I am reading about the Baptism of Jesus this morning, and the standard question kept popping up in my mind: Why did Jesus have to be baptized? The only reason Jesus gives here is: "it is proper." I guess I'm usually so preoccupied with that question, that I can't formulate any others.
But today, I decided that I would put that question aside, which led me to another one: What had Jesus done at this point to deserve God's praise? At the end of the passage in Matthew 3:17, we read a quote from God: "This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased." Obviously, love can be given from Father to Son without any reason other than the family connection, but saying you are pleased with them usually has a reason. But what had Jesus done, up to this point? According to Matthew, Jesus was born, he went with his family all over the Middle East, and then he came to be baptized. The first two, he didn't have much control over, and the last was something lots of people were doing. So they couldn't have been that significant, in God's eyes.
Think of all things Jesus was NOT doing: He hadn't started preaching yet. He hadn't started healing yet. He hadn't started doing anything outward that we can point to and say: "That's why God is pleased with him." And maybe that's exactly why God was pleased with him then. Because he was humbly following his Father - patiently serving his Lord - always ready and waiting, but never rushing things...
This tells me that God can be pleased with us, even if we aren't doing outwardly great things for him. God is pleased with those who simply follow him - who don't seek the limelight - but only do what he asks - nothing more, nothing less.
My prayer is that we will all hear God say: "This is my child, whom I love, and with whom I am well-pleased."
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2 comments:
My understanding is that Jesus was approx. 30 yrs. old when He started His ministery. And I think it is generally agreed that His ministery was started when He was baptized. However, Luke may give us some indication as to what He might have been doing previously. Luke 2:40 for example; "...waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom..." And, of course, the story of Jesus, at age 12, in the temple "both hearing...and asking questions (2:46). Telling His parents "[did you not know] that I must be about my Father's business?" (2:49). From what Luke tells us, it would appear that His journey had already begun, i'e., gaining knowledge and wisdom, coming to a more perfect undertanding of the Spirit, and perhaps, beginning to influence those closest to Him. Unfortunately, the Bible doesn't speak to much of His youth.
Rob - as to Jesus' age when he began his ministry - the Bible isn't specific. Most scholars estimate it as 30 - but it could have been a little later (or possibly a little earlier).
You are certainly right that every reference we have to Jesus as a baby or young child (which don't amount to more than a few verses) - show Jesus as being incredibly faithful to God. But my point is there simply aren't enough details to make any definite statements.
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