The Jesus Response Part two-

Matthew 3:1-17 and Matthew 4:1-2

Good Morning Church! (powerpoints, map, locusts, wild honey, nazareth)

We just touched on John the Baptist last week so we could cover some extra areas of the message, but we must go back to the vital question of “Preparing the Way.” How did that look to Jesus and how did that look to John the Baptist.

It was nice to ponder Jesus as a young boy, and reflect on His culture. What was it like being the Carpenter from Nazareth. Jesus was steeped in learning His earthly dad’s craft, while absorbing the Torah,…all while growing in wisdom and knowledge of His Heavenly Father….

YET, Jesus was helping mom with the family chores as Joseph isn’t mentioned a great deal and it’s assumed he had passed away.

Jesus would also be caring for the siblings as a big brother and also a father figure as well. He would have lived a normal life as Hebrew boy/man…He would have friends, and play.....SO THIS HELPS ME

When I think, “prepare the way of the Lord.” Look at how Jesus was prepared…it wasn’t being sent off to an ivy league college, although that can be an incredible for those with the chance to go. …..

His entire life was in preparation for this passage today! He wasn’t being trained to start some plant church, HE WAS THERE TO PLANT THE CHURCH.

So Here is our Jesus Response for today-Life in general, family, work, friends, interactions in the real world is an enormous element in preparing the way for all of us to go out and do “Kingdom Work.”

And of course, we need our training centres, and centres in all over the world to train workers for the harvest…number one we need our churches as the grounding teaching source,....

although Jesus was learning and anointed from an early age, by being fully present in the temple, WE CAN LEARN ON OUR OWN, guided by the Holy Spirit, we require THE FELLOWSHIP OF OTHERS IN OUR CHURCH FAMILIES-mentor us, teach us.

This type of interaction engages our spiritual,emotional,physical health. REMEMBER FROM LAST WEEK, JEWISH FAMILIES DID THINGS TOGETHER,even when the kids are saying, “‘do we have too ? Remember Sunday’s of old…Someonel last week reminded me of their uncle who would check the paper for the only gas station open in the area. FAMILIES IN NORTH AMERICA COULD TRULY BOND, AS YOU GENERALLY PLAYED AT HOME, OR HAD A FAMILY DINNER, MAYBE WENT TO THE WATER....PLAYED CATCH....IMAGINE A SUNDAY WHERE THE KIDS WERE AROUND BUT READING A BOOK, OR MAYBE LOOKING AT THEIR SUNDAY SCHOOL PAPERS! *may we never forget and never stop praying for even a form of those days

I appreciate how many of you enjoyed hearing some back history of Jesus growing up. I enjoyed the research as well and found another piece that may help us learn about Jesus before the gospels were penned.

We know a few things about the boy Jesus, but His town says alot about Him when we are looking for details....

(The preachers commentary helps us with some information) I editted and adjusted a little.

Jesus’ home was a perfect fit for him...Nazareth enters into the larger meaning of God’s gospel of grace for the world and frees Him in His message, that would tie His message to only the Jewish community.

Nazareth is not to be thought of as a backwoods community, but was on the trade routes of the world. We often see Nazareth as this nowhere location. (Map PowerPoint )

Think of Israel-(Map)Nazareth Located in the north of Israel, it was a town which lay in the hills of the southern part of Galilee, on the major trade routes which carried the news of the world.

All one needed to do was to climb the hills of Nazareth to have a view of the world. Off to the west one could view Mt. Carmel and beyond the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

Here ships came and went from Rome, and from Rome to the ends of the earth.

One could look to the foothills and see one of the greatest roads in that part of the Roman world, leading from Damascus to Egypt and on into Africa. This was one of the great caravan routes. Abraham probably used this route in his business of operating a caravan. Abraham really hadca trucking company except camel run.

It had been followed three centuries earlier by Alexander the Great and his legions. On this road, called “the way of the south,” Jesus, as a boy, could have observed and met travelers of many nations. The second road came through this community from Telmius on the sea to the west, traveling on to Tiberias and the eastern frontiers of the Roman Empire. On this road the caravans from the east moved to the coast on the west, while the Roman legions moved from the coast into the eastern frontiers.

What does all that matter to us and Scripture? Jesus was brought up in a town where the traffic from the ends of the earth moved through His radius of life. Jesus’ boyhood days exposed him to the cultures and philosophies of people from of all nations. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE WAY TO PREPARE AND MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD! Having a good knowledge of people from all over! SHOULD TELL US MUCH ABOUT EVANGELISM…WHO IS THE GOSPEL FOR? EVERYONE!!!

As we examine those vital people in the life of Jesus, Lets, ask! “Who is the John the Baptist?”

