READINGS OCTOBER 15-22
OCTOBER 15
Today begins the first in a series of three concerning the birth of Jesus as we prepare for the beginning of the New Testament readings. We ask that you prayerfully consider the things that are written here concerning Jesus' birth. There is much to digest, so read slowly.
Much of the world celebrates the birth of Jesus on the 25th of December. Why? Is this the actual day of Jesus' birth? How do we know when to honor His birth? Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly when Jesus was born, but there are some clues, some puzzle pieces that we can put together that will give a better picture. Some of these puzzle pieces are found in the Bible and some are found in historical records and documentation.
God includes some of the puzzle pieces by giving us a few seemingly insignificant times and numbers. We start with the known. In order to place the date of Jesus’ birth, we need to first place the time of the birth of John the Baptist because we know that Jesus was born six months after John. We begin to put the puzzle together with a few pieces from the book of Luke and visit the priest Zechariah and his barren wife Elizabeth, a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Luke 1:5
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
Zechariah was of the Levitical division of Abijah.
The Levitical priests were given an appointed order of ministering in the
temple was established by King David and put into practice by Solomon after the
temple was built. The priests were separated into 24 turns or divisions for
their appointed order of ministering. After the 24 groups of priests were
established, lots were drawn to determine the sequence in which each group
would serve in the temple. These turns began in the first month of the Jewish
calendar, the month of Nisan.
1 Chronicles 24:19
This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the LORD, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their forefather Aaron, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
The appointed order of turns for ministering rotated
every week until they reached the end of the sixth month, when the cycle was
repeated until the end of the year. This meant that Zechariah’s division served
at the temple twice a year for their regular turn of service. They, along with
all the other divisions would also be required to serve on special occasions
during the three commanded festival days of the Lord. The three main festival
days of the Lord were Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Feast of
Tabernacles.
Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
This account in Luke takes place when it was Zechariah’s division’s turn. There are two possible times for Zechariah’s regular time of service at the temple. The Bible does not specify which turn of service this one was. Beginning with the first month, Nisan, in the spring (March-April), the schedule of the priests’ turn of duty would result in Zechariah serving during the 10th week of the year because he was a member of the course of Abijah, the 8th course (1 Chr 24:10) and at this time both the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost would have already occurred. This places one of Zechariah’s turns in the temple beginning in the third month of the year during the month of Sivan (June). Regardless of which turn of service, Zechariah went home after his turn of service to his wife Elizabeth and she conceived. Due to laws of separation (Leviticus 12:5, 15:19, 25) two additional weeks must be counted, so most likely Elizabeth conceived John about two weeks after Zechariah’s return.
Let’s suppose Luke is recording the first turn of service
which took place during the month of Sivan. Going forward nine months, this
would place John’s birth in early spring, at the time of the Jewish Passover.
There are another couple of clues from Scripture that lets us know that this
was Zechariah’s first turn of service. There are connections with the prophet
Elijah, John, and Passover. The angel told Zechariah that John was to come “in
the spirit and power of Elijah”. The Old Testament prophet Malachi tells us
that God will send Elijah before the coming Messiah. (Malachi 3:1, 4:5-6) Even
Jesus made the connection between John and Elijah.
Matthew 17:10-13
The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?" Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
The Jews look for Elijah to return on the day of Passover. Still today, there is an empty chair and a table setting for Elijah whenever Passover is celebrated by many devout Jews. Everything points to the birth of John the Baptist to take place at Passover.
Luke 1:10-17
And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Luke 1:23-24
When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
By the way, there were a great number of priests on duty
during Zechariah’s turn so when “he was chosen by lot, according to the
custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense” it
was a rare high honor.
Placing the conception of John shortly after Zechariah returns from his temple service sometime in June (modern calendar) , let’s go forward six months to the month of December (modern calendar).
Luke records that Elizabeth was six months pregnant when
the angel Gabriel visited Mary.
Luke 1:26-31
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
Luke 1:36
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
The beginning of Elizabeth’s sixth month would have been in December during the celebration of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication and the Festival of Lights. The conception of Jesus (the light of the world – John 8:12) would have taken place during Hanukkah. Mary conceived in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy.
Incidentally, it was the custom in ancient Israel to count the years of one's age from the date of conception - in other words, when a child is born he is considered one year old until three months after his first birthday when he is considered two years old. (this is still a practice in some oriental cultures today).
