Jesus, anointed of God-Matthew 3:11-17
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“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: (12) Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Verse 11 John the Baptist is telling the crowd he baptizes with water unto repentance, this word unto is in a sense being as unto-bring to. He’s ensuring the crowd understands that his baptism with water is a foreshadowing of what is to come. He continues to mention ‘He (Jesus) that cometh after me (John) is mightier than I.” John is speaking of Jesus, He is mightier; Jesus is the one who will bring true repentance to the world.
John continues to say Jesus is mightier, “whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” John is reverencing and acknowledging who Jesus is and that He has come to baptize not of water but with the Holy Ghost.
Verse 12 Is an illustration of Jesus cleansing/purging evil from good, ‘the fan in his hand’ shows that Jesus is in control. It goes on to say, ‘he will thoroughly purge his floor.’ We are told in the bible that Jesus sits on the right hand of the Father, and the world is His footstool. “Gather his wheat unto the garner.” This symbolizes Jesus gathering His people who are of His, who are written in the Lamb’s book of Life through salvation.
Let’s continue, “…but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” The chaff is best described as dried grass or hay. Chaff is also used in the bible as a figure of abortive wickedness. False doctrines are also referred to as chaff. Source
For example, if you know about wheat or corn, when it’s harvested, the stalks that grow the wheat or corn are left to dry out in the field after harvest, and can be disposed of since they are unusable by burning them. This example is using God’s people as representing the “wheat/corn,” and the rest is unusable and of no good.
“Unquenchable fire,” we know, is the eternal fire that is against evil, known as the lake of fire or hell.
Explaining all this shows the importance and the authority that Jesus holds, He is the flesh of God. God being the God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God; He has always been in existence, even during creation. “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” Genesis 1:26 “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27
Matthew 3:13-14
“…I have need to be baptized of thee…”
Matthew 3:13-14
(13)“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (14) But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comes thou to me?”(15) And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then suffered him.”
Verse 13 Jesus travels to Galilee to Jordan, where John is. Jesus is God, therefore is omniscient (all knowing), so He knew where to find John. Prophecy will be fulfilled, Jesus asks John to baptize Him. John forbade, or in other words, forbid Jesus. John doesn’t see himself worthy to baptize Jesus, he says that John needs Jesus to baptize him.
Jesus sets examples for us to follow and continues to say, “…for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.”
This source explains this in another way:
Suffer [it to be so] now. The term "now" implies that the relation of Jesus to his work made it proper that now he should be baptized. It is true that baptism was for sinners; Jesus was sinless, but he humbled himself, accepted the burden of human duties, and must set a perfect example to men. He obeyed the Jewish law, and it was needful also that he obey the Divine rite that John had inaugurated. Thus it becometh us. In order to fulfill all righteousness, show forth a perfect obedience, set a perfect example, it became him to submit to the institution of baptism, and it became John to administer it to him. "Us" refers to Jesus and John.
Everything that Jesus does is in complete obedience and sets an example for us to follow.
Matthew 3:16-17
(16)“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (17) And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Verse 16 During this time, we see that Jesus had a divine appointment. Jesus had/has no sin, therefore, He did not need to be baptized due to repentance or cleansing, but more as the beginning of His purpose to begin His ministry. When He was baptized, we read that after He rose from the water the heavens were opened unto him and the Holy Spirit of God descended like a dove upon Him.
This must’ve been an amazing sight to see! When I read passages from the bible, I immerse myself and envision myself there to be a witness to such beauty. What a beautiful sight! Also, bring to the thought the crowd that was present at the time, I’m sure they were in awe of the sight and did not realize the great significance of that moment.
Verse 17 “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” A monumental verse here, I had to refresh in our minds as we take a closer look. The voice- let me rewrite that….THE VOICE! This is the voice of God, announcing that Jesus is indeed His only begotten Son. God is saying, “I am well pleased.” Jesus is being obedient, and God is well pleased.
There’s one thing we need to remember: God can not look upon sin; He knows no sin, therefore, this proves, if there were any doubt, that Jesus was and always has been sinless. The act of baptism was to mark the beginning of His ministry. We know little about Jesus’ childhood; we know of the great announcement of His conception, birth, and when He was young. We are not sure of his teen or young adult years. I would believe that He was faithful to His family, and Joseph was a carpenter, so we are brought to the conclusion that Jesus was a carpenter.
Now I will remind you, dear friend, that the bible is complete, and when one verse is mentioned in the New Testament, there are most likely other scriptures to support that verse.
Let’s take a little closer look at these last few verses in comparison to the prophecy spoken of years before in the Old Testament…
Isaiah 11:2-5
“And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord:”
Isaiah 11:2-5
(2) And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord: (3) And shall make him of quick understandin in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: (4) But the righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (5) And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.”
When we have bible discussions or bible study, it’s always a good habbit to look further into a verse or passage if you don’t have clear understanding. God knows we are all unique and understand things in unique ways, therefore He explains it throughout the bible. The bible does not contradict itself, its truth in the highest written text every put together.
Reading the bible is not just simply reading it, to truly know what the scripture is and understand it, its best to pray and research further. This is why we call it the Living Word of God. It amazes me when I read scripture for the 20th time and evern though the ink is the same on the page, I’m not the same. I am not the same person spiritually, I have matured and God shows me more detail or He has a verse stick out as if but in bold print for that moment in time. A closer releationship with God leads to more clarity when reading His Word. When you experience this amazing miracle, you will be amazed! Some people like to call them gems of the Bible, the little nuggets of golden wisdom that we aquire. The even more amazing part is that sometimes a verse may stick out so much that it’s all you can think of during the day, you may not know why, until something happens and that verse makes sense. That’s when its hard for me to resist smiling towards heaven and acknowledging that was a small note of love from God directly to me. And others around may not notice, but He made sure you did.
Our joy, reassurance, guidance, and security come from God, He is our Heavenly Father, and yes…He is in the little things of our every day lives.
I hope this has inspired you, my friend, I encourage you to keep reading and studying to find those precious gems of wisdom that God has planted in His Word for you to discover.
Before you go, let’s say a quick prayer…
Dear Heavenly Father, I want to first thank you for all you do for us, even by showing us a verse from your Word can give us reassurance that you are always with us. I pray for my new friend that they may see this as encouragement to continue to seek you and study your word, help them discover the amazing miracle of your words coming to life in their everyday journey. I pray you will continue to guide me so I can still be a light to shine into this world of your greatness, forgiveness, and the unconditional love you have for us. I pray we will take this bible study and keep it within our minds and hearts as we continue throughout our week. God be with us and bless my new friends. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
God be with you, my friend! If you enjoyed the bible study on this chapter, let me know!
What spoke out to you the most?
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Some Bible studies may take longer than others to get through, as I am led to explain in greater detail the verses that we come across. These blog posts are not created by AI or used with any AI-generated assistance. These comments are of my own and where God leads me to write. I am not a professional, just a southern wife, mother of four, and I have a desire to spread the truth of our loving Heavenly Father. I want you to know, He loves you and He desires to have a relationship with you. We are not expected to be perfect, but we are expected to be lead by God and I feel that He has given me so much to share, I am not here for the fame or glory, but to get the message of Gods’ Love out to you, my new friend and so many others.God be with you!