Prophets of old were certainly a little different. Covered in ashes often, spoke boldly, without fear, anywhere, anytime…John, he liked a camel hair suit, and he must have had a salty, sweet palate like many of us…I like chips and chocolate....The bible says he ate, Locusts so a nice juicy grasshopper and honey…..it could also mean a locust bean is what it would be....What is a locust bean? he locusts could be the actual insect or also a kind of bean or nut that was the food of the poorest of the poor. The honey could actually be from the honeycomb of bees or a kind of sweet sap

Rodney L. Cooper, Mark, vol. 2, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 9.

isn’t it an amazing thing that God chose to allow us to know these details? Do you wonder why those details are in Scripture-it’s fascinating to study why certain things are in the canon, but others …camel hair, locasts,honey? God is doubling down on moving away from the elite who were misguideding Israel, chosing the most different, stand-out type, to PROCLAIM THE COMING OF THE SON OF GOD! and it makes sense…And it wasn’t about being PRETTY!

The greatest campaign manager of all time, never to be undone, was John the Baptist, who was raised in the wilderness, connecting and growing with God....making ready His mission, with full knowledge that John would have a time in the spotlight but will willingly and humility, will decrease in presenece....

it falls into the commissioning of so many of those called. They were not the wealthy, religious elite, or those in favour within community….but the least likely to PROCLAIM THE GREATEST NEWS OF ALL TIME….THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!!!!

There was skepticism as many would wonder why the Pharisees with the flowing gowns and perfect looking lives were NOT announcing the King…GOD THROUGH HIS SON JESUS WAS ANNOUNCING....The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand, and everyone of you are worthy, from Pharisee to the poor…If you accept my son, THE ONE I JUST announced as, MY SON! If you follow Him, you become a child of the KING. Isn’t that great news for everyone!

And just a sideline church, it’s not always easy to help, no matter how much we love working with those who are down and out. It can be frustrating when you see a hardworking pastor cleaning up needles around his church every morning before he beings his day....or has to deal with the many other issues, caused by bad behaviour....BUT JESUS TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN....THE JESUS REPONSE HERE IS, “All are valuable, all are welcome, but you must come to faith in and through Jesus Christ. There isn’t a monthly fee or one time deposit ....or seven days for free before we bill your credit card. This is life eternal and it is everything....Yes, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

This morning is not a baptismal lecture or membership push....Although you know the water is there for you and I’m not shy to ask Phil or Ken to turn the tap on Anytime. you should know we have a fixed heater!!!

Why did John engage in this new, well what we would call ordinance....ordinance of baptism, the …Our Baptist Distinctives that I put up on the mission board at the back. Cheryl I ran out of room so I borrowed that top part until I get another board.

Baptism for John was a symbol of repentance,

a symbol of cleansing from sin and turning away from the old life to a new life.

QUESTION: Thinking of repentance, it’s amazing how this took as the entire covenant was now flipping! Going to the river to cleanse from sin....REPENT....think of what the norm was, -sacrifices of all types, brought before a priest....Leviticus tells us much....

Cooper says this: John’s message was focused on the very center of Jewish faith, for the call to repentance meant turning away from sin and turning toward God. He was a stern realist regarding right and wrong, calling for public confession and integrity in daily life.

His message is given in Luke 3:10–14: Personally, I keep finding these quotes we have recognized and acted on here at LBC>..particualiarly outreach and hosptiality…John saw the need to share with the needy, bear fruit of integrity, do not extort money, be content with your wages. He saw himself as only a slave for the coming Messiah (v. 11), yet he was the voice to prepare the way—lifting the valleys of poverty that embitter, lowering the hills of pride and wealth, smoothing the rough road of social injustice, trying to show others that the kingdom was at hand. To repent meant to live the life that God means for us to live. John seems to have introduced a baptism with water as a unique symbol of “repentance for the remission of sins”

we see that differently now in that we connect with Jesus in his life death and resurrection Through the waters of baptism although repenuance is still a part of our baptismal day

In verses 5 and 6 we read that “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him …who is John…and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.”

John’s ministry was understood and respected, for the people came from Jerusalem and from a large region to engage in John’s ministry.

Second, it is evident that his baptism was understood as a baptism of repentance, for the people were baptized, “confessing their sins.” What I love about John the Baptist, is His Boldness. He knew His job and mission. It was dangerous to stand up to the religious and political elite, yet when the religious leaders came to John, he described them as a brood of vipers.

We have look at this statement and John’s summary..., it is stunning Statement really….For those who have observed a field where the snakes will slither out to safe ground. The IDEA IS THIS!

they fled judgment like snakes from a field on fire. The stinging message for them and all of us is authenticity…Are we just running for a quick fix, or are we authentic in our beliefs! John obviously had a gift of discernment as he was seeing the insincerity of the leaders coming to him, as they were assuming much, …lineage and heritage would save them.

Thinking on authenticity I heard a pharse and cannot remember from where, but it was this, “When we worship God are we worshipping Him for what HE CAN DO FOR US, OR DO WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS....???? That’s a tricky one isn’t it…I’m also going to say, please don’t be hard on yourself on these theological thoughts. I think we worship God for ALL THAT HE IS, including His divine ability to answer prayer-We just need to remember He is not our cultural gifter, and how our kids consider the tooth fairy, (who give out amazon gift cards at times…for those that missed that childrens story…it was a fun morning). Or the Easter bunny who brings chocolate.

