“The Baptism of Jesus”
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness." Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; 17 and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Why did Jesus submit himself to John’s baptism? In Luke, chapter 3, John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ baptism is the acceptance and the beginning of his mission as God’s suffering Servant, and he submitted himself entirely to his Father’s will. Out of love, he agreed to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins. Do you know the joy of trust and submission to God?
Our Father exclaimed his delight in his Son and spoke aloud for everyone in the land to hear. The Holy Spirit was also present Jesus' ministry began the day he rose from the waters of the Jordan river. Jesus will be the source of the Spirit for all who come to believe in Him. At his baptism, the heavens opened and the waters were sanctified by the descent of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, signifying a new creation.
How can we begin to understand the mystery of Jesus’ baptism? Gregory of Nazianzus, a seventh century Church father tells us: “Let us be buried with Christ by Baptism to rise with him; let us go down with him to be raised with him; and let us rise with him to be glorified with him." Do you want to see changes in your life? By being an instrument of the gospel, can the gospel make some of these changes? The Lord is ever ready to renew us in his Spirit. We are called to be the “light” to those around us; The Lord wants his love and truth to shine through us so that others may see the goodness and truth of God’s message of salvation.
Your prayer for the week: Ask the Lord to fill you with his Holy Spirit so that you may radiate the joy of the gospel to those around you.
Last time i made a comment but it disappeared..
ReplyDeleteAnyway just saying it was nice to meet most of you during Winter Break, good luck to everyone!
"Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness."
ReplyDeleteThe image of Jesus sits in my mind; He sits on a glorious throne, of which gleams with superiority; However, I always forget that Jesus, himself walked the pains of humanity.Yet he never underestimates our potential to fixate the flaws of our nature. The fact that he allows John to baptize him symbolized the forgiving nature of Christ; That though we are sinful in our actions, God never fails to let us keep going. If John can baptize Christ, then our own hands have capabilities to change our surroundings one by one!
I agreed with Monica, I also always forget Jesus himself suffered what people suffered, and surely much more. I usually underestimated all the things that God has done for us. God sent his son to the earth to suffer and to die. There are a lot of worship songs about Jesus coming to earth, however, sometimes I just sing it or say it, without really thinking about how mighty for someone to sacrifice himself for others.
ReplyDelete"Out of love, he agreed to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins."
How many human would walk into their own painful death fearlessly to save others like what Jesus did?