God blesses Jesus’ baptism

And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Matthew 3:17

When was the last time you were at a high school graduation? It seems like there’s always one family that just can’t hold back from shouting and cheering when their graduate is announced. They are so proud they just can’t keep from identifying themselves as the family.

Jesus came to John to identify Himself as the savior and to be an example of getting baptized. God the Father also used the occasion of Jesus’ baptism to publicly identify His Son for the first time. This story is recorded in all four gospels, which shows that it was an important one. At the moment that Jesus came out of the water, the voice of God spoke out loud. Yet again, this was more evidence that being baptized was the right thing for Jesus to do. Just like John’s baptism identified people who wanted to repent and be part of the family of God, at Jesus’ baptism, God identified Him as his “beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus was free from sin, and was part of God’s family, too.

This was also very important because Jesus was just about to start preaching Himself and calling His disciples and followers, but few people knew who he was. Only Joseph and Mary had been told directly that Jesus was the Son of God. The voice of God and the dove coming down from heaven was indisputable proof to the witnesses that Jesus was the Messiah.

God showed that He was proud of His Son for doing the right thing. He too gave baptism a stamp of approval.

Questions for discussion and reflection

  • How would you react if you heard the voice of God coming out of heaven?
  • Jesus did the right thing by being baptized. What does that mean for you?
  • Have you been baptized at North Valley? If not explore more online and take your next step. Next week the church will be having baptisms in both services. https://www.northvalley.org/baptism

Prayer
Dear God, You showed and said how much you love Your Son. Thank you for sending Him to us so that we can know and love Him too. In Jesus’ name, amen.