Thursday
Evening Bible Study
September 28, 2006
Introduction
Gospel – the word means “good news”.
This is a story about Jesus Christ.
Author
The book was written by Jesus’ disciple, Matthew, also known as Levi
Matthew was a Jew, and so his story will have a little more Hebrew flavor
as compare to Luke’s gospel, Luke was a Gentile.
He was a tax-collector when Jesus called for him to follow.
We think of tax-collectors in terms of our modern IRS
agents.
Illustration
The local bar was so sure that its bartender was the strongest man around
that they offered a standing $1000 bet: The bartender would squeeze a lemon
until all the juice ran into a glass, and hand the lemon to a patron. Anyone
who could squeeze one more drop of juice out would win the money. Many people
had tried over time (professional wrestlers, longshoremen, etc.), but nobody
could do it. One day this scrawny little man came in, wearing thick glasses and
a polyester suit, and said in a tiny, squeaky voice, “I’d like to try the bet.”
After the laughter had died down, the bartender agreed, grabbed a lemon, and
squeezed away. Then he handed the dried, wrinkled remains of the rind to the
little man. But the crowd’s laughter turned to total silence as the man clenched
his fist around the lemon and SIX drops fell into the glass. As the crowd
cheered, the bartender paid the $1000, and asked the little man, “What do you
do for a living? Are you a lumberjack, a weight lifter, or what?” The man
replied, “I work for the IRS.”
Ancient Tax-collectors weren’t as nice as our IRS
agents. They were Jewish men who worked
for the Roman occupation state. They
were authorized to collect taxes for Rome,
and anything they collected above the required minimum, they were allowed to keep. They were not known for being honest. They were known for being greedy. They were considered traitors to the Jews.
Matthew 1
:1-17 The Genealogy of Jesus
:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of
Abraham:
Matthew starts off his book with the genealogy of Jesus.
To the Jewish mind, genealogy is everything. It makes the connection with
the past. It shows the fulfillment of promises. It shows that Jesus has the
right to claim to be the Messiah.
The Old Testament tells us that the Messiah would be a descendant of
Abraham:
(Ge 22:18
NKJV) In your seed all the nations
of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
The Old Testament tells us that the Messiah would be a descendant of David:
(1 Ch 17:11 NKJV) And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you
must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you,
who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.
Note: This genealogy is the line of Joseph.
This is the “legal” connection between Jesus and King David. Joseph was not
the biological father of Jesus, but he was the legal father of Jesus.
There is another genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3 – and it’s a bit different.
We believe the genealogy in Luke is that of Mary, not Joseph and so shows the
actual biological line of Jesus instead of the legal one. It is different in
that it shows a line coming from David’s son Nathan instead of Solomon. The
Luke genealogy shows that Jesus is not only the legal heir of the throne of David,
but the biological heir as well.
:2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his
brothers.
:3 Judah
begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.
Tamar is the first of the women
mentioned in this genealogy.
Tamar (Gen. 38) was the daughter-in-law of Judah.
Judah’s oldest
son, Er, married Tamar but died before he could have children. According to
custom, the next brother was to marry the widow and produce children for the
deceased brother. But the next brother died, and Judah
was a little reluctant to let Tamar marry the last son. Tamar ended up tricking
Judah by
dressing up like a prostitute, and she became pregnant by her father-in-law. Not
a pretty story. But the result was a child that would be in the line of the
Messiah.
:4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.
:5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
Rahab is the second gal
mentioned in the genealogy.
Rahab was a prostitute from Canaan who was living in
the city of Jericho (Josh. 2). When
the two spies were sent out by Joshua to help plan out the invasion, she
realized that God was at work in these men and she hid the spies and kept them
safe. She is remembered as one of the great people of “faith” in Heb. 11 and
held up as an example by James (2:25) as well.
Ruth was a foreigner (Ruth
1). She was a gal from Moab
who married a Jewish fellow. When her
father-in-law, brother-in-law, and husband all died during a famine, she committed
herself to her widowed mother-in-law and to the God she worshipped. When she followed her mother-in-law back to
her hometown, she ended up marrying a cousin of her husband, Boaz.