So Jesus’ conception, not His birth occurred in mid-December.
For additional details, see the book The Journey of Jesus
from the Manger to the Mansion.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076JQ1ZY1/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
OCTOBER 16
Second in a series of three:
If Jesus’ conception occurred in mid-December, then Jesus would have been born nine months later during the Jewish month of Tishri. This month corresponds with our months of September and October. Is there documentation that Jesus was born during September or October? Again we go to Scripture for additional puzzle pieces.
This one is from Luke.
Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
At the time that Jesus was born there were shepherds living in the fields. Shepherds lived in the open country during the months from spring until the colder rainy season, which began most often in early October. This would not have been mid-December. There would have been no grass for the sheep to eat. It would have been sometime before the colder rainy season.
Earlier we
established that John the Baptist was born during the time of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread (Passover) one of three main festival days of the Lord. We
have established the month of Jesus’ conception as mid-December which places
His birth in mid-September. Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated in the seventh
month, the month of Tishri, corresponding with our months of September or
October (according to whether or not it is the Jewish leap year). Is there
reason to believe that Jesus may have been born during the Feast of
Tabernacles?
John gives us a
piece of the puzzle.
John 1:14a
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
The “Word” is
Jesus who was born a baby. He made His dwelling among us. The Greek word
“dwelling” means “to encamp, to make a temporary residence, to tabernacle”
Jesus came to earth as a baby to “tabernacle” among us, to take up temporary residence with us.
The Feast of
Tabernacles is an eight day festival. If Jesus was born on the first day of the
feast, then he would have been circumcised on the eighth day of the feast.
Luke 2:21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
So we can place the date of Jesus’ birth during the Feast of Tabernacles. Can we know the year? We again return to Scripture for that piece of the puzzle.
Matthew gives us the piece of that puzzle. After Jesus was born, Joseph was warned in a dream to take Jesus and His mother to Egypt until the death of Herod.
Matthew 2:14-15 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled
Jesus was born while Herod was in power. Matthew tells us that wise men from the east appeared in Jerusalem and inquired of Herod concerning the birth of the “king of the Jews”. The possibility of another “king” in the midst angered Herod so much that he ordered the deaths of all baby boys aged two years and younger. Of course Joseph by this time had already taken Jesus safely to Egypt.
According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, Herod died in the spring of 4 B.C. This means that Jesus was born before 4 B.C. at least one to two years before, either 5 B.C or 6 B.C. A date of 5 B.C. fits with other Biblical data. Jesus was “about” 30 when He began His official teaching mission. (Luke 3:23). We know that Jesus was baptized in or around 27 AD based on the scripture account in Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar-- when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene--
We say in or around 27 AD because Tiberius Caesar ruled prior to his “official” rule that began in 14 AD. Scripture tells us that Jesus started His ministry when He was about 30 years of age. We do not know for certain that He was baptized at the very beginning of His ministry. As a cross reference for date finding, we add three years to the date of 27 AD and arrive at 30 AD as the date of Jesus’ crucifixion. In looking at the Hebrew calendar we discover that all the Biblical days of the week during Holy week exactly match the Hebrew calendar year 3790 (30 AD). None of the years immediately before or after 30 AD match the Biblical timeline. It is established by Biblical truth with calendar and scientific cross references. So the birth year of 5 B.C. fits with the date of crucifixion in 30 A.D.
For additional
details see the book The Journey of Jesus from the Manger to the Mansion.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076JQ1ZY1/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
OCTOBER 17
The birth of Jesus took place during the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall of the year and not on the traditional date of December 25. The Feast of Tabernacles was one of three great annual feasts of the Jewish people: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Each of these days listed in the Old Testament have the prophetic fulfillment in the New Testament beginning with the coming of the Messiah associated with the Feast of Tabernacles.
Colossians
2:17
These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is
found in Christ.
Matthew
5:17
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I
have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
When He
came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem, Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the
Feast of Tabernacles. When Jesus suffered and died for our sins, He fulfilled
the prophecies of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover, and the Day of
Atonement. When He ascended into heaven and presented Himself to God, the
Father, He fulfilled the prophecies of the Feast of First Fruits. When He sent
the Holy Spirit He fulfilled the prophecies of Pentecost. In all the feasts and
festivals the people of Israel remembered their past and renewed their faith in
the Lord who created and sustained them. Should we as Believers celebrate these
Holy Days today?
