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Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. Matthew 3:13
Before Jesus officially began His public ministry, He had to take a couple of very important steps. The first was to be baptized.
Sometimes that troubles people. Why should Jesus have to be baptized? The idea certainly bothered John the Baptist. Matthew tells us that when Jesus came to be baptized, "John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me? (Matthew 3:14).
In one way, it's really not so hard to understand why some don't understand Jesus' baptism. The Gospel of Luke tells us that John preached "a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Luke 3:3). Since Jesus never committed any sin and therefore never had to repent of anything (see Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15), what purpose would His baptism serve? Why should someone who never sinned undergo a baptism for the repentance of sins? John knew of Jesus' spotless character (see John 1:29), and so at first he opposed Jesus' request.
So why did Jesus ask John to baptize Him?
Before suggesting an answer, perhaps it would help if we recall something of John's background and importance.
The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus and John were cousins. By his early thirties, John had emerged as a major national figure. It's worth noting that Josephus, the renowned Jewish historian, wrote more about John than he did about Jesus. Why? Since the death of the prophet Malachi -- a period of some four hundred years - Israel had not heard from a genuine prophet of God.
Until John.
John shook the nation with his bold words and unusual actions, drawing huge crowds eager to hear him preach. He was a radical, a revolutionary who proclaimed an uncompromising message of repentance and faith in the Messiah. John came at a strategic time in human history when the old covenant was about to roll into a new one and when all the law and sacrifices were to be fulfilled in the life and ministry of one man -- a man like no other who had walked the earth (or will again). That mans was Jesus. Yet at this point, John's notoriety and fame were greater.
But John had no desire to toot his own horn. He clearly knew his role. He was to pave the way and point people to Jesus.
John humbly accepted his role as the forerunner of the Messiah (see John 1:27). His motto in life was, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). He felt content to speak as a herald of the coming King.
When John clearly understood Jesus to be the Messiah, he directed even his own disciples to start following the Lord (see John 1:36-37). Once he did that, he was ready to fade into obscurity. His role was to point people to Jesus and then step aside.
For all these reasons, Jesus proclaimed John to be the greatest prophet who ever lived. "I say to you," Jesus declared, "among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist" (Luke 7:28).
None greater? How can that be? We know of no miracles that John performed? Unlike Moses, he never turned the Nile to blood. Unlike Elijah, he never called fire down from heaven. He never stopped the rain or raised a single person from the dead. He left behind no written record, unlike Isaiah and Jeremiah and even the "minor prophets" like Malachi and Micah.
So why would Jesus call him the greatest of prophets?
Only one reason: his nearness and connection to Jesus. As God's appointed herald of the Messiah, John had no peer among the prophets.
How many of us think of greatness in terms like these? Too many of us wonder how God can enrich our lives, make s feel better about ourselves, or help us achieve success in business. We ask what God can do for us to make us greater and better.
John had a very different attitude. He constantly asked himself, "What can I do to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah? How can I direct them to Him? How can I decrease and He increase?
John's godly character and unique mission help us to understand why Jesus came to His cousin to be baptized. For a long time, John had been preparing the people to receive the coming Messiah: at the baptism of Jesus, he would publicly identify the Lord as God's Anointed One.
Jesus also was baptized because He had come into the world to identify with the human race. So it was He who was without sin submitted to a baptism destined for sinners. "Permit it to be so now", He told John, "for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15)
When the day finally came for Jesus to make His very public stand, John welcomed Him into the waters of the Jordan River. As Jesus prayed, "the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21-22)
In this way, John found true greatness with God and with all humanity. His life stands as an example to us of what it takes to shake a nation.
May we adopt John's philosophy of life as well!
May Christ increase, and may we decrease.
If we really lived like that, who knows how it would affect others for their good?
Like John, we must prepare men and women to get ready for the kingdom of God. My the Word of God burn in our hearts as we, too, prepare the way of the Lord.
