Why was Jesus baptized? What did Jesus’s baptism accomplish and communicate to us?

Luke tells us, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21-22, ESV).

Matthew’s Gospel account adds, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented.” (Matthew 3:13-15, ESV).

This conversation and interaction between John the Baptist and Jesus reveals Jesus desire to be obedient to the requirement of the law and his desire to fulfill the law in order to “fulfill all righteousness”.

Is it possible that sometimes we do not want what we deserve? Could it be possible that the injustice of not receiving what is ours is the biggest blessing and benefit of our lives?

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Rome, saying, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 ESV).

We deserve death as payment for our personal sin and rebellion against God.

However, God in his infinite love and mercy has given us his free gift of everlasting life in his son Jesus.

Sometimes life, grace, mercy, and blessing come through not getting what we deserve.

May we experience God’s grace as we do not receive the payment of death for our misdeeds, but eternal life through Jesus.

When shadows fall over our lives and darkness encroaches, where do we look for light?

In life we can encounter shadows and darkness which can cause us to stumble, fear, loose hope, or even despair. Darkness can cause us to loose perspective and can keep us from seeing clearly.

The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1 ESV).

The Apostle John wrote this about Jesus in his gospel account, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9, ESV).

Later in the gospel of John, Jesus said this about himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, ESV).

How do you hold up under pressure? How do you keep going when you are faced with difficulties and obstacles in your life?

When we are heavily burdened, it can be challenging to hold up under the pressure. It can be overwhelming to push forward when faced with challenges and resistance.

The Psalmist writes, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22 ESV).

When we cannot hold up under the weight of our burdens, we need to place them upon the shoulders of God who can bear the load.

When we cannot sustain our course forward, we must allow God to sustain us along the way and to help us navigate our way forward.

Can you be confident of future growth? Is it possible to predict future blessing and rewarding harvest in your life?

We grow the seeds we sow. We harvest what we plant. We receive from the labor we invest.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Corinth this encouragement, saying, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6 ESV).

When we plant the abundant seeds of God’s kingdom purpose and blessing, we will harvest an abundance of God’s kingdom purpose and blessing. We reap what we sow.

Paul exhorted the Galatian church of this truth, saying, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7, ESV).

Who are you? What does God say about who you are?

You are the beloved of God. God made you. God knows you. God has redeemed you. God calls you by his own name. God makes you his own.

The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1, ESV).

We also see what God thinks of his children at the baptism of his Son Jesus. God sends his Holy Spirit to descend upon Jesus. God calls Jesus his Son, his beloved—even before Jesus began his official ministry. God says he is well pleased with Jesus, and he had not even begun to serve him.

Luke tells us this about the Baptism of Jesus, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:21-22, ESV).

What if we were born into this world, lived our lives, and never grew up?

We could not imagine an infant being born and living a long life and never growing up.

If we expect that people should physically grow up, should we not also expect to grow up in our relationship with God?

As we grow up physically, we should also grow up in our faith. We should grow up in our relationship with Jesus.

The Apostle Peter spoke about this growth when he wrote, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation--if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:2-3, ESV).

As followers of Jesus, we should crave the nourishment of our faith. We are to desire to grow up into salvation.

Do you ever really stop growing? What are your plans for growth in the next year?

As long as we have breath in our lungs, we should experience growth in our lives. We never stop growing and we should actively pursue growth in our life daily.

In the Book of First Samuel, we see the young Prophet Samuel growing physically, spiritually, and relationally—in his relationship with God and with others.

Scripture tells us “The boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.” (1 Samuel 2:26, ESV).

This is also similar to how Luke describes Jesus’ growth in his gospel account when he says, “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52, ESV).

Do you ever feel like you do not belong? Do you feel like a stranger in a strange land? Has it ever felt like you were at war with yourself, or with the world around you?

We do not belong to this broken world. As followers of Jesus, we are citizens of another kingdom—The Kingdom of God.

Our sinful nature is at odds with, and is even at war with, the presence and purpose of God in our lives and in this world.

The Apostle Peter wrote, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1 Peter 2:11, ESV).

As we journey through this life, we cannot live the way we want to—in our own self-seeking and selfish sinful desires. We must live differently in our lives and in this world.

Who does the work of making you right with God? Can you set yourself apart for holiness? Can you purify yourself? Can you sanctify yourself?

The process of sanctification, or being made holy or purified from sin, is something we participate in, but ultimately, it is something that God does. God sanctifies us. God purifies us. God completes us. God finishes his purifying work of holiness in us and through us.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Thessalonian church with these encouraging words, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, ESV).

Paul assured the Thessalonian church that it is God that sanctifies completely. It is God who keeps us blameless. The one who calls us to purification, or sanctification, is faithful to do the work of purification in our lives. God is working on each of us to make us blameless. He will surely do it.

