Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1910-01-07

-
e .Ss4i erer, who had
}i given up his bus
80. mess at the per
sonal invitation
Of Christ, to become an itinerant
preacher Of the gospel He proclaimed,
fully persuaded in his own mind that
his Master was what He claimed to
be.-the King of the Jews. Hence,
the gospel OF Matthew is full of refer
encgs to the Old Testament, the Jew
ish scriptures, 65 passages being quot
ed from the prophecy and the hope OF
Israel. The gepealogy of Christ he
traces back TO King David to show
that he has the right to sit as Dayid's
son upon Dayid's throne. Thus We
frd the word kingdom 56 times in
this gospel. the phrase the kingdom
o2 heaven" 81 times and nowhere
else in the New Testament. Matthew,
all the way through sets forth
the fact that This IS Jesus, the king
of the Jews. We have seen the her
aid OF the kins il John the Baptist
Notice now, the Inauguration of the
king.
Inaugural Ceremony.
Morarchs are inducted into Office
by solemn ceremonies. and from the
moment when they are invested with
the purple they break away from the
old lite and all things become new.
Baptism was an ordinance of God, in
truductOry to the new dispensaton.
and as such Jesus submitted to it. And
while, in His case. it was not an act
expressive OF confession OF sin, il was
His inyestiture with the awful dignity
Of the Messiah, a ceremony in which
the opening heavens and the De-
scend;ng Spirit bore witness to the
divine approval ana conservation. For
the people, baptism was the symbol
OF their separation from sin and conse.
Grafton to God; in His case it was the
symbol Of separation from His hither-
to private life and the assumption OF
his royalty as MessiaA-King. John
had opened the door of the new king
do1n. From the wilderness of sin the
people had focked into it. Now from
the secluoion of thirty years of prepar
alton Jesus entered it as both King
ana Priest. Here is where He took
Up His royal prerogativos. Here He
received the seal of lie -- -he
fullness Of power =" opirt
And here 'e made in
reverb h-, ating thunder fro he open
ed heavens, This is My Beloved Son.
in whom | am we'll pleased"
The King Tested.
No sooner was the King inaugmat-
ed than He was tested as to His king
ly qualities. 1t must be shown to all
the ages that He reigned by divine
right that lie was holy, harmless, un-
defiIed, separate from sinners. Or.
as the Scripture puts. Then was
Jesus led up OF the spirit into the
Wilderness to be tempted of the devll."
Whatever else is involved in those
words, it is pretty certain that dur
ing that forty days, two Kingdoms met
in inexoIabIe warfare, and at its close
Christ stood forth the conqueror over
peal to man.
Three-Fold Temptation.
Lyman Abbott sums up the tempta-
tions: Ths temptation was three.fold
and it took place in regular progress
sion. The first appealed o the body;
the second 10 love of admiration; the
third to love of power. TIE first was
to mere bodily appetite; the second
TO a more honorable desire for fame;
the third TO noble ambition reTvert-
ed The first called for an act miracu-
Ious; the second for one ostentatious
and presumptuous; the third for one
basphemously wicked. The first was
disguised as an appeal to reason, the
second was speciOusly an appeal to
the Scriptures the third was bold and
naked revelation OF Satan. The first
was the most deceptive; the second
the most plausible; the third the most
audaeious. In the first Satan tried to
nislead by hiding the sin; in the sec
ond, by sanctioning the sin. because
OF the greater good TO be accomplished
by IT, in the third, to compensate for
sin by promised reward.
The First Adam and the Second.
Il is interesting to trace In Christ's
temptation perfect anology to the
temptation in the Garden Of Eden
There, as mere, the appeal was made
to the lust of the flesh, the lust OF the
eyes, and the pride of life. The ap-
peal was first to appetite. Eve saw
that the tree was good for food. The
appeal was next to the aesthetic ma
ture. She saw that it was pleasant to
the eyes. And thirdly. the appeal was
to spiritual pride. She saw that the
tree was to be desired to make one
wise In the FIRST instance the attack
succeeded; in the second it failed.
TIE frst Adam fell in a garden: the
second Adam was a victor in a wilder