“Do You Come to Me?”
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“But John tried to deter Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
Matthew 3:14
Today is traditionally the Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord Jesus. The stained glass window, in our church at Trinity, illustrates Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan River with the Holy Spirit alighting upon Him in the form of a dove and God the Father speaking from the clouds.
But before we jump to the scene of the Trinity revealing Himself in glory, let’s go back to John’s reaction at seeing Jesus show up while he is baptizing.
John has been baptizing sinners as a sign of their repentance in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. Imagine John’s perplexity when he sees Jesus show up at the river and get in line to be baptized! What is the perfect, sinless Lamb of God doing in line with a motley collection of prostitutes, tax collectors, and other base sinners? John protests, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” Jesus’ response? “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”
You see, Jesus, the sinless Son of God, has come to make you and me right with God, to fulfill the Father’s plan of grace. Whatever it takes for Jesus to bring us to the Father, He will do it, even if it means humbling Himself at the Jordan.
Are not you and I often just like John, surprised by the extent of grace to which our Lord Jesus will go? Are you not often shocked by Jesus’ actions, as He obediently submits to being born in a manger, raised in lowly Nazareth, spurned by the religious leaders, arrested as a common criminal, sentenced by Gentiles, mocked by soldiers, crucified on a cross, buried in a borrowed tomb?
Because all of that, and much more, is what made us right with the Father. Surprised by Jesus’ love and grace? I know I am. Daily. Praise God for His surprising grace!
Text and Picture copyright Steve Nickodemus