Do you see yourself as someone with good intentions? You want to do the right thing, right?

Most of us desire to do the right thing and to live our lives with good intentions, but we do not always live up to our own standards of doing right. We certainly fall short of a perfect standard of what is right—God’s standard—God’s law.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Rome, saying, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV).

Paul lamented to the Roman church, saying, “So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.” (Romans 7:21, ESV).

Our sinful nature leads us astray and causes us to fall short of God’s best and to fall short of doing what is right. Every one of us have failed to do right. When we desire to do the right thing, evil, sin, and temptation is close by leading us astray.

Who does God want to come to salvation? How should we share this good news?

God desires that all people would come to know him and love him. This is why Jesus came into the world.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthian church, saying, “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” (1 Corinthians 10:32-33, ESV).

When we share the good news of Jesus’ salvation for all people, we should do it in a loving manner.

Paul did not want to give any offense to anyone. Elsewhere, he said to “speak truth in love”. Paul desired to please everyone in all that he did to share the good news of Jesus, and we should do the same, so that everyone may be saved and know Jesus.

What does what you wear say about who you are? Does who you are also determine what you wear?

As followers of Jesus, we are called to put on Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Rome, saying, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:14, ESV).

The follower of Jesus is clothed with the character of God, and clothes himself with God’s salvation and righteousness, as we do not have any of our own.

God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, saying, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10, ESV).

What is the significance of Jesus being born into this world? How is Jesus different from any other ruler or king?

The Israelite people were looking for a King from the days of old, after having settled into the promised land. God was faithful and gave them a king, but he did not stop there. God gave his people Jesus—a Savior King.

The Apostle Paul spoke of this glorious truth as he spoke to the people about Jesus in the book of Acts. Paul told the salvation history of Israel, saying, “Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul… And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’” (Acts 13:21-22, ESV).

Who would you exclude from receiving God’s greatest gift ever given? Is there anyone outside the goodness, grace, mercy, and salvation of our God?

When Jesus, the savior of the world, was born into this world, he came in great humility and revealed himself first to lowly and despised shepherds abiding in the fields at night.

Luke’s gospel account tells us, “There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” (Luke 2:8-9, ESV).

These faithful shepherds had never encountered anything like this before and were filled with paralyzing fear. God chose to reveal himself to these shepherds first—even though they were thought of as destitute, impure, dirty, and were despised by the culture.

Do you ever find yourself being impatient? What is worth waiting for? What are you currently waiting for?

Many of us are are currently waiting on something. Many of us are waiting for God to move or act on a specific need or desire in our life. However, most of us do not like to wait—and we especially do not like waiting for God.

The Psalmist writes, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” (Psalm 130:5-8, ESV).

Waiting for God is hope filled because God is faithful and true to his word.

What lights your way and gives you life? Is your pathway through life illuminated? Do you experience yourself as having an abundance of life?

In Jesus we have both light and life. We have the light we need to illuminate our way, and we have the life that Jesus gives us as the light of life.

In John’s gospel account, Jesus spoke to his disciples, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, ESV).

We can have light and life as we follow Jesus—the light of the world. When we follow Jesus, we do not walk in darkness anymore, we walk in God’s light.

The Apostle John tells us, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7, ESV).

How much power do you have? How much power would you like? How much power does God possess and allow to rest upon you?

God’s presence and power is with us and rests upon us.

In his letter to the Church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul wrote, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

God’s grace and presence with us is sufficient for all our needs. When we are weak, then God is strong in us. We have the power of God resting upon us as followers of Jesus.

Have you ever felt anxious, uncertain, or depressed?

You are not alone.

Anxiety, uncertainty, and depression is an epidemic according to The Connected Generation: How Christian Leaders Around the World Can Strengthen Faith and Well-Being Among 18 — 35-Year-Olds, which is a research report by Barna Group.

Barna’s research indicates that “among Millennials, women are significantly more likely than men to feel: anxious about important decisions (47% vs. 33%), uncertain about the future (45% vs. 34%), and sad or depressed (33% vs. 22%).” (The Barna Group, 2020).

Around the holidays, feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, and depression can intensify for many of us, leading to a downward spiral of negative emotions.

What made God create all things from nothing, bring order out of chaos, and light out of darkness?

God has always existed and is fully complete, and yet, God desired to create all things that we know, enjoy, and appreciate. Jesus was with God in the beginning and he is the beginning of everything. God created everything by his Word—through Jesus.

In Jesus is light and life. God has brought light into darkness. Jesus shines his light into this dark world and this world’s darkness will never overcome his light.

The Apostle John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5, ESV).