The Temptation of Jesus. MATTHEW iv. 1-11.
Jesus' baptism was the dividing line between his preparatory days and his public mission. He stood upon the threshold of a great work. He had been baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist, thus, at the very outset, meeting the world on its own basis of thought, that he might lead mankind gently from the old to the new dispensation, — from the symbol (the water-baptism) to the true baptism, complete submersion in Truth, the heavenly baptism.
Golden Text: For in that he hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. HEBREWS, ii. 18.
