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enter upon his work in the summer of A.D. 26, six months before Jesus entered upon the scene, bore witness that Jesus the expected Messiah was coming, and was near at hand. John's preaching aroused great interest among the people, a real religious revival.

At the end of about six months at the beginning of A.D. 27, Jesus left his Nazareth home, and came to the banks of the Jordan where John was baptizing the people who repented of their sins and wished to live the better life. Here Jesus himself was baptized by John in the Jordan," and Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:16, 17.)

Immediately after this Jesus went out into the wilderness where for 40 days he was tempted of the devil. When he had gained the victory he returned to the place where John was baptizing. It was at this time that John bore the witness referred to in verse 15, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me was preferred before me, see v. 27.

16. What follows is spoken by the apostle John, and is connected with verse 14. Of his fulness, his inexhaustible store of grace and truth, which belong to the Son of God; a fountain forever flowing; a sun forever shining. Not a millionth part of the rays of the sun shines upon this earth. The fulness is of every kind of blessing like the three thousand colors in the white light of the sun. Have all we received. The fulness is for everyone, at all times, if they will open their minds and hearts to receive it. We know what this fulness is by experience; we have felt his love, his forgiving love; we have received his grace in our hearts; we have seen his loving deeds; we have heard his gracious words; we received his gift of Pentecost; his graces have begun to grow in our hearts; we have been transformed by him.

Illustration. In the Norse legends, Thor was given a drinking-horn, which he vainly tried to drink dry. He afterward learned that it was connected with the ocean, and he would have had to drink all the water of the world before he could have emptied the cup.

And grace for grace. Either (1) grace given to his children, corresponding to each grace in his own nature, love like his love, purity like his purity, the same loveliness of character, the same fruits of the Spirit,

"Till we, too, change from grace to grace,

Gazing on that transfigured face."

Or (2) ever and anon fresh grace appears over and above that already received." Exp. Gk. Test. New graces are added that were scarcely known before, and the graces that had been small and undeveloped, grow larger, fuller, more beautiful and useful, as flowers grow from bud to blossom, from a small bush to a tree, from common forms and colors to those exquisitely beautiful and fragrant.

How we Gain Grace for Grace. "In the Royal Gallery at Dresden may be often seen a group of connoisseurs, who sit for hours before a single painting. They walk around those halls whose walls are so eloquent with the triumphs of art, and they come back, and pause again before that one masterpiece. Weeks are spent yearly in the study of that one work of Raphael, with its matchless forms. In our picture gallery of Bible characters we may study many beauties of form and feature, but for the masterpiece we must return continually to our Lord Jesus Christ.”· Prof. Austin Phelps in The Still Hour.

How we may Grow in Grace. "Years ago in a Roman palace there hung a beautiful picture, upon which crowds went to gaze. Among them a young painter unknown to fame went daily to look upon it, until his soul was refreshed by its beauty, and a great longing came into his heart to copy it, but he was sternly refused permission. He returned repulsed, but not discouraged. Day and night its beauty haunted him. Copy it he must. Daily he came to the palace, coming early and leaving late, and, sitting before the picture gazed upon it till it grew into him, and became part of himself, and one day he hurried home to his easel and began to paint. Each day he came and gazed at the picture, and then went home and reproduced bit by bit, unweariedly, patiently, something of its beauty. Each fresh day's look corrected the last day's faults, and as he toiled his power grew, and his hidden genius blazed out. Months after in that humble studio there stood such a wonderful copy of the Vatican picture that those who saw it could not rest until they had seen the beautiful original." Our Own Magazine.

17. The Jews hitherto had received much. The law was given by (through) Moses and this had done very much for them, but much greater help and power, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, who revealed many things that were but dimly seen or were unknown before; and still more gave new life, new power, a fuller power of the Holy Spirit. The twilight of dawn had burst into the full light of Day.

"Faster, and more fast,

O'er Night s brim, Day boils at last;
Boils, pure gold, o'er the cloud-cup's brim,
Where spurting and supprest it lay-
For not a froth-flake touched the rim
Of yonder gap in the solid gray

Of the eastern cloud, an hour away;

But forth one wavelet, then another, curled,
Till the whole sunrise, not to be supprest,
Rose, reddened, and its seething breast
Flickered in bounds, grew gold, then overflowed
the world!"

Jesus the Revealer of our Heavenly Father. 18. No man hath seen God at any time. It is impossible for our bodily eyes to see a spirit. No man ever saw the soul even of his nearest friend. The only way one can know him is by means of what the soul does. It expresses what he is by means of his bodily actions. So when Moses asked God, "I beseech thee, shew me thy glory," the Lord (Jehovah) replied, "Thou canst not see my face, for man shall not see me and live," Ex. 33: 18-20. (In Gen. 32: 30; Deut. 5: 24; Isa. 65, what was seen was some special manifestation of God.) We see God in his works, in his providences, in his miraculous deliverances, his guidance of the world, his answers to prayer.

