Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Discipling through Devotionals

J-Life, the African organisation Louise and I work with in the training of disciple makers, recently asked us if we would be willing to write devotionals for a new year long study through the life and ministry of Jesus. We already have a 60 Day Study that helps disciples and disciple makers systematically work through the four Gospels, paying particular attention to the methodology employed by Jesus in the formation of His disciples. But this is a more in depth study and, I believe, will be a great tool in the hands of those who wish to go deeper with their own disciples.

I will be posting my sections here as I complete them. This is my first.

Jesus’ Baptism by John the Baptist
Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23a

John the Baptist rightly objected to Jesus’ request to be baptised by Him. Whereas John’s baptism of the nation of Israel was a baptism of repentance to prepare them for the coming of their Lord[1], the baptism of Jesus was on a completely different level. It was, to use Jesus’ own words, “to fulfil all righteousness”. What does this mean?

Matthew seems to indicate that Jesus intentionally left Galilee to be baptised by John in the Jordan.[2] We know that Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10), so we may safely assume that His baptism had a very specific purpose.[3] Given the affirming statement from the Father as Jesus came up from the waters regarding His Messianic identity and therefore His Messianic role, one may safely conclude that the baptism was a rite of inauguration.[4]

In the Old Testament, the Aaronic Priests were ordained to bear the sins of Israel before God, especially the High Priest who would bear the sins of the people until the Day of Atonement when he transferred them to the so-called scapegoat (Leviticus 16). As the ultimate sin bearer and as the one who would through His sacrifice of Himself as a pure and spotless offering for atonement for sin and thus fulfil all righteousness, Jesus would necessarily have needed to be ordained into this ministry. Even though His mother, Mary, was related to Elizabeth who was from the priestly line of Aaron, and therefore indirectly Jesus was of the priestly line as well[5], all the priests had to undergo a baptism of sorts – a ritual washing so as to be “right” with God prior to taking office (Levites had to be thirty years of age, the same age as Jesus according to Luke. cf. Numbers 4:3, Luke 3:23). After being washed, they were anointed with oil (Exodus 29:1-7). Kings and Prophets were also anointed with oil to signify the Presence of God in their lives.

Jesus was King by right of His birth as David’s descendent. But He was inaugurated into the role of Priest by ritual washing and into the role of Prophet by anointing, not with oil, but with what the oil represented, the Holy Spirit Himself. (Isaiah 11:2; 1 Samuel 16:13; see also John 3:34 and Hebrews 1:9)

The imagery behind the practice of ceremonial washings and baptisms is more than likely an image of the passage from lifelessness to life (cf. Colossians 2:12). At Creation it is only after the dry land emerges from the watery chaos that life becomes possible (Genesis 1:9-10). After the flood, life resumes only once the dry land reappears from the waters.[6] It is only once the Israelites have passed through the Red Sea that they are able to live as a free nation. Likewise, passing through the Jordan signals an end to the nomadic wilderness wanderings and the beginning of new life in the Promised Land. The same is true for the returning exiles (cf. Isaiah 43:16).

For these reasons, it may very well be that when Jesus “came up out of the water”, the action indicated an end to the lifelessness of the cursed creation and the beginning of new life and the new creation. It certainly would have struck the Israelites as heralding the end of a long period of oppression. Indeed, the phrase, “the heavens being torn open” [7] appears to be an allusion to a request for God to tear open the heavens and come down to help the Exiles (cf. Isaiah 64:1 – in Hebrew text 63:19b[8]).

Should this be the case, the affirming voice indicated that Jesus was the forerunner of freedom from slavery and exile, in His case, the more serious global slavery to sin and exile from the Presence of God.

