Introduction
Jesus begins His earthly ministry when He is about thirty years old (Luke 3:23). This first phase of Jesus’ earthly ministry will last about a year and a half. Let’s look at the circumstances surrounding this momentous occasion. Jesus’ ministry starts when the heavens are rolled back and His Father speaks. Wow! What would it have been like to hear God the Father speak? Put yourself in Jesus’ sandals today and listen to the Father speak to you.
Reading [You can read as much as you can, depending on your availability]
Luke 3:21-23
(or)
Matthew 3:13-17
(or)
Mark 1:9-11
Meditating [Use these questions to start your thinking]
- What three things does God the Father reveal about Jesus?
- For whose benefit was this revelation?
- What would it feel like for Jesus to hear the Father’s audible voice after thirty years?
- What other questions do you still have?
Sharing: Text ONE of your answers to the questions above to your team. Each team should post a sharing from a team member in the comments below.
Notice the sequence of events: Jesus leaves Nazareth looking to the Father for His next steps, feeling confident that the Father is leading Him to visit John. He meets with John and knows that the next step is to be baptised by him. What is this baptism? John said to the people that he was daily baptising, “‘I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire’” (Luke 3:16).
There are many different forms of baptism in the Bible. In this verse alone it mentions three: water, Holy Spirit and fire. It is important to understand what baptism meant in Bible times, especially in Jesus’ time. Baptism was used by people to identify with a messenger and his message. Thus, when people came out to John the Baptist and were baptised they were basically saying, “I believe John is a prophet and a messenger sent from God and I further believe that the words he is speaking, his message of a coming Messiah, is true.” When Jesus was baptised, He was saying, “I believe John was sent from God and I believe the message that He is preaching.” Baptism is all about identification, identifying with Jesus and His message and movement.
After being baptised, Jesus begins to pray (Luke 3:21). Did you catch that small little detail in the story? Jesus begins to talk with His Father. I wonder what He said. Did He ask a question like, “What is next, Father?” Or was He saying, “Here I am, Abba. Send Me!” We do not know, but whatever Jesus was praying, the Father’s answer comes quickly and clearly. The heavens open, the Spirit of God descends like a dove and rests on Jesus and the Almighty God says, “‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:22). Wow! Oh, to hear the voice of God in this way!
What did it feel like for Jesus to hear His Father say these words? They are the words we all long to hear. We were born with a need to hear our heavenly Father call us sons and daughters, to tell us He loves us and to hear that He is pleased with us. The words the Father speaks here are words of identity. The first biblical root is that of understanding our true identity. Have you identified with the person and work of Jesus?
Do you understand that at the moment you put your faith in Jesus as your Messiah, you are baptised into Christ? “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body —whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Cor. 12:13). This is the baptism that Jesus came to bring, the baptism of the Spirit. At the moment of your salvation, you were also given a new identity (Gal. 3:26-27; 2 Cor. 5:17). I challenge you to ask questions and dig deeper into your identity in Jesus. This is critical in your growth as a Christ-follower. Allow your identity in Jesus to grow in you. Embrace your new identity as a child of God, deeply loved by Him and well pleasing to Him.
Did you know? You are loved by God (1 John 3:1-3), you are God’s child (John 1:12) and God is pleased with you when you put your faith in Him (Heb. 11:6)? Without faith you cannot please God! When you believe by faith that Jesus died for your sins, God is pleased with you and says to you, “You are My child, I love you and I am pleased with you.”
Spend a few minutes talking with God about your identity. Hear Him say to you, “You are my child, I love you and I am pleased with you.” Now go out and share what you discovered with other people.
What would it feel like for Jesus to hear the Father’s audible voice after thirty years?
I’m sure it felt really great and was a boost to His spirit. Sometimes when I don’t hear from a good friend or family member after a long time it also brings nostalgia and remembering all of the good memories I have with that person so I think Jesus must have felt something similar.
What three things does God the Father reveal about Jesus?
Jesus is loved by the Father, Jesus is the Father’s Son, and the Father is pleased with Jesus. Hearing those words and knowing that God looks at us the same way because of our faith in the Son is encouraging and comforting
I thought the pssages today from Matthew Luke and Mark were interesting. Whenever I read over that John baptizes Jesus it’s very neat in my eyes because similar to yesterday that bumble talked about was how human was Jesus and him being baptized by John was something his father wanted and even though John didn’t feel qualified to baptize Christ. Christ still said it had to be done it just shows that even though he is part God and part human he still partook in the practice of baptism just to show people that he was no better than any of them.
In Matthew 3:13-17, God reveals to us that Jesus was His son whom He was well pleased and beloved. After reading the passage one thing that I took note was Jesus’ obedience and also how specific His baptism had to be. It was nice to picture God pleasing over Jesus after baptism. I can somewhat understand that feeling, especially that overwhelming feeling of love and grace when being welcomed into my spiritual family. I wish I can read more on how Jesus felt when He heard God’s voice..