When in trouble or doubt men long to see God. There was no better answer in Job's time than the one God gave to him, by showing his infinite power, knowledge, wisdom, and goodness; and saying to Man, Look at these works of mine, which you can see and touch; see my manifold wisdom, manifested in a thousand ways; see how good I am in ministering to the happiness of all living things; see how strong I am to guide the stars in their courses; see how vast I am, that none can escape my ken and care; see my knowledge that rules all nature's complicated machinery - if these things are so in that which you can see, can you not trust me in those which you cannot see and understand.

"I know not where his islands lift
Their fronded palms in air,

I only know I cannot drift
Beyond his love and care."
Whittier," The Eternal Goodness."

But there is one better answer for us than, - The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him, and in the answer of Jesus to Philip in John 14:9, 10, He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father; and The Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works.

We see Jesus the perfect man, we listen to his perfect teaching, we walk with him as he works miracles of healing and help which only God can do, transforms publicans and sinners into saints, with heroic passion for righteousness smites with the sword of his mouth the Apollyons of selfishness and sin, shows the divinest love by giving his life for sinners, and by his resurrection from the dead. Mr. Lecky says that he "has not only been the highest pattern of virtue, but the highest incentive to its practice. . . . The simple record of three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and to soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosophers, and than all the exhortations of moralists. This has, indeed, been the wellspring of whatever has been best and purest in the Christian life." Hist. European Morals.

Whoever sees Jesus as he was and is, has seen God. It is therefore a most blessed privilege to study the Gospels, till they are written indelibly on our hearts, and in our lives, and we receive the blessing Jesus promised: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

II. JOHN BEARS WITNESS TO A DELEGATION OF THE PHARISEES THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, vs. 19–28. Let the class read these verses

in dialogue form. On Jesus' return victorious from the temptation in the wilderness, he came to Bethabara, and apparently mingled with the crowds who were listening to the preaching of John. This was the natural way of his being introduced to the people.

During the previous six or seven months while John was preaching and baptizing the penitent ones and announcing the coming of the Messiah vast crowds gathered to hear him, and there naturally arose a questioning as to whether John himself might not be the Messiah they were expecting to deliver them from their subjection to the Roman power, and establish the Jews as an independent kingdom in which should be fulfilled all the glorious promises of the prophets. Read Isaiah 40, 54, 60.

19. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

23. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

24. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

The Pharisees heard of these things and they sent a delegation to John to inquire what was the truth.

19. And this is the record (Gk., the witness, the testimony) of John when this delegation asked him, Who art thou?

READINGS IN CHARACTER.

PRIESTS FROM JERUSALEM (to John).

"Who art thou?"

JOHN. "I am not the Christ" (the expected Messiah).

PRIESTS.

"What then? Art thou Elijah?" (Promised in Mal. 4: 5, 6.) JOHN. "I am not." [Because the Jews expected Elijah in person, and not merely in spirit and power (Matt. 17 : 10).]

PRIESTS. "Art thou the prophet?" (Promised in Deut. 18: 15.)

JOHN. "No."

PRIESTS. "Who art thou?

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JOHN. "I am the voice of one crying in the Wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord."

PHARISEES (who expected the Messiah). "Why, then, baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ ?"

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JOHN. I baptize with water; in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose . . He that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost - the Son of God."

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23. Í am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He was the fulfilment of a prophecy well known to them, first spoken of the return from the Babylonian exile to Palestine, a symbol and prophecy of the preparations for the coming of Christ. John is called a voice because (1) he was the utterer of God's thought. (2)" The whole man was a sermon." (3) He called attention not to himself, but to his message, as does every true preacher and teacher. (4) Himself weak and insignificant, like words, sound, motion in the air, he yet produced a mighty effect on the souls of men. In the wilderness. A pathless, fruitless waste, which " fitly symbolizes the spiritual condition of the Messiah's people." - Exp. Greek Test.

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Make straight the way of the Lord. "In the mountain regions, the washing of the hillsides by the heavy winter rains destroys, each year, a large portion of the best-laid roads. In the desert region the shifting sands, and in the more fertile regions the abundant growth of weeds and shrubbery, make Eastern roads well-nigh impassable, unless care is exercised for their frequent or special clearing. In many parts of the East the ancient roads were prepared or repaired only at the special call of the king, for his special service on an exceptional occasion." H. C. Trumbull, D.D. The Voice that Comes to us To-day. "6 Prepare ye the way of the Lord." (1) Fill up the valleys, the sins of omission, defects of prayer, of faith, of love, of work. (2) Bring down the mountains of pride, sin, selfishness, unbelief, worldliness. (3) Straighten out all crooked places, crooked dealings with others, crooked ways of sin, settle difficulties, confess sins. (4) Smooth the rough places, the harshness of temper and manner, the lack of courtesy, the coldness, the fault-finding, which are the little foxes that spoil the vines.

