Illustration: A MAP OF THE HOLY LAND to illustrate THE NEW TESTAMENT and A COMPARATIVE VIEW _of the successive divisions of the Holy Land mentioned in the New Testament after the death of Herod the Great_. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. _Stanford’s Geograph.ˡ Estab.ᵗ_ PART II. FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MINISTRY OF THE BAPTIST TO THE FIRST PASSOVER. CHAPTER I. _THE PREACHING OF JOHN――THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST._ A.U.C. 780, ♦A.D. 27. THE strange Preacher was none other than John, the son of Zacharias. Recalling in his garb and appearance one of the Prophets of the Old Testament, he now came forth from his retirement, and straightway commenced his task of preparing the way for the Messiah. The wilderness of Judæa (Mtt. iii. 1), that is the dry and unpeopled region extending from the gates of Hebron and Jerusalem to the shores of the Dead Sea, was the first scene of his ministration. Thence he moved northwards towards the Jordan, and at Bethabara, or rather Bethany[248], administered the rite of baptism in its rushing waters to all who were willing to receive it. The news of his appearance quickly spread throughout the length and breadth of the land. From Jerusalem, the towns of Judæa, and the Jordan valley, multitudes flocked forth to hear him (Mtt. iii. 5; Mk. i. 5). The river’s banks became like the streets of a crowded city. Pharisees and Sadducees (Mtt. iii. 7), tax-gatherers (Lk. iii. 12), and soldiers (Lk. iii. 14), rich and poor, gathered around him and listened to his burning words. No temporal Messiah did he proclaim, no king higher than the Cæsars, no rising against the Roman yoke. Personal repentance, personal reformation, this was his message. To all alike his language was bold, severe, uncompromising. The chiefs of the great religious parties approached him, and were bidden to abjure all trust in mere descent from Abraham (Mtt. iii. 9), to bring forth fruits worthy of the repentance they professed, and to flee _from the wrath to come_. The multitudes groaning under the Roman dominion drew near, and enquired what they should do in view of the great crisis he proclaimed to be at hand, and were bidden to cultivate mutual charity (Lk. iii. 11). The tax-gatherers offered themselves for baptism, and were told that there was room for them, if they would practise justice (Lk. iii. 12). Rough, and too often brutal, soldiers enquired what they should do, and they too were not rejected, but exhorted to abstain from violence and pillage, and to be content with their wages (Lk. iii. 14).