The Dolores star., 1920-10-08
INplovID uNTolx IKrERNArloHAL
SUNDNSQl0OL,
LESSON
(By REV. p. 3. FITZWATER, D. D.,
Teacher OF English Bible in the Moody
Bible Institute of Chicago)
t@ 1890. Western Newspaper Union)
LESSON FOR OCTOBER 10
BAPTISM AND TEMPTATION OF
JESUS

LESSON TExT-Matthew 81: Al
GOLDEN TEXT-This is my beloved
Son. in whom am well pleased.-Matt
s:l7
ADDITIONAL MATERIAI-Luke ii;
Alb: Heb. 2:IS: 4:l5
PRIMARY ToPIC-Jesus Pleasing the
Heavenly Father
JUNIOR ToPIC-Baptism and Tempta-
ton of Jesus
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Jesus Overcoming Temptation.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
Victory Over Appetite. Pride and Am
bition.
!. The Baptism Of Jesus g :13-17).
While the forerunner was discharg-
Ing his office. the King emerged from
his seclusion at Nazareth and de-
manded baptism at Johns hands. The
incongruity Of this with the purpose
of baptism brought from John a pro-
test, but Jesus explanation was salts
factory, SO John baptized him. Touch
Ing Christs baptism. note:
1. Its significance. q) Negatively.
(a) 1t did not mean his own obedi-
ence to the commandment Of God, be-
cause his entire life had been lived
entirely within the will of God. Not
moment in his entire life but what
was lived entirely in accordance with
the Fathers will. (b) Not because he
had sin. for he was absolutely siness.
harmless, undefied. separate from
sinners. This separation was so com
plete that even the devil could find no
occasion against him John IA :3O).
Fec eirr
found in harmony with the central
purpose of his coming into the world,
which was to secure for his people
salvation through death, burial and
resurrection.
.. Approval from the opened
heavens wv. 16. I'D. Immediately
following his conservation to his work.
the heavens were opened and the
Spirit came and abode upon him. fol
lowed by words of approval from the
Father. These all were essential for
the work upon which Christ now en-
tered-revelation (heavens opened),
inspiration (dove abode upon him),
| and approval (words from the Fa-
ther).
II. The Temptation Of Jesus t4:i-
~.
This temptation was the opening
battle of the dreadful conflict between
Christ and Satan. In this struggle,
| note:
1. The combatants. (1) Jesus Christ,
| the Divine Man. now entering upon
his mediatorial work. He went imme-
| diately from the place of amounting
and heavenly recognition as the Son
| of God to meet the arch-enemy Of the
| race. (2) The devil. He was a real
person filled with cunning and malice
2. The battle ground-the Wilder
ness Of Judea. The first man was
tempted In a garden with the most
pleasant surroundings and failed the
| second man was tempted in a bare
wilderness and gloriously triumphed.
3. The method Of attack. Since as
| our Redeemer Christ sustains a three
fold relationship, Son of Man. Son OF
God and as Messiah, each one was
made ground of attack. Q) AS Son
of Man. This was test of the reality
of his humanity to demonstrate as to
whether the humanity which he OBJ
talned through the Virgin birth was
real. The appeal was made to the
instinct Of hunger. Hunger is nat
ural and slnless. Having been forty
days and nights without food. as
normal man, Christ had a craving ap-
petite. While the appetite was not
sinful. to have satisfied it in a wrong
way would have been sin. (2) Son OF
God. 1t was to test as to whether
this personality which had taken upon
Itself humanity. was divine. The
devil quoted from a Messianic Psalm
to get him to presume upon Gods
care. God does care for his own. but
to neglect common precaution-to do
the uncaled for thing just to put
Gods promise to a test is to sin and
fall. (3) AS Messiah. Christs mis-
sion as Messiah was to recover this
world from the devil. Now the devil
offers to surrender to him on the sim
pie condition that he adopt his
method, thus obviatinG the necessity
of the cross. The kingdoms were
really Christ's. and he knew that they
would ultimately become his. The
inducement was TO get immediate pos
session without the sufferings of the
cross.
4. The defense-the Word of God.
Christ met the enemy each time and
repulsed him with sit is written"
Each time he quoted from Deuter-
onomy. the book which the higher
critics would discredit as reliable.
s. The issue-the enemy is COM
pletely routed.