The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-16
First Quarter. Lesson III. Matt. iii,
 13-iv, II. January l7, 1904.


 Baptism and Temptation of Jesus.
 Jesus consciousness of His divine mis- sion, which had been first quickened into life in his fathers house eighteen years before, had now lowered out into full apprehension of his Messianic character and work. He wiped the sweat of man. ual labor from his brow for the last time. He laid down the Nools of his craft and closed the door of the carpenter-shop be- hind him forever. His forerunner had come more than halfway up the Jordan Valley to meet him. Indeed, he was scant twenty miles away. With what sa- cred emotions Jesus went to his epiphany, 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 fiercely, and the last conscience-stricken sinner had taken upon him the seal of q new life, the Nag arine approached the Baptist. By signs infallible. John knew the Messiah stood before him. There was nothing fortut- ous in Jesus request. He left his Gall lean home for the express purpose of re- ceiving baptism of his forerunner. It seemed incongruous to John that the less should bless the greater. He was in the act of hinderIng him. He who had been father-confessor to the nation, now turn
 
 to be baptized of thee!" A mock humil- ity would have persisted in the refusal. John showed his faith by obeying a com mand that was incomprehensible. Jesus reply is the second recorded uterance of his lipsASthe first of his public ministry it is his inaugural to his Messianic of- flee. Suffer 1t to be so now" That "now" signifies the transitoriness of his humiliation For thus 1t becometh us to fulfill all righteousness perfec- tion of his identification with humanity. What was obligatory on man was bind ing upon the man Jesus.
 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 a minimum if one keeps in mind that Jesus had true hu- man soul, with all it's natural powers. It has been well said that in this fierce conflict, Jesus raised himself from the state of natural and instinctive innocence to a holiness of choice-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 girding on as an impenetrable panopiy his eternal Godhead. Jesus had become aware of the mighty miracle-working power with which he was invested; also of the lowly and suffering way in winch his Messianic kingdom was to be estab- lished. These disclosures were enough tc impel him to some uninhabited place where, free from interruption. he might adjust himself to his calling. and develop a plan of procedure. '"The forty-day mountain" if that was the site of Jesus trial, was place strangely in harmony with his experiences. Just as Jesus emerged from his long period of absorbed meditation, and his physical nature as- serted it's claims. the tempter injected the thought, ''If you really are, as you imag' inc, the Son of God. command these loaf shaped stones to be changed into bread and by that means assure yourself oi your divinity, and appease your hunger .' But Jesus responded: "The Israelites were forty years learning the dependenct upon the simple word and promise ol God. With their example ought to Iearr the lesson in forty days" Again Jesu: felt himself to be standing on a dizzy height. The devil wanted him to enter. tain in his mind the purpose of casting himself down; but Jesus considered that to make an emergency for the sake o1 display would be despicable Finally Jesus knew he was to set up Kingdom on earth.-slowly, and by his own suffer Ing. Now, the kingdoms displayed tC him as in a panorama are offered to nm instantaneously by the god of this world if he will serve him as well as his Fathor and make hIs mission a temporal one such as the Jews are expecting. Tn, moral nature of Jesus rises to its full height. as with holy wrath he scorns the