March to the Cross - Jesus: Appointed King

Thursday, March 11

Jesus: Appointed King

Focus: Jesus is baptized by John and given God’s heavenly blessing.

Today’s verses:

Matthew 3:16-17 And after being baptized (by John), Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Psalm 2:6-7 “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, “You are my Son, today I have become your Father.”

Isaiah 42:1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom I delights. I have put my Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”

John 3:34-35 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.

The question I would like to pose to you today, Sisters is this...if you were John the Baptist, how would you have reacted to baptizing the Son of God?

The three words that come to mind for me in pondering this question are "under qualified", "overwhelmed", and "awestruck" John had been chosen by God to be the messenger to tell others about the coming of the Messiah. And then, he had the honor to actually baptize the One of which he had foretold. I am sure that he felt under qualified for this honor. I think he probably felt overwhelmed because the emotions of the entire event were, as we would say today, off the charts. I am sure he would have been overwhelmed with feelings of humility for being chosen to carry out the baptism and overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of the beautiful moment where our Savior set an example for all of us to follow. And finally, I think he would have been awestruck when he saw and heard the Spirit of the Lord descend down in a dove and speak over them the words from Psalm 2:7, "This is my son with whom I am well-pleased."

For further reading: Psalm 2; John 1:17-34

Dear Lord, Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to earth and appointing Him as King. Thank you for using Jesus, our King, as an example for how we should act in obedience. We want to look and act more like Jesus. Lead us with Your Holy Sprit so that we don't miss a single opportunity to be obedient by being the hands and feet of Jesus. In Jesus' name and for the Father's glory.