Matthew 3:17, ‘and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
God was very pleased with His son and gave Him a privilege calling Him, ‘My beloved son’. This son was revealed to us. Thank God. He is revealed to us in this time also. His life is the light. We need to have this light in our lives, every day!
Matthew 3:13-17, ‘Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”’
When John was preventing the Lord Jesus from getting baptized, Jesus said, ‘It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’. Jesus fulfilled all righteousness. It was the will of God for Jesus Christ, when He was in this world. God wants us also to be righteous by listening to Him, every day of our lives. Does He find us as His ‘beloved son’? and a ‘pleasing son’? We need the blessing of the Lord, so we can be a blessing to those whom we meet.
The righteousness of the Lord Jesus was that He was broken and always listened to His Father. He didn’t need to get baptized but He revealed Himself and came inline of the sinners and chose to be baptized too. Scriptures say that there is no sin in Him, no bad attitude in Him. In our lives also, to have His righteousness, we need to be broken, our self-will needs to be broken.
The heavens were opened for Him. It is very encouraging to see how Jesus lived, His personal life in this world. John 1:4 says, ‘In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.’
We need to deny our ‘self-will’ and follow our Lord Jesus, and thereby have His light in us.
Luke 2:20, ‘The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.’
When Jesus was presented at the temple, Simeon blessed Him. Every day there was growth in Him, He was becoming strong, increasing in wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him. Even though He was God, in His flesh He had to grow. We also need to have a continuous filling of the Holy Spirit to grow and we need to grow in wisdom, every day of our lives. Then only we can a blessing to others and pleasing to God. The grace of God was upon Him, while He was still very young.
Jesus was growing in wisdom, when He came to the temple,
Luke 2:41-52, ‘Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; 43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, 44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. 46 Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” 49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. 51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men’.
Lord Jesus was clear about His mission. When His parents asked Him, why have You treated us this way? Jesus answered, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” He continued in subjection to them. He was obedient to His parents. Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. There is a continuous growth in Him. Every day, there was life coming from Him; this is the way, we need to live, having His life; living in subjection to the Holy Spirit, listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, every day. Approach the Lord Jesus to give us His wisdom and our part is to believe in Him, denying our ‘self-will’ and follow Him closely in our lives.
Luke 1:30, ‘The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God’.
Mary was chosen to bear Lord Jesus in her womb. She was found favor with God. She is the privileged woman.
V28, ‘And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
Initially, Mary was perplexed but later,
V30, ‘The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.’
The reason that the holy Child shall be called the Son of God, is because the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the power of the Most High was overshadowing her.
This change should be there in our lives too! When Lord Jesus pours out His Holy Spirit, then when He gives us His power, this changes us. The flesh we have is always in enmity with the Lord and all the spiritual things but when the Holy Spirit comes onto us, we will have the power to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. It is only through our Lord Jesus, that we can achieve that which is needed by our Lord.
Matthew 17:2-5, ‘And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone’.
Jesu Christ revealed Himself to His disciples, was transfigured and shone like sun. His disciples were also perplexed to see Him. Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone. God Himself spoke to the disciples to listen to the Lord Jesus. God wants us also to listen to Him, every day, and have His light in us. Through the light that we receive from Him, we need to transmit this light to others.
Matthew 4:1-4, ‘Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”’
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Temptations will be there but Jesus overcame with the Word, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’. It is by the humble dependance on the Lord; when we are also being tempted, it is by the help of the Holy Spirit and the Word only, we can overcome it. We can be pleasing to the Lord only when we have power from the Lord and we can resist the temptations in our lives. We will be tempted in all areas of life, until we are alive. We can be an overcomer, only when we can overcome all the temptations by the power of the Holy Spirit and by listening to the promptings. The next temptation, Jesus gave an apt response, ‘‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only’.
Through the Word, Jesus overcame Satan.
V11, ‘Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him’.
Then Jesus started His ministry.
Hebrews 11:23, ‘By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.’
Moses was the redeemer of the Israel. God used Moses to save Israelites from the Egyptians.
Exodus 2:3, ‘But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile.’
God saved Moses and had a purpose for him, to save the Israelites from Egyptians. God used Moses. The parents had to give him up, they had to make a basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. We see that after sometime, Miriam came looking after him very closely, then Pharaoh’s daughter took Moses, Miriam provided nurse for him, who is his own mother! The child was given back to the same parents! Moses was growing in his own house! Moses got his initial education from his house, from where he belongs.
