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31. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon him.

33. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

32. And John bare record (Am. R., " witness"). We must remember that John was still speaking in the presence of the Pharisaic delegation, of things that took place several weeks before when Jesus was baptized by him. The forty weeks of the temptation in the wilderness intervened.

The Witness of the Spirit at the Baptism of Jesus. I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. Luke adds (Am. R.) that the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee am I well pleased. These were the signs that bore witness to Jesus as the Messiah, and John goes on to say how he knew.

33. He that sent me to baptize with (Am. R., " in ") water, The Lord, the Holy Spirit, who had raised him up to be the forerunner of the Messiah, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining (Am. R., “abiding") on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost (Am. R.," in the Holy Spirit "). Luke adds, and with fire. Baptism means cleansing, and fire means warmth. How can warmth cleanse? The answer is that moral warmth does cleanse. No heart is pure that is not passionate; no virtue is safe that is not enthusiastic, and such enthusiastic virtue Christ was to introduce." Ecce Homo.

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This witness of John has been confirmed by all the Christian centuries. "In affirming that the Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit, and that this is what distinguishes the Christ, the Baptist steps on to ground where his affirmations can be tested by experience." Exp. Greek Test.

The gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the first and most manifest expression of this power which Christ gave, and which has been with the church in various degrees down all the Christian ages.

The effect of this gift of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles was a wonderful change in them. It was almost a transfiguration experience. So the dead wire is thrilled with electricity, and bursts out into light and power. They were common men no longer. As Mosheim says, "Their ignorance was turned into light, their doubts into certainty, their fears into a firm and invincible fortitude, and their former backwardness into an ardent and inextinguishable zeal."

There came a wonderful power upon the people, causing three thousand of them to become disciples in one day. Such a power has been often felt since, and nothing can account for it but the presence of the Holy Spirit.

There could be no mistake about this being a divine power. The effects produced prove this. Nothing less than divine power could have so changed the disciples from common men to men able to "turn the world upside down," and change the whole course of history. Nothing less than divine power could have wrought such changes in the lives and moral character of such great numbers.

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THE LESSON IN ART.

St. John the Evangelist, by Dolce, Correggio, Memling. St. Peter, by Bartolommeo,* Thorvaldsen. Peter and John, by Dürer.* Christ and Philip, by Bonifazio.* Calling of Peter and Andrew, by Barocci. Philip and James, by Memling.

THE LESSON IN LITERATURE.

Edward Everett Hale's Ten Times One Is Ten. Trumbull's Individual Work for Individuals. Prof. Henry van Dyke's Fisherman's Luck. Prof. Wm. H. Thomson's Parables and Their Home, "The Parable of the Leaven."

35. Again, the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples; 36. And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

37. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

I. TWO OF JOHN THE BAPTIST'S DISCIPLES HAVE AN INTERVIEW WITH JESUS, vs. 35-39. It was the day after our last lesson. John the Baptist was still preaching and baptizing east of the Jordan at Bethabara (Bethany), 25 miles southeast of Jesus' home at Nazareth. The crowds were still gathered around the Baptist," who chained the hearts of men as by a spell."

What was the secret of this power? The answer is given by Frederick W. Robertson the famous Brighton preacher in the first volume of his Sermons:

I. "Men of thought and quiet contemplation exercise a wonderful influence over men of action." "His ministry was a ministry of terror. He terrified them with pictures of eternal woe. He made them conscious of their sin and danger which awakened their consciences.'

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3. "Men felt that John was real. His religion was not one of externals or forms. His speech falls from him sharp, rugged, cutting,a word and no more, 'Repent!''Wrath to come Offspring of vipers' 'The axe is laid at the foot of the tree'-'Fruitless trees will be cast into the fire.' He spoke as men speak when they are in earnest, in words that needed no magnifying glass to read."

A Methodist minister was once criticised for preaching in so loud a voice. He replied, I am not singing lullabies; I am blasting rocks.

John's work was to break through the crust of self-righteousness and indifference, and compel men to see their need of forgiveness and of a new life; to awaken the conscience to realize.

"O my offence is rank, it smells to heaven !"

