Reflective Bible Study

In Jesus’ main teaching about who John the Baptist was, the gospel of Luke includes a side-note that is worth paying attention to. This side-note reveals a key aspect of human nature and it is one that is very relevant for us living today.

Luke describes how the people responded by saying, “When the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they all agreed that God’s teaching was good, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts on the law refused to accept God’s plan for themselves; they did not let John baptize them.” (v. 29-30)

This is incredibly important for us to notice, because even before Jesus arrived in the spotlight, John the Baptist’s ministry was creating a distinct dividing line between the people. The common people, that also happened to include people as horrible as tax collectors, accepted John’s teaching and were baptized. This led them to be open and receptive to Jesus’ ministry a few years later.

On the other hand, the Pharisees and religious experts rejected or ignored John’s ministry, and because of this, they ultimately rejected Jesus’ ministry as well.

This draws our attention to a key insight in human nature: It is easier to validate a decision you have already made than it is to change your mind.

The religious leaders had decided that John’s new teaching was not significant, relevant, or worthy of attention, and because of this, they simply validated their previous decision when Jesus steps onto the scene. Their closed minds and attitude towards John led them to be closed-minded towards Jesus as well.

But being open-minded towards John the Baptist led people towards being open-minded and accepting of Jesus – and this group of people was the ones Jesus specifically came for. This group of sinners realized their need for a Savior, and Jesus stepped into humanity to be their “Messiah” for eternity.

In our lives today, we should be open to the people God brings our way and test their teaching with what the Bible has taught us God is like. Being open, accepting, and loving are things God has called us to do for each other, but we are also called to test all ideas based on the God who loved us enough to die for us. It is easier to validate previous decisions than to change our minds, so we must be intentional and thoughtful about the decisions we make.

One of Jesus’ better known disciples was Andrew, and periodically we find him appearing by name in the various gospels. However, in the passage we are focusing in on in this entry, we have the first glimpse of this man who was one of the first disciples. When looking at what this passage tells us about Andrew, we see someone who we can definitely learn from.

The first thing we can see is what is implied at the beginning of this passage. Andrew was one of John the Baptist’s followers. He had paid attention to John’s preaching and knew that John was simply a forerunner for the promised Messiah that would come. It seems to me like Andrew followed because he wanted to learn who the Messiah was. If anyone would proclaim the Messiah, it would be the person God sent to announce Him – and Andrew knew this was John the Baptist’s role.

So when John does announce Jesus to be the Messiah, we can learn something else about Andrew.

The second thing we can learn from Andrew is the first thing He does – which is to leave John the Preacher and follow Jesus the Messiah. For Andrew, following Jesus was an intentional choice, and he and an unnamed disciple (who may have been John, the author of this gospel) chose to follow Jesus before Jesus called them to be disciple-apostles. Each of us must decide to intentionally follow Jesus and this often will happen prior to Jesus calling us to fill the role He created us to live.

The third thing we can learn from Andrew is the first thing He does after finding out where Jesus was staying. In verse 41, we read, “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah!’ The Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ means the same as the Greek word ‘Christ.’” Andrew instinctively went and found someone and brought them to Jesus.

So in what we learn from Andrew, we have three stages of discipleship: Choosing to learn the identity of the Messiah is; choosing to follow the Messiah; and choosing to invite others to join the Messiah’s movement. Where are you in these stages?

When I read the details surrounding Jesus’ baptism, one thing I am amazed by is the reaction John the Baptist gives Jesus when He comes to be baptized.

It is one thing for a pastor or leader to push back on a baptism request because of something they see in the individual or in the request itself, but in John the Baptist’s case, he is presented with a unique problem.

If baptism is simply a public symbol of washing one’s past sins away, then Jesus would have had no reason to go into the water. In this respect, John the Baptist is completely justified in his response, “John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’” (v. 14)

But when we look at Jesus’ response, we see an interesting idea presented. Jesus answered John’s pushback by saying, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (v. 15) In Jesus’ response, it is like He is saying, “Let’s do it this way so I can be an example for others to follow.”

John was justified in his pushback. Of everyone who has ever lived, Jesus was the One person who did not need baptism, but at the opening of His ministry, Jesus chooses to be baptized, and one of the reasons for this is because He came to be our example. Jesus became our ultimate example in baptism even though John was technically correct that Jesus should be baptizing him.

When I read about Jesus’ birth from the gospels, I am continually amazed at those who were chosen to be included. Not only were Mary and Joseph unknown at the time, but pretty much everyone outside of some key rulers and dignitaries are completely unknown to us today. If it had not been for this extraordinary birth, this young couple would have been unknown as well.

But there is another group of otherwise unknown people that our passage focuses in on: “In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.” (v. 8)

Mary and Joseph were handpicked by God to be humanity’s parents for Jesus, and it would seem that these shepherds were also picked by God for a reason. It seems completely backward to us, but sometimes God reveals His plans from the bottom up.

The role of a shepherd was one of the lowest status roles – and the night time shepherd was the lowest status of the shepherds. But it was to these shepherds that God sent an angel choir to. They were the ones God picked to welcome Jesus into the world. While the wise men would also arrive eventually, their trip was mainly because they saw the star and paid enough attention to check it out. The wise men acted on their suspicion that God was up to something – and they were right – but the shepherds were minding their own business and received a special visit from God’s messengers letting them know what was happening in the town nearby.

This leads me to understand that God sometimes reveals His plans from the bottom up. In our world, we typically think of a top-down leadership communication chain, where the big plans and important pieces of information travel from the management team or board members down through the company. But God acts differently. God started at the bottom, and He created a movement by inviting the most socially outcast people to be among the first to know.

Never think your position will invalidate God choosing you to share a message.