Again we find our answers in His Word. One thing we have learned in our
study of God’s Word is that He makes things perfectly clear! We especially like
how He has described life in the Millennium when it comes to honoring the
festivals and feast days, His Holy Days.
While the people will celebrate all the appointed feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Passover are specifically named.
Zechariah
14:16-17
Then the survivors from all the nations that have
attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King,
the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If
any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship
the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain.
Deuteronomy
31:10-13
Then Moses commanded them: "At the end of every seven years, in the
year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when
all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place he
will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. Assemble the
people-- men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns-- so they
can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the
words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear
it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land
you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
(See also Nehemiah 8:14-18)
If honoring and celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles is required during the Millennium, shouldn’t we honor it today?
It is important for us as Believers in Jesus to honor these Holy Days today, not in the way that was done before the Messiah came, but to honor Jesus as the prophetic fulfillment of those days. Part of honoring Him is to also remember our past as the people of Israel did (which includes remembering everything that the nation of Israel remembered). We have additional things to remember on this side of the cross. We remember Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection, and our salvation through Him.
Who we honor is far more important than when we honor Him. However, there is much evidence in Scripture as to when we should honor Him. It just takes a deep study of Scripture and verification with historical documentation. There are great blessings in store for those who do honor the Holy Days.
We
praise Him that He came to “tabernacle” among us and He was and is "God
with us."
Matthew 1:23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us."
For additional details see the book The Journey of Jesus from the Manger to the Mansion. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076JQ1ZY1/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
OCTOBER
18
Ah…yes…we begin the New Testament!
Imagine that four people watched the Indy 500 race from four different vantage points around the track. They would each see some of the same things that happened at the race. For example even though they each would report seeing cars in different locations around the track, the cars would be the same. They each may report seeing crashes from different angles, but the crashes would be the same. They may not all witness the winner reaching the finish line. Some of them may not be able to see the finish line, but the winner would be the same. It’s much the same way with reports of the life of Jesus.
The
four gospel accounts are written from four different perspectives and to
different audiences. Each writer sees parts of the same story. When the parts
are put together the way they are in the Chronological Bible, we get a more
complete picture.
John presents a wonderful image of Jesus as the Word. We read about the Word in the beginning of the Bible, in the beginning of the New Testament and at the end of the Bible.
John
1:1-2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
John clearly identifies the Word as being God.
John
1:14
The
Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the
glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Here he clearly identifies the
Word as being Jesus.
Genesis begins the way John does.
Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning God (the three in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
The light in the beginning was not the light
of the SUN, the light of the SON!
Oh, by the way, John also tells us that Jesus is the Word in the last book of the Bible.
Revelation 19:13
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
Any questions in your mind about just
who is the Word of God???
significance! Isn’t it fascinating that of all the names listed, there are only three who are women?
And even more fascinating is that two of them acted as prostitutes.
Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah. She was married to Judah's son Er who died and to Onan, his brother, who also died. After the death of Onan, Judah promised his third son, Shelah. This promise was not fulfilled and so Tamar sought revenge (of sorts), by playing the part of a prostitute with Judah. (See Genesis 38). The sons born to Tamar, Perez and Zerah, will also play significant roles later on.
Rahab, whose story is told in part in Joshua 2 and Joshua 6 was the prostitute in Jericho who received Joshua's spies. She had a house, perhaps a lodging convenient for travelers, which was situated on the wall. Rahab no doubt knew about the Israelites, their escape from Egypt, the miraculous passage of the Red Sea, and the victorious battles that had already taken place, not to mention the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. At the risk of her life, she sheltered the spies and for that she was richly rewarded, becoming the mother of Boaz and an ancestor of Jesus.
The beloved Ruth is remembered as an important link in the ancestry of the greatest king of Israel and of the Messiah Jesus. Ruth was a Moabite woman who was redeemed into the family of the Jews. What a great foreshadowing of our redemption into the family of Jesus!
Reference is made to a fourth woman who is not named.
Matthew 1:6
and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
Uriah’s wife was Bathsheba. Just another example of how God uses people no matter what their station in life or their circumstances to accomplish His purposes. He uses all kinds of people today to accomplish His will. How does He use all of us? Are we willing to be used?