When we worship God authentically we will lack for nothing!

John requires of them “fruits worthy of repentance.” In verse 9 he attacks their claim to identity with Abraham by traditional or ethnic associations.

God’s children are children of faith as was Abraham, rather than people with simply an ethnic or traditional relationship.

Here again, the Gospel of Matthew points beyond the Jewish community to an understanding of God as bringing His message of grace through Abraham and his Jewish descendants, a message for the whole world. John’s words in verse 10 are a special word of judgment corresponding to the judgments of the Old Testament prophets. He said that God would cut off Israel for their unbelief and called for persons to return to a life of faith.

A commentator states, “John was a herald of reform, introducing a movement which would touch every level of society: the religious, ethical, social, and political. John the Baptist was the forerunner of the Messiah.

Winding down, Enduring Word says this....As you know we are preaching and aching for revival in the church, in the world....

With baptism, John offered a ceremonial washing that confessed sin and did something to demonstrate repentance. Before we can gain the kingdom of heaven, we must recognize our poverty of spirit (Matthew 5:3). HERE IS WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE.... This type of awareness of sin is the foundation for most revivals and awakenings. I AGREE AS THIS ALSO COINCIDES WITH PERSISTENT AND RELENTLESS PRAYER!

I briefly mentioned snakes, or snakes in the grass....Today was to include avoiding snakebites, but the annoucement of God that Jesus was His Son and the temptation of Jesus afterwards can’t be skrimped on. As always, we need to know how to resist and conquer. As always Jesus experienced this and demonstrated how we win for the Lord

With that closing I want you to hear about some victory. I have been working with our Mission and Ministry team through our TVA. Allen Fontaine, a fellow I had started praying with several years ago with other pastors to see the beginning of Rising Above..a home for addicted ladies.

It is in full operation….THROUGH Allen Fontaine we have a program called Christain Recovery…whether addiction or other habit type disorders. Its a Christian 12 step program. It’s in the southend of Peterborough….we need a north end program, so Freedom of Christ might start right here in Lakefield through CR.

Please pray on that as we pray on this and this as a possible ministry for CR that is more community based and fits into the village that is seeing an uptick of addiction and other mental HEALTH ISSUES. GOD IS AT WORK AMONG US

Church God Bless you! Please keep looking at our Scripture readings for a “Jesus Response.”

I will never get them all on a Sunday morning, but maybe when doing your home studies, find your own Jesus Responses. Apply them to your Christian walk... Please don’t be shy in sharing them with me. We will continue to find them as we look at the life of Jesus before the advent season is upon us

Have an awesome, blessed and beautiful week,

Lot’s to be excited about....keep checking your bulletins and emails for some great God events, God opportunities at LBC.

Let’s pray!

Father, There is so much in todays scripture. Life-saving, lifegiving truth....We can’t help but see a world full on the edge, but, You have called us to be still before You, to rest in Your love and to patiently bear the cross that is set before us, knowing that You are not only at our side every moment of the day, but dwelling deep within our heart.

Help us to depend on You in all things, knowing that nights of sadness will soon be turned into mornings of joy, when You are by my side. Keep us from fretful thoughts and foolish imaginings, knowing that You are my best and heavenly Friend, my Shepherd, my Provider, my Defender and the Rock of my salvation.

Draw us ever closer to Your heart of love. Quiet our spirit, still our soul and instil in our inner being Your perfect peace that passes all understanding. Help us to be still and know that You are God, my God in Whom I trust. In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen.

Source: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Prayers-for-Peace#1402

benediction:

