THE TEMPTATION.

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having ended every temptation, left him for a time, and lo! angels came and ministered to him.*

Now this is the testimony of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem, to ask him; “Who are you?" he spoke openly, not refusing to answer, saying, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him; Are you, Elijah?" And he said; “I am not." "Are you that prophet?" And he answered; "No." Then said they to him; "Who then are you? that we may give an answer to those who

The Fews here referred to, were probably the Sanhedrim, or great council of the nation, a body composed of seventy-two judges, drawn from the chief priests, the scribes, and elders of the people, and presided over by the ruling high priest. The tribunal was instituted about two hundred years before Christ, and till the time when Judea was subjected to the Romans, held the power of life and death. It still had cognizance of all important affairs, and retained the power of trial and sentence in capital cases, but not the right of execution. That was reserved to the Roman governor. John had become widely known. This is evident from the multitudes that flocked to his baptism, and from the presence at Bethany of obscure fishermen from the distant province of Galilee. His wide-spread reputation, is also spoken of by Josephus. Hence, in view of the excitement he was creating, it was natural that the Sanhedrim should desire to know his true character.

I am not the Christ. Daniel, five hundred years before, had so definitely fixed the date of Christ's advent, that the learned men among the Jews were then in daily expectation of his appearance. It was supposed that Elijah, risen from the dead, would precede him, and, by many, that the prophet spoken of by Moses, in Deut. xviii. 15. would also attend his coming.

* Matt. iv. I-II.

Mark 1. 12, 13. Luke iv. 1-13.

sent us. What say you of yourself?" He said; “I am a voice crying in the desert, prepare ye the way of the Lord," as said the prophet Isaiah. And those who were sent, were Pharisees; and they asked him "Why then, do you baptize? if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor that prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you, whom you know not, he who is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to unloose."

This took place at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, who will take away the sins of the world. This is he, of whom I said; 'After me comes a man who takes rank before me; for he was before me. And I knew him not; but I come baptizing with water that he might be made manifest to Israel."

And John bore this testimony: "I have seen the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and resting on him. And I knew him not; but he who sent me to

Why do you baptize ?—Baptism was then practised only upon heathen proselytes; John baptized both Jews and Gentiles: hence the question.

Bethany is the name given to this place in all the oldest MSS. It was located on the Jordan, about twelve miles north of Jericho, and was probably, as the etymology of the word denotes, a small hamlet near a ferry.

I knew him not.-John had lived a secluded life in the desert; therefore, while he cannot be supposed to have been ignorant of the circumstances attending his own, and Christ's birth, it is evident that he would not naturally be personally acquainted with Jesus, who had been pursuing an humble calling in an obscure town of Galilee.

THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN.

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baptize with water, said to me, 'He, on whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and resting, is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen, and bear testimony that this is the Son of God.”*

The next day, John standing with two of his disciples, saw Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold! the Lamb of God." And the two disciples hearing what he said, followed Jesus. Then Jesus turning about, and seeing them following, said to them "What seek you?" They answered: "Teacher, where do you dwell?" He said to them, "Come and see." They went and saw where he dwelt; and remained with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John and followed Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him; "We have found the Messiah;" (that is, the Christ,) and he brought him to Jesus, and he looking on him, said, "You are Simon, the son of Jonah; you shall be called Peter," (which signifies a rock.)

The tenth hour. The Jews reckoned the day from sunrise, the Romans, as we do, from midnight. The tenth hour, therefore, might have been either ten A. M, or four P. M.

You shall be called Peter. -In Matt. xvi. 18, Jesus explains why he gave this name to Simon, by saying, "upon this rock I will build my church." Peter, though during the life-time of Jesus, weak, hasty, and unstable, showed, after his death, all the strength, firmness, and endurance of a rock. But the application of this name to him shows not only that Jesus possessed that knowledge of men which is the birthright of all royal natures; it also shows that then - at the very beginning of his public career he had formed the plan, and foreseen the progress of a kingdom which should endure forever.

* John i. 19-32.

The day following, Jesus determined to go into Galilee; and finding Philip, he said to him; "Follow me." Philip was of Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and "We Peter. Philip met Nathaniel, and said to him; have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." And Nathaniel said to him; "Can any thing good come out of Nazareth?" Philip answered; "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and said of him; "Behold a true Israelite in whom there is no guile." Nathaniel said to him; "How know you me?" Jesus answered, " Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig-tree, I saw you." Nathaniel answered, "Teacher: you are the Son of

Peter founded the church at Rome, and that church, whatever its corruptions, kept Christianity alive during the dark ages. It is therefore the foundation on which Christ has built; but it is only the foundation. The superstructure is the New Jerusalem he is now erecting, and which is destined to cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea.

Nathaniel was of Cana in Galilee, a town only nine miles from Nazareth, and that he did not know Jesus, shows that the latter had till now lived a very obscure life.

Can anything good come out of Nazareth?—The Nazarenes, and indeed all the Galileans, were a mixed race, partly of Gentile origin, and were contaminated with many vices. They were proverbially boorish and stupid, and had produced no teachers or prophets. (John vii. 52.) They were held in great contempt by the Jews of Jerusalem.

Fig-tree. — In the warm Eastern countries, this tree grows much larger than in our Southern States, and its broad leaves and thick-spreading branches afford a pleasant shade from the heat of the day. Numerous passages in the rabbinical writers indicate that its shade was a favorite resort for reading, conversation, and prayer.

THE MARRIAGE AT CANA.

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God, you are the King of Israel." Jesus said to him ; “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig-tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than this. Truly, truly, I say to you; henceforth you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending to the Son of Man."*

And on the third day following, there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus and his disciples were asked to the feast. And the wine having failed, the mother of

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King of Israel. The Jews, understanding the prophecies literally, expected a temporal Messiah, who should free them from the Roman yoke, and give them dominion of the world.

The angels ascending and descending. — This is an evident allusion to the ladder which Jacob saw in his dream. The meaning is, no doubt, that Nathaniel would see such supernatural manifestations as would fully prove that God was with Jesus.

Cana in Galilee - was a small town, about nine miles northeast of Nazareth. It is now called Kânâ, and travellers describe it as situated on an isolated hill, facing to the southeast, and rising boldly from the margin of a wide plain, called Buttauf. Deep ravines are on two of its sides, and almost shut it off from the surrounding country. The houses are built of limestone, cut and laid up in a rude fashion, and fragments of water-jars and the ruins of ancient cisterns are scattered about its streets, but the place is deserted, and has not had a human inhabitant within fifty years. It is now the home of the leopard and the wild boar, and its immediate neighborhood is covered with a thick jungle, and is so wild, that it is the favorite hunting-ground of the Bedâwins. Galilee, at this time included all the country south of Phenicia, and north of

* John i. 35-51.