Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1898-01-06
Lesson for Jan. o.


succor them that are tempted."-H
2: IS.
Jesus Tempted is the subject treated
in this lesson, the text OF which is found
in Matt. 8: Ill. The lesson is so entire
ly familiar in its main facts that nearly
the whole attention may be given to it's
interpretation; and its difficulties are SO
great that the teacher who undertakes
to teach it conscientiously ought to do
good deal of thinking beforehand. The
difficulties, too, are of sort that sug-
gest themselves even to young minds; SO
that boys or girls of a dozen years can
ask questions which are incapable of
complete answer. The most obvious diff
fculties are, How could Jesus be tempt
ed! How was his temptation like our
temptations, seeing that he had never
sinned, and so had no sinful disposition,
which is the chief element in our temp
tations? In what form was he temptedr
Was the temptation external or internalt
Did Jesus see with his eyes the tempterf
If So. how was the temptation real-why
did he not at once turn in horror from
Satan If Satan appeared in the conven-
tional guise which we always'see in pic
lures! These questions and many more
occur to any thoughtful reader OF the
narrative. One must solve them for him.
self; but some suggestions bearing on the
problem may be offered, some Of them
fairly well established by the text; others
hardly more than opinions.
Explanatory.
We must remember first Of all that this
narrative in Matthew and Luke almost
certainly gives the report by the evange-
list of an account given by Jesus to his
disciples; thus passing through the pro-
cess of being made ineligible to men not
very learned nor much given to introspec-
ton. Since, by the whole tenor of the
narrative, there was no human witness
present, we must assume that at some
subsequent time Jesus found it necessary
to unlock this secret of his history and
tell to his more intimate friends the
strange story of his experience in the
wilderness. 1t is interesting, though per-
haps not very profitable, to conjecture
when he may have done so. We might
imagine, on the one hand, that during the
first year of his ministry, when his popu-
larity was great in Galilee, and the dis
ciples naturally shared to some extent the
popular desire to make Jesus an earthly
king, he may have believed that the best
way to correct this error was to tell them
of the solitary struggle through which
he had already gone, and how, having
conquered these temptations once, he had
no wish or purpose to go through the hight
again. Or, on the other hand, the occa-
sion may have been much later, towards
the close Of the ministry, when everything
seemed dark, and Jesus disciples fire.
quently expressed their wonder that he
did not again seek the popularity which
he could so easily win; then he may have
silenced them, and at the same time
who knows ?-strengthened his own spirit
against insidious doubt, by relating the
story of the first and great temptation.
Jesus was sled up of the spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted Of the devil"
He knew that the spirit was leading him,
but did he know that he was to be tempt
| ed? The essence of each temptation, as
| may easily be seen, Is the suggestion that
Jesus use his divine power and office for
| unworthy purposes. In the first, ply
steal want is the subject of the tempta-
ton; in the second, an intellectual-the
| curiosity to know just how far the Father
would protect the Son from harm; in the
third, spiritual, the longing for the
loyal service of men, the eager desire to
|
these temptations long time and not ex-
haust the subtle seductivcness of them.
What harm could it do if Jesus satisfied
his own hunger by mirnculously provided
food, as he did later for thousands of 9TH
er hungry men? 1t was not merely that
so far as we know-he seldom or never
used miraculous power for his own graf
| ification or assistance; not merely that to
/ h.. into ha vo
been to obey Satan-for il the temptation
was an internal one, the very question
at issue would be: Is this from the evil
| one? Rather the evil in this suggestion
| is indicated by the reply of Jesus; it was
sin for him to turn aside from his great
struggle, on which he felt depended much
| of his future career, perhaps the very OBJ
| ject of his whole mission, to satisfy
bodily need This would have been
subordinaton of the higher to the lower.
The second temptation is in essence a
| temptation to presumption. Surprising for
the moment that the form III which II Is
clothed is a figure, vision, rather than
literal fact. Jesus felt that he might, IL
he chose, do any such startling and SEN
sational miracle as that mentioned, and
thus gain i'm a moment, not only full as
/ OI Ills OWu uutHofity, Dut the up
plause and favor of the people. But
this would be testing (''tempt' means
| to test of his Father, the Lord God 1t
would show doubt and distrust and impa-
thence. 1t would show his unftness for
the mission which had been entrusted to
him.
Teaching Hints.
The reality of the temptation is the
thing to emphasize. Jesus had n strug-
gle-according to Luke, the whole forty
days were period of struggle, culminat-
ing in the three trials described. He con-
quered in that struggle by maintaining
his faith in God, evidenced in his unhesi-
tating quotation of scripture. He has
left the record of that struggle for us in
order that we might be both warned that
the best of men must expect the lowest
temptations, and encouraged that the
humbleet may conquer IL they follow his
example. Modern parellels of the temp
tations of Jesus will suggest themselves,
though perhaps more easily for nature
men and women than for boys or girls.
No man entering on any sort OF public
life, business or professional or political,
can be in doubt as to the reality of the
third temptation. The universal element
In all three temptations, which Is applics-
BILE to everybody, Is Choose We this day
whom We will serve"
/