:6 and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who
had been the wife of Uriah.
her who had been the wife of Uriah – this was Bathsheba.
Bathsheba was the gal who took a bath on her rooftop (2Sam. 11). She was
the one David had committed adultery with. She was the one David committed
murder for. She was also the mother of King Solomon.
Lesson
Grace
Some people are embarrassed about their ancestors.
Illustration
The Joneses were proud of their family tradition. Their ancestors had come
to America on
the Mayflower. They had included Senators and Wall Street wizards. They decided
to compile a family history, a legacy for their children and grandchildren.
They hired a fine author. Only one problem arose—how to handle that great-uncle
George, who was executed in the electric
chair. The author said he could handle the story tactfully. The book appeared.
It said “Great-uncle George occupied a chair
of applied electronics at an important government institution, was attached to
his position by the strongest of ties, and his death came as a great shock.”
It might be tempting to show Jesus as the descendant of fine, upstanding
people. But Matthew is careful to insert some little indicators to remind us
that the people in the line of Jesus were in fact quite flawed.
One did some pretty questionable things (Tamar)
One was a prostitute (Rahab)
One was a foreigner (Ruth).
One was an adulterer (Bathsheba)
Lessons?
1. God uses crooked sticks to draw
straight lines.
You may feel at times that you’ve done things to
disqualify you from God ever loving you.
Wrong.
You may feel that God could never use a person like
you. Wrong.
You may feel that your family is so goofed up, nothing
good could ever come from it. Wrong.
2. Be careful about blaming your
parents.
Good things can come from bad situations.
:7 Solomon begot …
skip to …
:11 Josiah begot Jeconiah …
Jeconiah is the last one mentioned in this section that was actually a
king. There was a prophecy given by
Jeremiah about Jeconiah:
(Jer 22:30
NKJV) Thus says the LORD: 'Write this
man down as childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his
descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore
in Judah.'"
The prophecy is not that Jeconiah wouldn’t have children, but that they
would not be reigning kings.
And even though Jesus’ legal line can be traced from Jeconiah through
Joseph, Jesus was not a biological descendant of Jeconiah, being born of Mary.
:12 And after they were brought to Babylon
…
skip to …
:16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who
is called Christ.
of whom – the phrase is in the feminine, referring to Mary. Jesus
was not the physical descendant of Joseph, but He was the physical descendant
of Mary. Because Joseph and Mary were married, Jesus is still the legal heir to
the throne of David.
:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations,
from David until the captivity in Babylon
are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon
until the Christ are fourteen generations.
fourteen generations – this is the number of descendants that
Matthew records. It is not the actual,
literal number of generations between Abraham, David, Babylon,
and Jesus, but simply the number of generations that Matthew records. There are actually some gaps in this
genealogy.
A Jewish genealogy does not have to record every single generation, but
simply make the connection between generations.
Why “fourteen”?
One suggestion is that the name “David” in Hebrew numerology adds up to the
number 14.
Matthew is simply making the connection between Jesus, David, and Abraham.
:18-25 Jesus’ Birth
:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was
betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the
Holy Spirit.
betrothed – we might consider them to be “engaged”, but it was
actually a bit more than that. Here’s
some background to the custom of the day:
Marriages were arranged for
individuals by parents, and contracts were negotiated. After this was
accomplished, the individuals were considered married and were called husband
and wife. They did not, however, begin to live together. Instead, the woman
continued to live with her parents and the man with his for one year. The
waiting period was to demonstrate the faithfulness of the pledge of purity
given concerning the bride. If she was found to be with child in this period,
she obviously was not pure, but had been involved in an unfaithful sexual
relationship. Therefore the marriage could be annulled. If, however, the
one-year waiting period demonstrated the purity of the bride, the husband would
then go to the house of the bride’s parents and in a grand processional march
lead his bride back to his home. There they would begin to live together as
husband and wife and consummate their marriage physically.[1]
:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her
a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
put her away – or, “divorced”
Joseph was a good guy. He didn’t
want Mary to be humiliated. He was
considering ending the engagement, in those days requiring a legal divorce. But he wanted to do it quietly so as not to
hurt her.
