The Baptism and Blessing of Jesus
Many people might ask why Jesus needed to be baptized by John, the Baptist, in the Jordan River like the other people who were coming to him. Jesus had never sinned, so He did not need to repent or to be baptized for repentance. However, Jesus was God and Man, so in His humanity He desired to identify with all of the people coming to John to show them He was human. Therefore, He submitted to baptism to fulfill all righteousness. That way, no one could have any question about whether He had done the right thing or not. After His baptism, we see how pleasing He was to the Father, as the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, and the voice of God came from heaven pronouncing the blessing of God upon His Son. (Luke 3:21,22) I believe there is a great truth presented here for all of us to grasp.
Yes, Jesus was the God/Man. He was unique in being 100% God and 100% man at the same time. The only thing that was not like us was that He did not have the sinful nature, because of the virgin birth. However, being human, Jesus fully submitted to the Father, and He needed the Holy Spirit to fulfill the mission which He came to earth to accomplish. His full submission was so pleasing to the Father, that He told everyone there how pleased He was with His beloved Son. If Jesus needed to fully submit to the Father, how much more do we need to do that? If He needed the Spirit to guide Him and empower Him, how much more do we need Him to lead us? In reality, if we want to please the Lord and receive His blessing those two things are essential in our lives, as we live as followers of Christ. I pray that we all will be like Jesus in these ways, so we can bring a smile to the face of God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Luke 4-6.
Yes, Jesus was the God/Man. He was unique in being 100% God and 100% man at the same time. The only thing that was not like us was that He did not have the sinful nature, because of the virgin birth. However, being human, Jesus fully submitted to the Father, and He needed the Holy Spirit to fulfill the mission which He came to earth to accomplish. His full submission was so pleasing to the Father, that He told everyone there how pleased He was with His beloved Son. If Jesus needed to fully submit to the Father, how much more do we need to do that? If He needed the Spirit to guide Him and empower Him, how much more do we need Him to lead us? In reality, if we want to please the Lord and receive His blessing those two things are essential in our lives, as we live as followers of Christ. I pray that we all will be like Jesus in these ways, so we can bring a smile to the face of God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Luke 4-6.