Most scholars would agree that the statement, “You are My beloved Son. I am pleased with You” is a stringing together of three different Old Testament passages.[9]

1.     Psalm 2:7 – “You are My Son” – Jesus is identified as the Messianic King
2.     Isaiah 42:1 – “Who pleases Me” – Jesus is identified as the Just Servant King
3.     Genesis 22:2 – “”Whom you love so much” – Jesus is identified as the supreme Substitutionary Sacrifice[10]

When the heavens were opened, the Gospel narratives state simply that the Spirit descended on Jesus “like a dove”. Why a dove? There are two main reasons for this. The first comes from Creation where the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters (Genesis 1:2). The second comes from the account of Noah (Genesis 8:8-12).[11] In both cases, the dove (or a bird-like figure) hovers over waters that cover what is necessary for life. As soon as dry land appears, life may begin or resume. The dove appears to be at once a creation and recreation motif. The message would then be that Jesus is the one who will usher in the new creation.

Jesus received the power of the Holy Spirit prior to the start of His ministry. It is only after the Holy Spirit came upon Him in power at His baptism that Jesus’ ministry began. Likewise, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit and then they would be empowered to be His witnesses. And likewise, we need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit so that we might be equipped to do the work of the ministry (cf. Acts 13:1-4a)



[1] cf. Isaiah 40:3 in context, especially verse 9 and compare with preparatory instructions found in Exodus 19:9-10
[2] baptisthenai - Aorist 1 Infinitive Passive “to be baptized” (purpose clause)
[3] This is a lesson for us as followers of Jesus – as Jesus sought to know the Father’s will through the deep study of God’s Word, constant contact with the Father through prayer, and a daily dependence on the leading of the Holy Spirit, so we too ought to discern the will of the Father for our lives and our ministries.
[4] Jesus received clarity with regard to His identity at baptism. As a human being, He more than likely gradually discovered His identity through communion with the Father in prayer and the study of the Word. It seems that He knew His identity as the Son from an early age, at least age twelve when we read His first recorded statement regarding God as His Father (Luke 2:49). But Jesus was also very aware of God’s timing for His life and His baptism was no exception. He went to John to be baptised and was affirmed by the Father as the Son and anointed by the Spirit to do the work He had been sent to do.
[5] His mother, Mary, was connected to the Aaronic priesthood as we read that her “relative” (συγγενίς) Elizabeth (Luke 1:36), wife of Zechariah and mother to John the Baptist was of the Aaronic line (Luke 1:5).
[6] It is interesting to note that the Early Church saw a connection between baptism and the water receding after the flood account (cf. 1 Peter 3:20-21).
[7] skizomenous tous ouranos (Mark 1:10)
[8] cf. Isaiah 63:15-19 especially “Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to you, as though we had never been known as Your people.”
[9] “There are several strong reasons for attending to OT allusions when exegeting Gospel texts. To begin with, Jesus lived and taught in a Jewish milieu that was steeped in the OT, and the Gospels themselves were written by authors who shared this world of scriptural thought and language. In addition, simple observation reveals how much the Gospels draw from the OT: direct citations, language echoes, references to figures, events, and prophecies, and, pervading everything, a scripturally formed perception of God and the world. This massive presence demands our attention. Finally, if our convictions about the Bible as God’s Word lead us to value the ultimate unity and harmony of biblical theology, we will be eager to explore that connections linking one part of Scripture to another. Precisely because these reasons for pursuing OT allusions are so compelling, however, we must take extra care to integrate our exploration of these intertextual elements with a reading of Gospel narratives that remains firmly scene-based and story sensitive, without letting our focus on one vital exegetical factor crowd out another.” Interpreting Gospel Narratives: Scenes, People, and Theology, Timothy Wiarda, B&H Academic, Nashville, TN, 2010, 117-118.

[10] Interpreting Gospel Narratives: Scenes, People, and Theology, Timothy Wiarda, B&H Academic, Nashville, TN, 2010, 118-119. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, Ann Spangler, Lois Tverberg, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 2018, 48-49
[11] “Although Noah’s dove is seemingly nowhere mentioned or even alluded to in the Bible outside of Genesis 8, the image of a dove with an olive branch in its beak has appropriately become a sign of peace: the storm is over.” Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, Eds Ryken, Wilhoit, and Longman III, IVP, Downers Grove, IL, 1998, p 216


No comments:

Post a Comment