"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." The Three Persons in the Holy Trinity were thus at once made
manifest, or shown to John the Baptist: before Him, under the form of
Man, stood God the Son: God the Holy Ghost came down from heaven in a
bodily form, with a gentle motion like that of a dove, and rested upon
the Son of God: God the Father was not made visible to the eyes, but
His voice was heard, declaring Jesus to be His Son, the promised
Messiah, the Saviour of the world.
After His baptism, Jesus was, by the appointment of His Father, "led
by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil." It
was necessary that Jesus should gain a victory over the great enemy of
mankind, and show that the Devil had no power to lead Him to do evil.
Since Adam fell, no human being had ever so completely resisted the
Devil as to _deserve_ the favour of God; thus no one had ever earned
eternal life even for himself. Jesus came to make atonement for the
sin of countless millions: but He could not have made satisfaction for
the sins of others, if He had in the least thing given way to the
Devil. Therefore He must fight and conquer, or the work which He came
to do must have remained for ever undone.
In Scripture, Jesus Christ is called the second Adam: "the first Adam
is of the earth, earthy, the last Adam is the Lord from heaven." The
first Adam was created holy and good, but he was tempted by the Devil
and sinned; "so by the disobedience of one man came death, for in Adam
all die." All who bear the same nature, must share the punishment due
to that sinful nature. But the Holy and Eternal Son of God took upon
Himself the human nature of man, and became subject to the like
infirmities, but without sin. Thus was atonement made--"in Christ
shall all," who give themselves to Him, "be made alive": "thus by man
came also the resurrection of the dead." The Devil exerted all his
power to lead Jesus to do something which would displease God, and
destroy the blessed work of redemption. Taking advantage of Jesus
being hungry and faint after long fasting, the Devil gently proposed
that He should turn some stones into bread, and thus at the same time
supply His own wants, and give a convincing proof that He was indeed
the Son of God, as He had been just declared to be.
We are ready enough to take any excuse for doing what we wish to do;
and by this means we often fall into the snare which Satan so cleverly
spreads for us. But Jesus thought of nothing but how to do the Will of
His Father completely and entirely. He had been led into the
wilderness by the Spirit of God, and it was the Will of His heavenly
Father that He should now be enhungered. Jesus was therefore
determined to leave the matter entirely in the hands of God. This is
what we should all do, rather than try to help ourselves by doing
anything that we fear may displease God.
Satan next wanted Jesus to throw Himself down from the roof of the
temple into the court below, where the people were assembled, and thus
show them at once that He was the promised Messiah, the Son of God, of
whom David had written, God "shall give His angels charge over thee,
to keep thee; and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any
time thou dash thy foot against a stone." But Jesus, still bent upon
doing His Father's will, answered from Scripture, "It is said, Thou
shalt not tempt the Lord thy God," meaning that no one must run into
unnecessary danger, to try whether God will preserve him: this is
tempting Providence, and is sinful. To do our duty in spite of danger
is trusting God, and is right: but to run into danger just to please
ourselves, expecting that God will preserve us, is presumptuous and
sinful.
Satan made a last attempt to get Jesus to bow down to him, by
promising to give Him power over all the kingdoms of the world; but
Jesus was content to have only what God saw fit to give Him, and
replied, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."
The battle was over; the victory was gained: as Man, Jesus had been
tempted; as Man, He had resisted the Devil. He had fought and
conquered, and thus could go on with His blessed work, which He never
could have accomplished, had He at this, or any other time, given way
in the least degree to the Devil. For the first time since the
Creation, Satan found himself defeated: against our blessed Saviour he
could not prevail, as he had done against Adam and his descendants; He
departed therefore: we are told, "Then the Devil leaveth Him, and,
behold, angels came and ministered unto Him." The Father sent His
Angels to minister to His Son; that is, to serve Him; to supply those
wants to which, as Man, He was subject. No doubt they brought Him food
of which His human nature stood greatly in need.
We have seen how Jesus resisted the Devil; each time using the very
words of Scripture, which forbade Him to do as the Tempter proposed.
The Devil is constantly tempting every human being to sin, by
suggesting that they had better follow their own wishes and
inclinations, instead of denying themselves, and trying in all things
to please God. We should therefore bear in mind, that we possess the
same Scriptures, and far more; since we have now our Saviour's own
words whilst He was upon earth, and also the letters of His Apostles:
and then, when we are tempted to do what is wrong, let us remember
what the Scriptures say, and obey _that_, instead of following our own
wills. The young are never too young to begin to resist the Devil,
who has temptations suited to every age and condition: if you feel
disinclined to obey your Parents cheerfully, remember that the Bible
says, "Children obey your Parents in all things": let all inclination
to dispute with one another be driven away by the recollection of the
precept, "Be ye kind one to another."
The direction, "Speak every man truth with his neighbour," should
strengthen you to resist every temptation to hide a fault, by saying
what is not true, or even by keeping silence, or doing anything to
deceive another. The fault into which so many young people fall, of
being idle and careless about their lessons, would best be checked by
calling to mind the precepts, "Be not slothful in business," and
"Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord." These, and many
like precepts, warn us to conquer faults of which we are apt to think
too lightly; not seeing that they are temptations set before us by the
Devil, who strives to destroy our souls. But it is also written,
"Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you." Begin at once to resist
him with all your strength--struggle against your own will and
inclinations, which will too often incline you to yield to his
suggestions. Fight manfully as long as you live upon earth; praying
always for help from God, without Whom ye can do nothing. If thus
steadily and heartily you endeavour to renounce the Devil and all his
works, with all the sinful lusts of the flesh, and do everything to
please God, you will hereafter receive your reward in Heaven for Jesus
Christ's sake.
After the Baptism and Temptation of Jesus Christ, He began His work
amongst men, by declaring to them the blessed truths of the Gospel.
The first men who became disciples, or followers of Jesus Christ, were
Andrew and John, who were already disciples of John the Baptist. "The
next day," after the Baptism of our Lord, "John stood and two of his
disciples; and looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the
Lamb of God!" The Priests and Levites, as well as all the people of
the Jews, knew that lambs were daily offered up as an atonement for
sin, but that the blood of these creatures could never wash out the
stain of sin, nor obtain its forgiveness. They were quite aware that
these sacrifices were only offered up as a type, or sign of the
Messiah; for Whose coming they looked, to make atonement for the sin
of the whole world. John the Baptist had repeatedly told his disciples
that he was not himself the Messiah, but was the messenger to prepare
his way before Him. When, therefore, John the Baptist exclaimed,
"Behold the Lamb of God," Andrew and John at once understood, that
this was indeed the long-looked-for Messiah, the true Lamb of God, Who
was to take away the sins of the whole world. "The two disciples heard
him speak, and they followed Jesus." Jesus asked them, "What seek ye?"
At once acknowledging Him to be their Master, the disciples asked Him,
"Rabbi, where dwellest thou? 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." That is, it was about two hours before sunset.
Andrew next went in search of his own brother Simon Peter, and "saith
unto him, We have found the Messiah." Simon Peter at once believed
these glad tidings, and went with Andrew to Jesus, who received him
kindly. The next day Philip, who lived in the same town as Andrew and
Peter, and had no doubt often talked with them of the promised
Saviour, also became a follower of Jesus; and he likewise brought a
friend called Nathanael, of whom we must say something more.