Go
Saints!

Friday
March 29th, 2024
L&T Opinions Page

gary damronMY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

 

Last summer we traveled to the Jordan River and toured the wilderness area where John the Baptist lived, ate locusts and wild honey, and proclaimed a new kingdom. This is a pivotal point in the Bible, a transition from Old to New. If I had only one article to write, it would be to explain what seems to be the significance of this one event. 

The account begins with John the Baptist and Jesus meeting on the shore of the Jordan. “Then Jesus arrived … coming to John, to be baptized by him” (Matthew 3:13). Matthew had already explained John’s message and his mission. “‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 3:2). And John had told the Pharisees and Sadducees, “‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I; … he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’” (Matthew 3:11). 

When Jesus approached the riverside, John was reluctant to include him in those being baptized; it didn’t seem appropriate. He knew he was not worthy even to tie Jesus’ shoelaces. He also knew Jesus led a perfect life that did not need water baptism. Yet following all the prophecies and the law of the Old Testament, the future was standing there in front of John, and Jesus told him, “‘Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’” (Matthew 3:15). Jesus was validating John’s ministry, as a faithful servant preparing the way for what God had for the rest of us by fulfilling the requirements of the law. 

Folks nearby at the time might have thought that Jesus’ baptism would mean he was becoming another disciple of John. But instead, the coming of Christ (Messiah) - prophesied by the prophets and John the Baptist - opened a way for each of us to live changed lives. As Jesus arose from the water, the Spirit of God descended from the heavens and a voice proclaimed, “‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:17). 

In this short encounter, John and Jesus spoke, a voice came from the heavens, and from that time forward the Message was different. John’s ministry continued on a little while until he was imprisoned and executed by Herod. Jesus, after enduring testing in the wilderness victoriously returned, chose new disciples, and began laying the groundwork for a new and better ministry, life in the Spirit. 

Before that time, rituals were performed and sacrifices were offered regularly, but there was no answer to fulfilling all the Law. When people asked why Jesus did things differently than John, he gave them an illustration. “‘Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved’” (Matthew 9:17). In spite of the love and respect he had for John, Jesus’ new kingdom would not be boxed in by the past. 

Within three years after John’s beheading, Jesus was crucified, and all their disciples were left to mourn. But Luke wrote that - appropriately - the living, resurrected Jesus appeared to the followers and offered them new life. He told them “not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, … ‘for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’” (Acts 1:4-5). The scriptures tell us they waited in the upper room until the Day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2). 

Ezekiel prophesied that God promised to “‘give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you’” (Ezekiel 36:26, 27). We can love our traditions, respect our spiritual ancestors, submit to the church’s teachings, but freedom will be found only in a new and daily walk with God. The same Spirit that Jesus experienced during his baptism in the Jordan was soon poured out on those early followers, and is available to each person who asks today. 

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 2:1-8 that life in the Spirit is discovered in the humility of the Son of God. As we submit more and more to God, the Spirit fills and teaches and enables us to emulate the character of Christ. A heart of stone is replaced with the mindset and attitude of Jesus.  

LETTER TO THE EDITOR, Reita Isaacs, Liberal

 

From the time I found the subject for my next article [ ... ]

Read more...

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

 

With Easter approaching, millions around the world will celebrate [ ... ]

Read more...