by Pastor Adekoya
In Luke 2, we delved into the history and biography of Caesar Augustus to see what he represented as a world leader of that time. Purposely to see the world into which Jesus was born and the political leaders he had to contend with in order to carry out His Messianic mission as the Jews had hitherto waited.
Now, chapter 3 is helping us to see the political and the priestly atmosphere the ministry of John was carried out and Jesus at the same time was to start His ministry. The mentioning of the name of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate and others would ring some bells particularly to one with a Jewish background and historical facts as chronologically related to that time as, those name mentioned were personifications of cruelty, insensitivity, corruption and whatever made mankind needed a Savior.
Verse 2 presented us with the names of Annas and Caiaphas. Annas could be said to be the Priestly godfather of that time while Caiaphas was actually the high priest. These were people who were not bent on doing the will of God or serving God but just relishing in the glandour of the priestly office. They would do everything possible to fight anyone that arises just like John, undaunted to reintroduce people back to God.
So John began his ministry or was carrying out his ministry in both politically and religiously stiffening and unsafe environment so to speak. It is therefore important for us to note the audacity, the confidence, the boldness, the courage of John irrespective of the characteristics of the political and the religious leaders of his days. John was strict, uncompromising, plain-spoken, audacious, and wouldn’t take “No” for an answer. No wonder his ministry commanded outstanding success as the soldiers, the publicans and various people from all walks of life located him even in the wilderness. We can see the mannerism and the sternness of speech with which John addressed these people to further authenticate his uncompromising stand and strict adherence to the divine mission that was assigned him.
From the story of John the Baptist, his life and his ministry, I once came about 10 vital lessons and attitudes that every minister of the gospel needs to imbibe or cultivate. Somehow, that is outside the context of this review. I’ve mentioned the fact that he was audacious and uncompromising. Or better still, he was audaciously uncompromising and uncompromisingly audacious, taking a strong stand for God in reintroducing the kingdom of God to the people and the people to the kingdom of God through the baptism of repentance.
I wish for us all to have this proclivity or the tendency of being uncompromising, unrelenting and courageous as we determine to preach the gospel of Christ at all given times and at every given opportunity without fear or favour. Saying it as it is and trusting the Spirit of truth to have his course. There are times we don’t need to be painstaking, but plain-spoken!
Another interesting thing to note about John or a lesson to learn from John is meekness. Despite the fact that he was in the wilderness, (of course the hand of God was on him and he had been filled with the Spirit right from his mother’s womb because of the assignment he had been separated for) we have almost all the people from all walks of life visiting him right there in the wilderness and listening to his strict and almost condemning messages geared at repentance.
We can say that John the Baptist was so an influential personality in his time, such that could command the envy and the jealousy of the “political priests” or rather, the power-drunk priests who were all after just but vainglory rather than willing to give themselves to the sacrifice it demands to carry out the Divine agenda. The people of those days as it is evident had a great honour and reverence for John the Baptist so much that they almost mistaken him for the Christ because, certain characteristics or attributes of his ministry adumbrated what was to be expected of Christ.
In spite of all, John was humble enough to first and foremost let the people know that he was not the Christ and to present Christ to the people in such a way that he so much debased himself to make the people know that he’s nothing compared to the Christ, despite the regard, the honour, the admiration of the people for him. He unashamedly exalted Christ; he projected Christ; he presented Christ to the people as He to be looked forward to_ He that is to be reverenced and honoured.
Verse 16 of Luke chapter 3 John answered saying onto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchets of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
If you have tasted a level of honour and respect or accolades from the people before in the ministry (which is in order), you will know how literally unnatural and “uneasy” it is for one to debase himself to this level that John did himself. There are many ministers today who are not fearful or just not conscious of them aggregating the Divine honours to themselves particularly when people began to see them as a kind of a savior or a messiah. It is recorded that of all that had been born of a woman, there was none as great as John but John was humble enough not to equate himself with Christ in anyway even though he had the title of being the greatest amongst all born of a woman, and even among all the prophets of old. I think this is humility at its peak!
In the Jewish setting, it is normal for the rabbi to ask any of his servants or proteges to do any kind of job for him but to have anyone loosening his shoes is regarded as the most menial and debasing thing to do. Meaning that… no one is ever subjected to such a task because it is regarded as demeaning. So if no rabbi could asked any to unloose his shoes, or if such a task is even in anyway honourable, for John to have so much debased himself to the point that even if anyone is qualified for loose Jesus’s shoes, he’s not even in any way qualified!
He is also the one that said he must increase and I must decrease. We all, both as believers in Christ and ministers of the gospel need this level of humility for the grace of God to continually abound towards us. Never at any time arrogate the Divine honour to ourselves. It is natural for the people to hip accolades on us when they see the grace of God at work in our life but it is wisdom for us to learn to return all the praise back to the Source of all grace and this wisdom is the secret that guarantees the continual flow of Grace. On the other hand, when we begin to arrogate divine honour to ourselves, we are bound to miscalculate and unsuspectingly disconnected from the flow of Grace till the flesh fully takes over.
THE PRESENCE OF THE TRINITY AT JORDAN
Verse 22 is one verse among all others that I love to use in explaining the concept of the Trinity because, this singular was helps us to see the role that the Father and the Holy Ghost played when the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ was found at the baptism of John. We have the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit captured in this singular verse.
“And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him and a voice came from heaven which said thou hath my beloved son in thee I am well pleased”.
The voice from heaven is the voice of the Father and the Holy Ghost which is the third member of the Trinity is seen supernaturally by John (because it is assigned to John, that on whomever he sees the Spirit descending, that is the Christ). So, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is already present in His humanity at river Jordan to be baptized. That made for the presence of the Trinity at Jordan: the Father speaking from heaven; the Son being baptized and the Holy Ghost descending bodily.
This same scenario that played out at Jesus’ baptism is the same that happens to us when we receive Christ and are baptized with the Holy Ghost at new birth. As we confessed Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, the voice of the Father sounds: “this is my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased!” Why? Nothing pleases the Father in the now than a soul coming to Christ! The Spirit of God simultaneously comes on us and takes His abode in us as the representation and the representative of the Godhead in the believers.
Need to say, that it is the same Spirit that descended upon Jesus at Jordan that takes His place in us proves that IT WASN’T A DOVE THAT DESCENDED ON JESUS, BUT A PERSON, “IN A BODILY FORM, LIKE A DOVE!
CHRIST INDEED MANIFESTED IN THE FLESH, A MAN NOT AN APPARITION.
Reading through Bible genealogy can be so tedious and uninteresting but there’s always a message to cull from it wherever it appears, particularly in the New Testament. Now a long genealogical list is before us in this chapter, terminating at Adam who is referred to as the son of God helps us, amongst others, to understand that Jesus actually identified with man or mankind in the flesh. He was a Son of Man even as He is the Son of God!
Christ was indeed a man just as Adam was. He wasn’t a kind of apparition some heretic teachers tried to present Him to be. He was a man or rather He became man; He partook of flesh and blood to take our place in fulfilling the law, in sin, in death, taking on Himself our punishments that we might be justified through faith in His name.
Hallelujah!
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