Notice in the genealogy that both Mary and Joseph trace their lineage back to King David. Mary traces hers through David’s son Solomon and Joseph through David’s son Nathan, both of them sons of Bathsheba. Matthew is careful to list Joseph as the husband of Mary and not the father of Jesus.
If ever we may be tempted to scan over the seemingly insignificant and boring genealogies, we must remember that they are important to God. Why else would He have included them?
OCTOBER 20
Elizabeth and Zachariah were “doubles” in priestly lineage. It was a pure straight lineage. Children were considered a blessing and barrenness was seen as a curse, so it is most likely that they prayed for a son to carry on.
Their son John, to be born, will be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth (or before birth). John leaped in his mother’s womb when he heard the voice of Mary. Is this when John was filled with the Holy Spirit? Did the Holy Spirit bring this knowledge to Elizabeth as to who Mary’s baby was? Elizabeth called Mary “the mother of my Lord”. So Elizabeth certainly knew that Mary was to give birth to the Messiah.
Contrast Zechariah’s response to Gabriel and Mary’s response. Zechariah wasn’t sure that it could be done. Mary was sure, she just wanted to know how. The word “overshadow” means "to envelop in a haze of brilliancy".
Mary was young and yet God chose her for one of the most important acts of obedience He has ever asked of anyone. Her submission was part of God’s plan to bring about our salvation. A young, betrothed girl who became pregnant risked disaster. Mary with the story about being made pregnant by the Holy Spirit risked being considered crazy as well. Luke, being a medical doctor knew how babies were made but he, like many Believers have no problem believing that God has the power to create a child in a virgin’s womb.
As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary, she immediately was filled with the Holy Spirit and knew these things:
1. Mary was pregnant with the Son of God
2. Mary believed what God had said was true.
Mary praised God at this exclamation from Elizabeth. For Mary, this was a confirmation of what she already believed.
Mary and Joseph were pledged to be married. They were legally married but did not have the right for the marriage to be consummated. That was supposed to come later amid a joyous week long celebration.
We have in earlier writings on the blog placed the birth of Jesus at a time other than winter. In part because the shepherds were living in the fields, something they would not be doing in the winter. Shepherds were on just about the lowest rung of the social ladder.
Why did God choose to announce the arrival of his son to lowly shepherds? Who better than shepherds to be the first visitors to the “lamb of God”?
Jesus was circumcised at eight days as was every Jewish boy. If Jesus was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, then He would have been circumcised on the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The eighth day is symbolic of a new beginning. When Jesus was circumcised, that certainly signaled a new beginning, sealed with the covenant of circumcision.
Additionally, a first born son was often presented at the temple thirty three days after circumcision, which was the time of Mary’s purification. The sacrifice they offered for Mary's purification meant they were either poor or middle class, or that they didn’t bring money with them to pay for a lamb.
Simeon and Anna were very old but they had never lost their hope of seeing the Messiah. Their prophecies, because of their ages, probably carried extra weight. Anna was called a prophetess, meaning she was unusually close to God. After all she never left the temple and worshiped night and day. Prophets did not necessarily predict the future, they were God's spokesmen proclaiming the truth.
These two "senior citizens", Simeon and Anna will be remembered for proclaiming the truth. Will all of us as Believers in Jesus be remembered for proclaiming the truth?
OCTOBER 21
Today's reading includes the visit of the Magi - a very familiar story but with many misconceptions.
When and where did the Magi visit Jesus? Was it Nazareth, Bethlehem, or the hills of Judea?
“We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
This strongly suggests they studied the scriptures as well as the heavens. Could they have been descended from some of the Jews who did not leave Babylon to return to Jerusalem? If so they would have known the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah. They didn’t say they followed the star but that they saw the star from the east and came to Jerusalem.
What exactly was the star? Could the Magi have seen the “glory of God” that appeared to the shepherds? The word "star" means as “strewn over the heavens”. Is a star “strewn” or is light ‘strewn”. This gives the impression that light came from a pinpoint such as an opening in heaven and fanned out from there to encircle something. If we go back and look at what the word “shone” means concerning the shepherds, it means “to illuminate all around; to invest with a halo”.