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Once again, divine instruction led Joseph, and he took Jesus and His mother, Mary, and returned to Israel. Again, he was instructed by God in a dream not to stay in Judea, and he journeyed on to Galilee. From these various communications we can discern something of the character of Joseph. He was evidently a man of great reverence who meditated and prayed to discern the will of God. With that sensitivity, God could communicate with him and know that he would understand. These instances are confirmation of Joseph’s integrity and piety as the kind of man to whom God would entrust His Son. Upon Herod’s death, the kingdom he had ruled was divided into three parts. The Romans did not allow the power that Herod had held to go on unbroken. Herod anticipated this and divided the kingdom, leaving a part to each of his three sons. Judea was left to Archelaus, Galilee was left to Herod Antipas, and the northeast region beyond Jordan was left to Philip. Archelaus, who succeeded his father, Herod, in Judea, attempted to continue the pattern of his father and began his rule with the slaughter of three thousand influential people. Augustus granted him only the rank of ethnarch; then in a.d. 6 he was removed and banished. It was this pattern of violence that led Joseph to go on from Judea to Galilee. There Herod Antipas reigned with a more tolerant and peaceful pattern. Joseph and Mary returned to their home community of Nazareth, Matthew says, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’” The mystery is that Matthew presents an insoluble problem because there is no such text in the Old Testament. It might be suggested that Matthew is drawing from the Old Testament outline regarding a Nazirite, who is a person uniquely set aside by vows of service to God. He may be referring to Judges 13:5, “The child shall be a Nazirite” (kjv), or to Isaiah 11:1 where the word for “sprout” or “branch” (kjv) is similar to the word for Nazarene. Here Matthew designates him as a Nazarene, not from the standpoint of the vows, but from the standpoint of his living and growing up in Nazareth. Nazareth is in Galilee of the Gentiles, a designation which supports the thesis that the Book of Matthew shows God’s salvation history as moving through Judaic history to become a gospel for the world, a gospel of the kingdom which is open to all peoples. This theme runs throughout the Book of Matthew to its culmination in the words of the risen Christ, “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Interestingly, Nazareth is only about six miles from the hometown of Jonah, the prophet who was called to carry the gospel to the Gentile Ninevites. Jesus’ home being in Nazareth fits into the larger meaning of God’s gospel of grace for the world and frees Him from the provincialism that would tie His message to only the Jewish community. Nazareth is not to be thought of as a backwoods community, but was on the trade routes of the world. Located in the north of Israel, it was a town which lay in the hills of the southern part of Galilee, on the major trade routes which carried the news of the world. All one needed to do was to climb the hills of Nazareth to have a view of the world. Off to the west one could view Mt. Carmel and beyond the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Here ships came and went from Rome, and from Rome to the ends of the earth. One could look to the foot of the hills and see one of the greatest roads in that part of the Roman world, leading from Damascus to Egypt and on into Africa. This was one of the great caravan routes, one which Abraham probably used in his business of operating a caravansary. It had been followed three centuries earlier by Alexander the Great and his legions. On this road, called “the way of the south,” Jesus, as a boy, could have observed and met travelers of many nations. The second road came through this community from Telmius on the sea to the west, traveling on to Tiberias and the eastern frontiers of the Roman Empire. On this road the caravans from the east moved to the coast on the west, while the Roman legions moved from the coast into the eastern frontiers. Thus Jesus was brought up in a town where the traffic from the ends of the earth moved through His sphere of life. Jesus’ boyhood days exposed him to the cultures and philosophies of people of all nations. This must have enhanced his conviction that the kingdom of God was for people of all nations. It is probably true as well that Galilee was the one place in Palestine where a new teacher could readily be heard. This setting helped focus Jesus’ message, not on a revival of Judaistic religion as it was known in Jerusalem, but on God’s grace for all people, from a base in Capernaum where the gospel could be heard by the peoples of all lands. Matthew quotes the striking prophetic statement, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned” (4:16). Here is the good news of God’s grace, the gospel for the world. JOHN’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE KING 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and 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; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and 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, and 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. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and 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 and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” —Matthew 3:1–12 John the Baptist burst upon the Jewish scene like a flaming voice from God. He came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, acclaimed by the people as a prophet of God. The uniqueness of his prophecy was the announcement of the coming of the Christ. His message was a call to repentance, a genuine renewal of piety, but in the context of preparation for the kingdom of heaven. In this sense his confrontation with Pharisees, Sadducees, publicans and soldiers had sociopolitical implications; a new kingdom was being announced. Here again Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah, thereby bridging the old covenant to the new inbreaking of the messianic age. The quote from Isaiah clearly focuses on the messianic age: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’” The description of John introduces him as a unique and bold prophet. In being clothed with camel’s hair and a leather belt, even his appearance marked him as a man of the wilderness rather than a man of the courts and the streets. His diet of the locust-bean and wild honey was good food, but it was the rough diet of a man who lived close to earth and nature. Like Elijah in his spirit and power, John broke the comfortable silence of humanism with a word from Yahweh. Significantly, this inbreaking of a special message from God comes not from the synagogues or the temple schools but from a man whose schooling was