Title: Matthew 3:13-17
In Isaiah 40:3 of the Old Testament, there is a prophecy, “The voice of one who cries, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, and make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Nora, behold, I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me, and suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant you have longed for will come.” The Gospel writers say that this prophecy refers to John the Baptist.
Thus, even before he was born, John the Baptist was a man to prepare the way for the Lord. And he was born into the world according to that prophecy, and he thoroughly lived a life that prepared the way for the Lord. How did he live his life preparing the way for the Lord? The story of today's text shows us one aspect of that.
The story of today's text tells the story of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. But for John the Baptist, it was impossible and unimaginable for Jesus to be baptized by him. He knew who Jesus was. He was the one who saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He also said, “He who is more powerful than me is coming after me, and I am not worthy to bend over and untie his shoelaces. I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1: 7-8) has been said. Therefore, it was absolutely unacceptable for him to baptize Jesus. So, when Jesus was about to be baptized by him, he stopped Jesus by asking, “I must be baptized by you, are you coming to me?” as read in verse 14. However, he eventually baptized Jesus. Because Jesus said, "Allow it now, for it is fitting for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness" (15).
Jesus, the Son of God, without sin, was the Son of Man and was baptized by John the Baptist, who performed the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It was an expression of His will, to proclaim that the Messiah would not come as a glorious political winner as people had thought.
John's disciples came to John and said, "Teacher, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, the one you were testifying about, is baptizing, and all the people are going to him." What was John's answer? "You are the one who will testify that I am not the Christ, but the one sent before him. / The bridegroom is the one who takes the bride, but the friend who stands and hears the bridegroom's voice rejoices greatly. I will do it” (John 3:26-30). John the Baptist was a man who had a firm thought, “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30). Jesus' work of salvation began with the preparation of the workers who completely followed his will.
Verses 16-17: “After Jesus was baptized, immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. grow up." This is truly a majestic and astonishing sight. The voice of God the Father is heard from heaven, and God the Holy Spirit comes upon God the Son. This manifestation of the Triune God is a rare sight. As I said before, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, it is at this time of baptism that Jesus truly appeared in the world, and therefore, January 6th, Epiphany, is celebrated as Christmas. It should be noted that this manifestation of God's glory followed the obedience of those who prepared the way of the Lord.
What else can we note in the life of John the Baptist as a person who prepares the way for the Lord? John the Baptist preached the words of the Lord. In particular, he cried out for repentance of sins before Jesus and preached the principle of forgiveness of sins. Mark 1:4 says, "John the Baptist came into the wilderness to preach the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." Like Jesus, he sternly and bitterly criticized the hypocrisy and unbelief of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 3:7 says, "When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to the baptism, he said, "You brood of vipers, who taught you to flee from the wrath to come?" He was not afraid of the powers of the world in exposing and accusing sin and injustice. He was not afraid to criticize Herod for taking Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, as wrong, and for that he was beheaded by Herod (Matthew 14:4, Mark 6:17-18).
While John the Baptist chose this righteous life, he did not pursue a comfortable life. The Gospel tells us that he was clothed in camel's hair, had a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and lime (Mark 1:6).
What did Jesus say about John the Baptist? Look at Matthew 11:9, 11: "Why did you go out to see the prophet? Yes, I tell you, you are better than the prophets... I tell you the truth, of those born of women, more than John the Baptist. No great one has arisen."
John the Baptist willingly accepted and obeyed the Lord's will, which was different from his own. He never tried to get ahead of the Lord. He did not close his eyes to the sins and injustices of the world. He did not seek a comfortable life. He lived only to prepare the way of the Lord. The Lord called such John the Baptist “a lamp that lights up and shines.” We must be able to draw from this John the Baptist wisdom and lessons for our mission to shine in the world.