The momentous time for which he had been waiting for eighteen years had come. He hastened to present himself at the earliest moment, that his service should not be delayed.

Notice the quiet, unostentatious, meek manner in which our Redeemer began the announcement of his mission. Quietly he presented himself to John for baptism.

Jesus was led of the spirit—his own spirit, illuminated by the spirit-baptism which he had just received—to go apart from John and the concourse of people into quiet solitude. Mark says he was impelled or “driven” of the spirit into the wilderness. The thought we get is that there was a great pressure upon our Lord’s mind at this time.

Now, under the enlightenment of the holy spirit, instead of beginning his ministry precipitately, Jesus felt that he must know definitely the proper course to pursue. He must not make a mistake at the very out-start of his service. He must know the Father’s will, that he might render his service in harmony therewith.

Such motives impelled him to seek solitude for thought and prayer, and for reviewing the various Scriptures which hitherto he had studied and but imperfectly comprehended, but which now began to be luminous under the influence of the holy spirit which he had received. Jesus went into absolute seclusion in the wilderness for more than a month. For forty days our Lord studied what the God through the scriptures had arranged to be his course.

True, he did not have the Bible as we do. But he had a perfect memory. For thirty years he had heard the reading of the Law and the prophets in the Synagogue and was thoroughly familiar with them. He had the entire matter before his mind. Under the light of the holy Spirit he weighed the various declarations of the Law and prophets. He noted the course of sacrifice which these meant. Jesus’ temptation came in the suggestion that easier, less sacrificing courses seemed to present themselves as feasible.

How proper it would be that all of the Lord’s people, when they have made a consecration of themselves to the divine service, should be impelled by the new mind, the new spirit, to go apart first and to commune with the Father, and to study his Word respecting how they should render their lives most acceptable in his service! Were this course pursued how many lives would be totally different from what they are. How many failures and changes and turnings, hither and thither, would be avoided!

So intent had been his study, and so earnest his desire for quiet fellowship with the Father and his Law, that forty days were spent under such conditions, and apparently so deeply absorbed was our Lord that he did not even think of food. Nor does this appear so strange to us, when we remember that he was perfect, while we are imperfect, physically as well as otherwise. “He afterward hungered.”

The season had been a precious one, and undoubtedly the close of that forty-day period saw the Lord fairly well equipped in an understanding of the divine arrangement respecting the necessity for his death. But just at that juncture, when he was weak from his long fast and probably also from lack of sleep– for he probably was so deeply engrossed respecting the study of the divine plan that he neither ate nor slept those forty days—at this juncture of his extreme physical enervation came the adversary’s chief besetments.

True, through the forty days, while thinking of the divine arrangements, there were opportunities for questioning the wisdom of the divine arrangement; but these apparently were all nullified in the Lord’s zeal to know and do the Father’s will. Hence the temptations recorded are those following the fasting.

After forty days, Jesus returned to John, seeking companionship with those who were nearest to the Lord and waiting for divine providence to guide in his affairs.

In the presence of his disciples, John the Baptist prophesied of Jesus, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” Andrew and John were disciples of John the Baptist, and when they thus heard his testimony respecting Jesus and the declaration that he had a witness from God that Jesus was the Messiah, they sought the Lord’s acquaintance. They followed after him, overtook him, and inquired where he was stopping. Apparently their object was to learn of him, to ascertain what further blessings the Lord had, and what further service than that they had engaged in with John the Baptist. They wanted the best that was to be had.

John does not mention the other disciple that went with Andrew on this occasion, but this seems to have been his modest style of omitting special mention of himself. The two spent the remainder of the day with the Lord, and doubtless “learned of him,” much to their comfort and joy and the establishment of their faith. The record is “They abode with him.” This may refer to the temporary stay of one day, but it may with equal propriety be understood to mean that they remained with the Lord as his disciples thereafter—to the very end of life.

We remember on one occasion, when some took offence at certain teachings of our Lord which they did not understand, how our Lord addressing the twelve said, “Will ye also go away?” But Peter answered, “Lord, to whom should we go? thou hast the words of eternal life,” we must abide with you. So it should be with all of us who have become the Lord’s followers. We are not his disciples for a day, but for all eternity. We abide with him in loyalty of heart whether we go to seek others or whether we listen to words at his feet, and he abides with us, as expressed in his own statement, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

“The zeal of thine house hath consumed me.”