(Prov 10:12 NKJV)
Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins.
(1 Pet 4:8 NKJV) And above
all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a
multitude of sins."
:20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be
afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of
the Holy Spirit.
do not be afraid – What could Joseph have been afraid of? He’d be afraid of what people would think.
of the Holy Spirit – she was not pregnant from a man’s sperm. Jesus was a product of the power of the Holy
Spirit being upon Mary. Jesus was fully
human and fully God. He was human as a
son of Mary. He was God as a Son of God.
:21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name
JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
Jesus – Matthew is writing in Greek, and the name “Jesus” is a Greek
form of a Hebrew word. The Hebrew name
would be “Ya-shua”, or in our English, Joshua. Yashua means “Yahweh is salvation” in Hebrew.
How would He save His people from their sins?
He would die on a cross. He would be
a substitutionary sacrifice for us, dying in our place.
This was spoken to Joseph before Jesus was born.
:22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
Lord through the prophet, saying:
:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they
shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with
us."
This is a quote from
(Isa 7:14
NKJV) "Therefore the Lord Himself
will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and
shall call His name Immanuel.
This strange passage actually was originally aimed at King Ahaz, and was
speaking of God’s promise of deliverance from his own enemies of the day.
Matthew takes the passage and shows us that the prophecy had a secondary
fulfillment in Jesus.
Some make a point that the word “virgin” in Isaiah’s Hebrew could simply
refer to a young gal, but Matthew interprets it for us to show that this
secondary fulfillment was actually for a gal who had not been married, a
virgin.
:24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him and took to him his wife,
:25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And
he called His name JESUS.
Joseph married Mary, but they did not have any physical relationship until
after Jesus was born. The Catholic
church teaches that Mary was always a virgin, but the Bible speaks of Jesus
having brothers and sisters (Mat. 13:55-56).
Lesson
Obedience
Joseph obeyed the Lord. He did what
the Lord had spoken to him about.
Pay attention to what God wants you to do.
Even if it seems strange. Even if it
makes you uncomfortable. Even if you’re
afraid of what people will say.
I know that Jesus by Himself was simply wonderful, but I don’t think it’s a
stretch to say that his earthly father must have had some measure of influence
on Jesus.
(John 8:29
NKJV) "And He who sent Me is with
Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please
Him."
I think it’s cool to see the example of Joseph’s obedience
being reflected in the life of Jesus.
Lesson
Belief
What would you do if your spouse “conceived” something by the Holy Spirit?
What if God began to move in your spouse in a way that might seem odd to
others?
How would you respond? Would you be
afraid? Would you feel threatened?
Joseph recognized that God was behind it.
He accepted it.
“Love believes all things” (1Cor. 13:7)
Matthew 2
:1-12 Wise Men
:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem
of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men
from the East came to Jerusalem,
wise men – magos (“magician”)
– a magus; the name given by the Babylonians (Chaldeans), Medes, Persians, and
others, to the wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers,
interpreters of dreams, augers, soothsayers, sorcerers etc.
This is a fulfillment of:
(Isa 60:3 NKJV) The Gentiles
shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
:2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we
have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
At Christmas we often see displays of the shepherds and wise men standing
around Jesus in a stable with animals.
But this is probably not correct.
From what Herod does later in the chapter, it seems that the wise men gave
some indication as to the time of birth of the baby, and that it was close to
two years later (Mat. 2:16).
I don’t think Joseph and Mary would have lived in a stable for two
years. By this time they’ve settled
down, they’re probably living in their own house or living with relatives.
When you set up your nativity scenes this Christmas, perhaps you ought to
put the wise men a bit farther from the manger, maybe in the next room.
:3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem
with him.
Herod –
This is the fellow known as “Herod the Great”. He and his relatives ruled for years over Palestine.
