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THE KING’S BUSINESS
o f God which taketh away the sin o f the world.” Prayer .—Two or three short sentences! that outward cleansing shall always help the children remember what the Lord Jesus came to do. Plan your time that this prayer shall conclude the lesson.
beautiful white dove come down from heaven to Jesus; but John and the Lord Jesus knew it was the Spirit o f God. When the Lord Jesus went away from the River Jordan, He went to do His Father’s will. Many o f those people learned to know, as you and I have, just what John the Bap tist meant when he said, “Behold the Lamb
-------------- O ------------- Jesus Begins His Work JANUARY 13, 1918. LESSON II. Mark 1:12-20. Parallel passages: Matt. 4:1-22; Luke -4:1-15; 5:1-11. G olden T ext : “ Repent ye, and believe the gospel.”—Mark 1:15.
LESSON EXPOSITION
him, not one escaped (See Rom. 3:10, 23; 5:8, 12, 18; Gal. 3:10, 13). Jesus who was to be the head o f the new race—the race o f twice-born men—men born again by the operation o f the Holy Spirit through faith in His name, was attacked by Satan in the vain hope that He might be seduced and fail, as Adam had failed. No one o f us was ever tempted as severely as He was, for never were such tremendous issues at stake. It was fitting, then, that after His baptism with the Holy Spirit He should he tempted. II. Jesus Preaching the Gospel, vv. 14, 15. It was more than a year after His temp tation that Jesus “came into Galilee preach ing the Gospel o f the kingdom.” Only John records that early ministry in Judea, and the wedding at Cana in Galilee^ John was imprisoned by Herod in the Castle o f Machaerus, east o f the Dead Sea, and Jesus then took tip His own mission. John must decrease and He must increase, as the morning star before the sun. That first year, A. D. 27, is well named the year o f obscurity. The year that He inaugurated with the preaching in Galilee, A. D. 28, is the year o f popularity. Not John’s unfaith fulness, but his faithfulness, landed him behind prison bars, and ultimately lost him his head (See Heb. 12:6; Rev. 2:10). Jesus presented to the Galileans the offer o f the kingdom that He would establish
Lesson connection : Recall the principal events o f last Sunday’s lesson by question ing the pupils. The first incident in today’s lesson follows immediately on the closing incident o f last Sunday’s lesson. I. Jesus Defeating Satan, vv. 12, 13. Satan is a real person, according to the inspired Word. It never speaks o f him as an influence or a figure o f speech. He is represented as being a person o f promi nence (see Jude 8, 9; Eph. 2 :2 ; John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4 :4 ) ; a person possessing great power and cunning (Eph. 6:11, 12; 2 Thess. 2:9, 10; 2 Cor. 11:14). Temptation is a real experience. It is an every-day fact in the life o f every man. and our Lord taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” To believe one’s self immune is the best preparation for being overcome. Only through temptation can character be developed, as surely as that only through exercise can muscles be developed. t Jesus was tempted or otherwise He could not be our sympathizing brother, understanding our case, and knowing how to deliver us. Because He overcame, we are assured o f victory (See Heb. 4:15, 16; 1 Cor. 10:13; 1 Peter 1:5-7; Jude 24). Jesus was tempted that He might undo what Adam had done. Standing as the head o f the human race Adam was tempted and fell, and dragged us all down with
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