To hear "the laughter of the soul at itself."
To feel with Eugene Aram in his dream,

"I knew my secret then was one

The earth refused to keep,

Or land or sea, though he should be
Ten thousand fathoms deep.

To join with Lady Macbeth, little hand."

"And lo! the universal air

Seemed lit with ghastly flame;
Ten thousand thousand dreadful eyes
Were looking down in blame.'

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"all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this

The time had now come when John had prepared the way sufficiently for Jesus to begin his ministry. He must first secure some persons to believe in him. The natural place to look for these first disciples would be among the followers of John, those who had repented and confessed their change of life by baptism, whom John would naturally point to Jesus when he saw him.

35. Again, the next day after. Four successive days are noticed: (1) vs. 19-27; (2) v. 29; (3) V. 35; (4) v. 43. John stood at some interval of his preaching. (Am. R., was standing.") And two of his disciples. Andrew (v. 40), and doubtless the apostle John, who writes this account. (So nearly all commentators.)

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36. Jesus at this time was walking near by, somewhat separate from the crowd. John looking, the verb implies a fixed earnest gaze, upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! (Am. R.," Behold, the Lamb of God.") The day before he had added, "Which taketh away the sin of the world." He was the fulfilment of the types of the Passover Lamb and the daily sacrifice for sin; the atoning sacrifice of infinite love. So that they could say with David of old, "Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow"; and," Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." Jesus is the Son of God," who shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit "the giver of life, "and with fire," that burns up impurities.

"Of all things far, I love the best
The distance from the east to west,
For by that space, and all within,
God's mercy parts me from my sin.

"I love, of deep things undefiled,
A father's pity for his child;
For by that depth, so far, so clear,
God pities all that faint and fear."
Amos R. Wells.

Their

37. And they followed Jesus. For here was what their souls needed. repentance under John's preaching only made them feel more deeply the need of something more.

38. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted Master,) where dwellest thou?

39. He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day for it was about the tenth hour.

40. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

38. Then Jesus, aware of their purpose, and glad to make their coming welcome, turned, and saw them.. saith... What seek ye? This is the first recorded word of Jesus in his ministry. What seek ye? This question is the test of every man's life. For what port are you steering over the sea of life? What is your aim, your purpose, that controls your living? The first business of every young man is a clear vision of what principles he will adopt, what ideal he places before himself; and then to act upon them, as Paul said of himself, " I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." It may be laid down as a general principle, not only that whosoever seeketh shall find, but also that they shall find what they seek, seek first, as the main purpose of their lives; not all they seek for, but of the kind they seek for. The answer each person makes to this question both tests and determines his character and his destiny. What is the aim and purpose of your life Jesus, the Kingdom of

39. Come and see.

God, goodness, usefulness, or selfishness, worldly success, money, pleasure? They said unto him, Rabbi. "A Jewish title of honor, and equivalent to the Greek word' Master' or Teacher.'". New Century Bible. Where dwellest thou? Implying that they would like to talk with him, and discuss the problems which were arising in their minds. (Am. R., "Come, and ye shall see.") A welcome Jesus extends to all who wish to go to him. And a promise that they shall not come in vain. They came and saw, and abode with him that day . . . it was about the tenth hour, i.e. about four o'clock P.M., according to Jewish reckoning from sunrise to sunset; or ten o'clock A.M., according to the Roman reckoning, which is the one we now use, counting from midnight and midday. Both forms were in use at that time in Palestine. But authorities are divided as to which was used by John throughout his Gospel. Professor Dods and others insist that the tenth hour was counted from sunrise, and therefore the two disciples went to Jesus' abiding place at 4 o'clock in the afternoon; which makes it difficult for Andrew and John to "abide with him that day," and yet to go and find Simon Peter, and bring him back to Jesus that same day. Moreover it makes it almost impossible to reconcile John 19: 14 with the statements of the other Gospels.

On the other hand, Dr. Muir in the Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, argues strongly for John's use of the Roman method of counting the hours from Midnight, and from Noon. In this case the disciples went to Jesus' home at 10 o'clock in the morning, and there was plenty of time for all that was recorded on that day. Moreover John was in Ephesus when he wrote his Gospel, where they would be likely to use Roman time. He had been present at all the events connected with the trial and crucifixion of Jesus as given in the other Gospels. He could not contradict those statements. So that it seems impossible that he should have done otherwise than use a different system of reckoning, and his 6th hour (19: 14) was not 12 o'clock but the same hour as the other Gospels record.

