Once again my internet was down all weekend. We are hoping to have it fixed soon, but until then, I appreciate your patience as I come to work the next day and post there. Grrr.
Day 210: Matthew 3-4
I love the story of Jesus being baptized. What beautiful imagery! Jesus rises out of the water after he was baptized, heaven opens, and the Spirit of God descends like a dove on him. And at that moment, a voice from heaven says, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." What's interesting to me here is how the baptism of Jesus is recorded in the passive voice. The passage does not say. "Jesus baptized himself," which implies that Jesus is the one doing the action. Rather, the passage says, "As soon as Jesus was baptized..." (3:16), where the one doing the action is not Jesus. This writing style indicates that baptism is not something we as individuals do; instead, baptism is an act completed on us by someone else. The Spirit is the one doing the action. God is the one doing the action. We are merely the receptacle, the tool, on which this action is completed. Metaphorically, then, this indicates that we cannot save ourselves. Someone else is doing the saving, even though we are the one completing the action.
Immediately after Jesus is baptized--at least it's the next story as recorded in the Bible--Jesus is led into the desert. Here, he faces three temptations, none of which he gives in to. Each time the devil tempts him, Jesus answers by referring to words of law, to words that have been written down and that someone knowledgeable about Scripture would know and understand. Jesus shows us that he is well-read, and he also shows us that we can say "no" to temptation. Just because temptation greets us doesn't mean that we have to give in to it. But to say "no" to temptation requires more than relying on our own strength and willpower. Here, we see that Jesus brought up past ancestors and the words of law, the words of God, to help him say no. We don't have to fight temptation on our own; we can look back to history and rely on God alone to help us, just like Jesus did.
After he was baptized and tempted, Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (4:17).
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