Title: Go Out to the Jordan River
Contents
Bible Text: Matthew 3:13-17
Go out to the Jordan River
During the Joseon Dynasty, there was a man named Maeng Sa-seong. I studied well from a young age, so I took exams in the past. Growing up only hearing that he was good at it, he was arrogant. Young Sa-seong took the exam in the past, and his first assignment was in Paju, Gyeonggi-do. I happened to stop by a hermitage and met a master, and Maeng Sa-seong said, “Master, I have been appointed as the head of this town, and can you teach me how to manage it well.” He was humble but arrogant. “You don’t do bad things, you just have to choose good things.” “Since you’re here like this, have a cup of tea,” and pouring tea into a cup, pouring it continuously. The water was overflowing and the floor was dripping with water. “Master’s teacup overflows.” Zen Master said, “You know that water overflows, but you don’t know that your knowledge is overflowing and ruining your personality.”
Meng Saseong was shocked and got up and went out, but he hit his head against a doorpost and fell down. In a low voice, the master said, "If you raise your head, you will bump into it, but you should also know how to bow your head." From then on, he became a disciple with a master as his teacher. Meng Sa-seong met the master and became a leader with a humble and noble character. In the eyes of King Sejong, he rose to the positions of Uuijeong and Jwauijeong. There is someone who introduced himself. He is God. You are our Lord.
“Go out to the Jordan River” You will meet Jesus being baptized there. You will meet the Holy Spirit who comes down like a dove, and you will see God the Father who is pleased with you.
See the saint being baptized
“At this time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John” (verse 13). Jesus’ hometown is Nazareth. Except for a brief escape to Egypt as a child, he continued to live there. It is a long walk from Galilee to the Jordan River, but he walked from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized.
Jesus was baptized by John. People question the fact that Jesus was baptized. Why was Jesus baptized? Baptism is a ceremony to wash away sins, and the Lord is without sin, and we do not know why He was baptized.
There is no sin to be washed away in Jesus. There is no old man to die. The Bible's answer is this. Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. “... When John saw Jesus coming to him, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The word Lamb of God was brought to the slaughter in Isaiah 53:8. It is based on the saying, “Like a lamb and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers.” It is to put human sins on an innocent lamb and put it to death. That sheep is the Lamb of God. If there is a sin, it is the sin of the people of the world that he bore.
“Jesus was about to be baptized by John, but John persuaded him, saying, I must be baptized by you, and are you coming to me? So John gave permission” (verses 13-15).
John was embarrassed to baptize Jesus. He knew who Jesus was. “...He who comes after me is mightier than I, and I am not worthy to take on his sandals; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (verse 11).
The Bible speaks of John's mission, "There was born a man sent from God, and his name was John, that he might bear witness of the light, and that all might believe through him" (John 1:6-7). He understood the meaning of the words, “Allow it now, for it is fitting for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” and baptized.
Jesus was baptized with water. Water was once a means of destroying the world, but when used as baptismal water in the Jordan River, it was used as a means of destroying sin. Jesus took the sins of the world and was baptized. Please come to the Jordan River and look at the Son Jesus being baptized.
See the Holy Spirit coming down like a dove
You will have to come to the Jordan River and see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him” (verse 16).
A sign appeared when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River.
The sky is open. These words are reminiscent of the clouds lifted and doves descending from the sky. The Holy Spirit came like a dove. Jesus was baptized with the Holy Spirit at the place where he was baptized with water. The baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received is the meaning of “separation”. He was set apart as the Son of God. This has to do with the words “my beloved son” Also, the Holy Spirit is “the bestower of power.” After the Holy Spirit came, the work of the Messiah began.
After receiving the Holy Spirit, Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, and has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and restoration of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. that the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus” (Luke 4:18-19), and his identity became clear. It is the conviction that “I am the Son of God, and with whom God is pleased”.
The Gospel of Matthew records the scene where Jesus received the Holy Spirit in chapter 3 and records that “Jesus was led by the Spirit” in verse 4:1. The devil tempts Jesus. “If you are the Son of God,” turn stones into bread, jump from the top of the temple, and I will give you all nations if you worship me. Then Jesus said, “Go away, Satan” and defeated the devil.
Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. Because God has given the Holy Spirit without measure. “...He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, because God gives the Holy Spirit without measure” (John 3:34). Jesus, who received the Holy Spirit without measure, spoke the words of God. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Word of God can come out.
As Jesus ascended into heaven, he said to the apostles, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from me. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will receive the Holy Spirit. You will receive power when it comes to you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:4-5, 8).
Please come to the Jordan River and receive the Holy Spirit. I hope you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and become a witness of Jesus.
Behold the Father who loves and delights in the Son.
When you go out to the Jordan River, you can hear a voice from heaven. “There was a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (verse 17). God's voice contained in this one verse contains a profound and meaningful love for the Father.
“My Son” God Himself said “My Son”. The son was born as prophesied that a virgin would conceive and bear a son (Isaiah 7:14).
“A son has been given to us, and government is upon his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, and Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6-7). He is the only begotten Son, the Son of God, shown in an invisible body. The Son was sent into the world to accomplish God's will, and he is the Savior who was crucified and resurrected according to God's will.
Among “my …sons” the word “beloved” sits like a yolk. It is called “My Beloved Son.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (Deuteronomy 33:29).
As Goethe said, “People love their daughters for who they are, and their sons for what they expect.” God's love for his son is a love that he thinks about what his present son will accomplish in the future. Jesus said to his mother Mary, who was looking at her crucified son, “Behold, your son” (John 19:26).
Jesus rebuked Peter for blocking death and said that I came for this, and he must have been proud and proud of his faithfulness to his mission as the Son of God.
God called Jesus “the one in whom I am well pleased”. The life Jesus lived as the Son of God made the Father happy. “I have glorified the work you gave me to do … I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world; they were yours, and you gave them to me, and they kept your word” (John 17). :4,6)
The best life is for the son to be the joy of the father. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Go to the Jordan River! You can see the Saint Jesus standing before John the Baptist to be baptized. There is an icon found in the catacombs, from the 4th century, depicting Jesus being baptized by John. There you are pouring water over your head with a bowl. He bears the sins of the world. His burden of sin included mine as well. May the Holy Spirit that came upon Jesus come upon us as well. Come, Holy Spirit! The evil spirit breathes the spirit of death into death. The Holy Spirit gives life to the mortal body. I hope you can feel the gaze of the Father, who rejoices at the Son, looking at us. “This is my beloved Son” Have self-esteem as the Son of God. Let's do what you can say, "I am well pleased." Live confidently in the belief that “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” I hope that God sees me and is pleased with me.