The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-01-31
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR FEBRUARY 4.

Christ's ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
I. Jesus in the wilderness Tvs. i, p.
l.. Then" Immediately after His
baptism. Such are the violent alterna-
tons Of human experience; baptized
and tempted; approved Of God and
handed over to the devil. Led up"
Our lives are SO ordered that we are
carried into places where the metal Of
our religion is tried. Temptation is
part Of the divine scheme. The devil
is under the control of God. Open the
page of history where you will and
you can hardly find the story of any
great, noble soul, that has not had its
hour of battle with the powers Of dark
ness. "Of the spirit" Luke says He
was "full of the Holy Chost;;' Mark
says, 1.-THE spirit drjveth Him." A di-
vine influence led Him on. Into the
Wilderness" Tradition hi. upon
n high ridge called Quarantania, near
Jericho. ITO be tempted" Christ be-
gins His work with a personal encoun-
ter with Satan. TO tempt is, literally,
to stretch out, to try the strength of.
Temptation is the testing Of a person.
The three temptations of Christ were
typical ones. compromising all the
forms of temptation by which human
nature can be assailed. They cover
the same ground as 1.-The lust Of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life" Il John 2:16). 1.-THE dev.
H." "DiabolOs," always in the singu-
lar and with the definite article.
2. Forty days" Moses, Elijah
and our Lord could fast forty days be-
cause they were in communion with
God and living a heavenly life. Luke
says He was tempted during the whole
forty days. "Afterward an hungred."
After the forty days were ended the
reaction came with terrible force.
II. The first temptation Tvs. 9, A..
3. 1.-The tempter came" How Satan
appeared TO Christ we do not know,
but. if he came in bodily form it must
have been as. an angel OF light. III
Thou be-" Beware of, temptation that
comes with an If" in its mouth. The
Son Of God" The consciousness Of
His divine Sonship may 10Y in a
measure have been withheld. Alone
in the wilderness and weak and worn
from fasting, Satan saw his chance.
"Stones-bread." You . are hungry;
now if You are the Son of God use the
power You have to supply Your neces-
sites and thus prove Your divinity.
4. "It is written See Deut. SO.
In each case Jesus answered and de-
feated Satan by q proper use OF the
word of God. a mai who has scrip
ture hid in his heart has a sharp sword
to fight the devil with. Not live by
bread alone" Human support depends
not on bread. but upon Gods unfailing
word Of promise and pledge of all need
ful providential care.
III. The second temptation Tvs. 80.
The order of the temptations is differ
ent in Luke, but this is "immaterial, as
there is no statement that insists on
any , particular order. 8. "Taketh
Him" So far as the necessities Of the
trial required, yet with no power or
violence OF contamination, our Lords
person was in his hand. How else did
Satan take Him to the temples sum-
init or to the mountain top? Into the
holy city" Whedon believes that His
person was transported with the
quickness of a thought, so that He is
not to be conceived as on His way at
any intermediate point" There seems
little reason to doubt that Jesus actu.
ally went with Satan to the pinnacle
of the temple. pinnacle" Probably
the royal porch built by Herod, over
looking the Cedron.
G.. IF Thou be-" etc. Satan presses
his point. In His first reply to the
devil Jesus had shown His ~unbounded
confidence in God. Now Satan takes
Him at that, very point and. assumes
that if He did not cast Himself down
it would show that He lacked faith in
God and that His claim to divine Son
ship was u%nfounded. Cast Thyself
down" Show your faith in God.
All the world will wonder at so grand
an exploit. Prove at once that You
are the Son of God. 1T is written"
In Psalm Oil, u. The devil has a
Bible, but he misGuotes and misapplies.
This was a temptation to presump-
ton. {. 1T is written again" In
Deut. GIG. There is always danger in
using isolated texts. One text ex-
plains and modiies another. The Bible
is often perverted by wicked men.
Not tempt" To tempt God is to put
Him to the proof-to demand evidence
of His power and of His will to fulfil
His promises, instead Of waiting pa
tiently and trusting. This Is mani
festly wrong. The first temptation APP
pealed to the animal appetites. This
one rises to the higher sentiment. the
love CT shoW-the qualification of adj
miration.
". The third temptation Tvs. SID.
S. Exceeding high mountain" Some
high mountain in Judea where q gen
eral view could be had of the country.
"SheWeth kingdoms Of the world"
The root of the third temptation lay in
the supposition that the Kingdoms Of
and that he could dispose Of them. 9.
"All-give Thee" BY this Satan evil
IDENTIFY meant that lie would withdraw
his opposition to Christ and make Him
4 great earthly ruler. If worship
me-" Here the devil appears in his
true character. Christ was tempted to
idolatry, which is the root Of all evil.
10. Get thee hence" Jesus parleys
with him no longer, but with authority
commands him to 80 to his oWn place.
II. Devil leapeth Him." Satan
had made the strongest effort CT which
he was capable and had been bafi1ed at
every point. ANGELS" Heavenly
messengers; spiritual beings Of a high
or order than a "Ministered."
Supplied Him with necessary food to
support nature.
Kite Raised get Pounds.