Jesus obeyed his Father perfectly. For our sins and for us to follow.
This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is January 3, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called I Wish I Had Been There. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
Take a minute and think about the entire Bible. What is your biggest “I wish I had been there” moment? If you could go back in time and observe one event in the storyline of the Bible, what would it be? I’m sure almost anything in the life of Jesus would be amazing. Maybe you would like to see Moses part the Red Sea or Elijah triumph over the prophets of Baal? I would like to see Jonah get swallowed up so we could settle once for all: was it a whale or a big fish? This might be a fun conversation with your family over dinner tonight: ask everyone, “What is your “I wish I had been there” moment from the Bible.
One of the scenes that ranks highest on my “I wish I had been there” list is in today’s reading: the baptism of Jesus.
Today, we’re going to read Matthew 3:13–17. Please follow along with me.
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.
There are several things I want us to think about here. First, let’s think about what it means that Jesus gets baptized. Remember that this is the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. We’re only in the third chapter of Matthew. He hasn’t done any miracles yet, he hasn’t taught any crowds, he hasn’t walked on water or raised the dead.
This might not seem like the best way to make a splash. If Jesus were getting started today, maybe we would encourage him to launch a social media campaign or go on tour on the lecture circuit. Maybe land an interview on a podcast.
But Jesus’ ways are not our ways. He is both infinitely wiser and humbler than we. And he begins with a step of obedience. Bible scholars have been debating for a long time what exactly Jesus meant when he said, “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” But most of them agree that Jesus at least meant, obedience was a necessary part of his mission. In order to save sinners like us, yes, Jesus had to die in our place. But first he had to live in our place. He had to earn a record of perfect obedience. If he had only died for us, our sins would be forgiven but we would not yet have the record of obedience that we would need to please God and be acceptable to him. That comes through Jesus’ life and—at least in his public ministry—it begins here.
Let us rejoice that Jesus obeyed perfectly in our place! I also want us to see what these verses teach us about the Father’s approval of the Son’s obedience. It could be easy to miss, but there a couple of phrases in this story that are very lyrical—almost poetic.
First, did you notice the movement of the passage? In verse 16, Jesus “went up from water” and he saw the Spirit “descending like a dove.” All of the details in these verses are significant, but it could be that Matthew has structured it this way to draw our attention to what is in between: “behold, the heavens were opened to him.” He could see what no one else could because he is unlike anyone else.
Hold that thought for a moment and notice a second thing about these verses: think about how Jesus both saw and heard. In verse 16, he saw the Spirit descending on him and he heard the voice of God the Father. All of this comes together to show us that all three persons of the Trinity are involved and especially, to help us focus on what Jesus hears the Father say. In verse 17, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Father loves the Son and is pleased with the Son.
The Father is well-pleased with the Son because he is the Son. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have perfect fellowship and unbroken delight and affection in each other. But these verses also help us connect God’s good pleasure in the Son with his obedience. In other words, of course God is pleased with the Son for more than obedience, but we would not say that it is for less than his obedience.
This is all instructive as we consider that God has called us to obedience as well. There was a British pastor named J. C. Ryle who died in 1900. He said,
“Obedience is the only reality. It is faith visible, faith acting, and faith incarnate. It is the test of real discipleship among the Lord’s people.” J. C. Ryle, The Duties of Parents, 19.
How is God calling you to obey today? And since it is the beginning of the year, it is a great time to ask, “How is God calling you to obey this year? Are there 1 or 2 ways he wants you to commit your way to him to follow him more closely? Write that down and then talk about it with your parents. A good step of humility would be to ask them: do you agree that this is where God is calling me to obey this year?
As you do this, remember that Jesus has already obeyed perfectly for you, so anytime we disobey, we can come to him for forgiveness. And his obedience for you is so that you can obey. “Obedience is the only reality.” Let’s strive for obedience in 2025.
That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.
This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!