The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1900-01-18
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson in the International series lot
January 81, 1OO0-Prenchins OF
John the Baptist.

GOLDEN TEXT.-Prepare We the way OF
he Lord.-Luke 3:4. N
THE LESSON TEXT. :.
duke 3:7-17)
T. Then said he to the multuuoe .nat
"a me forth TO be baptized of him. o genera u
tion of vipers. who hath warned you u q
fee from the wrath to come!
prdnp forth therefore fruits worthy OF u
renentance. and begin not to say within c
yourselves. We have Abraham to our I
father: for I say unto you. that God Is anie
of these stones to raise up chlioreh UNIV
q And now also the ak is laid unto tne 9
root of the trees: every tree therefore
which bringeth not forth good fruit Is he"n
down, and cast into the fre. ,,,s.
TO- And the people asked him. s"'e
What shall we do then! 49,,
II lie answereth and saith unto them.
He that hath two coats, let nim ,inpa.. sotp
him that hath none; and he tha' nat"
neot. let him do likewise. - ,an
ID Then came also publicans 10 pe papi
,izca and said unto him. Master, what shall
we do? - ,.o tbnn Exact no
more than that which is appointed you;
IA And the soldiers likewise demahaeaa
Of him. saving, And what shall we 40
And He said unto them: Do violenee W
no man, neither accuse any iaise's' ~
he content with your wages. .
ia And as the people we're In ekpec'as
t,on and all men mused In their heaIts VI
John. whether he were the Christ, or MI III
16. John answered, Saying unto 'nei ,,, ona ar
7 indeed baptize you with water; Ha, pn. onf nS
migbtier than / cometh, the iatchet u!
whose shoes l am not worthy o, 70 uiileUt ESoet
He shall baptize you with the HOY o"o''
any WIZ Whose fan is in His hand, and He r VII
throughly purge His floor. aha WI he cbaff |
the wheat into His gamers; put tRs e""N
{he He vii wliI burn with fire unquenshabie'
ne "tss NOTES AND SUGGESTIONS.
Training of John the Baptist.-ot the
carly life and training of John the bap-
t;st we know only that he was IN the
deserts luke 1:S0). At what age ne
became hermit, or whether !hueeu
,be word means more than that lie nVeu
ou;etly and uneventfully in the NH
country of Judea where he was porh
G,nke /: 80, 4o) we do not know. But
we should note how plain was Johh
mode of life. All four Gospels quo'e
more or less fully the words AZ 'he
opening of Isaiah 40 as Apply ing ~
John. and the reason for this 1act aP-
pears in John 1:23.
John's Preaching.-Repentan as
John preached it, was d turning away
from sin to righteousness. II deihanu-
ed Willingness to give up all pruc'ices
which were inconsistent with the pres
ence of Gods kingdom. Baptism was
an ancient rite, used in certain cases OF
cleansing (Num. 10), and was appnea
to nroselytes who entered the Jewlsn
fold It. was therefore natural symbol
of cleansing in preparation for living
clean life after repentance. Jonh seems !,
to have. met first the deeply intrencheo
Jewish idea that for them no repent
ance was necessary. They regarded
their descent from Abraham as sum
cient guaranty of salvation. John s
words on this point Uuke 3:s) were
therefore very radical. According to
! Matthew Matt. $50, they were direct
ed toward the religious leaders OF th'
Jews. These leaders were the repre-
L sentatives of the two chief sects, tht
Pharisees and the Sadducees. Ih'
former were the Puritans of the time
!. IN profession, though not in practice
They took great pains te observe IN
! law and the traditions, going beyon'
the literal command in their endeavo
70 render perfect obedience. The Sac
ducees professed equal regard for IN
law. but were by no means SO strle
In their compliance with either its le'
ter or what they regarded as its splrl
Johns Testimony.-Theg great sens;
ton that John had created, his reIe
ences to the kingdom OF heaven as
hand, and the nature OF his teach>r
combined to lead many OF the Jev
tn believe him to be the Messiah. !
those who questioned him, howeve
John made it evident that he thoug
of his own work as merely preparation
His words lead us to suppose that
expected the work of Jesus to be vast
more sudden and sweeping than
actually was. The same idea finds su
port in the message which John aft'
wards sent to Jesus Matt. 11:2, 81.
Preparing the Way.-The work
preparing, or Of repairing, these roa
in advance Of the coming Of roy
parsonage is continued to the prese
time. At Hebron, as our party enter
the Holy Land from the desert bele
- we were told that the crown prince
Austria was Just before us. and that
lE word had gone out from the Turk
q authorities to prepare his way IN
= vance. At this our dragoman was
lighted, as he was sure that we wo
find the roads in excellent condition
= the way northward. Again and ag
= he said, gratefully: "This road
= been prepared for the prince. l W
= there was always prince before
q -TrumbuIl's Oriental Studies.
= Fleeing from Wrath.-Dr. Geo
= Adam Smith, in his Historical
= ography of the Holy Land" give
= vivid picture Of a fire in the Jud
= wilderness. The rain, during the 81
e wet season, induces rank growtl
brambles and grasses. In the
= months that follow these become '
dry, and a fire once kindled spr'
= with great rapidity. Itcomes SWEEP
= down before the wind almost like
= on the American prairies, and be
= it the lizards and serpents flee
q their hiding places beneath the sto
= DR.. Smith remarks that such s.
= may have suggested to this wilder
= preacher the word in which he upbl
e ed the Pharisees and Sadducees:
q generation OF vipers. who hath wa
e you to flee from the wrath to cor
y PRACTICAL.
= Always there is voice cry
"a Make We ready the way of the Lc
e What response are you making?
The wav of the Lord can be