The Yale expositor., 1910-01-07
The Baptism and
Temptation of Jesus
sunday School Lesson for Jan. Q, 1910
Specially Arranged for This Paper

January A. ID. ~; the temptation the 40
days Immediately following.
PLACE.--Jesus came to John from
Nazareth. The baptism of Bethabara, on
one of the fords of the Jordan. The
temptation in the Wilderness of Judea
northwest of Jericho. Tradition calls the
place Mount Quarantania.
Suggestion and Practical Thought.
|. The Training School of His Early
Life. Jesus was both human and d.
vine, the Son of God taking upon him.
self the nature of man. He could re-
veal the nature and the will of God,
because he personally knew God and
eternal life and therefore could speak
with the authority of perfect knowl-
edge. But the human nature must
grow, and be trained so as to become
the fitting instrument of the divine.
The Schools and Schoolmasters of
the Young Jesus. /. The grace OF
God was upon him.
2. He was brought up in the at
mosphere of a deeply religious home.
3. He was a student of the Bible,
and a member of a Sabbath school.
4. He was an attendant at the syna
gogue, the counterpart of our church.
II. The Baptism of Jesus; His Pub
lie Announcement Of His Position on
the Side of Religion and Righteous
ness.-Matt. 3:13-17. Cometh Jesus
from Galilee, from his Nazareth home.
to Jordan, probably at the ford near
Jericho over which passed the great
route of travel from the north and
east to Jerusalem. To be baptised OF
(by) him, who was introducing the
kingdom of God The announcement
and the one announced came to-
gether.
IA. But John forbad." was in the
act of preventing him, was protesting.
IT have need" etc. / am the sinful
one, not you; as in v. II. 1T was his
whiteness against their blackness
which moved the Baptist to his indig-
nant refusal."-John Watsons Life of
the Master.
Is. Suffer it" (permit it, =.
"for thus it becometh u.s." both of us,
or a general statement true of all
men, to fulfill all righteousness, to do
what is right, what ought to be done.
Why was Jesus baptzsed? 1. 1t was
his public announcement of his posi-
ton; that he stood on the side of re-
ligion and righteousness.
2. It was an Identifying of himself
with humanity, sharing their lot. suf-
fering with men the effects of sin,
going down into the slums of human
ity, an undefiled brother, tempted
like as we are, yet without sin"
touched with the feeling of our in
firmities," and thus able to succor
them that are tempted"
3. He was baptized as an example
for all his followers.
His Amounting as Priest and King.
! 16. went up straightway out of the
water" and up the bank of the river
He was praying as he went (Luke
! sgd. THE heavens were opened
symbolizing the fuller vision of Jesus
into the eternal realities. Heaven
and all it's powers and blessings were
with him. He saw the Spirit of God
descending, bestowing upon him the
power and presence of the Holy Spirit
who was to convince men of sin,
and of righteousness and of judg-
ment"
III. His Victory in the Battle with
Temptation. The Great Crisis of His
Life.-Matt. ALL.
First. The Battlefield-V. 1. Jesus
led up of the spirit" He went out to
meet his great enemy; it was part Of
the divine plan. The test was neces-
sary before he could enter upon his
great work. His life questions must
be settled once for all. Into the
Wilderness the lonely mountainous
regions northeast of Jerusalem. The
real battle was fought on the battle
field of the soul, where are fought the
greatest battles in all time.
The enemy was Satan, the adver-
sary. a real being
How could a holy being be tempt
ed?" Only by the good that was in
him, by natural appetite as hunger,
by the desire to do good, to escape
pain, to satisfy right desires.
Second. The Long Campaign.-V.
2. 2. "And when he had tasted forty
days" The real spirit of fasting lies
in being so intensely absorbed that
one does not feel the sensation of
hunger. Jesus was so intent on set
thing the great questions that con-
fronted him-whether he was the Son
of God, in what way he should accom-
plish his mission. in prayer for guild
ance, in seeking light, in deciding on
duty-that he was unconscious of
hunger; and in his lonely place there
was no food to be obtained.
Both Mark and Luke say he was
tempted all these 40 days, probably
in the same general way as the last
three great assaults now to be de-
scribed. which sum up the conflict.
Third. Three Great Battles and
Victories.-Vs. 2-10. Note that these
temptations all came in reference to
the means of establishing the king
dom of God.
Prof. Jowett of Manchester, Eng
land we'll says I'm a late sermon:
whatever else my Lord shall be to
me he shall not be a counterfeit man.
| aynoced IN cOunterfeit fire a more