He was born around 74 BC. He was appointed “king” of Judea
in 39 BC by the Roman Senate at the request of Mark Antony (Richard Burton’s
part in Cleopatra). He wasn’t Jewish. He was a descendant of Esau, an Edomite.
His bloody reign, high taxes, and love of Roman customs alienated him from
the Jews, but he tried to make them happy with great building programs at Jericho,
and Caesarea, including the remodeling of the Temple
(known as “Herod’s Temple). He died
at age 70 in the year 4 BC. This means
that Jesus’ birth had to be before 4 BC.
He was considered skilled in war, wise, but also very suspicious and cruel.
He married a Jewish wife, but because of his suspicions he eventually had her
and her two sons killed.
Emperor Augustus reportedly said it was better to be Herod’s sow than his
son, for his sow had a better chance of surviving in a Jewish community.
So it’s no surprise that Herod is troubled over this challenger for his
throne, even if it’s just a baby.
:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
Christ – Christos – “anointed”. This is the Greek word for “Messiah”, the
“anointed one”, a term used for kings, priests, and THE Anointed One, Jesus.
:5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem
of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
:6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land
of Judah, Are not the least among
the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"
The religious leaders know enough to quote the correct prophecy, Micah 5:2.
What I find fascinating is that no one but the wise men go to Bethlehem
to actually see if the Messiah was there.
Bethlehem – it means
“House of Bread”. What a fitting place
for the Messiah to be born, not just because it was King David’s home town, but
because He, Jesus, was the “Bread of Life”.
Lesson
Just how far will you go?
There are lots of people who talk as if they’d be interested to know God,
but they don’t want to leave their “comfort zone” to find Him.
Bethlehem is not that far from Jerusalem. It’s less than six miles away.
Jesus said,
(Mat 16:24
NKJV) Then Jesus said to His disciples,
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me.
Following Jesus will take you out of your comfort zone.
:7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from
them what time the star appeared.
:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully
for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I
may come and worship Him also."
:9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they
had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the
young Child was.
the star – what is it?
Some have suggested it might have been something like a supernova, a comet,
or a planet. This thing was apparently
moving southward towards Bethlehem. Stars and heavenly bodies move east to west,
not north to south.
Somehow the star appeared originally to them, then they lost site of it,
requiring that they stop at Jerusalem
and ask for directions.
I know some who think that because they stopped and asked for directions,
they were not wise “men” but wise “women”.
J
My response is that if they were wise “women”, they would have arrived on
time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and
brought practical gifts.
Back to the star … It seems best to see this as some sort of special,
supernatural phenomena made just for this event. Perhaps it was even the Shekinah glory of
God, like the pillar of fire at night that led the Israelites through the
desert.
:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
:11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with
Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened
their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
gifts – The three gifts becomes the reason why our tradition says
there were three wise men. But the text
doesn’t say how many there were. There
could have been two. There could have
been twenty.
It has been suggested that the gold was given to Him as a king, the
frankincense (a type of incense) because of His role as a priest, and the myrrh
(used in embalming) was a hint of His coming death.
The early church Fathers understood the gold to be symbolic of Christ’s
deity, the frankincense of His purity, and the myrrh of His death.
:12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to
Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
:13-15 Flight to Egypt
:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother,
flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to
destroy Him."
:14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and
departed for Egypt,
Joseph and his family were probably able to survive because of the gifts
that the wise men brought Jesus.
:15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt
I called My Son."
Hosea 11:1. Hosea may have meant
that God brought the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt,
but Matthew shows us that it was a prophecy concerning Jesus.
:16-18 Herod kills babies
:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was
exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who
were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under,
according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
:17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great
mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because
they are no more."
Quoting from Jeremiah 31:15.
Lesson
Your response?
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. People respond to that gift in one of three
ways:
1. Like Herod – they feel threatened
and respond cruelly.
A husband can feel threatened when his wife becomes a
Christian and says she now loves someone more than the husband.
