Baptism

Matthew 3:13-17

I got baptized in September 1989; I was 11 years old. Jesus got baptized when he was 30. In some ways, it's such an ordinary thing that he did. He stepped off the banks of Jordan river into the water. He allowed himself to be pushed under the water by John and then he came up. And that's when the ordinary became extraordinary--because "at that moment heaven was opened up, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16,17).

There doesn't seem to be too many times in the gospels where heaven breaks through in such a vivid way to earth. In fact, it seems that most of the time Jesus had to believe that his mission was God-sent without the bells and whistles.

But thank God for the extraordinary moments--how Jesus must have needed them! Yesterday evening, I was talking with a friend and we discussed how much Jesus bore. Not only did he "carry our infirmities", but he carried the weight of saving the world. This is a weight we both admitted could never have borne. So I'm grateful for God for the moments He gave Jesus to cling to, the words He gave Jesus to never forget.

The next scene after the baptism is the temptation. The first two temptations that Satan gave to Jesus started with, "If you are the Son of God". I'm so grateful that when Jesus faced those temptations he had ringing in his ears: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).