Mexico Missouri message., 1917-01-11
INTERNATIONAL.
SUNLGYSOlOOL
LESSON
LESSON FOR JANUARY Ia
JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS
By e. o. SELLERS, Acting Director Of
the Sunday School Course in the Moody
Bible Institute of Chicago.)
Copyright, 1917 Western Newspaper Union)

God that taketh away the sin of the
world.--John 1:29.
John began his public ministry in the
summer of A. d. &c and the baptism Of
Jesus probably took place in January,
4. ID. 81. The delegation from Jerusa-
lem to interview John must have ap-
feared along toward the latter part Of
'cbruary.
|. John the Witness wv. 1919.
Tohn's ministry created great excite
mCnt. The people were in expectancy.
All classes were reasoning as to who
this strange but marvelously fOrceful
man might be. Some thought perhaps
he was the Christ duke 3:15). To
settle this question a committee was
sent to Jerusalem to investigate.
Malachi, the prophet, has suggested the
coming of Elijah (Mal. 4:5) before the
Messiah should come, and another
prophecy indicated that the prophet
should be like unto Moses (Deut.
IS 1919. John freely confesses to
this delegation that he is not the
CE.ist nor Elijah nor the prophet pre-
dicted by Moses. How foolish and
silly are those modern ones who pro-
TESS to be the messenger of the COW
enant or some other fanciful title, in
dicating the return of the witness
which is to precede the coming of
Christ. John exercises humility in the
way he states his real position though
he does apply to himself the prophecy
Of Isaiah lisa. 40 :3-5) which sets forth
what his mission was to be. A voice
can be heard but not seen. With our
bodily eyes we never see q spirit. No
man ever saw the soul of his nearest
friend. We do see God, however, in
his works, in his marvellous deliver
nnces and his guidance of the world
and his answers to prayer.
II. John the 5aptizer wv. 1920.
AS John had denied that he was the
Christ or Elijah, the priests and Lev
ties made bold to question his author
ty at later time Matt. 21-23), and
still later the authority of the apes
ties and the priests (Acts :2S). John
answers them with another display Of
his humility. His baptism in water
was nothing to the baptism of the
coming one (See Matt, 3 III; Acts :5).
Though Christ was in their midst, they
were blind and did not recognize him.
(See Wv. 10, Il; Oh. $40; 1879.
| Johns baptism of repentance denotes
a baptism which q penitent submitted
| to that he might receive the pledge
| ald assurance that his sins were for
given. Baptism meant the cleansing
might be fitted for entrance into the
| kingdom. Baptism is not conversion.
1t is witnessing and q symbol of a
| spiritual truth that we are dead unto
| sin, and have risen to newness of life
| (Rom. $3.50. Like John, our voice
must be not only that of humility but
it must be really a voice with mes
| sage from God, one that sounds an I'M
mistakable note, one that can be heard
wherever we go, one that will make
men happier, stronger, Drawer, more
like Cod to prepare the way for Christ
In the hearts of men.
III. The Witness of the Spirit wv.
2S-3D. The writer is very explicit,
stating the exact time that these things
occurred, for he was an eye witness.
John first testifies that Jesus was the
Lamb of God, referring of course to
the sacrificial lamb, the atoning sacri-
flee of the Old Testament (Gen. 22;7-8
Elk. u IS; lisa. 53:7). AS the Lamb of
God, Jesus would take away the sins
of the world; thus the thought is pri-
marily that of atonement, a substitu-
ton of another and the deliverance
from the guilt of sin. The next day
after Johns witness to the delegation
from Jerusalem, he saw Jesus coming
unto him, and said to the assembled
people, Behold the Lamb of God
This refers not so much to his charac'
ter, that of innocence, meekness and
patience, as to his Office, his completed
work of atonement by the sacrificial
death wherein he takes away the sins
of the world. On the ground of the
Precipitation for sin which Jesus
wrought Il John go; Matt. 20:2S; Il
Cor. s: 21; Gal. 3:13) sin is removed
from the sinner as far as the East is
from the West. God dealt In mercy
with men before Christ's time because
of the lamb which was slain from the
foundation of the world (Rev. 1879
Here John says that at first he did no
recognize Jesus as the Messiah, but h
does bear record that he saw tn,
spirit descending at his baptism, and i
abode upon him.
The work of Christ is for the whole
world till all its sin is removed.
He is actually removing sin from tn
world, and when he comes again, siI
will be banished. Luke's record add
that this same Messiah is to baptiz,
with the Holy Ghost and fire.
Christians are to be on fire for God
The gift of the holy spirit at Pente
cost was the first and most nantes
1 % So