Matthew 3

There is an important warning from John here. It doesn’t matter where you are from, or what your ancestry is. Our relationship with God is personal, and we can’t rely on someone else’s relationship with Him to cover up our own sin. If we do, then judgment is waiting!

The term “baptize” literally means “to dip,” and it was symbolic of the worshipper’s repentance. The washing of their bodies with water symbolized the cleansing of their souls that came about because of confession.

And as important as John the Baptist is with his message of repentance and his call for baptism, he points to the one who deserves the preeminence. It’s all about Jesus! In fact, John says that Jesus should be baptizing him, not the other way around!

Why does Jesus allow John to baptize Him? When Jesus uses the term “righteousness,” He’s probably referring to doing what is right in God’s sight. In other words, Jesus is doing what the Father wants him to, which we see echoed by God when the Spirit comes down. Why is it right? Because He is identifying Himself with the very mankind he came to save. Thank God He did!

Thought for the day: John’s ministry is a fulfilment of Isaiah 40:3, which was written hundreds of years before. We can trust God’s Word!

Numbers 23:19 (WEB) “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and he won’t do it? Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good?”