in his walk with God. John’s message was focused on the very center of Jewish faith, for the call to repentance meant turning away from sin and turning toward God. He was a stern realist regarding right and wrong, calling for public confession and integrity in daily life. His message is given in Luke 3:10–14: share with the needy, bear fruit of integrity, do not extort money, be content with your wages. He saw himself as only a slave for the coming Messiah (v. 11), yet he was the voice to prepare the way—lifting the valleys of poverty that embitter, lowering the hills of pride and wealth, smoothing the rough road of social injustice, trying to show others that the kingdom was at hand. To repent meant to live the life that God means for us to live. John seems to have introduced a baptism with water as a unique symbol of “repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4). Scholars have wrestled with the relationship of this baptism to that with blood in the initiatory rites of the Essene community, as well as with proselyte baptism highly regarded by the school of Hillel. But John was not creating a new religious structure. Rather, he was announcing the coming of the King. Baptism for John was a symbol of repentance, a symbol of cleansing from sin and turning away from the old life to a new life. In verses 5 and 6 we read that “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” It is evident first, that his ministry was understood and respected, for the people came from Jerusalem and from the total region to John’s ministry. Second, it is evident that his baptism was understood as a baptism of repentance, for the people were baptized, “confessing their sins.” The boldness of John is evident in his addressing the religious leaders who came to him, describing them as a brood of vipers. The picture is as though they fled judgment like snakes from a field on fire. John requires of them “fruits worthy of repentance.” In verse 9 he attacks their claim to identity with Abraham by traditional or ethnic associations. God’s children are children of faith as was Abraham, rather than people with simply an ethnic or traditional relationship. Here again, the Gospel of Matthew points beyond the Jewish community to an understanding of God as bringing His message of grace through Abraham and his Jewish descendants, a message for the whole world. John’s words in verse 10 are a special word of judgment corresponding to the judgments of the Old Testament prophets. He said that God would cut off Israel for their unbelief and called for persons to return to a life of faith. John was a herald of reform, introducing a movement which would touch every level of society: the religious, ethical, social, and political. We here note the character of John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah. In the light of the testimonies of the Scripture: (1) John was the witness of the Messiah (John 1:6–8); (2) John understood his place in relation to the Messiah (John 1:19–23); (3) John announced the Christ as the Lamb of God (John 1:29–30); (4) John was a voice of transition from the old covenant to the new (Matt. 1:11–14); (5) John accepted his role with humility, stating, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30); (6) John was a fearless preacher before men of whatever rank in society (Mark 6:20); (7) John’s witness of the Christ was recognized by the people, for they said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true” (John 10:41). John announced the baptism with the Spirit and the baptism with fire as superior to his baptism with water. The word “baptism” means to be brought under the control of a superior power or influence. There are five uses of the term “baptism” in the New Testament. There is the baptism with water, which symbolizes being initiated into the church or being brought under the influence of the covenant community. Second, there is the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which means to be brought under the control and influence of the presence of the Spirit of God. Third, there is the baptism with suffering, which means to be brought under the influence of a suffering, purging experience. Fourth, there is the baptism with fire, which means to be brought under the influence of a judging, refining, searching experience. And fifth, there is the baptism into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), which means to be brought under the control of the Head of the church which is Jesus Christ, and to be made a part of His body. In verse 11, John speaks of the baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire in a relationship which seems to hold grace and judgment together. Baptism with the Spirit has to do with the gift of divine presence, and the baptism with fire has to do with a judgment experience which God’s presence brings to bear upon persons who are not open to Him. These two baptisms are of redeeming love and of righteous fear. This is the first use of the term “baptism with the Holy Spirit.” John said that he baptized with water, meaning that John was the agent, and that with which he baptized was water. In a similar way he refers to the Christ as the one who will do another kind of baptizing, and that with which He would baptize would be the Holy Spirit. Simply interpreted, this means that Jesus is the one who does the baptizing with the Spirit, and the baptism is the Holy Spirit Himself. What one receives in the baptism with the Holy Spirit is the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Master. The emphasis is on the baptism with the Spirit or in the Spirit. This is not to be read as baptism of the Spirit, as though it is something the Holy Spirit does. The baptism is the gift of the Spirit Himself. There are things which the Holy Spirit does for us and we can properly speak about the regeneration of the Holy Ghost, the illumination of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, the anointing of the Spirit, etc. But when we refer to the baptism we must speak of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. There are at least five ways in which the Christian church has spoken of the baptism with the Spirit through the centuries. The first is the historical interpretation, which is to say that the Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost to the church, that He has been in the church ever since, and that we share in the Spirit as we share in the church. The second is the Wesleyan interpretation which relates the baptism with the Spirit to sanctification, affirming that beyond the initial experience of grace and justification by faith, there is a second work of a baptism with the Spirit for sanctification. A third interpretation may be called the R. A. Torrey interpretation, which relates the baptism with the Spirit as a special enduement for power to witness which is to be sought and experienced in the life of the believer. Fourth, there is