Then Jesus came from Jerusalem to the Jordan to receive adulation from John. John said, “It is I who needs to be baptised by you!” Jesus answered him, “You are correct, for I am the Righteous One.”
The heavens opened as Jesus declared the truth, and the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove to confirm Jesus’ purity. And then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Lion of Judah who deserves all power and authority, honour and glory.”
After this Jesus baptised John.
Not the Bible: The Ungospel of Matthew 3:13-17
Carrying on from our last post on this passage, I want to bring out a second point:
Jesus was the Son of God, the Creator of the Universe, the one to whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord and yet He received ministry from someone who was “less” than Him.
How often do we see that in Christian circles?
Too often they imitate business where they try to “steal” consumers from other ministries. In the “Christian” world they do this by pointing out the inadequacies or theological flaws in their “opponents” or how their ministry is “better” or “more correct”.
But Jesus didn’t just submit and receive ministry He honours their ministry:
“Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.“ (Mt 11:11)
I confess that I have done the opposite – and the truth is, it was because of fear. Fear that my Father didn’t have a unique place for me and so I had to fight for it.
Jesus knows who He is, knows He is loved by the Father (John 15:9; 17:24) and is not threatened by others, He doesn’t have to knock them down – He can celebrate them instead.
Father, let me know how much you love me – let me discover that there is no fear in love – no fear of being overlooked or of being unimportant. Let me be faithful to the calling you have given me no matter how small and release me to celebrate the success of others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
A related post on this topic is CEO or Father (godly children).