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25. Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that (Am. R., “ the ") Christ, nor Elias, Gk. form of Elijah, neither that (Am. R., " the ") prophet, the one expected (Deut. 18: 15). If John was not the Messiah, nor the divinely promised Elijah and prophet, what right had he to call men to repentance, and ask them, the Jews, to join the kingdom of God by a rite used for proselytes in becoming members of the Jewish religion and nation? "The

26, 27. John answered them, saying, I baptize with (Am. R., "in") water. whole expression, ' Baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins,' denotes a Baptism which the penitent submitted to, that he might therein receive the pledge and as

26. John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27. He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

28. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

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surance that he was forgiven. The Baptism meant the cleansing of the people from past sin that they might be fitted for entrance on the kingdom.' Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels. The " I " is emphatic, "I" in distinction from the spiritual baptism of Christ, the One standing among you whom ye know not, do not recognize;

Shoes and Sandals, showing "Latchets.

who is so much greater than I that his shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. The latchet was the leather thong or string by which the shoe or sandal was bound to the foot, and the untying it was one of the most menial services one could do for another. As much as a prince was greater than his meanest slave, so much greater was Jesus than John.

One great value of the rite of Baptism is to give to the repentant a definite act to perform, one that symbolizes the real spiritual truth, and openly, publicly expresses their decision.

Note. Turn back to the statements quoted under The Teacher and his Class at the beginning of this lesson, and apply them to Decision Day in the Sunday school. If prepared for, signing pledge cards, and joining the church, have real and permanent value.

Two Beautiful Lessons for Modern Times.
First.

"Humility that low, sweet root

From which all heavenly virtues shoot."

Thomas Moore.

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'Humility is the lowliest of the virtues, and yet it is the divinest. Nothing so shows the greatness of the Baptist as his lowliness in declining human honor and praise." -J. R. Miller. A few days ago two men were candidates for a position of high honor and emolument. One of them asked the people to vote for his competitor because he was the man best fitted for the place.

Second. "We should be sure that we are really a voice, with a message from God. Too many lives stand for nothing, declare nothing to others, make no impression, of cheer, of beauty, of holiness. We should be a voice with an unmistakable note, a voice that shall be heard wherever we go, whose sound will make men happier, stronger, braver, more like God, and that shall prepare the way for Christ into men's

hearts." J. R. Miller.

III. THE WITNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, vs. 28-34. These things, reported above, were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan (Am. R., "Bethany "). Not the Bethany of Martha and Mary on the Mount of Olives; but in some one of the places on the eastern bank of the Jordan, as at the crossing about 12 miles south of the outlet of the Sea of Galilee, or near the mouth of the river Jabbok half way between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, or near the fords of the Jordan. Bethabara "House of the Ford"; Bethany "House of Dates," may have been adjoining villages, or different names of the same village. For instance, my home is Newton," and in " Auburndale," which is "Ward IV of the city of Newton." Any one of the three names would state the truth.

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29. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

30. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

29. The next day after John's witness to the delegation from the Pharisees. John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith to the assembled people, Behold the Lamb of God. The point of the comparison with " the Lamb is not in character (as innocence, meekness, patience) but in office." - Maclaren. His completion of his

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66

The Testimony of John the Baptist.

work was to make atonement for sin, by his sacrificial death, by which he taketh away the sin of the world. To bear away sin is to remove the guilt and punishment of sin by expiation, or to cause that sin be neither imputed nor punished." - Thayer's Greek English Lex. (1) The work of Christ is to do this for the whole world, till all its sin is removed, and this sinful world is changed into the sinless Paradise Regained. (2) Jesus provides redemption enough for all the world. (3) He pardons past sin, so that it is no longer remembered by him, but is blotted out forever. (4) He is actually removing sin from the world. Wherever he comes, sin is in the process of removal from each heart that accepts him, and from the community.

"Every tiger madness muzzled, every serpent passion killed,
Every grim ravine a garden, every blazing desert till'd.

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Might we not in glancing heavenward on a star so silver fair,

Yearn, and clasp the hands, and murmur, would to God that we were there?"
- Locksley Hall, sixty years after.

30. In this verse John refers back to what he had said the day before, and with Jesus present among the people he declares that here is the man of whom he was speaking yesterday.

31. In this verse John says that at first he did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah whom it was his work to make manifest, that is to bring him to the notice of the people, by baptizing with water.

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