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13 Then cometh Jesus from | said unto him, Suffer it to be so Galilee to Jordan, unto John, now: for thus it becometh us to

to be baptized of him.

14 But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus, answering,

fulfil all righteousness. Then
he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was
baptized, went up straightway
out of the water: and, lo, the

15. To fulfil all righteousness; m fully to perform all our duties, so that no part of righteous obedience may be left unperformed; as much as to say, It becomes us to attend to every duty. It is my duty to be baptized; Un-it is your duty, appointed to you from heaven, to administer baptism. The question of superiority, or inferiority, must not interfere with appointed duty. JESUS is an example of ready® obedience to the divine will. Let us imitate his spirit.

his threshing floor. The threshing
floor was in some elevated part of the
field. It was of a circular form, thirty
or forty paces in diameter, having
the ground beaten down and levelled.
Compare Judges 6: 37-40. || Gar-
ner; granary, storehouse.
quenchable fire; fire that will not be
put out, but which will make an utter
destruction. In reference to the fu-
ture punishment of the wicked, which
is manifestly here spoken of, this ex-
pression cuts off the hope of their
ever being relieved from it.
As par-
allel with vs. 10-12, compare Mark
1: 7, 8, and Luke 3: 9, 16, 17. Mark
expresses the thoughts in a briefer
form; Luke, with the same fulness
as we find in Matthew. We cannot
fail to NOTICE here, that certain and
awful destruction awaits the impeni-
tent; while to those who obey Christ
and trust in him there will be safety
and glory.

16. Out of the water. The preposition here translated out of has the more general signification of the word from, and would be suitable, whether the sacred writer meant to say that Jesus came out from the water, that is, from within the river to the shore; or, that he came from the water, that is, retired from the bank of the river to another place. This preposition, then, in itself, furnishes no decision 13. John, having borne such testi- in respect to the manner of the ordiemony to the superior dignity of the nance. But that the rendering out Messiah, as the Lord of the new dis- of is correct, appears from the facts, pensation, and as authorized to ad- that persons to be baptized went to a minister the honors and the punish-river; that the proper meaning of the ments pertaining to this long-expected word baptize is to immerse; and that reign of heaven, was now called to in Acts 8: 39, the preposition transan act at which we cannot be sur-lated out of is, in the original, the prised that he should experience unwonted emotion. From Galilee to Jordan. Mark says (19)," from Nazareth of Galilee; the place of the Saviour's abode after the return from Egypt. Matt. 2:23. The precise spot on the banks of the Jordan, where John was now occupied, is not stated. 14. Forbade him; sought to dissuade him. John declined perform ing this service, from a deep consciousness of his inferiority and unworthiness. John was a truly humble See John 3: 28, 30.

man.

very one which would be selected to
express the coming up out of the water,
after a person had been baptized. In
the case of Jesus, as in the instance
recorded in Acts 8: 39, it was after
he had been baptized that he came
up out of, or from, the water. || The
heavens were opened. Luke (3:21)
mentions the additional circumstance,
that Jesus was praying. What was
the appearance when the heavens
opened, cannot with certainty be
said. Probably, however, it was such
an appearance as the apparent part-

Mave

heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, ing of clouds by a flash of lightning. Like a dove. Luke says (3:22), "in a bodily shape like a dove;" a fit emblem of the pure and peaceful Spirit, whose influences rested so abundantly on Jesus, and which were to be so conspicuously manifested in the Messiah's dispensation. See Is. 61: 1-3. From John 1: 33, it appears that a visible descent of the Holy Spirit was the appointed token for making the Messiah fully known to John.

This dove-like manifestation of the Holy Spirit may well suggest to us the INQUIRY, whether we possess the pure and peaceful temper of mind, which the gospel enjoins and the Holy Spirit produces. Helmy 17. My beloved Son. The Son of God was one of the titles belonging to the Messiah, in virtue of his office. See John 1: 49. 11: 27. Rom. 1: 4. Pure It expresses the intimate relation he prisustains to God, and the consummate dignity of his office. This declaration, then, was an authoritative announcement from heaven, that Jesus, who had just been baptized, and who had been marked out to the by-standers (Luke 3: 21, 22) in so signal manner, by the lighting upon him of a dovee like object, was the long-expected Messiah. Let us INQUIRE of ourselves, Do we receive and obey him as the Son of God, our Redeemer and Lord?

