John the Baptist Prepares the Way * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, & saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is He who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ” Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; & his food was locusts & wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, & all the region around the Jordan went out to him & were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees & Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, & do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. & even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down & thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit & fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, & He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, & gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” John Baptizes Jesus * * * * * * * * * * Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. & John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, & are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered & said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; & behold, the heavens were opened to Him, & He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove & alighting upon Him. & suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Satan Tempts Jesus * * * * * * * * * * Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. & when He had fasted forty days & forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, & said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ &, In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, & showed Him all the kingdoms of the world & their glory. & he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down & worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, & Him only you shall serve.’ ” Then the devil left Him, & behold, angels came & ministered to Him. — Matthew 3:1–4:11 Page after page of the New Testament shows us how Jesus is our ultimate example. In Matthew 3, we see Him submit to baptism to fulfill all righteousness & to identify with all those He came to save. We’re called to submit to baptism, just like Jesus did. Here we also see Him overcome Satan’s temptations by putting faith in specific truths from God’s Word. We can do the same! The next time you face temptation, remember that Jesus overcame the world, He is in you, & He gave you an example to follow of allowing God’s Word to defeat temptation. Ask Him to help you, empower you, & make you more like Him. * * * Your Turn Why do you think Jesus chose to be baptized? Why does He set that example for us as believers? Do you tend to think of Jesus as super-human in the face of temptation? He dealt with real temptation just the way that we do & in every way. How did Jesus respond to Satan? How does He model for us to respond? Join the conversation on our blog! We would love to hear your thoughts about Jesus baptism by His cousin, John, and about His temptation in the wilderness. ~ Devotionals Daily
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 11:20:42 +0000
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