the charismatic interpretation which relates the baptism with the Spirit to gifts or manifestations, associating these gifts with the expression of the baptism itself. Fifth, there is the relational interpretation which sees the baptism with the Holy Spirit as the occasion in which Christ gives the Holy Spirit to dwell in the life of one who takes Him as Lord. While there is truth in all of these interpretations, the relational interpretation seems to be the most satisfactory. JESUS’ BAPTISM OF IDENTIFICATION Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and 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; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” —Matthew 3:13–17 The baptism of Jesus has been difficult to interpret. Why did the Son of God need to be baptized? John’s baptism was a call to repentance; it was an introduction to the new kingdom. When Jesus came to the Jordan and asked John to baptize Him, John tried to dissuade Him. John stated that he needed what Jesus could give him rather than that Jesus needed anything from John. However, Jesus responded that it should be done “to fulfill all righteousness.” For thirty years Jesus had lived in Nazareth, awaiting the time when the Father would direct Him to begin His public ministry. His act of being baptized by John was a complete and full identification with the kingdom that John was announcing. Baptism symbolized the turning from the old to the new. Jesus’ baptism was His own symbolic act of identification with the new, of participation in the kingdom of God. Jesus’ use of the word “righteousness” is significant, for righteousness is the word which denotes right relationship. Jesus’ act of being baptized was a witness to the rightness of His relationship in the kingdom and to His right relationship with God, the sovereign of this kingdom. A second symbolic happening with Jesus’ baptism was the descending of the Spirit of God upon Him. As John said in his witness, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’” (John 1:32–33). John was granted the visual symbol of the Spirit of God lighting on Jesus in the fashion of a dove alighting—the assurance that this was the King coming in His kingdom. But the Spirit came as a dove, not as a lion upon “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah” in power, but with dovelike meekness. The third certification is the voice from heaven which John heard at the baptism. The voice said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The statement has two phrases, each a quotation from the Old Testament. In Psalm 2:7, a psalm which described the Messiah as the coming King, we read, “You are my Son” (niv). In Isaiah 42:1, the description of the suffering servant, we read, “in whom I delight” (niv). At Jesus’ baptism He is given this divine confirmation from the Father, a word of His being and His behavior, of His acceptance and His approval. The person of the King is now introduced as the Son of God! A suggested outline for a message on Jesus’ baptism of identification is as follows: (1) the Sign, the act of baptism; (2) the Spirit, the presence of God; and (3) the Sonship, attested by the voice from heaven (3:13–17). He is identified with the kingdom, with the Spirit, and with the Father. THE TESTING OF THE KING 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and 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, and 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,’ and, 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, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. —Matthew 4:1–11 Immediately following the baptism of Jesus and the divine manifestations of His Sonship, Matthew and Luke give us the account known as the Temptations of Christ. Jesus is now to enter publicly into His work of introducing men and women to the kingdom of God, calling them into fellowship with God. The question facing Him was that of how He should fulfill this task. The word “tempt” as used in this passage is the translation of the Greek word peirazein. It carries the basic meaning “to test.” Such testing is a necessary part of life in revealing the true mettle of a man. William Barclay quotes the Jewish saying, “The Holy One, blest be His name, does not elevate a man to dignity until he has first tried and searched him; if he stands in temptation then he raises him to dignity.” Jesus had His sense of vocation tested with the choice between God’s kingdom and Satan’s. A classic illustration of testing is found in the story of God’s testing Abraham (Gen. 22), in which God asked that he give his only son, Isaac, the son whom he loved, as a sacrifice to Jehovah. In Abraham’s act of obedience he demonstrated the absolute commitment of his life to God and His will. Similarly, the testing of Jesus is the demonstration of His full commitment to His Father. John writes of Jesus that “He did always those things which pleased the Father.” This testing experience became the inaugural passage by which Jesus entered His ministry. While the devil was an agent in the testing, the choice was as much to rise as to fall. The setting tells us that He was actually driven by the Spirit into the wilderness for this testing; that He spent forty days without food, wrestling with the issues in His calling to messianic ministry. Jesus had just come from the Jordan River where He had been baptized. Between the Jordan and Jerusalem, about thirty miles away, was a large wilderness area of jagged and warped landscape. The hills to the south ran right out to the edge of the Dead Sea, dropping down 1,200 feet into the lowest spot on earth, with intense heat and emptiness. Here in this wilderness area Jesus walked alone with God, pondering and praying over His mission, and was attacked by the devil with the suggestion of alternate ways in which He might achieve His goal. Satan’s temptations were self-serving approaches to the ambitions of life, while Jesus’ answer and pattern was the way of sacrificial love which led to the Cross. In this account of the testing of Jesus we are given one of the most intimate glimpses into His inner life. Since Jesus was alone in the wilderness, it is His own story as He recounted it to His disciples. The drama is not only an expression of His vigorous mind but it reflects the intensity of the struggle with all of its subjective elements. It is a spiritual autobiography. Jesus, in the many temptations that followed, such as that at Caesarea Philippi when He needed to ask Peter as an agent of temptation to get behind Him, or the searching temptations in the Garden of Gethsemane to bypass the Cross, always responded in a manner consistent with the basic decisions made in the testing in the wilderness. Significantly, testing comes to us at our points of power or ability, urging us to use those powers for our own self-aggrandizement. The tempter’s approach was to say, “If You are the Son of God…,” perhaps as a suggestion of doubt