DISCOVERY OF THE FACTS
1. John the Baptist’s Perplexity, vv. 18–20
Who is the central figure of this lesson? Where was he at this time? How did he get there? What news reached him? How did he come to hear it? What clear revelation had he had concerning our Lord at an earlier day? (John 1:33, 29, 34.) In what state of mind do we find him in this lesson? What led to his doubt? (Compare 1 Kings 19:3, 4.) Is it credible that John who had formerly had such clear faith should afterward get into doubt? What will help us to understand it? What proof have we here of the genuineness of the Gospel story? Had he lost all faith in Jesus? How much faith had he yet? How did he show his wisdom? What is the wisest thing any man can do with his doubts? Did he remain long a doubter? Why not? Just what was the question he asked of our Lord? What is the meaning of “He that cometh” (R. V.)? What seemingly good reason had he for questioning whether our Lord was “the Coming One”? How did his messengers prove their fitness for their mission?
2. Our Lord’s Answer to John the Baptist, vv. 21–23
What was occurring at the very moment John’s messengers arrived? Of what was this proof? (Is. 35:5, 6; 42:6, 7; 61:1–3.) Did our Lord enter into any long discussion to prove that He was “the Coming One”? What did He do? What is the best proof that He is indeed “the Coming One” and the Son of God? Are there any other passages where He appeals to His works as proving His claims? (John 5:36; 14:11; 15:24.) What were the specific things to which He appealed in this instance? To what things that He is doing can we appeal today to prove that He is the Son of God? Does the mere fact of healings prove that one is the Messiah, the Angel of the Covenant, or even a man sent from God? To what crowning miracle did Jesus call attention? What dead one had been recently raised (vv. 11–16)?
To what did our Lord appeal besides His miracles? Do pretenders usually preach the Gospel to the poor? What do they do to the poor? What final word of warning did our Lord add? To what O. T. prophecy did this refer? (Is. 8:14, 15.) What occasioned the word of warning just at this time?
3. Our Lord’s Testimony to John the Baptist, vv. 24–30
What do we find our Lord doing in the verses that follow? When did He bear His testimony to John? Why did He not bear His testimony while the messengers were still there? How did John win the honor of having our Lord bear testimony to him? How can we win this honor? (Matt. 10:32, 33; 25:20.) What might the people be tempted to think concerning John? Why might they think that he was a “reed shaken with the wind”? Who defended him against this suspicion? What in the second place did our Lord say John was not? Where did He say that those who were gorgeously arrayed and lived delicately were to be found? Where was John to be found?
What did He say John was? (1:76; 20:6.) What is a prophet? Did John attain to anything higher than that? To what? Where is this prophecy found? (Mal. 3:1.) What two “messengers” are there mentioned? What was this messenger to do? How high a position among men did John occupy? How did his position compare with that of our Lord Himself? (Matt. 3:11; v. 28.) Who else occupies a higher position than John? Why? (Luke 10:23, 24; Eph. 3:8, 9; Col. 1:25–27; 1 Peter 1:10–12.) Ought we to aspire to be John the Baptists? Why not? What can any one of us be?
In what two ways had John’s message been received? Who had accepted it? Who had rejected it? By accepting the message what did our Lord say the people had done? How justify God? How did they show they accepted John’s message? What does our Lord say the Pharisees and lawyers rejected? (R. V.) How did they show it? Is it a serious thing to reject God’s counsel? (Prov. 13:13.)
4. The Unreasonableness of Men, vv. 31–35
To what did our Lord liken the men of that generation? From what was the illustration taken? What insight does this give us into Christ’s character? Into His method of teaching? What is the point of the comparison? How did He describe the life of John? What kind of a life was it? To what was the authority attributed? What was the true explanation of it? If a man should live such a life today what would be said of him?
What is Christ’s description of His own life? Does this imply that He drank wine? What did they say of His life? Was He a glutton? Was He a wine-bibber? Was He a friend of publicans and sinners? What did His enemies mean by calling Him such? Was He a friend of publicans and sinners in the sense they meant? If one is a friend of publicans and sinners in the sense in which our Lord was, will he be contemptuously so called nowadays? What was His real meat? (John 4:34.) While the most of the people received the message of John and our Lord in this contemptuous way, were there any who received it differently? What does He call those who received their message? (John 8:47.) What is the crowning proof that one is one of wisdom’s children? By receiving wisdom’s message what had they done?
CLASSIFICATION OF TEACHINGS
1. Jesus Christ
(1). What He is:
Divine, 27 (Mal. 3:1); the Lord, 19; the Coming One, 20; the healer of all men’s diseases and troubles, 21; the Messiah, 21, 22 (Is. 35:5, 6; 42:6, 7; 61:1–3); the friend of publicans and sinners, 34.
(2). What He did:
Cured diseases, cured scourges, delivered men from evil spirits, bestowed eyesight on the blind, 21; made the lame to walk, cleansed lepers, made the deaf to hear, raised the dead, preached the Gospel to the poor, 22.
Blessed is he whosoever shall find none occasion of stumbling in Him!
2. John the Baptist
An imperfect man, a temporary doubter, an honest doubter, went to the right One with his doubts, 19; a prophet, much more than a prophet, 26; God’s messenger, the preparer of the way of the Messiah, 27 (Mal. 3:1); none greater than he among men, not so great as the one who is but little in the kingdom of God, 28.
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R.A. Torrey (1856 - 1928)
An American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer. Called by D. L. Moody to head Bible institute in Chicago (now Moody Bible Institute). Dean of Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Pastorates included Chicago Avenue Church (now Moody Memorial) and Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles. Worldwide evangelistic meetings with Charlie Alexander. Founded Montrose Bible Conference, PA. Wrote more than forty books.Torrey held his last evangelistic meeting in Florida in 1927, additional meetings being canceled because of his failing health. He died at home in Asheville, North Carolina, on October 26, 1928, having preached throughout the world and written more than 40 books. Torrey-Gray Auditorium, the main auditorium at Moody, was named for Torrey and his successor, James M. Gray. At Biola, the Torrey Honors Institute honors him, as does the university's annual Bible conference.
Reuben Archer Torrey was an American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer. Held evangelistic meetings around the world with song leader Charlie Alexander. Called by D.L. Moody to head the Bible Institute of the Chicago Evangelization Society (now Moody Bible Institute); Dean of Bible Institute of Los Angeles; pastorates included Chicago Avenue Church (now Moody Memorial Church) and Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles.
Besides his obvious gifts in all these areas, he was also a man of prayer, a student of the Bible, and an outstanding personal soul-winner. It is said that he daily read the Bible in four languages, having a good working knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. Some students of church history feel he did more to promote personal evangelism than any other one man since the days of the apostles. His prayer life has seldom been equaled in the annals of Christendom.
Reuben A. Torrey wrote some forty books and his practical writings on the Holy Spirit, prayer, salvation, soul-winning, and evangelism are still favorites of many Christians.