This chapter is based on Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21, 22.
(HLv 65)
The message of the wilderness prophet reached the peasants in the remote hill towns, and the fisher folk by the sea, and in these simple, earnest hearts found its truest response. In Nazareth it was told in the carpentry shop that had been Joseph’s, and One recognized the call. His time had come. He bade farewell to His mother and followed His countrymen who were flocking to the Jordan.
(HLv 65.1)
Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins, yet they had had no direct acquaintance with each other. Providence had ordered this. No occasion was to be given for the charge that they had conspired together to support each other’s claims.
(HLv 65.2)
John was acquainted with the events that had marked the birth of Jesus, with the visit to Jerusalem in His boyhood and His sinless life. He believed Him to be the Messiah, but the fact that Jesus had remained in obscurity, giving no special evidence of His mission, gave occasion for doubt. The Baptist, however, waited in faith. It had been revealed to him that the Messiah would seek baptism at his hands, and that a sign of His divine character should then be given.
(HLv 65.3)
When Jesus came to be baptized, John recognized in Him a purity of character never before perceived in any man. His very presence was awe-inspiring. This was in harmony with what had been revealed to John regarding the Messiah. Yet how could he, a sinner, baptize the Sinless One? Why should He who needed no repentance submit to a rite that was a confession of guilt to be washed away?
(HLv 65.4)
As Jesus asked for baptism, John drew back, exclaiming, “‘I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on Him.” RSV.
(HLv 66.1)
Jesus did not receive baptism as a confession of guilt on His own account. He identified Himself with sinners, taking the steps that we are to take and doing the work that we must do. His life of suffering and patient endurance after His baptism was also an example to us.
(HLv 66.2)
Coming up out of the water, Jesus bowed in prayer on the river bank. He was now entering the conflict of His life. Though He was the Prince of Peace, His coming must be as the unsheathing of a sword. The kingdom He had come to establish was the opposite of that which the Jews desired. He would be looked upon as the enemy and destroyer of the ritual and economy of Israel, condemned as a transgressor, and denounced as Beelzebub. No one on earth had understood Him, and He must still walk alone. His mother and brothers did not comprehend His mission. Even His disciples did not understand Him.
(HLv 66.3)
As one with us, He must bear our guilt and woe. The Sinless One must feel the shame of sin. The peace lover must dwell with strife; the truth must abide with falsehood, purity with vileness. Every sin, every discord, every defiling lust was torture to His spirit.
(HLv 66.4)
Alone He must tread the path. On Him who had accepted the weakness of humanity the redemption of the world must rest. He saw and felt it all, but His purpose remained steadfast.
(HLv 66.5)
The Saviour poured out His soul in prayer. He knew how sin had hardened the hearts of men, how difficult it would be for them to discern His mission and accept salvation. He pleaded with the Father for power to overcome their unbelief, to break the fetters with which Satan had enthralled them, and to conquer the destroyer.
(HLv 66.6)
Never before had angels listened to such a prayer. The Father Himself would answer the petition of His Son. The heavens were opened, and upon the Saviour’s head descended a dovelike form of purest light.
(HLv 67.1)
Few at the Jordan except John discerned the heavenly vision. Yet the solemnity of the divine Presence rested on the assembly. Christ’s upturned face was glorified as they had never before seen the face of man. From the open heavens a voice was heard: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
(HLv 67.2)
These words were given to inspire faith in those who witnessed the scene and to strengthen the Saviour for His mission. Notwithstanding that the sins of a guilty world were laid on Christ, notwithstanding the humiliation of taking upon Himself our fallen nature, the voice from heaven declared Him to be the Son of the Eternal.
(HLv 67.3)
John had been deeply moved. As the glory of God encircled Jesus and the voice from heaven was heard, John knew that it was the world’s Redeemer whom he had baptized. With outstretched hand pointing to Jesus, he cried, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.
(HLv 67.4)
None among the hearers, not even the speaker himself, discerned the import of the words, “the Lamb of God.” Many of the people of Israel regarded the sacrificial offerings much as the heathen looked on their sacrifices—gifts to propitiate the Deity. God desired to teach them that from His own love comes the gift which reconciles them to Himself.
(HLv 67.5)
The word spoken to Jesus, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” embraces humanity. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. “He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested on Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer—how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. The light which fell on the head of our Saviour will fall on us as we pray for help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.
(HLv 67.6)
Our Redeemer has opened the way so that the most sinful, oppressed, and despised, may find access to the Father. All may have a home in the mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare.
(HLv 68.1)