A question has sometimes been raised, as to the design of Jesus, in receiving baptism from John. As Jesus was always perfectly holy, and as the baptism administered by John is called "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4), that is, baptism, which contains in it a declaration of serious purpose to forsake sin, to be holy in heart and life, and that with respect to obtaining the forgiveness of past sins, it is manifest that baptism administered to Jesus, could not have had

and lighting upon him:

17 And, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my the same significancy, in all points, as it had when administered to others.

Some have said, he received baptism as a ceremony, introducing him into the priestly office, since he was atly to be the high priest of his people. Corve But of such an intention, the Scriptures no where give any intimation; //. was nor is there any prescription in the ans Mosaic ritual, that high priests, at by rile entering upon their office, should be baptized. Even if such a ceremony had been introduced among the superstitions of the times subsequent to Moses, such an unauthorized observance would form no part of our Lord's righteousness or duty. Besides, "it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood." Heb. 7: 14. To him, then, even the prescribed observances respecting priests, would not necessarily be applicable.

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Others have represented the Sa-n viour's baptism as being a public in-quration auguration into his office as Messiah, his of Viewed as the first public act of his fie life in reference to the new dispensa- £2 tion, and viewed in connection with the voice from heaven, which announced him to the multitude as the Son of God, it did indeed answer the purpose of an introduction of him to his official work. And this thought may have been included in the language of John the Baptist, as recorded by John (1: 31): "That he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.' This public manifestation was, how-this at ever, rather an incidental matter, than the leading purpose to be accomplished by his being baptized. We would say, that his baptism was an event furnishing a favorable opportunity for a public announcement, rather than that the announcement was the grand object of his being baptized. In the passage of John just quoted

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and lighting upon him:
17 And, lo, a voice from
heaven, saying, This is my

the same significancy, in all points, as had when administered to others. Some have said, he received bapm as a ceremony, introducing him the priestly office, since he was e the high priest of his people. of such an intention, the Scrip

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beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

the phrase "baptizing with water," signifies the whole office of John the Baptist; as often a part is put for the whole. Thus regarded, this passage entirely harmonizes with all those representations which exhibit John's whole business, as a herald and baptizer, to be, making preparation for the Messiah.

in his proper place, if he had stood aloof from the baptized; and baptism received from John, the authorized administrator, was a part of his per- porenc sonal duty, just as prayer and other pla holy exercises were a part of his duty feet, As confirming this representation, it should be observed, that the original word translated repentance, in the ex

= there any prescription in the headreceive baptism from the hands of conveys the idea of a life of piety no where give any intimation; 13.weform On what principle, then, did Jesus pression "baptism of repentance,"

ritual, that high priests, at by rth by

upon their office, should be Even if such a ceremony n introduced among the sus of the times subsequent to ch an unauthorized obser ald form no part of our eousness or duty. Besides,

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nt that our Lord sprang or of which tribe Moses gconcerning priest7: 14. To him, then, ribed observances rewould not necessa

John? The reply of Jesus to John answers this inquiry" Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness;' & duty that is, it becomes us to fill up the -whole circle of our duties. To be lubet baptized was a part of duty, of holy obedience, which was at that time incumbent on every pious man, on every friend of God; and the neglect of baptism would have been a neglect of divinely-appointed duty. John Chad come with a commission from mission heaven (John 1: 33, Mark 11: 30), to Minor announce the approach of the MesGeneral. siah, to call the people to hearty reformation, and to separate, by the rite of baptism, those who should profess a serious purpose to forsake sin and to practise holiness. Baptism was the rite which was then to dis5tinguish those who in holy obedience were professing to hold themselves ready for the coming Messiah; and the true friends of God were to be found among the baptized. What, then, in these circumstances, was the duty of a man whose whole soul was now, and ever had been, devoted to God in true holiness? In what commpany ought Jesus to place himself? He was known already as a singularly

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much more prominently than the idea of sorrow and regret. True reformation of heart and life, true piety, is rather signified by the original word than sorrow.