The Result, as appears from what follows, was that they were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, and were filled with the impulse to spread the good news. Abiding with Jesus. This interview was not the end, but only the beginning of a life-long abiding with Jesus, which transformed their hearts and lives.

"Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;

But, as thou dwell'st with thy disciples, Lord,

Never again was life the same to them.

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II. ANDREW BRINGS HIS BROTHER PETER TO JESUS, vs. 40-42. BROTHERHOOD OF ST. ANDREW. 40. One of the two was Andrew, who belonged to Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee (v. 44), but he resided afterwards at CaperThe greatest act of his life was bringing his brother Peter to Jesus.

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41. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

42. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is, by interpretation, A stone.

The other of these two who were the first disciples of Jesus was doubtless St. John. 41. He first (adjective) findeth his own brother. Am. R., "He findeth first" (adverb). There is good authority for both. If the adjective first be the true reading, "it means that of the two who followed Jesus, Andrew was the first to find his brother and bring him to Jesus, while the unnamed later found his brother, who could be no other than James the son of Zebedee." In this case there were four who joined Jesus that day as disciples.

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We have found the Messias

the Christ. Messias is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew word Messiah, which is the same as the Greek Christ, both meaning anointed,' ""the anointed one." It was by anointing that kings and priests were set apart for their work. The Messiah was the king, high priest, deliverer, long promised and foretold, and for whom the Jews were eagerly looking.

The famous Greek Mathematician Archimedes was set to work by the King of Syracuse on the "Crown Problem" to find out whether the artist who made his crown had cheated him by mixing alloy with the pure gold. It was a hard problem, and puzzled even this wise man, till one day in taking his bath he noticed that the water ran over, and that suggested that by putting the crown in a vessel of water, and then an equal amount of gold, he could know whether the gold had been enlarged by alloy.

He was so overjoyed that he forgot his clothes, and rushed into the street shouting "Eureka," " Eureka,' ""I have found it."

So when John and Andrew had found the Messiah, their hearts leaped with joy, and they could not refrain from telling others of a discovery more precious than all the gold in the world.

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42. Jesus beheld him, as if looking into his very soul. Thou art Simon. That is your present name. Son of Jona. The true reading is “John" (as in the Am. R.). Thou shalt be called Cephas. Cephas is Aramaic Syriac (Aram is one name for Syria), the modernized form of the Hebrew language, commonly used in Palestine at that time. By interpretation, A stone. Better as in Am. R., " Peter," which (Petros) is the Greek for "stone," or "rock." This was a prophecy of Peter's future life and career. Whatever thou art now, thou shalt win the name Peter. It expressed the possibilities within him. It became his true name after much instruction, hard experiences, some falls, much prayer, and abiding with Jesus.

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Development of Peter. Jesus showed true insight into Peter's nature. generous, frank, good-hearted, yet also "hot-headed, impulsive, rash, unstable to outward appearance; but beneath the foam and moving waves on the surface lay a deep and abiding sea. Beneath the shifting sands of impulse lay the solid rock of a possible character that nothing could move from its firm foundation. Jesus saw the true nature and possibilities of Peter, and Peter knew that Jesus had found him. The prophecy would help Peter to reach the ideal, to bring his deeper nature into control of his outward life, to keep up hope amid many failures and discouragements, and become a new man, whose very weaknesses would help the cause, and whose strength and faith would fit him to be a foundation stone of the city of God. The new name

"Came bearing prophecy,

Commissioned sweetly to unfold

A Possible to thee.

And God shall make divinely real
The highest forms of thy ideal."

And Peter won his name at last. The soft stone was changed to rock.
Peter says to us, with all encouragement,

"Whatever obstacles control

Thine hour will come; go on, true soul,
Thou'lt win the prize, thou'lt reach the goal."

The Brotherhood of St. Andrew is an organization of laymen in the Episcopal churches of America, England, and other countries. Its sole object is the spread of Christ's kingdom among men, especially young men and boys. It was begun 34 years ago by a Bible class of 12 young men, who agreed to follow the example set by St.

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