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The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

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ever ceased to ' ~' flow, <strong>and</strong> thus He blessed <strong>and</strong><br />

consecrated <strong>the</strong>m. He took up <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> His<br />

Forerunner, <strong>and</strong> continued it. <strong>The</strong> baptismal rite <strong>of</strong><br />

John administered with <strong>the</strong> sanction <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jesus</strong>, was<br />

<strong>the</strong> highest witness that could be borne to it.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re is no necessity for supposing that John <strong>and</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> disciples <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jesus</strong> baptized at, or quite close to,<br />

<strong>the</strong> same place. On <strong>the</strong> contrary^ such immediate<br />

juxtaposition seems, for obvious reasons, unlikely.<br />

<strong>Jesus</strong> was within <strong>the</strong> boundaries <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> province <strong>of</strong><br />

Judsea, while John baptized at ^non (<strong>the</strong> springs),<br />

near to Salim. <strong>The</strong> latter site has not been<br />

identified. But <strong>the</strong> oldest tradition, which places it<br />

a few miles to <strong>the</strong> south <strong>of</strong> Bethshean<br />

(Scythopolis), on <strong>the</strong> border <strong>of</strong> Samaria <strong>and</strong><br />

Galilee, has this in its favour, that it locates <strong>the</strong><br />

scene <strong>of</strong> John's last public work close to <strong>the</strong> seat<br />

<strong>of</strong> Herod Antipas, into whose power <strong>the</strong> Baptist<br />

was so soon to be delivered.* But already <strong>the</strong>re<br />

were causes at work to remove both <strong>Jesus</strong> <strong>and</strong> His<br />

Forerunner from <strong>the</strong>ir present spheres <strong>of</strong> activity.<br />

As regards Christ, we have <strong>the</strong> express statement,*

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