February 19, 2012
Scripture:
Hymn 367 – When He cometh, when He cometh
Prayer
Matthew 3:11 & 13 -17
We have been following the life of the Lord Jesus. We saw him in the manger in Bethlehem. It was there that the shepherds came to see him. From there we went to the temple, where Simeon and Anna saw the Lord. Next, we read of the wise men’s visit. We aren’t sure where this visit took place, it may have been in Bethlehem or in Nazareth. The last place we saw Jesus was in Jerusalem at the feast of Passover. Did you know that we don’t have any more stories of the Lord until He was thirty years old?
Before the Lord Jesus could start his ministry someone needed to prepare the way. John the baptist was sent to prepare the way for the Lord. He called people to repent from their sinful ways. John baptized those who repented in the Jordan River.
Read Matthew 3:11. John said he didn’t feel worthy enough to even touch the shoes of the One coming after him—Jesus. He said that Jesus would baptize them with the Holy Ghost and fire. The Holy Ghost was for those that repented, and the fire, for those who didn’t.
V.13: One day, Jesus went to the Jordon to be baptized. Remember, Jesus didn’t need to repent, because he hadn’t done anything wrong. John didn’t understand why the Lord would want to be baptized; He felt that the Lord should baptize him. But the Lord Jesus was signifying something by letting John baptize Him. There were two groups of people in Israel at this time: those who were trying to be right with God, and those who were not. Those who wanted to be right with God were being baptized; the Lord wanted to be associated with those who were right with God.
God singled out the Lord’s baptism in two ways: first, by a dove descending on Him and second by the voice from Heaven. The voice said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This was different, wasn’t it? We have heard the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: it was a picture of the Trinity. Why did the Holy Spirit have to come down on the Lord? To anoint Him for His ministry.
There were two things that needed to happen to the Lord Jesus before He could start His ministry. We looked at the first one today: baptism. Secondly, He needed to be tempted. This is what we will look at next time.
Luke 10:3-20
The message that the seventy were sent to give is interesting. They couldn’t give the full gospel the way that we can because Jesus hadn’t died yet; but their message was the message of “Peace!“. This was a new approach, because they were giving this message to Jews. Jews were, of course, under the Levitical law, and there could hardly be any peace under the law because they were continually offering sacrifices for sins. We have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ because we have had our sins totally forgiven. Peace is the foundation of communion. When the priests were consecrated, they had to offer a peace offering because they were in communion with God; while the Levites didn’t, because they were just serving in the tabernacle.
The seventy were offering peace, but what was the response? That varied depending on the people that they visited. If the people accepted their message, they stayed in that city. If the people didn’t accept the message, they left and shook off the dust of their feet against them.
The seventy could expect to be taken care of while they were on this mission, but their primary concern was to reach out and tell that the King of Peace had come. He had sent them as His forerunners, and they were to prepare the people to receive Him. Whichever house they stayed at first was where these preaching pairs had to remain for the duration of their stay in that city. They had to eat what was set before them, heal the sick (which would show the power behind them), and tell that the kingdom of God was nigh. If the people didn’t accept the message, they had to shake off the dust of the city and carry on; but not before giving their message one last time. It would more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgement than for the city that rejected any of these pairs.
Jesus’ demonstrations of divine power were full. There should have been repentance in places like Capernaum, that had been lifted up so high that to not repent would make it fall into Hell. To reject the seventy would be to reject Jesus, and to reject Jesus would be to reject God. It was a chain reaction.
The seventy returned with joy. Jesus had told them that they would be as lambs among wolves, but even so they return joyful. They were happy that the spirits were subject to them, but so much better was the fact that their names were written in heaven.
Hymns 344 - Jesus my Saviour to Bethlehem came
Prayer