The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-01-27

LeSCTlpllNe pcOEiet mhllsu upon re-
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| INTERNATIONAL S. S. LESSON.
January ss, 1900. Matthew xi:ls; ", II.
The BaptiSm and Temptation Of Jesus.
Jesus consciousness Of his Divine
mission. which had been first qulckened
into life In his fathers house eighteen
years before. had now lowered out In
to the full apprehension of his Messiah
lie character and work He wiped the
sweat Of manual labor from his brow
for the last time. He laid down the
tools Of his craft, and closed the door OF
the carpenter-shop behind him forever.
1890. HIS foreranHer had come
more than half-way up the Jordan
Valley to meet him. Indeed. he was
scant twenty miles away. With what
sacred emotions Jesus went to his epi-
phany. his Inauguration in the sight Of
heaven and earth! At the
close of one days preaching. when
perhaps this torch OF truth had famed
most flercely, and the last Conscience
stricken sinner had taken upon him the
seal OF u new life, the NazHrene APP
preached the Baptist. BY signs lhfal-
llble. John knew the Messiah stood
before him. $500. There was Moth
Ing fortuitous in Jesus request He
left his Gallleau home for the express
purpose of receiving baptism Of his
fore-runner II seemed lncongruOus to
John that the less should bless the
Greater. He WAS In the act OF hinder
ing him. He who had been father-cOn-
lessor to the nation, now turned con-
fessiOnist. and cried. "Thave need to be
baptized OF Thee" A mock humility
would have persisted in the refusal.
John showed his faith by Obeylng u
command that was incomprehenaible.
III. 81. Jesus reply IS the second
recorded utterance Of his iips-the tirst
Of his public ministry: 1t is his inau
gural to his Messianic Office. Suffer 1t
to be so now" That nov" signifies
the transformers of HIS humiliation.
For thus II. becometh US to fulfill all
righteousness" perfection OF his
Identification with humanity. What
was obligatory on man was binding up
on the Man Christ Jesus. e. . Well
said the Fathers, "Go to Jordan, and
thou shalt see the Trinity" Out OF the
cleft heavens came the ineffable voice
Of the Father In bodily shape the Holy
Ghost descended, while In those lus-
trOus waters stood the Son. Thus for
the first time, and the last In the
earth's history, there was simultan-
eous manifestation OF the Triune Cod
Father. Son and Holy Spirit With
such q triple omen was the Messiah
inaugurated.
The temptation Of Jesus has been de-
clared the most difficult OF all the
events OF sacred history to interpret:
but the difficulty Is reduced to q mini
mum II one keeps In mind that Jesus
had a true human soul. with all It's
natural appetencleS. I'm this fierce
conflict" Presence says, Jesus raised
himself from the state OF natural and
instructive innocence to a holiness OF
cholCe-a perilOus transit In which the
first Adam fell. but In which the second
Adam conquered by the sole arms OF
faith and prayer and not by glrdinG on
as an impenetr0ble panoply his eternal
Godhead." . Jesus had become
aware OF the mighty miracle working
power with which he was invested: also
OF the IowIy and suffering way in which
his MesSInlc Kingdom was to be estRb-
lIshed. These disclosures were enough
to impel him TO sOme unlnhAhited
place. where. free from interruption, he
might adjust himself to his calling and
develop plan Of procedure.
"The fOrty-day mountain" IL that was
the site Of Jesus trial. was a place
strangely In harmony with his expert
ences Just az Jesus emerged from his
long period OF absorbed meditation. and
his physical nature asserted Its claims.
the tempter injected the thought, III
you really are. as you imagine, the Son
OF God. command these lOaf-shaped
stones to be changed into bread, and
by that means assure yourself OF your
divinity, and appease your hunger"
But Jesus reasoned: THE IsrRelites
were forty years learning the Deepen
dence upon the simple word and prom
ise Of God. With their example ought
to learT; the lesson in forty days"
Again Jesus felt himself to be standing
on d dizzy height. The devil wanted
him to entertain in his mind the pur-
pose of casting himself down; but Je-
sus considered that to make an etner-
Eency for the sake Of display would be
despIcabie. Fluallq Jesus knew he
was to set up a kingdom on earth
slowly, and by his own suffering. Now,
the Kingdoms displayed to him as in a
panorama are offered to him inatau-
taneously by the god OF this world. II
he will nerve him az well az his Fathe-,
and make his mission temporal one,
such RR the Jews were expecting. The
moral nature Of jesus rises to Its full
height. az with holy wrath he scornB
the very suggestion, and cries,
"AvRunt" to the tempter.