Good Shepherd Church Seminary; Module 14 Jesus the Man; Baptism Part 1

Yeshu'a Bar-Yosef - Jesus Son of Joseph

GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH SEMINARY

MODULE 14

BAPTISM OF JESUS PART 1

Objectives; 

By the end of the modules on Baptism you should;

1. Know what Baptism means

2. Be able to preach about the Baptism of Jesus at the hands of John the Baptist

3. Know there are links between the gospels in the New Testament and the prophecies in the Old Testament

4. Know that God Himself witnessed by speech and sign that Jesus was His
    Son, the Son of God

5. Know who John the Baptist was

CONTENTS;

1. The Gospels

2. The Baptism of Jesus

3. John's Message

4. Why did Jesus, Son of God without sin, choose to be baptised?

5. God spoke from heaven during Jesus' Baptism

1. THE GOSPELS

The Baptism of Jesus is described in the New Testament in the Gospels.

Take up your Bible and read the passages.

Make sure that in your personal prayer time you reflect on the Baptism of Jesus

The Passages of the Baptism are to be found in -

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 3, verses 1 to 17

Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1, verses 9 to 11

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 3, verses 21 to 38

Gospel of John, Chapter 1, verses 19 to 34.

2. THE BAPTISM OF JESUS;

Jesus came from Galilee to be baptised by John the Baptist. 

All four Gospels mention the event - so it is an accurate event.

However, the four Gospels have some slight differences.

Many believe this authenticates the Gospels, whose writers were confident enough

to witness to the truth of the Life of Jesus as they had personally experienced it.

Our recollections differ somewhat about every occasion; such as at a wedding the

experience of the mother of the bride will be different from a waiter assisting at

the bridal table.

Same event; different personal experience.

In his Gospel Luke affirms that John the Baptist is indeed the cousin of Jesus,

the same cousin who leapt in the womb when He first heard Mary's salutation

and sensed the presence of the Blessed Son within the Womb.

Luke tells us that John was the son of Zechariah.

This meant that Jesus and John were, according to genealogy, second cousins.

Mary and Elizabeth were first cousins, and Zechariah - Elizabeth's husband - was thus Jesus' second cousin's father. 

So; they were related.

Luke pointed out that John went into all the country around the Jordan,  preaching a baptism of repentance for sins.

He linked this ministry of John - who had heard the word of God in the desert - to the 

prophecy made by the Holy Prophet Isaiah.

In the Old Testament, look up the Book of Isaiah. 

If you have difficulty, look at the Contents Page at the front of the Bible, which

will give you the page number of the Book of Isaiah.

Otherwise, you can buy Bible Indexing Tabs and mark all the sections of the Bible so

you can refer to different passages with ease and swiftness.

Bible Indexing Tabs can be bought at Christian bookstores or online.

For a link, see below.

Isaiah prophesied that 

'A voice of one callingin the desert,

Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight,

the rough ways smooth.

And humanity will see God's salvation.'

(Isaiah 40;3 - 5)

He was manifestly speaking of John the Baptist, and must certainly have been

inspired by God with either a vision, words or understanding all that time ago

in order to have so accurately forecast what came to pass.

3. JOHN'S MESSAGE

John's message was completely new in the context of Judaism.

His baptismal ministry was so radical in its implications that he became known as 'the Baptiser' or 'the Baptist'.

In Judaism, the Tvilah - a purification ritual of immersion in water  was probably known to Jesus and John.

Tvilah is required for - among other things - conversion to Judaism.

It differs from Baptism in being repeatable, while baptism is performed only once.

John's message bypassed the temple and the priestly system, teaching that

forgiveness came from confession of sins and immersion in water.

John's message spread like wildfire.

He became so famous that the Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus knew of him.

Josephus wrote that John was a good man who commanded Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another,  and piety towards God. 

Josephus further wrote of the baptism John preached and carried out (Antiquities 18.5.2)

So; John became well known.

And with fame came danger. He was in the public eye, and laid down challenge to

the authorities of the time.

John preached of the coming of the Messiah. And then came the crowning moment

of his dedicated ministry; the Holy of Holies, the Son of God Himself came to Him

to submissively bow His Head and be immersed in the water as He prepared for

His Ministry which would have eternal repercussions and eventually bring down the

whole edifice of the powers of evil.

4. WHY DID JESUS, SON OF GOD WITHOUT SIN, CHOOSE TO BE BAPTISED?

Jesus chose to be baptised because He had heard of John's radical call, and

knew that John was the Elijah who had been promised; the voice calling in the

wilderness.

John was witnessing that He Himself was coming.

What better way to announce His impending Ministry than to go the hotbed of

the political and spiritual happenings at the River Jordan, and immerse Himself - literally and figuratively - into the depths of the waters of the Mission awaiting Him.

Jesus must have prayed about this.

It was a decision not to be taken lightly, because by this first radical step, it meant

that Jesus was starting to take a step away from living the letter of the Holy Law

of Mary and Joseph and his ancestors.

New wine must never go into old wineskins; however the new wine is often untried,

prone to spoiling, and nervous.

