Through the Bible - Psalms 120 -125, 2 Corinthians 6-7
Our church will be conducting their annual baptism out at a nearby lake this afternoon. It will be a day of celebration and rejoicing.
Yesterday, in Matthew 3 I read of the account of Jesus' baptism and wondered how a modern day pastor would respond if Jesus showed up to be baptized. What would he do? Would he be reluctant as John the Baptist was?
Jesus followed through in obedience to the Father whose reaction is shown in today's verses.
Matthew 3:16-17 English Standard Version (ESV) 16And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17and behold, a voice from heaven said,"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
To put it mildly, the Father was pleased that Jesus followed through in being baptized. Why would Christ want to be baptized?
Jesus said that it should be done as God requires (NLT).
Max Lucado, in "3:16" writes, "Here's why; Since you and I cannot pay, Christ did. We've broken commandments, promises, and, worst of all, we've broken God's heart. ... But Christ sees our plight. We owe God a perfect life. Perfect obedience to every command. Not just the command of baptism, but the commands of humility, honesty, integrity. We can't deliver. Might as well charge us for the property of Manhattan. But Christ can and He did. His plunge into the Jordan is a picture of His plunge into our sin. His baptism announces , "Let me pay".
Your baptism responds, "You bet I will."
Have you followed through in obedience by being baptized? If you've realized that you can't earn your salvation, take the plunge today, is He calling you saying "Let me pay". It will please God and bring Him great joy.
In Christ,
Mike
Mike
Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace NIV
Matthew 3:13-17
New Living Translation (NLT)
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to talk him out of it. "I am the one who needs to be baptized by you," he said, "so why are you coming to me?" 15 But Jesus said, "It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires." So John agreed to baptize him.
16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy."
Matthew 3:13-17
New Living Translation (NLT)
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to talk him out of it. "I am the one who needs to be baptized by you," he said, "so why are you coming to me?"15 But Jesus said, "It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires." So John agreed to baptize him.
16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy."
No comments:
Post a Comment