In the new dispensation, also, baptism was to be an ordinance of perpetual obligation. As a part, then, of the example which he was to furnish for his followers, Jesus received the baptism which had respect to the new dispensation.

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But, though Jesus received bap-an tism as a righteous person, and as furnishing an example for his followers, yet it was proper that his baptism should not take place until the suitable time for his being publicly announced as the Messiah should have come, inasmuch as at his baptism a special token was to be given in attestation of his being the Messiah. Besides, Jesus lived at Nazareth, some distance from the principal scene of John's labors; and Jesus may have repaired to John very soon after the proclamation of John had excited attention in the neighborhood of Nazareth.

One thought more in regard to baptism. The evangelists represent

Marvellous man; and John was separating, baptism as administered by John, as

by the rite of baptism, those who professed a serious determination to lead a life of piety (Luke 3: 10-14); and baptism had been divinely appointed for those who professed to cherish a pious regard for the promises and the commands of God. In this view, though he had no sins to repent of and to abandon, and needed no forgiveness, yet he would not have been

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the baptism of repentance; that is, baptism, connected with, and imply-send ing, repentance. From Acts 19: 4, we learn, that, besides enforcing repentance, John directed the minds of his hearers to the Messiah, who was about to appear. Thus, in the baptism of John, there was not only, on the part of those who were baptized, a profession of repentance, but also a

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CHAPTER IV.
2 And when he had fast-
HEN was Jesus led up of ed forty days and forty nights,
the Spirit into the wilder- he was afterward an hunger-
ness to be tempted of the devil.

profession of holding themselves ready
to receive and obey the Messiah,
when he should appear. The bap-
tism of John, then, though it was but
the commencement of the new dis-
pensation, the twilight of the new
day, yet contained substantially the
elements of the ordinance as still fur-
ther developed and carried out by the
Isiflian
Messiah himself. After the Messiah
had performed all that it was necessary
tak for him to accomplish on earth, then
baptism, still retaining its connection
with repentance, was specially a
manifestation of true faith in him
that had come, and died, and had
call risen again. Rom. 6:3, 4. Now,
the Lord of this new dispensation
knew at first the design of baptism in
its full extent. It had not, when he
was baptized, been fully developed;
but as baptism was intended to con-
tain a reference to his own death, and
burial, and resurrection, how suitable
that, at the very beginning of his dis-
pensation, he should himself receive
the instructive and affecting ordi-
nance; and that, after he had died,
and had been raised up from the dead,
it should be known that he had re-
ceived the administration of an ordi-
nance, which, in its full meaning,
was to be significant of his death and
resurrection, and of the obligation of
his followers to become "dead to sin,"
and to arise to "newness of life"!

CHAPTER IV.

1. Jesus, having now been publicly proclaimed by a voice from heaven as the Messiah, may be regarded as entering upon his official work. But before actually engaging in the execution of it, he seems to have sought opportunity for long-continued fasting and devotion, as appropriate to the circumstances in which he then e was. For this purpose, he repaired to some of the solitudes in the wilderness of Judea. Such was, proba

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bly, a leading design of our Lord in
retiring to the wilderness. The Ho- fla
ly Spirit, under whose influence he
sought this opportunity for religious
abstinence and contemplation, had
the additional design of permitting
him to be tempted by Satan, that he
might signally foil the great adver-
sary at the outset, by a triumphant
resistance of his suggestions. For
Jesus was to be "in all points tempt-
ed like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb. 4: 15. Led up; influenced,
incited to go. Of the Spirit; by
the Holy Spirit. Luke 4: 1. || To
be tempted of the devil. We need not
suppose that Jesus retired to the wil-
derness for the sake of trying his
spiritual strength, by courting temp-
tation, or rushing into it uncalled.
His object was materially different;
namely, a special preparation for
commencing his official work, by
uninterrupted communion with his
Heavenly Father. But while en-
gaged in his own proper object, Satan
took advantage of his situation, to
tempt him. It was, however, as has
just been intimated, a part of the
Holy Spirit's design, that Jesus should
be subjected to the special tempta-
tions of the evil one, that he might
decidedly triumph over the great ad-
versary. Jesus, too, was probably
expecting an assault of this nature.

