The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-01-03

f(o@AtAArat-t-NJ O12 e4to LAY q Lesson.
!. The testimony Of John the Baptist
4 tvs. 1928 49, This is the witness r.
4 W The sentence means, this IS the testi-
mony that John bore The Jews This
term in Johns gospel commonly means
I the opponents of Christ The jews are
4 to him not his fellow countrymen, but the
/ prosecutors and murderers of the Messiah
ihe name OF a race has become the name
Of a sect. He uses the term about seventy
times, almost always with this shade Oh
meaning. Priests and Leyites. The
\ combination priests and Levites occurs
nowhere else in the New Testament. Io-
/ gether they represent the hierarchy. Ehis
was delegation from the Sanhedl1n.
Who art thous2 What do you profess to
! be? DO you assume to be the Messiah, OF
are you a prophet Two things are plain.
y taught in this verse One is the great
sensation caused by John the 9aptist's
ministry. The other is the state Of expee.
tation in which the people were at this
4 time.
20. Not the Christ, The form d /,
/ speech IN this verse implies very positive
and unmstakable assertion. We have ID
this and the following verses an instructive .
example Of true humility John the Bap:5
tlst was an eminent saint Of God. Few
names n the Bible stand higher than his
4 n. Elias. Greek form for Elijah II
! am not nat IS, not in the sense YOU
have in mind. They were speaking hse1r
| ally, and John was not Elijah returned to
1 earth again. When Jesus said that John
was Elijah Matt llsl4l He was speaking
dgurstiyssly (eqlnp; Luke l;l7). 9l'he pro;
phet" gR The wellknown prophet
| of Deut. 1875 who some thought would
be a second Moses, Others a second EHiahl
others the Messiah Mo- John knew
that the prophet to whom they referred ,
was the Messiah His answer is abrupt,
r. After exhausting all special names
they press John to a full description oil
himself, that they may be able to give
proper answer to the Sanhedrin.
y. The voice. He was not tba
Word but merely voice. He was
called voice because, l. He was utterinA
Gods thoughts. 2 The Importance lay
chiefly IN the message, not in the messeE.
ger, 3. Although weak in himself, vet be-
produced great connection. Crying
Heralding, procialming In the wilder.
ness The world was, indeed, moral
wilderness when the time drew near tor
the coming Of the King" Make straight,
etc. See lisa 40:3-5 The idea is taken
from the practice Of Eastern monarehs,
who, whenever they took journey. sent
harbingers before them to prepare the way.
"a tPharisees. The Pharisees held
most strenuousy that no prophet. after
Moses, had a right TO introduce any new
sacred usage, rite or ceremony among The
Mosaic institutions except the Messiah
IllinSelIs ne question tHen In the follow
ing verse, Why baptiseth thou them waa
very peremptory one. 26. i baptisa
with water Johns answer is very pelx
tlne~A My baptism is the symbol and pre-.
eal - Of real baptism by the great Bap.
tser Here standeth one" 1t is not
necessary to suppose that Jesus was stand.
ing in the crowd at that time, but He Was
living and abiding among the people, and
He was unknown to them.
81. Seq R. ". After me. John was
the forerAnner to announce His coming.
Not worthy A proverbial expression.
The. woik Of unlacing and removing he
sandals belonged to the humblest serxantt
and in comparison to Christ John says he
was TOP inferior to do even that. The de-
sire to exalt Christ and abase himself is
ever uppermost in Johns mind "a.
sBethabara.' The r. v has Bethany.
This was not the Bethany on the Mount
Of Olives) Both names have nearly the
same meaning, Bethany sometimes signify
ing boat house., and Bethabara ford
house, or ferry house.
II. John points out Jesus Tvs 29s94Y
| &c. The next day After the testimony
Of John to the deputatlon from Jerusalem.
sSeeth Jesus" The fact that John knew
Jesus shows that the baptism and tenpta-
ton Matt. 3sl3 to AID preceded the
events Of this lesson. Lamb Of God. Z
There is no reasonable doubt that John
gave this name to our Lord because lie
was the true sacrifice for sin, the truc anti
type of the passover lamb, and the lamb
prophesied Of by Isaiah lisa. $50. TAX
eth away. Or "beareth away" as in the
margin. On the great day Of atonement
the priest confessed the sins of the people
and laid them upon the scapegoat, and the
goat was sent to the depths OF the desert.
Christ's taking away the sins of the world
is borrowed from this act. We have here
one of the many expressions which declare
fha hot s,.s4,e
death was a vicarious sacrifice for SIN.
The SIM All the sins Of all the children
OF Adam. The atonement was complete.
no one was left out, but all may be saved
il they win accept the provisions made.
3d. After me-, etc. Jesus came after
John IN point q time, but He was pre-
ferred before him in dignity and honor
Was before me This refers to Christs
eternal pre- existence with the Father. 81
Knew Him not. ] was not previously
acquainted with Him, and there has been
no private collusion or arrangement be-
tween us. But others think that as John
wasNa cousin Of our Lord, he must have
expression here means that he did not
know Him as to His nature, office and
mission until the time of his baptism.
Therefore am / come John here de-
clares that the great end Of his ministry
was not to form insect in his own name,
put W lndkt NhtAAG kIl0Nl W blac Jews
III, How John knew Jesus Tvs. 1924.
81. Bare record John now proceeds to
tell how, forty-two days befoxe this, at
the time Of Chrst's baptism. HS learned
that He was the Messiah Il sdaEssasi'z
have beheld r. " John had been an
eve witness and was not now reporting
from hearsay Lake dove That the
spirit Of God should descend as dove is
in accordance with the emblematic charac-
ter Of the whole transaction The dove
represented an undefledA Is. of s. 6:9l.
harmless Matt. 10sJ6) gentle, meek char.
Acter IS Of s. 2:14) It was the emblem of
peace lGen Bid and Of beauty (Psa.
68l3) II was the only bird allowed to be
offered in sacrifice BY the I.evitical hw
II was ike the vine, popular symbol II
the chosen nation, and, So FAR as this man.
hesitation was made known abroad. X
would doubtless mark Jesus in public opin.
ION as the ideal, typical, Representative
Israelite, and, therefore. BY Implication
the Messiah. John understood the marvel
TO Indicate this.
IS. HE that sent me- John was con
seious Of his divine mission. He was sept
of God 81 The Son Of God The Mes
siah- the Christ John here declares chat
Jesus was divine