the forerunner, who had been waiting for him, and the people who were impatient to see him, were made certain that this was he; and he himself was both assured that he was not under a delusion, in supposing himself the chosen one of God, and received that gift of the spirit without measure, which was to fit him for his great work.

Under the influence of this spirit he immediately went up from the Jordan, and retired into the heart of the desert. His mind was full of the thoughts which the greatness of the occasion excited. He went by himself, away from human society, to meditate on the wonders of his condition, to contemplate the labors before him, and to commune with God. From the humble village of Nazareth, from the obscurity of cottage life, he was to go forth as a prophet and preacher, to stand in the city of his people, and amongst the powerful and learned men of his time. He was to leave the labors of the artisan for the toils of a religious ministry, to bear the last messages of God to Judah, and to change the religion of the world. What a moment was this! What wonder that he felt inclined, that he felt it necessary, to seclude himself! He could have no thought for any thing but the toils and trials before him,

and for communion with his own soul and his Father.

He wandered into the desert. It does not follow because a place is called desert in the Scriptures, that it is therefore wholly wild and savage. It may mean any uninhabited and uncultivated place, even though it were fruitful. The uninhabited places adjoining the towns were called deserts, yet they were frequently excellent pasturage. But the vast wilderness of Judea, stretching along the Dead Sea to the south of Jerusalem, was, in some parts, extremely desolate. It was barren, rocky, and mountainous. And as Mark says that Jesus was with the "wild beasts," he probably retreated into the wildest of these places, where even fruits and berries could not be found sufficient to satisfy his hunger.

At length he felt the consequences of so long fasting. He was weary and weak. He was hungry, and craved food. And then it was, when thus worn with the fatigue of much watching and abstinence, that he was exposed to the temptations so fearfully described by the Evangelists. The history of those temptations has exercised the minds of learned men, who have ex

Mat. iv. Mark i. 12. Luke iv.

plained them in many different ways. It is not necessary here to enter into the discussion of what is difficult. There is enough that is plain. We read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that Jesus was "tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin." So it was in these temptations in the wilderness. They came upon him when hungry and faint, and when it might seem a small thing to use his power of working miracles, in order to change stones into bread, and satisfy his exhausted nature. But he would not, do it, for he felt that the divine power had been imparted to him for no such selfish purposes. Neither would he yield to the temptation to make himself such a Messiah as the Jews were expecting, and seize upon the kingdoms and glory of the world. This he could easily have accomplished; but it would have been unfaithfulness to God and duty. Neither would he draw on himself the admiration and easy reception of the people, by descending into the midst of them, as if borne on angels' wings, from the pinnacle of the temple. He resisted every suggestion to gratify and aggrandize himself. Neither bodily suffering, nor the offers of worldly greatness, nor the desire of human applause, could divert him from what he knew to be his duty. In these things he was tempted as we are (and they

are the temptations to which men most frequently yield), yet it was without sin. He came from them untouched; and he has thus taught us, that true greatness consists in resisting evil, and adhering steadfastly to duty.

There is much in this incident particularly suited to impress and instruct the young. They are just entering on the work of life, as Jesus was just entering on his ministry. They are beset with temptations which would turn them aside from duty. They are tempted by sensual and worldly gratifications, by appetite and passion, by wealth and pleasure, by honor and applause. They are tempted to sacrifice principle to policy, to abandon duty for interest, to forget their responsibility to God in their desire to secure the favor of man. Let them learn of Jesus. His example

will teach them to encounter and resist. Let them do as he did;-promptly silence the tempter, refuse to hear the evil suggestion, and summon up to their aid the strong power of God's holy word. If they thus resist, they will overcome. The great conflict of virtue will be achieved in the beginning of their course, and their subsequent path will be comparatively plain and easy.

48

CHAPTER V.

GENERAL OUTLINE OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY

CALLING

OF THE FIRST FIVE DISCIPLES BETHABARA-THE FIRST MIRACLE.

AT

It would greatly aid to the clear understanding of the course of our Saviour's life, if we were able to give dates to the several events. This, however, with regard to the greater part of them, is impossible. The evangelists have marked very few of them in such a way, that we can determine the precise time at which they took place. They do not even pretend to relate them all in the order in which they occurred. So far were they from thinking this a matter of great importance, that they have not so much as informed us how long the ministry of Christ lasted. Consequently there have been very various opinions on this point. Many persons 'suppose it to have continued about three years. Some think it could have been no longer than about a year. And others have fancied it to have been extended through many years.

It is not possible to examine here the reasons on which these several opinions are founded. I can only say, that on the whole, I believe the second to be the most probable. It was the opinion