T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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OCTOBER 15, 1922 THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST Golden Text: Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Mat. 3:2. LESSON TEXT Lu. 3:7-17. (Read Lu. 3:1-3; Mat. 11:2-19; Phil. 2:5-11.)
him, Master, what shall w e do? (13) And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. (14) And the soldiers likew ise demanded o f him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither ac cuse any falsely; and be content w ith your wages. (15) And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not; (16) John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with w ater; but one m ightier than I com - eth, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you w ith the H oly Ghost and with fire: (17) Whose fan is in his hand, and he w ill thoroughly purge his floor, and w ill gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he w ill burn with fire unquenchable. This event had been twice foretold. (Isa. 40:3-5; Mai. 3:1) “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.” John the Baptist was a Nazarite from his birth. He was a man sent from God — a Voice— a Finger Post— a friend of the Bridegroom— the greatest of the prophets— a bold, blunt, fearless, hon est, humble man. His miraculous birth, his strange dress and his penetrating message aroused the people, and the multitudes followed him. Israel needed a leader. National de cay had set in. The Jewish leaders had drifted into a chaotic condition. The Pharisees, like the mountains, filled with pride, were to be brought low. The Sadducees, like the valleys, filled with indifference, were to be filled. (Isa. 40:4) “Every valley shall he exalted, and every mountain and hill shall he made low; and the crooked shall he made straight, and the rough places plain.” The croked places— the lying, deceiv- ing, fraudulent practices of the publi cans —were to be uncovered and brought to the light.
(7) Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to com e? (8) Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repent ance, and begin not to say within yourselves. We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (9) And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree there fore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (10) And the People asked him, saying, What shall we do then? ( 1 1 ) He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and' he that hath meat, let him do likew ise. (12) Then came also pub licans to be baptized, and said unto Outline: (1) The Messenger, vs. 1-6. (2) The Message, vs. 7-9. (3) The Meaning, vs. 10-14. (4) The Messiah, vs. 15-17. Introduction: In the first chapter of Luke we have the story of the birth of John the Bap tist toward the close of the reign of Herod the Great. Thirty years have LESSON passed. Tiberius Cae- EXPOSITION sar is reigning and T. C. Horton Pontius Pilate is gov ernor of Judea. The child, John, is now a man thirty years old. He came according to prophecy. He was God’s chosen man for the day in which he lived. The call came to him in the solitude of the wilderness. It was definite, probably through some vision similar to that given to Moses and to Isaiah. God has always had His man for an emergency and the man has always been after God’s own fashion for the time and the conditions. (jl) THE MESSENGER, vs. 1-6. “ The Word of God came unto John.”
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