over the witness at baptism. But the use of a first-class condition in the Greek language would suggest that it be translated, “Since you are God’s Son… .” This means that the temptation was not primarily to focus doubt on the question of His Sonship but rather, in view of the voice from heaven affirming Him as God’s Son, to use this privilege for His own self-interests. On occasions of spiritual blessing, we are tested as to whether we will use spiritual privilege for the will of God and His glory or for our own self-interests. The tempter attacked Jesus from three different angles. First was the temptation to turn the stones into bread, that is, to use His powers selfishly. There is an inference that He could become a “bread Messiah,” a king who would use His power to meet man’s material needs and thereby secure his service in His kingdom. Christ’s commitment to the will of God is seen in His response: “It stands written,” in the force of the Greek word gegraptai. Jesus’ quote is taken from Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” It is from Israel’s experience in the wilderness, when they were fed by the miraculous hand of God but taught that the deeper meanings of life are more than to satisfy the hungers of the body. The second temptation was to make Jesus a wonder-worker and thereby attract people to follow Him. The tempter projected Him into a vision of standing atop the temple on Mount Zion. At the corner where the Royal Porch and Solomon’s Porch met was a drop of 450 feet into the valley of the brook Kidron. A rabbinical tradition reads, “When the King Messiah reveals Himself, then He comes and stands on the roof of the Holy Place.” This means to appear from above, miraculously introducing His national leadership. Satan’s temptation suggested that Jesus stand atop that pinnacle and leap down and, by landing unharmed, present Himself to the multitudes as a wonder-worker. To support his temptation, Satan quoted from the Old Testament, “He shall give His angels charge over you, in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Ps. 91:11–12). The tempter used Scripture, but took it out of context and bent it to his own advantage. Unless one is honest with the Bible, interpreting it in its context and historic meaning, an application can be a perversion of the Scripture. Christians sometimes fall prey to seeking proof-texts to back up an idea of their own rather than to be honest with the Holy Scripture. But Jesus knew the Scripture well, and said, “It is written again,” with a direct answer to Satan’s temptation, “you shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Jesus understood the Word and, discerning the devil’s misquote, was true to the meaning of God’s Word. Jesus’ quote from Deuteronomy 6:16 makes clear that faith is not attempting to see how far one can go in pushing God to answer our wishes. Faith is an attitude that opens one’s will to God, that allows God to fulfill His own will through one’s life. Faith that can respond more to signs and wonders than to the Word of God is not authentic faith. Jesus refused the way of becoming a wonder-worker to gain national leadership. He was not cultivating people’s faith in wonders but faith in God Himself. Jesus’ miracles were unselfish expressions which served the good of others and glorified God rather than miracles for His own self-interest. The third temptation focused directly on Jesus’ ultimate mission. He had come to seek and to save the lost, to reconcile men to God. The vision of the world that He came to save moved before Him, and the voice of the tempter said, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” The tempter was suggesting that Jesus take another route to win the world than the way of the Cross. But Jesus knew that He could not defeat evil by compromising with evil. Jesus’ decision was to be faithful to God and His calling, to follow the way which inevitably led to the Cross. Jesus’ response to this temptation was abrupt and pointed: “Away with you Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Upon this direct confrontation the devil left Jesus. However, it was not the end of the temptations in Jesus’ life. Another of the synoptic writers says, “he departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). Note that it was after Jesus had overcome the temptations that angels came and ministered to Him. He was true to His calling. He had rejected the thought of becoming an economic Messiah, turned from being a miraculously introduced national leader, and refused the quest for political power. The first would not answer man’s deepest needs, the second was out of harmony with the character of God, and the third would have led Him away from God’s redemptive mission. In a world in which the dominant religion is secularism and the lifestyle is materialism, we need to be discerning to understand God’s Word, and above all, we need to obey His Word. Christianity, in the words of William Temple, “is the most materialistic religion in the world”; it is not a mystical or pietistic retreat from life, but is a call to responsible living in society. This very strength tests us. We are to hold belief and behavior together, to relate salvation and ethics equally to the person of Christ, to constantly interface the redemptive and the ethical. With this thesis the following outline is suggested for the development of a message on the nature of temptation: (1) to make religion material by giving priority to man’s material wishes; (2) to make religion social by giving priority to the social dimensions of human life; and (3) to make religion political by seeking to achieve goals by alignments with the principalities and powers which influence this world. Jesus’ victory over the tempter is the basis for our victory as disciples of Jesus Christ. We stand in fidelity to One who has already defeated Satan and we know that Satan can be defeated repeatedly in our lives as we identify with the power of Christ. It is with this awareness that James writes, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (4:7). In the Book of the Revelation we read that the brethren overcame their accuser “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:11). It is also significant to note that Jesus is the only person who knows the full weight of temptation, in that He is the only person who never surrendered or yielded Himself to the temptation of Satan. To say that He knows the full intensity of temptation is to recognize that for us who have been tempted and yielded, the intensity of the temptation terminates at the moment we surrender. As one has said, “Desire is utopian until it is satisfied.” For example, if a storm should sweep through a woods leaving in its trail many broken trees, we might ask, which trees know the full brunt of that storm? Obviously only the ones still standing know the full intensity of what passed over them. Those that broke under the onslaught of the