Before Jesus officially began His public ministry, He had to take a couple of very important steps. The first was to be baptized.
Sometimes that troubles people. Why should Jesus have to be baptized? The idea certainly bothered John the Baptist. Matthew tells us that when Jesus came to be baptized, "John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me? (Matthew 3:14).
In one way, it's really not so hard to understand why some don't understand Jesus' baptism. The Gospel of Luke tells us that John preached "a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Luke 3:3). Since Jesus never committed any sin and therefore never had to repent of anything (see Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15), what purpose would His baptism serve? Why should someone who never sinned undergo a baptism for the repentance of sins? John knew of Jesus' spotless character (see John 1:29), and so at first he opposed Jesus' request.
So why did Jesus ask John to baptize Him?
Before suggesting an answer, perhaps it would help if we recall something of John's background and importance.
The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus and John were cousins. By his early thirties, John had emerged as a major national figure. It's worth noting that Josephus, the renowned Jewish historian, wrote more about John than he did about Jesus. Why? Since the death of the prophet Malachi -- a period of some four hundred years - Israel had not heard from a genuine prophet of God.
Until John.
John shook the nation with his bold words and unusual actions, drawing huge crowds eager to hear him preach. He was a radical, a revolutionary who proclaimed an uncompromising message of repentance and faith in the Messiah. John came at a strategic time in human history when the old covenant was about to roll into a new one and when all the law and sacrifices were to be fulfilled in the life and ministry of one man -- a man like no other who had walked the earth (or will again). That mans was Jesus. Yet at this point, John's notoriety and fame were greater.
But John had no desire to toot his own horn. He clearly knew his role. He was to pave the way and point people to Jesus.
John humbly accepted his role as the forerunner of the Messiah (see John 1:27). His motto in life was, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). He felt content to speak as a herald of the coming King.
When John clearly understood Jesus to be the Messiah, he directed even his own disciples to start following the Lord (see John 1:36-37). Once he did that, he was ready to fade into obscurity. His role was to point people to Jesus and then step aside.
For all these reasons, Jesus proclaimed John to be the greatest prophet who ever lived. "I say to you," Jesus declared, "among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist" (Luke 7:28).
None greater? How can that be? We know of no miracles that John performed? Unlike Moses, he never turned the Nile to blood. Unlike Elijah, he never called fire down from heaven. He never stopped the rain or raised a single person from the dead. He left behind no written record, unlike Isaiah and Jeremiah and even the "minor prophets" like Malachi and Micah.
So why would Jesus call him the greatest of prophets?
Only one reason: his nearness and connection to Jesus. As God's appointed herald of the Messiah, John had no peer among the prophets.
How many of us think of greatness in terms like these? Too many of us wonder how God can enrich our lives, make s feel better about ourselves, or help us achieve success in business. We ask what God can do for us to make us greater and better.
John had a very different attitude. He constantly asked himself, "What can I do to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah? How can I direct them to Him? How can I decrease and He increase?
John's godly character and unique mission help us to understand why Jesus came to His cousin to be baptized. For a long time, John had been preparing the people to receive the coming Messiah: at the baptism of Jesus, he would publicly identify the Lord as God's Anointed One.
Jesus also was baptized because He had come into the world to identify with the human race. So it was He who was without sin submitted to a baptism destined for sinners. "Permit it to be so now", He told John, "for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15)
When the day finally came for Jesus to make His very public stand, John welcomed Him into the waters of the Jordan River. As Jesus prayed, "the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21-22)
In this way, John found true greatness with God and with all humanity. His life stands as an example to us of what it takes to shake a nation.
May we adopt John's philosophy of life as well!
May Christ increase, and may we decrease.
If we really lived like that, who knows how it would affect others for their good?
Like John, we must prepare men and women to get ready for the kingdom of God. My the Word of God burn in our hearts as we, too, prepare the way of the Lord.
