Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1924-07-17
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS

LESSON TExT--MRrk l:1-l1.
| GOLDEN TExT--.sThoa art my be-
loved Son, in whom am well pleased.
! Mark iii. ss. SAlad
A. PRIMARY. ToPlc--Jesas Please HIS
JUNIOR Top1c.-John aaa J.sus -
INTERMEDIATR AND SENIOR TOR
| IC-Jesps DedlcAtes His lAfe. v
xO1}Na PnOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
The Meaninss rs RHptism. a n
In order to appreciate the lesson
for today one should have an under
j standing Of the purpose Of the Gospel
/, according to Mark In the Old Tesla
ment lie set forth an august portrait
of Jesus Christ Who is the Branch,
the King (Jer. 23:5). the Branch, the
Servant Czech. 3:S), the Branch, the
Man Czech. 6.12), the Branch Of Je-
hoyah Elsa. Ar. The four-fold &C
count of the Gospels placed alongside
OF these predictions Ats exactly. Mat
| thew exhibits Him as the Promised
King, Mark as the Servant Of Jc-
hoyah, Luke as the Man Redeemer
and John as the Son OF God. The
theme of Mark is the Gospel of Je-
hovahs Servant tChap. 1:1). The key
verse Is 10.45, and the key words. are
"straightway." forthwith" "immedi-
ately." ~, u ~ egts 4sse8 Aaa
1. Who the Servant 10 ". ~.
Jesus Christ, the Son Of God"
Jesus means Saviour. Christ means
| Amounted This Servant who 80 fully
and completely obeys Gods will Ia
none other than Gods Son.
II. The Servants Forerunner (vv.
2-S).
/. Who He Was (vv. 2-3). He was
John the Baptist. His mission was to
prepare the way for Gods Servant.
He was prophesled concerning more
than five hundred years before he
came Elsa. 40:3).
2. His Message wv. 3-S).
ID Prepare the Way of the Lord"
". 81. This means to remove from
your hearts everything which hinders
the incoming Of the Lord to break
down the high places of pride and to
straighten out the crooked places, not
only to confess your sins, but to give
substantial evidence Of repentance.
~ Baptism of Repentance for
the Remission of Sins" ". A. In
preparation for the coming of Christ
the people were to repent and those
who repented were to be baptized.
Baptism was administered to those
who repented as an expression of the
penitence which led to the forgiveness
of sin.
(3) The Coming Of Christ wv. 7,
81. This coming was to be much
greater than that of John. This
superior dignity was not only in His
person but In the work He was to
perform. John baptized with water,
but Jesus was to be the baptizer with
the Holy Ghost.
8. His Success ". 81. People from
all over Judea and from Jerusalem
went out and were baptized. Johns
dress and demeanor were in keeping
with his stern mission. His food and
dress Indicated that he had withdrawn
from the world as a protest against
its folies and sins. sssHR iNst'
III. The Baptism Of the Servant
(vv. 91D. = 500
While the forerunner was discharg-
Ing his Office Jesus emerged from his
seclusiOn at Nazareth and demanded
baptism at Johns hands. saa
/. Its Significance.
Negatively. 1t was not because He
had sinned for He was absolutely sin
less, harmless. undefiled. separate
from sinners. This separation was so
complete that even the Devil could
find no occasion against Him. (John
IA :30).
Positively. It's significance is found
In harmony with the purpose of His
coming into the world, which was to
secure for His people salvation through
death and resurrection. This act was
His official entrance upon His work. 1t
was an act of conservation on his
part to the work of SAYING His peo-
pie through sacrifice. While baptism
is sinners ordinance, He was hap
tized, not because He had sinned. but
because He took the place of sinners.
He was so devoted to them that He
entered upon His mission by submit
ting to the ordinance which typified
death and resurrection. In this He
who knew no SIN was made sin for
US that we might be made the right
eousness of God In Him I'll Cor. sgd.
2. Approval From the Open Heavens
wv. 10, 11), Immediately following
His conservation to His work the
heavens were opened and the Spirit !
came and abode upon Him. followed
by the words Of approval from the
Father. All these were essential for
the work upon which He now en-
tered.