The blessing then was largely dependent upon the nearness of the disciples to the Lord, and the nearness was marked largely by the degree of zeal and devotion. It was Peter, James and John, who were the most zealous of the apostles, that had the special favors when such were to be given.

There is a lesson here for us, to the effect that, if we would be closest to the Master and most frequently privileged to have fellowship with him, we should similarly have and cultivate this earnest, zealous spirit. With such, the love enkindled should lead to a consuming zeal. It was thus with our Lord Jesus, and this was one of the reasons why he was beloved of the Father. Speaking for him, the prophet said, “The zeal of thine house hath consumed me.”

Those who most cheerfully, most zealously forget self and earthly ambitions, aims and projects, and who most fully give themselves to the Lord and to his service, these may walk nearest to the Lord at all times; these may go with him to the Mount; these may be special witnesses of his powers, and these in special times may be close to the Lord. Some, like John, may not only sit at meat with him, but sit next to him—in his bosom.

In proportion as our lives are copies of the Lord’s, all the time and influence at our disposal, outside of necessary obligations for things needful to ourselves and families, will be spent as he spent his time—in doing good unto all men, especially unto the household of faith.

Our Lord came not into the world merely to exhibit the divine power amongst men, it was also a part of his mission to taste of human sorrows, to learn to sympathize with the afflicted, and to lay down his life on man’s behalf. Our supposition is well borne out by the above prophecy—that he would bear our infirmities. (Matt. 8:17; Isa. 53:4.) Additionally, it is confirmed by St. Luke’s statement that “Virtue [vitality, strength] went out of him and healed them all.” Luke 6:19.

Our Lord’s miracles are much more precious to us from this standpoint than from any other. The gift which costs nothing cannot be so highly esteemed as that which costs much; and since life is our most valuable possession, the giving of it in any sense of the word is the giving of the greatest of gifts.

That the three and a half years of our Lord’s ministry did impoverish his strength is abundantly testified to: for instance, when at Jacob’s well he was wearied, but his disciples were not; and again at the close of his ministry, on the way to Calvary, when he was unable to bear his own cross, while the two thieves apparently were able to bear theirs. (John 4:6; Luke 23:26.)

His weakness was not the result of inherited blemish or sin, nor the weakness of imperfection, but of sacrifice. From the beginning of his ministry he kept pouring out his life in the interest of those who had an ear to hear, and taking upon himself of the infirmities, the weaknesses, of those he healed.

Quite to the contrary of this, the sicknesses which our Lord bore were those of the world, and not those of his special friends and disciples. We have no record that he healed any of his followers. The lesson therefore is to the contrary, that as he bore the infirmities and cares and griefs of others, his followers are to emulate his example and his Spirit, and from similar motives of generosity and kindness are to be burden-bearers, helpers, self-sacrificers. As the Apostle suggests, “We ought [also] to lay down our lives for the brethren.” I John 3:16.

The Sabbath was quite a feast day amongst the Jews. In accordance with the requirements of the Law the dishes were served cold, cooked previously. Our Lord evidently made no objection to these Sabbath feasts, since we find that on several occasions he participated in them. The feast at Bethany just before his crucifixion was on the Sabbath. The invitation was from a prominent Pharisee, one of the rulers. It evidently included our Lord’s disciples as well as himself, and numerous of the host’s prominent friends, Pharisees and Doctors of the Law.

The fame of Jesus had spread considerably, and doubtless these men were interested in thus coming in close contact with him, with a view to judging according to their own standards respecting his character, teachings and miracles. Whether or not he was a fanatic, whether or not he made great boasts of himself, why the common people seemed so attracted to him, and why he did not seem to specially seek the fellowship of the rich and influential. So far as we know, he never refused an invitation to a feast, always using such occasions as opportunities for the presentation of the truth, to glorify the Father in heaven, to help, to instruct, to benefit those with whom he was in contact.

A little glimpse of the social side of our Lord’s character shows us that his consecrated life was lived in the midst of the ordinary social conditions bearing upon any member of a moral and religious community. There is no suggestion of revelry or foolishness in our Lord’s conduct, but it is reasonable to assume that he participated in the proper joys and fellowships and social amenities of such an occasion. This was in harmony with his own injunction to his followers, “Rejoice with those that do rejoice, and weep with those that weep.”