2. Like the religious leaders -
indifference
They had all the information but did nothing.
3. Wise men – they bowed and gave
gifts
They realized Jesus was the one they were looking for. They bowed in worship.
They didn’t come in order to get anything from this
king. They came to give Him honor.
:19-23 Settling in Nazareth
:19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a
dream to Joseph in Egypt,
:20 saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the
land of Israel,
for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."
:21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land
of Israel.
:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea
instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God
in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.
Archelaus was known for his tyranny, murder, instability, and was most
likely insane.
:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be
called a Nazarene."
Nazareth – this was
where Mary was originally from (Luke 1:26).
Nazarene – Nazoraios –
“one separated”, a “Nazirite” (Num. 6), a resident of Nazareth.
It’s not real clear just what prophets Matthew has in mind.
The Hebrew word for “branch” (netser)
is a similar word, and is used in:
(Isa 11:1 NKJV) There shall
come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
It could be that Matthew has in mind the “Nazirite”, like Samson, one who
had made a vow to be separated for God’s use.
They did not cut their hair. They
did not drink wine or eat anything made from grapes. They did not touch dead bodies.
Matthew 3
:1-12 John’s ministry
Matthew now zooms forward in time about thirty years.
:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
John – Ioannes – “Yahweh
is gracious”
Baptist – he baptized people, he dunked them in the river.
It’s interesting that Matthew mentions the Nazarite and then talks about
one who seems to have been a Nazarite, John the Baptist (Luke 1:15).
:2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
Repent – turn around, turn from your sins. “Get ready to meet God”
:3 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.'"
Matthew quotes from Is. 40:3
In the ancient cultures, highway workers would be sent ahead of the king’s
traveling entourage to make sure the roads were smooth for the king. John’s
ministry was to prepare people’s hearts for the coming King.
:4 And John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around
his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
He seemed to play the part of a wild man.
He also just happened to be dressing similarly to the prophet Elijah
(2King 1:8).
:5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea,
and all the region around the Jordan
went out to him
:6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan,
confessing their sins.
The people were responding to John’s ministry.
:7 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?
This is not a way to make friends.
:8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,
Lesson
Talk is cheap
Some people are real good at convincing you with their words. They tell you they’ve changed, and we often
believe them.
The Bible tells us that repentance is more than words or emotions – repentance
involves action.
Paul had rebuked the Corinthian church for some problems they had. They responded to Paul’s letter with
“repentance”
(2 Cor 7:8-11 NKJV) For even
if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it.
For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.
{9} Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to
repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer
loss from us in nothing. {10} For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to
salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
{11} For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What
diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation,
what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you
proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
When someone professes to follow Jesus, or they tell you they are sorry for
their actions, that’s good. But it is
proper to tell them that they need to follow through and bring forth the
“fruits” of repentance.
:9 "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.
They shouldn’t count on their ancestors to save them.
:10 "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.
Judgment is coming.
:11 "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.
John knows that the coming Messiah is far greater than he is.
It would seem from the other accounts that John doesn’t know who the Messiah
is, not yet.
the Holy Spirit and fire
It would seem these are two different things.
The Holy Spirit would be poured out on the day of Pentecost.
The fire would be the judgment when Jesus returns.
:12 "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."
winnowing fan – used to separate the wheat kernels from the chaff.
Jesus is separating those who are really followers of God from those who just
say they are.
Keep in mind – this is Jesus’ job, not mine. Be careful about how you judge others (Mat.
7:1; Rom. 14:4)
:13-17 Jesus’ Baptism
:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan
to be baptized by him.
From Luke’s account, we believe that Jesus and John were cousins.
:14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by
You, and are You coming to me?"
John realizes who is standing before him.
:15 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.
Jesus didn’t have any sins to repent from.
His baptism was to set an example for others to follow.
:16 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.
:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased."
It was obvious who this was. Jesus
was God’s Son.
Notice all three parts of the Trinity.
The Son is being baptized.
The Holy Spirit descends.
The Father Speaks.