2. Fasted forty days and forty!
nights. This language does not neces-
sarily imply, that Jesus underwent a
total abstinence from food during the
space of time mentioned. The ex-
pressions are similar to the ordinary
method of speaking among the Jews.
Jesus was far away from the habita-
tions of men during that space of time,
and abstained from ordinary food; he
ate no bread, nor any of the articles
that were commonly used in families.
He might have subsisted upon such
articles as he could find in the wil-
derness-wild fruits, berries, roots,

3 And when the tempter came | Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

to him, he said, If thou be the

This mode of speaking may be illustrated by the manner in which we might speak of a person in a wasting sickness, or in deep affliction, without a relish for the common enjoyments or business of men, or for ordinary food. In conversation, we might say of such a person, He has eaten nothing for many a day.

But while the language does not render it positively certain that our Lord underwent an entire abstinence from food, it cannot, on the other hand, be shown that he did not wholly abstain from food of all kinds. Clearly, he might have been miraculously sustained; and at the end of the forty days, his natural appetite for food might have returned with distressing keenness, so that the temptation to obtain food by a miracle would be peculiarly powerful. || An hungered; the same as our modern word hungry.

herbs, honey-dew; thus scantily sustaining his animal nature, and giving his soul undisturbed opportunity for contemplation and communion with God, adapted to the extraordinary work which he had undertaken. A comparison of other passages of the Scriptures favors this view. In Esther 4: 16, the Jews were directed to fast, and neither eat nor drink, three days, night nor day, on account of their imminent danger. In Matt. 11: 18, John is said to have come neither eating nor drinking; yet we are informed in Matt. 3: 4, that he lived in a coarse and unusual manner, denying himself the ordinary comforts of life. By comparing Matt. 11: 18, with Luke 7: 33, we discover, that John's not eating nor drinking, means, not eating nor drinking the ordinary articles of food, living in a very selfdenying way. Just so the fast in Esther's time was probably an abstain- 3. And when the tempter came to ing from the ordinary way of living, him. Satan came to Jesus, probably so as to have as little time as possible in the same way that he comes to us; occupied in preparing and eating food, that is, by suggesting wrong thoughts and living in a manner corresponding to and proposals to our minds. the deeply-distressing circumstances language of Mark (1 : 13), and particu of the Jews; so that, in compari- larly that of Luke (4 : 2), intimate that son with the usual method of living, Satan was tempting Jesus during the they might well be said to be fasting forty days. Of all the particular for three days. We may regard our temptations presented, perhaps only Saviour as feeling all the natural con- the most signal and trying ones are sequences of so long an abstinence recorded; namely, those which were from ordinary food, and thus being presented at the close of the forty in a situation that would render the days. || He said. Matthew's repretemptation to create food a very pow-senting Satan as holding a conversaerful one. Luke does indeed say tion with Jesus, is fully explained by (4:2), that"in those days he did eat the artless manner in which many nothing." But by comparing this honest and pious persons speak of expression with another, recorded by their being tempted, or of Satan's the same writer, in Acts 27: 33, tempting them, to commit sin. The "This is the fourteenth day that ye evangelist's manner of speaking rehave tarried, and continued fasting, specting Satan, corresponds also with having taken nothing," we perceive the manner of other sacred writers. he may have meant, that the Sa- See Rom. 16: 29. 1 Pet. 5: 8. Rev. viour ate nothing in the usual regu- 2: 10. That is, they speak of him as lar manner. He lived most scan- we speak of one another. God, also, tily. He ate what came to hand; is spoken of in the same way, as havand with no regular meals, and with ing eyes, hands, feet, &c., and as none of common food, he passed the speaking to men. || The Son of God; forty days the Messiah. Compare 3: 17. In the

The

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