storm, from that point on, did not experience further the intensity of the storm. Or, to illustrate another way, suppose one of us got into the boxing ring with Muhammad Ali and in a few seconds were flat on the mat, out for the count. After coming to in the locker room (if we did!), we might look up and say, “That fellow can really punch.” But we would not really know. If one of us should walk into the boxing ring with Muhammad Ali and stand our ground for fifteen rounds and walk off on our own feet and then say, “That fellow can really punch,” obviously we would know the full meaning of what we were saying. When we walked into the ring, so to speak, with Satan, in short order we had surrendered to his temptation and sinned. But Jesus Christ stepped into that ring and took everything Satan could hurl into Him, all the way to the Cross, and even in death Jesus never cracked once. Jesus alone knows the full weight of temptation! Thus the writer to the Hebrews can say, “We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15, kjv). The temptation of Christ and His victory authenticates His Person for our faith, assures our freedom in relation to the tempter, and affirms God’s acceptance of His atoning work, for He did not die on the Cross for His own sins but for ours. THE INAUGURATION OF THE KING’S MINISTRY Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” —Matthew 4:12–17 A transition is now made from John the Baptist to the proclamation of the Messiah Himself. John had been the herald of the King, announcing the coming of the King and His kingdom. John’s fearless preaching and his ethical integrity in holding men accountable led to his arrest and imprisonment. The arrest of John, which inevitably led to his execution (Mark 6), focused the attention of society upon the new teacher of righteousness who emerged upon the scene in Galilee. An outline for this passage could well focus on two points: (1) the context of His ministry and (2) the content of His ministry. The context is Galilee, with Jesus’ deliberate move from Nazareth to Capernaum by the sea. The move placed Him in both a social and religious center to the north of the Sea of Galilee. For its size, Galilee had a dense population. Josephus said there were 204 villages in this region with no fewer than 15,000 people. Of these people he said that they “have never been destitute of courage,” but a people open to new ideas and movements. Not only did Jesus begin His ministry in a setting where many people might hear Him, but His move to Capernaum from Nazareth was a breaking of the ties with His home and community. The reference that this is Galilee of the Gentiles is significant for our thesis that Matthew shows the movement of the gospel from the Jewish community to the Gentile nations and to the world. The content of the King’s message is stated briefly in verse 17. Jesus preached the same message which John the Baptist had been announcing. His message is stated succinctly: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The word “preach” is translated from the Greek word kērussēin, which means the herald’s proclamation. Preaching is an announcement with both certainty and authority. For many people today the word “preach” has negative connotations. Dr. Donald Miller has said that “One of the signs of the 20th century is the statement, ‘don’t preach at me.’” But the atheist Voltaire once said of John Brown of Haddington, “Yon’s the man for me; he preaches as though Christ Himself was at his very elbow.” The word from the Master is to repent. This message, as heard from John the Baptist, was a message to turn about, to turn from our own ways to God’s ways. Repenting or converting is always a change of direction. It is not first a moralistic change, but is first of all a change in the orientation of one’s self. Since the development of the science of psychology, conversion is understood as a change of identification and self-image, a decision to identify our lives with Jesus Christ. The moralistic changes follow, for they are the implication of letting God be God in one’s life. If we are to be participants in the kingdom of heaven, then we are to live by the rule of the King. The kingdom is central in Jesus’ teaching. Although it will come in its full glory in the future, it is already breaking into our midst. The kingdom is the rule of Christ, and Luke adds the remarkable story of Jesus’ words in the synagogue at Nazareth, where He read from Isaiah 61:1–2 a brief description of the character of the Messiah’s mission. For us, the kingdom is the doing of God’s will on earth; it is sharing His mission, it is participating with the Master as disciples, as persons who live under the direction of the King. Later He introduces the church as the fellowship of disciples who evidence the rule of Christ, or the reality of the kingdom. And later still, Paul uses the term “body of Christ” to show that the church becomes the visible expression on earth of the ascended Christ. THE CALLING OF DISCIPLES And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. —Matthew 4:18–22 Jesus’ strategy was to develop a disciple community, to call a group of associates who would be with Him and learn from Him. A disciple is one who both identifies with and learns from his master. Jesus began by calling Peter and Andrew, a report which is here given very briefly. In the Gospel of John we learn that Andrew, who had been a disciple of John the Baptist, upon meeting Jesus, first went and found his brother, Simon, and brought him to Jesus (John 1:41–42). Jesus called them both to follow Him as disciples. “Simon” is the Greek form of the Hebrew “Simeon,” just as “Andrew” is a Greek name, suggesting the less provincial nature of the region of Galilee. Matthew states that Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” He was moving these men from their occupation as fishermen to recognize the vocation to be disciples, heralds of the Good News. Like the rabbis, Jesus trained disciples, but, unlike the rabbis, He called them not to be scholars but to be heralds of the kingdom. It is impressive that “they immediately left their nets and followed Him.” There was something magnetic and authoritative about the claims of Jesus Christ upon these men. Jesus next called the two brothers, James and John, sons of Zebedee, from their occupation of fishing, asking them likewise to follow Him. In view of the reference to several of these men as having been disciples of John the Baptist, it would appear that they knew something about the Christ prior to this occasion when Jesus called them to come follow Him. If so, no doubt they had discussed the implication of relating to this new teacher. At least the reference in Matthew tells us that upon Jesus’ call, they immediately followed Him.

Myron S. Augsburger and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Matthew, vol. 24, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982), 18.