“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.”
The Magi didn’t follow the star that is why when they left Herod in Jerusalem they were overjoyed because the star was back. If the star had been leading them all along, why were they overjoyed when it was “back”? Then it guided them to the house where Jesus was. Earlier it was only seen. If this was God’s glory, then it guided the Magi in the same way it guided Moses and the children of Israel in the desert.
These Magi traveled many hundreds of miles to see the King of the Jews. Chances are after they saw the initial light in the western sky, from their position in the east they would have had to confirm with scripture about prophecy, check the astrological signs, examine the evidence, confer with each other, then conclude that it was the sign of the Messiah. Then they would need to prepare for the journey, provisions, animals, etc. This would have taken considerable time.
How many Magi were there? We always think three because of the three gifts. Chances are there was an entourage of people. It would have been dangerous to travel in a small group for such a long journey. They came from far away and because they were wealthy, they would have brought with them a caravan of supplies, provisions, and servants. And what was their mode of transportation? The Bible doesn't tell us that they traveled on camels. Could they have traveled on fine Arabian horses? And could they have traveled the Fertile Crescent instead of traveling across the desert?
The gifts that the Magi gave were valuable and could have been used to support the family while they lived in Egypt.
“So he got up took the child (not baby or infant) and his mother during the night and left for Egypt where he stayed until the death of Herod.”
Herod ordered all baby boys from two years and younger killed. This order encompassed Bethlehem and its vicinity. KJV says “all the coasts thereof”. Herod’s territory was vast. All the baby boys would have most certainly have included the "miracle" baby, John the Baptist. But. of course John was also spared. Was it because Elizabeth and Zechariah hid him away in the hills of Judea or in the wilderness or maybe in Qumran?
After Herod died in 4 B.C. the family returned to Nazareth. Nazareth was in the hilly area of southern Galilee near the crossroads of great caravan trade routes.
Many thought provoking points to ponder in today's reading, expanding the mind and heart for even more revelations.
OCTOBER 22
John the Baptist was a Nazarite, set apart from birth in the order of Samson, Samuel, and the Recabites. Nazarites took a vow to never take fermented drink or eat anything that comes from the grapevine. They will never use a razor on the head.
In addition to being set apart from birth in the order of the Nazarites, John also was set apart while still in his mother's womb. He was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:15
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall neither drink wine nor strong drink. And he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
John preached “baptism and repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John’s theme was repentance. He was appointed by God to announce the arrival of Jesus. He had no trouble confronting people and was uncompromising in his teaching. He had no power of position yet he spoke with authority and had many followers.
John the Baptist was so called because he baptized in water (not spirit) those who repented. Normally only non-Jews were baptized when they converted to Judaism. The Essenes, a strict monastic sect of Judaism practiced baptism by water for purification, lending credibility to John being from the order of the Essenes, some of whom liven in Qumran.
“Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”
John was calling people away from ritual and legalism to focus directly on Jesus. He said he was not worthy to even untie Jesus' sandals, meaning he was not worthy of being even the least of servants. That is humility!
When Jesus was baptized, the complete trinity was represented. God, the Son in the bodily form of Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, and God, the Father in the voice from heaven.
Must a person be baptized to be saved? What does baptism mean? To baptize means "to immerse or to overwhelm". It doesn't always have anything to do with water.
The Jews baptized as a ritualistic cleansing ceremony. The very fact that Jesus was baptized is reason to believe that baptism is symbolic. Did Jesus have any need to be baptized?
There are other verses that give us reason to believe that baptism is symbolic.
Upon seeing Jesus, John says the following.
Matthew 3:11
I am baptizing you with water as a token of repentance, but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
A very significant word in this verse is the word token. Baptism is a token of repentance - not a symbol of converting to Judaism. Again, this gives credibility that John was not baptizing people into Judaism but as a symbol or token of purification once they repented of their sins. John clearly states that Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Jesus' baptism has nothing to do with water.
Jesus spoke of other things regarding baptism.
Luke 12:50
I have a baptism to be baptized with, and what stress I am under until it is completed!
Jesus was speaking of the crucifixion that He must undergo. He is saying that He must be overwhelmed in the task at hand, figuratively to immerse Himself totally in the crucifixion and death.
As believers we must be immersed in the Holy Spirit. That is the baptism that saves!
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