
to be the Way by which men might jour
neg up to goodness aud TO God; TO be the
Truth. to show them the good and guide
them towards il; to be- the Life. filling the
souls of men with q new and deathlcss en-
ergy that should bear fruit in transform
cd lives. fit for the kingdom of heaven.
Into this holy realm of duty and OF unique
privilege. Jesus entered in the maturity
of his manhood by the symbolic gate OF
baptism. setting forth the mighty purpose
that had ripened in his spirit, now TO be-
gin its fulfillment.
Teaching Hints.
For many classes all questions OF the
consciousness of Jesus and John will be
out of place. The picture itself is surely
enough for a very full lcsson-the preach
ing of John, the multitudes about him,
the stern warning to the Pharisecs and
Sadducees. the coming of the gentle