What do you think about this passage? This was shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. What is God saying to you through it?




Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Three basic things happen in this short telling of Jesus’ baptism: he is baptized by John, touched by the Spirit and publicly identified as God’s Son. Why was Jesus baptized after all? He certainly did not need to have his sins washed away as others did because he had no sin. All of this is preparation for his public ministry of teaching and healing.

At his baptism the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was able to do all that he did. Then we have the voice declaring that Jesus is God’s Beloved and that God is pleased with him. How dramatic that was! In Matthew’s gospel, these words of Jesus’ beloved-ness are not as much for his benefit as they are for the benefit of the spectators. God made it clear that Jesus had his Father’s stamp of approval.

In Holy Baptism, we too are washed by the Word, anointed by the Spirit and called God’s beloved. This prepares us for our mission—to proclaim the good news to all the oppressed, those needing healing—to all the world.

Dear Lord, we struggle so much when it comes to verbally sharing your love with others. May your Spirit give us boldness and strength as we represent you in our world today. Amen.

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