to Luke, in Acts 10: 38, it need not be supposed that Jesus Christ was very likely to himself fall before any temptation which that Devil might suggest.

This same authority, Luke (4: 1), says that

"Jesus, FULL of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the (this same) Spirit in the wilderness."

There may be no doubt that His temptation was an actual experience; but as the Son of God fresh from his hands, and "full of His Holy Spirit," He could withstand any worldly temptation, and, also, by His example, "succor all who are like tempted."

"I need Thee every hour,

Stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their power
When Thou art nigh

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From the wilderness He went up to Jerusalem.

There are two evidences of this fact. First, Matthew 4: 5. Here we find Jesus sitting on the "Pinnacle," that is, the wing" of the temple, overlooking the valley Kidron (R. V.) Second, the deputation sent to John Baptist was from the Sanhedrin. That body was at Jerusalem. These sent were of that body, and to them John said—

"In the midst of you stands one (Christ) whom ye know not, whose shoe-latchets I am not worthy to unloose."

He did not stand there, at Bethabara, but in Jerusalem, where, unknown and untrammelled, I believe, He overlooked the entire ground of His future operations.

After His last temptation, which was to abandon Jehovah's work and become a worldly ruler, Jesus returned to the place where John was still baptizing. Was it Bethany or Bethabara? Bethany may mean "ferry house," according to Winer, but the reading of John indicates that the place was "beyond Jordan" some distance (10: 40. We prefer Bethabara, because there is a Bethany near Jerusalem, of more importance, and we need not confound the two places.

The Baptist saw Jesus coming up from the ford (29). John's

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JESUS RETURNS TO BETHABARA.

"On the morrow" follows well after Matthew 4: 11, John taking up the narrative where Matthew omits its regular order. Therefore Christ's struggles with ambition (the Devil) being ended, He had reached Bethabara on "the morrow," the second day from Jerusalem and Olivet, a distance of twenty-two to thirty-two miles. Some place it several miles beyond Jordan. It was during cool, and perhaps rainy, weather, being about the first of February.

Jesus, according to tradition, was baptized on or about the 25th of December (Luke 3: 23). During the next forty days He was in the wilderness. Allowing a few days for His sojourn in Jerusalem, brings His return to Bethabara early in February. John and his disciples still tarried there. It was late in the day; Jesus may have been fatigued with His walk, and "another morrow" (35) came round before the introduction of John, Andrew and Peter.

CHAPTER XII.

JOHN, ANDREW AND PETER INTRODUCED.

TIME-Early in February, A. D. 27 or A. U. C. 780.
PLACE-Near ford east of Jordan, thence to Bethsaida.

Reference. John 1: 28, 44.

John, the brother of James and
son of Zebedee and Salome, we owe our
knowledge of the interesting introduction of
the first disciples of Jesus to their Master.
They were at Bethabara, over Jordan, having
come from their homes in Bethsaida, at the
extreme head of the Sea of Galilee.

James and John were brothers, as we said, as also were Andrew and Peter; the latter were sons of Jonas, of Bethsaida. These, with Zebedee, were fishermen of Galilee and in partnership. They seemed wellto-do, owning their own boats, large and small, nets and other fishing outfits, and some of them, at least, had hired assistants. Peter, afterward removing to Capernaum, owned a house there, supported a wife, who in later years travelled with him on his preaching missions, and also maintained hist wife's mother. It is supposed that John had a house in Jerusalem, to which he took Mary, the mother of Jesus, after the crucifixion. The first direct reference to James occurs fourteen months later. Though the same modesty which forbid John speaking of himself kept him from naming his brother James, some have thought that James was among the first disciples whom Jesus met at Bethabara.

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JOHN, ANDREW AND PETER INTRODUCED.

The introduction to John and Andrew was as follows:

On the day previous to the introduction, the Baptist had been telling these his disciples of the certainty of Jesus being the promised Messiah. Now, seeing Him coming toward them, and about to walk past, John exclaimed:

'Behold! The Lamb of God! This is he of whom I spake."

Then John and Andrew (verse 40) followed Jesus.

Hearing their footsteps, or seeing them, or hearing the Baptist's words, the most probable of the three, Jesus turned and looked at them, saying to them:

"When seek ye?"

Rabbi," they answered. (John was also called rabbi.)

Here they at once acknowledged Him as their "Master." And they asked Him where He lived. John had not so much as learned that Jesus dwelt at Nazareth.

"Come and see," was Jesus' hospitable response.

So they followed Him to His place of "abode," showing that He had already some friends in that vicinity. Perhaps His mother and brethren were there, and all tented together. It was the rainy season, and they could not live out-doors. They became deeply interested in the conversation of their new Master, and Andrew, "first" of the two, went out and found his own brother Simon Peter, and, probably, next John's brother James, all returning and passing the night with Jesus.

Through the remainder of the day and into the quiet watches of the night did the blessed Jesus open to their listening souls the message of the heavenly kingdom in which they were forever to take a part. Peter, of course, became enthusiastic over the prospect, as on all occasions, and Jesus seemed also deeply impressed with the noble character of the fiery Galilean, saying to him:

"You are now only Simon, a fisherman. Hereafter you shall be called Peter. You are now only the son of Jonas; you shall be called the Son of God." Hospitality is mutual in the orient.

.

THE ROUTE TO BETHSAIDA.

137

On the following day, Peter and the others having doubtless urged the matter, Jesus consented to go with the Galilean fishermen to their home in Bethsaida.

"He was minded to go forth into Galilee," are the exact words of John. If we bear in mind the fact that the word “Galilee" is used by John in distinction from Nazareth (which is also in Galilee), and is by him used in reference to the vicinity of the lake, we shall better understand him hereafter. How many disciples did Jesus start with?

Four.

"The earliest traditions," says Geikie," join his brother James with John as one of the very first disciples; " therefore if so, James made the fourth who accompanied Jesus to their home in Bethsaida. They were all alike residents of this city, and all alike recalled, including James, a year later.

From the east side of Jordan, we have a new route to describe to Bethsaida. It is through the land called Perea to the lower end of the Sea of Galilee, thence by boat, fourteen miles, up the lake to Bethsaida, at its northeastern extremity.

The impetuosity of Peter would cause him to select the most direct route to the landing at the southern end of the Lake of Galilee. There is no road near the Jordan on the east, owing to the deep gorges and the high hills in that immediate vicinity. Neither is there a single city or village after leaving Bethabara till reaching Pella.

This is a city (now in ruins) situated on a hill three miles east of the Jordan opposite Beisam, on the west side. It is called Felah by the Arabs.

Since Jesus and the disciples were not on a missionary tour, only "desiring to reach Bethsaida," to which Jesus had made up his mind to go (43), they would not stop here, but hasten on, to a town at the foot of the lake, where there is a good boat-landing on a pebbly beach, near Sumakh.

Sumakh has (at present) about 200 wretched huts packed together in the most uncomfortable manner possible. Their walls are daubed with mortar, and not a few of the houses threaten to crush the inhabitants beneath their ruins.

This is