The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-01-18
TIE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson In the International Series for
January n, 10OO-Preaching of
John the Bnptist.

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GOLDEN TEXT-Prepare ye the way OF
the Lord.--Luke 3a
THE LESSON TEXT.
Uuke 3:7-17)
Z. Then said he TO the multitude that
came forth to be baptized OF him. o genera
tion of vipers. who hath warned you to
flee from the wrath to come?
s. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of
repentance, and begin not to say within
yourselves, We have Abraham to our
father: for say unto you, that God is able
Of these stones to raise up children unto
Abraham.
g. And now also the AK is laid unto the
root of the trees: every tree therefore
which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire.
10. And the people asked him, saying:
What shall we do then?
II. He answereth and saith unto them.
He that hath two coats, let him impart TO
him that hath none; and he that hath
meat, let him Go likewise.
l2. Then came also publicans to be bap-
tized and said unto him, Master, what shall
10. And He said unto them. Exact no
more than that which Is appointed you.
IA. Ard the soldiers likewise demanded
of him, saying. Ard what shall we do?
And He said unto them: Do violence to
no man, neither accuse any falsely; and
be content with your wages.
15 And as the people were In expecta-
tIon, and all men mused in their hearts Of
John, whether he were the Christ, or rot;
l6. John answered, saying unto them all,
| indeed baptize you with water. but one
mightier than | cometh, the latchet OF
whose shoes / am not worthy TO unloose. |.
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost
and with fire: -
H. Whose fan Is in His hand. and He will
throughly purge His Hoor, and VIII gamer
the wheat into His garners; but the char
He will burn with fire unquenGhabie.
NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS.
Training of John the Baptist.-Of the
early lie and training of John the Bap-
tist, we know only that he was "in the
deserts" Uuke 1:S0). At what age he
became a hermit, or whether indeed
the word means more than that he lived
quietly and uneventfully in the hill
country of Judea where he was born
Uuke 1880, 4O) we do not know. But
we should note how plain was Johns
mode of life. All four Gospels quote
more or less fully the words ut the
opening of Isaiah 40 as applying to
John, and the reason for this fact ap-
pears in John 1:23.
Johns neutrality-suspicious., as
John preached it, was turning away
from sin to Righteousness. 1t demand
ed a willingness to give up all practices
which were inconsistent with the pres
ence OF God 5 kingdom. Baptism was
an ancient rite, used in certain cases OF
cleansing (Num. 10), and was applied
to proselytes who entered the Jewish
fold. 1t was therefore natural symbol
Of cleansing in preparation for living a
clean life after repentance. John seems
to have met first the deeply intrenched
Jewish idea that for them no repent
ance was necessary. They regarded
their descent from Abraham as suffi-
cient guaranty Of salvation. Johns
words on this point Luke 3:s) were
therefore very radical. According to
Matthew (Matt. $50, they were direct
ed toward the religious leaders Of the
Jews. These leaders were the repre-
sentatives of the two chief sects, the
Pharisees and the Sadducees. The
former were the Puritans Of the time,
in profession, though not in practice.
They took great pains to observe the
law and the traditions, going beyond
the literal command in their endeavor
to render perfect obedience. The Sad
ducees professed equal regard for the
law, but were by no means so strict
in their compliance with either its let
ter or what they regarded as its spirit.
Johns Testimony.-Theg great sensa-
tion that John had created, his refer
ences to the kingdom of heaven as at
hand, and the nature of his teaching
combined to lead many of the Jews
to believe him to be the Messiah. To
those who questioned him, however,
John made it evident that he thought
of his own work as merely preparatory.
His words lead us to suppose that he
expected the work of Jesus to be vastly
more sudden and sweeping than It
actually was. The same idea finds sup
port in the message which John after
wards sent to Jesus Matt. 11:2, 81.
Preparing the Way.-The work Of
preparing, or of repairing, these roads
in advance of the coming of royal
parsonage is continued to the present
time. At Hebron, as our party entered
the Holy Land from the desert below,
we were told that the crown prince of
Austria was just before us, and that the
word had gone out from the Turkish
authorities to prepare his way in ad-
vance. At this our dragoman was de-
lighted, as he was sure that we would
find the roads in excellent condition all
the way northward. Again and again
he said, gratefully: This road has
been prepared for the prince. l wish
there was always prince before u.s."
Oriental Studies.
Fleeing from Wrath.-Dr. George
Adam Smith, in his Historical Ge-
ography Of the Holy Land" gives
vivid picture Of fire in the Judean
wilderness. The rain, during the short
wet season, induces a rank growth Of
brambles and grasses. In the hot
months that follow these become very
dry, and fire once kindled spreads
with great rapidity. 1t comes sweeping
down before the wind almost like a fire