Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving into Matthew’s gospel, we’ll jump out of Jesus’ birth story and back in at His baptism. In Matthew’s gospel, as he shares what happened at Jesus’ baptism, we discover some amazing details. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include Jesus’ baptism, but as you might have guessed, since we are in the Year in Matthew, we’ll be looking at Matthew’s version of this event.

Let’s read what happened using the New American Standard Bible translation. Matthew includes Jesus’ baptism in chapter 3. Starting in verse 13, Matthew tells us that:

¹³ Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. ¹⁶ After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, ¹⁷ and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

This event is fascinating in my mind because of a number of reasons. Looking at this passage, we could divide it into two parts, and we could creatively call these two parts the part before Jesus’ baptism and the part after His baptism.

In the first part, the part before Jesus’ baptism, we have a short discussion between Jesus and John the Baptist. When Jesus comes to be baptized by John, John rightly concludes that this event should happen in the opposite way. John knows that Jesus has no need of baptism because Jesus has no need of repenting and turning back to God in a visible way. We could frame this a different way by saying that Jesus did not have to die to a past sinful life and be raised up into a new life with God.

I wonder if Jesus’ response to John essentially says that Jesus wants to set an example for all people. In verse 15, Jesus tells John, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” I don’t think Jesus needed to become more righteous than He already was, but I do believe that Jesus wanted to use this event as an official opening to His ministry.

After being baptized, when Jesus comes up out of the water, it is amazing to picture the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus like a dove and to hear a voice from heaven from God the Father drawing attention to His Son.

At the start of Jesus’ ministry, we see all three members of the Godhead distinctly represented and celebrating this opening to Jesus’ ministry together. However, we also see something else.

In the act of being baptized, at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, we see a powerful picture of Jesus’ future death and resurrection which would mark the end of His earthly ministry. I wonder if one other reason Jesus wanted to be baptized was to give this subtle foreshadowing that His life was destined to be given up not many years later. While no-one else likely realized this at the time, I’m sure Jesus and the Godhead knew, and for us looking back on this, the connection is clear.

But in the act of being baptized, we see another, more subtle foreshadowing of Jesus’ ministry. In the very act of letting someone else submerge you into the water, you are placing your life in their hands. In this way, we see Jesus, at the start of His ministry, place Himself below humanity and Jesus places His life in John’s hands. For the purposes of this big idea, John represents all humanity. Jesus places His life in humanity’s hands.

The baptism event at the beginning of Jesus ministry is one place we see Jesus intentionally setting the stage for a ministry of service and selflessness. In the baptism event, we discover Jesus placing Himself below humanity and foreshadowing His upcoming sacrifice.

While some people might say that this is just a story that has little value for us today, I find it amazing that three of the gospel writers would include this event thinking it wasn’t relevant for those they were sharing it with. Some of those who want to dismiss this event likely feel that it is as unnecessary as John did when he pushed back at Jesus, wanting instead to be baptized by Him.

However, there is a huge lesson we can learn in Jesus’ baptism. Within this event, Jesus sets an example for each of us living today. Not only is this example the obvious example of being baptized as a way of showing our repentance and turning away from sin, but it is an example of how we should live and orient our lives.

The greatest temptation we all face is living our lives for ourselves. This temptation places ourselves ahead of others. Within Jesus’ baptism, and the example He set for us, we see Jesus living for others, placing others first. Jesus lived His life completely dedicated to bringing glory to God through helping those who were hurting. With rare exceptions, Jesus always stopped what He was doing to help someone who needed help, and regardless of the circumstances, if Jesus knew a miracle would bring glory to God, He didn’t hesitate helping where He could so that God would be glorified.

Jesus lived selflessly and He called us to be His representatives here on this earth. We are called to show Jesus’ selfless love to those around us!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life. Choose to model Jesus and live your life in a way that helps others and brings glory to God. If you choose to align yourself with Christ, intentionally represent Christ as accurately as you can!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow personally closer to God each day. While pastors, speakers, authors, or even podcasters can give you ideas to think about, take what you hear and read and test it against the truth of the Bible. While technology changes with time, the spiritual truths the Bible teaches are timeless, and they will survive past the end of this world.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Early on during the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, John includes in his gospel record an event that the other three gospel writers don’t include. In this event, not only does Jesus look forward to His upcoming death on the cross, but God the Father speaks from Heaven one additional time.

While our passage is a little longer than what we typically cover in our episodes, I’m having a difficult time determining what to cut out. So let’s dive in and start reading what John describes happened one of the days Jesus was in the temple teaching leading up to His crucifixion, and we’ll see how far we get in our time together.

Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will be reading from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 20, John tells us that:

²⁰ There were some Greeks among the people who went up to worship during the feast. ²¹ They came to ask Philip for a favor. Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew. Then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive glory. ²⁴ What I’m about to tell you is true. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it. But anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it and have eternal life. ²⁶ Anyone who serves me must follow me. And where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

At this point, I must pause briefly, because what Jesus has just said here is incredibly powerful. Jesus challenges all of His followers to love Him more than they love their own lives, and while that is a huge challenge for His followers at every stage of history, Jesus follows it by promising His followers that God the Father will honor those who serve Him and who have placed Jesus ahead of their own lives.

When saying this, Jesus knows that this is challenging, and it might be difficult for us to fathom, but He never asked us to do anything He was unwilling to do. Picking back up in verse 27, Jesus continues by saying:

²⁷ “My soul is troubled. What should I say? ‘Father, keep me from having to go through with this’? No. This is the very reason I have come to this point in my life. ²⁸ Father, bring glory to your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven. It said, “I have brought glory to my name. I will bring glory to it again.” ²⁹ The crowd there heard the voice. Some said it was thunder. Others said an angel had spoken to Jesus.

³⁰ Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ Now it is time for the world to be judged. Now the prince of this world will be thrown out. ³² And I am going to be lifted up from the earth. When I am, I will bring all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show them how he was going to die.

³⁴ The crowd spoke up. “The Law tells us that the Messiah will remain forever,” they said. “So how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light. Do this before darkness catches up with you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in it. Then you can become children of light.” When Jesus had finished speaking, he left and hid from them.

Let’s pause briefly again here, because this brief discussion draws our attention onto the war that the first century culture had in their minds over Jesus. On one hand, Jesus clearly had God’s support and His favor. Otherwise, He could not have performed the miracles He did. However, on the other hand, Jesus kept telling the people that He was going to die, which did not fit with what they understood in the Law and Old Testament that describes the Messiah as lasting forever.

While Jesus could have simply told them that His death wouldn’t last long and that it would end in a resurrection, He instead focused His attention on subtly challenging the people to pay attention to Him and His ministry.

However, part of me wonders if these people were more interested in finding excuses and reasons not to believe in Jesus than to find reasons to believe. Picking back up in verse 37, John tells us that:

³⁷ Jesus had performed so many signs in front of them. But they still would not believe in him. ³⁸ This happened as Isaiah the prophet had said it would. He had said,

“Lord, who has believed what we’ve been saying?
    Who has seen the Lord’s saving power?”

³⁹ For this reason, they could not believe. As Isaiah says in another place,

⁴⁰ “The Lord has blinded their eyes.
    He has closed their minds.
So they can’t see with their eyes.
    They can’t understand with their minds.
    They can’t turn to the Lord. If they could, he would heal them.”

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

⁴² At the same time that Jesus did those signs, many of the Jewish leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not openly admit they believed. They were afraid they would be thrown out of the synagogue. ⁴³ They loved praise from people more than praise from God.

Pausing yet again, I want to point out how powerful this phrase is. John tells us that these “leaders” were more interested in getting praise from people rather than focusing on getting praise from God. Jesus lived His life entirely seeking praise from God. Jesus would not accept praise from people, and I believe this is a challenge Jesus has for His followers as well. We should seek praise from God over praise or fame from this world.

To wrap up our passage, let’s pick back up in verse 44:

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only. They also believe in the one who sent me. ⁴⁵ The one who looks at me sees the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world to be its light. So no one who believes in me will stay in darkness.

⁴⁷ “I don’t judge a person who hears my words but does not obey them. I didn’t come to judge the world. I came to save the world. ⁴⁸ But there is a judge for anyone who does not accept me and my words. These words I have spoken will judge them on the last day. ⁴⁹ I did not speak on my own. The Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have said. ⁵⁰ I know that his command leads to eternal life. So everything I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

In this passage, Jesus tells us that His words will be the judge on the last day. This is important for us to pay attention to because Jesus’ words are recorded for us to know. Not only do we have recorded the words Jesus spoke in the first century while He walked on the earth, but there have been times God spoke directly in the Old Testament. In these instances, we can conclude since Jesus is One with God, that the words and messages God spoke in the Old Testament will also be included as part of the words that judge humanity on the last day.

Everything Jesus spoke came from God the Father, and everything Jesus did while here on earth was to bring glory to God the Father. God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit love humanity, and that is why Jesus came into this world to give His life for us.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Be sure to place God first in your life and to seek His praise. While it might seem crazy to think about, Jesus has challenged each of us to love God more than our own lives. He has called us to follow Him above everything else. Jesus tells us that God the Father will honor those who have placed Jesus ahead of themselves.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with Jesus further. Never let a speaker, author, pastor, or podcaster stand between you and God. God wants a personal relationship with you, and your relationship begins when you pray and personally study the Bible for yourself.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, or turn away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!