Jesus Baptized

By Paul Earnhart

When Jesus was about 30 years old, His cousin, John the Baptist, began his preaching campaign.  “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Mt. 3:1-2). John was preparing the way of the Lord.

Mark records in Mark 1:4-5 that John’s preaching included “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.” 

Verse 9 tells us that “in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” (Mk. 1:9)  John was actually reluctant to baptize Jesus.  John’s baptism was “for forgiveness of sins.”   But Jesus had no sins, so “John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’  But Jesus answering said to him, ‘Permit it at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’” (Mt. 3:14-15).

From the very beginning of the mature life of Jesus, we see His firm determination to do everything God wanted done.  Coming to John for baptism was not a convenient thing for Jesus.  In fact, He had to walk about 60 miles from His home to get to the place where John was baptizing.  He did not need baptism, as others did, for the forgiveness of sins.  But John was a preacher from God, he was preaching baptism, and Jesus wanted to do whatever God wanted people to do.  Do you want to do God’s will enough that you would walk 60 miles to do it?

Jesus has commanded baptism for us (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38).  Many people, however, hesitate.  Some do not feel it is necessary; others complain that it is inconvenient.  Such excuses are not Christ-like.  He was determined to “fulfill all righteousness.”  Are you?

When Jesus Was Baptized

By Paul Earnhart

Mark records the baptism of Jesus in these words: “And it came about in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heaven opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: “This is My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.”  (Mk. 1:9-11)

There are some interesting things here.  One is the fact that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river-not near it, but in it.  Furthermore, He came up out of the water after His baptism.  The word baptize means “to dip, to plunge, to immerse.”  If Jesus was not immersed in the Jordan, there was no point in His going into it.  Did you come up out of the water after you were baptized?

Another thing is made very clear…what Jesus did was approved by Heaven.  The Holy Spirit descended upon Him as a dove, and God spoke in a voice from heaven, confessing Jesus as His Son.

The confession that God made is one that we all must make if we are to be saved.  Rom. 10:10 says, “For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.”  All men will eventually confess Him.  Phil. 2:9-11 tells us that “God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

How much better to confess Him now…while we live…and be saved, than to wait until it is too late when we confess Him when He comes in judgment.  If this confession is to be valid, however, it must be backed by complete submission and obedience to Him as God’s Son.

Those 18 Years

By Paul Earnhart

Many people have more curiosity about what the Bible does not say than have about what it does say.  If someone claims to have found a “Lost book of the Bible,” they will buy the book and read it carefully, even though they have never read the books that ARE in the Bible.  And they will latch onto any new story about Jesus which is NOT in the Bible, even when they have not studied the stories about Him that ARE there.

Many stories have been fabricated about the places Jesus went and the things He did in the 18 years between the time when he was 12 and the time when he began his ministry at 30.  Some of the stories simply have no basis whatever in fact, while others contradict what the Bible says. For example, John tells us in John 2:11 that turning water into wine was the beginning of His miracles.  This means that all of the stories you may hear or read of Jesus working miracles when He was a child are false.

Other than those general statements in Luke about his being subject to his parents and about his maturing into manhood, the only clue we have to his activities during those years is found in Mark 6:3.  After he had begun His ministry He returned to Nazareth and taught in the synagogue.  His former neighbors were astonished at His teaching, and they asked, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses and Judas and Simon?  Are not His sisters here with us?”

Notice two things in this reading.  First, Jesus had brothers and sisters and, second, they called Him the carpenter, not the son of the carpenter.  This means that during the years after he reached manhood, he actually worked as a carpenter in Nazareth.  Joseph was likely dead by this time and this made Jesus as the eldest son the breadwinner for His family.  Jesus was not too good to work with His hands to make a living.  This is what He was doing between the age of 12 and the age of 30.

Jesus Increased in Favor with Men

By Paul Earnhart

The Bible says very little about the early childhood of Jesus.  It does inform us in Luke 2:52 that He increased in favor with man.  This tells us that Jesus was the kind of child that adults admired.  Every parent desires to have such a child.

How did Jesus grow in favor with good men.  Certainly not by being a smart-alecky spoiled little brat.  No adult likes to be around that kind of child.  Rather, as we are told in the other parts of this verse, Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature and in favor with God.  Good people admire that.  In addition, they appreciate children who are respectful of adults, obedient to their parents, careful with property and considerate in their relations with other children.  Growing in favor with God would require all of this, and what we see of Jesus in His teen years (and later) clearly indicates that this was the kind of child he was.

If you are a child, let me remind you that if you want to be like Jesus, this is the kind of boy or girl you must be.  It is not time yet for you to be travelling over the country preaching as Jesus did.  But it is time for you to be applying yourself to getting a good education, to developing a strong body and to being right with God.  One way to determine whether you are succeeding in this is to watch how good adults feel about you.  If they admire you and speak of you as a good child, then you must be doing as you should.  If they dread being around you and clearly do not like you, then you probably need to make some changes in your behavior and attitude to be like Jesus.

If you are a parent, let me remind you that you are responsible for the development of your child.  If your child is a terror to others, you need to be making some changes in your method of handling the child.  As the child grows older, the problems will only increase.  Perhaps you should begin with yourself.  Disciplined children must have disciplined parents…it’s the only way.

Jesus Increased in Favor with God

By Paul Earnhart

Luke 2:52 tells us that as Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, He also increased in favor with God. This is the most important increase of all. All other progress in the development of a child is of temporary value. The wisdom he learns will someday be forgotten. His physical body, regardless of how strong, will someday weaken and die. And the favor of men can vanish in a moment of time. But favor with God prepares us for eternity.

Favor with God is obtained by godly living. In 1 Peter 3, beginning with verse 10, there is a quotation from the Psalms which is true for all times: "Let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears attend to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Pet. 3:10-12)

Children do not grow in the favor of God by accident. This is especially true in our own day when so much ungodliness is being fed to children on television, in school, and through their companions. If children are to increase in the favor of God, they desperately need parents who have spiritual goals for them and rear them “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).

What of your children? Do you feel that God is increasingly pleased with them as they grow older? What are you doing to help them in that direction? Do you read the Bible and pray with them? Do you take them to Bible classes? Do you give them an example of a god-fearing parent? What your children become is largely up to you. But you must act now!