John practiced what he preached. He completely separated himself from the religious hypocrisy of the day and lived out his belief in God boldly. While the Pharisees were focused on what they looked like and what people thought about them, John was focused only on winning converts to God and preparing the way for the Messiah (John didn't spend too much time worrying about fashion - i.e. camel skin). Is the life I am living helping to prepare others for the message of Jesus? Am I walking the talk? Do people know who I serve and what I believe by the way I live my life?
Verse 11 and 12 reminded me of a sermon I heard from my man crush Rob Bell, "The flames of heaven are hotter than the flames of hell." Meaning that some people will think the ideals of God's kingdom are tortuous because they go against what they personally strive after. The gospel of Jesus is beautiful, but his message has bite to it. John knew that the Messiah that was coming, was bringing a message that flies in the face of human ideals. "Put others above yourself. If you follow me - life is going to be hard - people will hate you. Take up your cross daily." The fire of Jesus message quickly burns away those who are uninterested in leaving selfishness and self service behind. Are there expectations that Jesus has for his followers that I ignore because I like the way I am living now?
When Jesus came to John for baptism - John felt completely unqualified - like he shouldn't be doing it. He even tells Jesus, "You should be baptizing me!" But Jesus honors John's ministry by allowing him to baptize the perfect son of God. There will be times that we feel we are unqualified to serve God...to lead people towards God; but we are the hands and feet of God in this world and qualified or no, if we put our faith in Him and rely on His power, He will use us to further His kingdom.
Why did Jesus, who was perfect, have to get baptized? Well there are a lot of possible reasons. He was confessing the sin of the entire Nation of Israel. He was showing his support for John's ministry. He was kicking off his public ministry with humility which stood in direct opposition to the arrogant religious leaders of the day. He was perfect and did not need to be cleansed of sins, but he allowed John to baptize him to show his obedient service to the father which would continue as he walked through his life towards the cross. What can I do in my life, to go out of my way to bow to the will of God?
4 comments:
No brownie points for me here – just the facts of what I have been doing – first I read the NIV and then The Message for the chapter of the day.
I always like the picture of John – he only cared what God thought about him – not anyone else - wish I was more like him.
Also liked how The Message talked about the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to John – he tells them “Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It's your life that must change, not your skin! And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father.” Later on in John 8:31-41, they do just that with Jesus – and they are promptly and appropriately smacked down!
I was always taught and agree that Jesus’ baptism signified the beginning of His ministry. It was also the beginning of His example. Later on Jesus would command us to be baptized. A great leader will always lead by example – and what an example to follow.
j
Well i read this passage out of the King James version so i dont know if some of the wording is the same in the NIV.
What first struck out to me was the fact that in verse three its tells us to be srtiaght in our path of the Lord. I like this a lot becuase we shouldn't stray left and right but we should be focused "straight on Jesus".
The other thing i liked was it said that God is like a axe in the roots of every tree and if they produce bad fruit he will chop them down and cast them into a
fire. I dont think God will do that to us, but what i got out of this is that God in at the root of every situation and event. Which i think is very cool.
There are a few things that stand out about Jesus' baptism: he was being obedient. Though he did not need to be baptized for the same reasons we are baptized, he did it in obedience to his father. Showed humility by submitting to a higher will by doing something he didn't need to. The other thing that stands out is Jesus' stance on wanting to identify himself with a group of people. His baptism shows support and identification with what was John's ministry at the time. Jesus was proud to partake in the ministry of John.
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