Jesus would possibly have been somewhat nervous as He began the Ministry.

It is clear He was unsure as to the exact form His Messianic Ministry would take,

as He was baptised and then discerned how to carry out His Mission while spending

quiet time with God in the desert.

It is even possible that Jesus asked God to give Him a sign that this was the time.

Or it is possible that already then Jesus was communicating on a very deep level 

with God, and discussing plans for the salvation of the world and the wresting of 

the control satan had gained over earth from him with Moses and Elijah.

Jesus answered John's query as to why he asked for baptism from Him, when he (John) should be asking baptism from Jesus as Messiah.

Jesus told John, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all

righteousness." (Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4, verse 15. 

'Righteousness and blessing' in Hebrew is sedeq, and has a wider ranging meaning than in English usage.

'Righteousness' means 'uprightness' in the sense of 'adherence or conformity to

an established norm.'

In biblical usage righteousness is rooted in covenants and relationships.

Righteousness is thus the fulfilment of the terms of a Covenant between God

and humanity or between humans in the full range of human relationships.

'Blessing' means God's favour and protection.

Jesus thus sought to be baptised to show the Father that He was accepting the

terms of the Covenant between God and humanity - the Covenant that evil would

be overcome.

God sealed from the beginning a Covenant with humanity.

In the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis Chapter 2 verse 15, God spoke to

the serpent -the symbol of satan - saying;

"And I will put enmity

between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers,

he will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel."

Jesus well knew that accepting the terms meant war was being declared between

Him and satan, who would eventually be crushed by Him.

But the further terms prophesied that He would be struck in the heel, caused

great suffering by the evil one.

In Genesis God while speaking to satan, was prophetically proclaiming the results

of what satan did in the Garden of Eden.

Satan would strike at the heel of the woman's offspring.

This was in reference to the virgin born Jesus coming from a human bloodline.

The term strike at his heel refers to a setback; a trip up of severe nature.

This was prophecy by God of the death of Jesus. 

The death of Jesus as designed by satan with a view to Jesus' imprisonment post-death in Sheol (abode of the dead) - proved a setback for Jesus but only a 
temporary one.

The plan - unknown to satan - of  God to resurrect Jesus,  proved not only

to be a setback to satan and his plans, but the beginning of the process of
crushing his power completely.

It was the first step towards the eternal eradication of demonic interference in the lives of humanity which will be fully accomplished at the end of the world which 
Jesus prophesied.

It was the declaration of war in the spiritual realms.

Jesus knew that it would be a bitter battle in a previously untried dimension, and

He came to the Baptism to ask for the special favour and protection He would

require from the Father in this new venture.

5. GOD SPOKE FROM HEAVEN DURING JESUS' BAPTISM

The Father blessed Jesus at the moment of His baptism at the hands of John,

by speaking from Heaven. 

He was aware of how His Plan for the Redemption of Humanity from the power

of satan was progressing, and Jesus had fulfilled God's deepest expectations of

His Son.

God said, "You are My Son" - this is a quote from Psalm 2:7.

God then referred to Genesis 22:2 by speaking the words, "Whom I love."

He was possibly alluding to the scene in the Old Testament when he required

Abraham to offer his only son, whom Abraham loved, to Him.

The end of the lesson for Abraham was that he was not required to sacrifice his

son - an action that would horrify any human.

However, through this ancient scene God had set the stage for the Baptism of

Jesus.
God's Words foreshadowed the event when He - as Loving Father - 
would have to endure the unthinkable out of his love for humanity.
God would have to witness the torture and execution of His Innocent 
Son Jesus as sacrifice on the Mount in order to save humanity.

By these words God was foreshadowing the terrible suffering He would Himself

undergo as His Son - God made human - was executed.

Jesus would have read the Scriptures, and become aware of what was in

the Mind of God.

He was accepting a unique role with unbelievable suffering.

Jesus - ever pragmatic and prayerful - knew that as human, He would need

God's assistance to carry out the role to completion.

So He came in humility to ask for that very blessing at Baptism.

Possibly He also needed the reassurance of God as His Father.

Jesus was fulfilling a completely new role - intermingling of the Divine Essence

with human bloodline making a Perfect Human Man.

Jesus was to be the blueprint for us all of all that God had created a human

being to be.

The reassurance and love of God for Him must have been a great source of

solace in his times of difficulty, fatigue, and agony of inner self in the 

Garden of Gethsemane.

These loving words showing how He was cherished by His Father must surely have proved the touchstone as he was imprisoned, spat upon and tortured, in the

dungeons prior to his execution.

The Baptism was a pivotal point in Christian History.

God then finished His allusions to His ancient prophecies by speaking the

words, "With You I am well pleased."

This is an allusion to Isaiah 42;1 where we read,

"Here is my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen one, in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations."

And, more than that, the affection between Father and Son must surely have

warmed both their Hearts as they prepared to do the unthinkable; begin

the conquering of the massive structure the forces of evil had put in place 

over centuries.

Jesus the Man; Baptism Part 2 will follow this Module

Bible Indexing Tabs;

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=29483&sp=1003