We all have received our knowledge of God also, in our childhood. God has met with all of us in some time and He is leading us in various ways. We are being saved and are following the Lord now.
When Moses parents got him with them, they soon had to give him up to Pharaoh. So, they got limited time with Moses. By that time, they were able to give him good education about the Lord. He was growing up in Pharaoh’s palace. When Moses saw his Israelite brothers, he thought he could save them; got into a fight, thinking he could save them through the education he received from the palace. He had to run away to Midian. We see that later, Moses was tending the sheep, and he encountered God. God was protecting Moses since his birth until now.
Hebrews 11:24, ‘By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin’,
Moses gave up the pleasures of the palace and gave up his privileges and chose to endure ill-treatment with the people of God.
V26, ‘considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.’
His main aim was towards the reward and he endured the ill-treatment. Thank God for the vision and revelation he received from God that he chose God in his life.
Exodus 43:7-9, ‘Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. 9 Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the Lord would speak with Moses.’ V11, ‘Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.’
Moses’ relationship with God was like a friend.
V12-14, ’12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”’
Because of the choice Moses made, that is to endure the ill treatment rather than enjoying the passing pleasures of sin, God showed His favor on Moses. He got an opportunity to experience the Lord, in the burning bush and he accepted it with his heart. He had a desire to see how God is like. We see the longing in his heart to know His ways. Is there a desire in our hearts to see how Jesus is like? Because Father God was very pleased with Him. He says, ‘This is my beloved son’. Through all our situations, we need to find out His ways – How He is, and what are His ways, in our lives. Thank God for leading us in His ways, every day. Let us be filled with His Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 10:2-6, ‘and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. 6 Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved’.
Let us examine ourselves, that we have been also baptized, having same spiritual food, drinking from the same spiritual rock the Christ; in His Church, are we really having the longing in our hearts to be well-pleasing to Him or are we craving evil things as they also craved? Because the reasons were mentioned, that there was immorality among them.
V8, ‘Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. 9 Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. 10 Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall’.
We see what were the reasons that God was not pleased with them. There was immorality, grumbling in their hearts; let us take heed. We need to be careful in our personal lives. We might be in the Church of God. Is there anything not pleasing to the Lord in our lives? Let us repent of our sins and be filled with His Holy Spirit. We were given the examples. Through the examples, we can see how Jesus lived in this world.
John 12:23, ‘And Jesus *answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.’
We can bear fruit only when we die to our self. If it is not dying, there is no fruit.
V25, ‘He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.’
Like the grain of wheat when it falls into the earth and dies, in the same way, when our outer crust, our ‘self-will’ dies, when we carry the cross daily in our lives; then only we can bear fruit. The life of Jesus should come out in our lives, every day! We need to be broken and die!
Lord Jesus also, did not chose the honor of men, he chose to stand in the line to be baptized by John; this was to fulfill all the righteousness. We need to fulfill all the righteousness in our lives too.
V26, ‘If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.’
Dying to the self and carrying the cross alone will help us to be pleasing to the Lord.
V28, ‘Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”’
Before the foundation of this world, there is a specific purpose for all of us, and our coming into this world.
Romans 8:29, ‘For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;’
The days that God is going to give us, every day, we need to be conformed into His image. The present day too, we need to be conformed into the image of Christ which is very important.
We need to be examples also. We need to follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. We see that Jesus washes His disciples’ feet in John 13.
John 13:3, ‘Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God’
Jesus’ mission was very clear. Jesus came from the Father and He is going back to Him.
V4, ‘got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded’.
V14, ‘If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you’.
Though He was God, He did not take any privileges of being God. He came down to earth and came more down, washed His disciples’ feet. Knowing one of them was a betrayer, still He was ready to wash his feet! He did it out of pure love towards them. This pure love should come out of us also. This will happen only when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to depend on Him as the branch is depending on the tree. We need to come to Him daily asking for His mercy.
V17, ‘If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.’
There is blessedness in this, in knowing these things and in doing them. May the Lord find us pleasing to Him; dying to our ‘self’, carrying the cross daily, enduring the ill-treatment from the world, not seeking the men’s honor, following the Lord Jesus daily and fulfilling all God’s purpose in our lives, completing the mission that was given to us by God, in this life. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to do, what God wants us to do.
Praise God.