What every home needs is not only a visit from Jesus, but that it should be his home, his abiding place. It would be a safe rule of life for all of the Lord’s followers to desire to go to any place they would have reason to believe the Lord would go if he were again present in the flesh; it would be a safe rule for us to do or say such things as we would have reason to expect that our Lord would do or say were he present in our stead. Blessings, we may be sure, went with the dear Master wherever he went. “” ‘’—

A suggestion respecting the influences accompanying the Lord’s disciples—which influences, we believe, surely accompanied his own presence on all such occasions—is represented by his commission to his apostles when he sent them forth. They were to say, “Peace be upon this house,” before entering. We do not take it that this is a command that we should openly and formally make such a declaration before entering any building, but we do believe that this should be the heart sentiment of every one of the Lord’s consecrated people—their desire, their effort, their aim—that peace and blessing may accompany them wherever they may go, resting, refreshing and uplifting the hearts of the poor groaning creation with whom they come in contact.

The example which our Lord set was not so much in the kind of service (feet-washing), as in the fact of service. Nothing in this example was in the nature of a ceremony to be performed by the Lord’s people. The principle of his service constituted the example, and is to be observed amongst his followers at all times. They are to love one another and to serve one another, and to consider no service too menial to be performed for each other’s comfort and good.

This washing of one another’s feet we may readily see applies to any and every humble service of life, any and every kindness, though specially to those services and kindnesses which would be along the lines of spiritual assistances and comfort.

How many blessed opportunities we have for comforting, refreshing, consoling one another and assisting one another in some of the humblest affairs of life, or in respect to some of the unpleasant duties, experiences or trials of life. Any service done or attempted to be done in love, with the desire to do good to one of the Lord’s people, we may be sure has the divine approval and blessing.

Let us lose no opportunities of this kind. Let us remember the Master’s example and not merely assume humility or pretend it, but actually have that humility which will permit us to do kindness and services to all with whom we come in contact, and proportionately enjoy this privilege as we find the needy ones to be members of the Lord’s body—the Church.

Our Lord’s entire life furnishes an illustration of what the Apostle commends to all the Church in the words, “Pray without ceasing.” Our Lord was always in that prayerful attitude of heart, which was filled with thankfulness to the Father in respect to all of life’s affairs, which recognized his guardian care, which trusted him, confided in him and in every distressing circumstance looked to him to overrule and to cause all experiences to work for good.

But our Lord’s constant attitude of prayer without ceasing did not hinder his more particular devotions when he turned aside from the affairs of life to speak to the Father in secret—sometimes briefly and sometimes spending a whole night in prayer in the mountain solitude. Though he loved his disciples they were not yet begotten of the Holy Spirit and could not fully comprehend matters from his standpoint. The Father alone was able to comprehend the full situation, and hence the very isolation of our Lord from all human help drew him the nearer and the oftener to the Father in prayer.

So it is or should be with the Lord’s followers. Proportionately as we grow in his character likeness we will similarly pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord, realizing him as the center of all our hopes and ambitions and joys. Similarly, we will avail ourselves of the privilege of more formal approaches to the throne of grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Similarly also, in proportion as at times we may find that our dear ones either of earthly or spiritual relationship are unable to sympathize with our experiences, we may be profited by such a lack of earthly sympathy in that the experiences will send us the more frequently to the heavenly Comforter from whom we will derive the greater blessing and joy.

From the moment that he got that approval through the angel who ministered unto him, all was peace and calm. His arrest, the scattering of his disciples, the hearing before the High-priest’s court, the raillery, the smiting, the pulling of the hair of his face, the spitting upon him, his being blindfolded and asked to prophesy who had struck him, all this ignominy he endured patiently.

Then, it being contrary to Jewish law to condemn a man in the night, his further trial was postponed until the members of the Sanhedrin could be called at daybreak to formally condemn him. Meantime his dear followers had all scattered like sheep. The beloved Peter had denied him even with cursing before the cock crew. After passing through all these experiences, and probably without having been furnished with refreshments, it is remarkable that our Lord—weakened through his ministries and the giving out of his vitality in the healing of others—should have been so calm and strong as he stood before Pilate.

His enemies, the members of the Sanhedrin, and the High-priests, who had before determined that he should be put to death, with murder in their hearts had still a form of godliness, and would not enter the judgment hall because, according to their tradition, this would have constituted a defilement of their holiness. Alas, how deceitful the human heart can be! How much of murder and meanness can be covered with a garment of light, with a claim of religious purity, professing to be seeking to know and to do God’s will.