UNIT II.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

The birth stories of Jesus are recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke but not in Mark and John. All
four gospels stress or emphasize some aspects of Jesus’ life, ministry and death and these emphases help determine
the materials each gospel write included in his book. It is also possible that for Mark and John the material related
to Jesus’ birth was not available to them at the time of writing. We are grateful that the beautiful stories of the
first Christmas have been preserved for us in Matthew and Luke.

To harmonize and fit together the different incidents related to Jesus’ birth the following order of events
is suggested:

Luke 1:5-25 Promise of the Birth of John

Luke 1:26-38 Gabriel and Mary
Luke 1:39-56 Mary Visits Elizabeth
Luke 1:57-80 John is Born
Matthew 1:18-25 Joseph is Told About Mary’s Baby
Luke 2:1-21 Jesus Is Born in a Manger in Bethlehem
The Shepherd’s Visit
Luke 2:22-38 Dedication in the Temple
Matthew 2:1-12 The Wise Men’s Visit
Matthew 2:13-18 Flight to Egypt
Matthew 2:19-23 Return to Nazareth

The Birth of John the Baptist

During the reign of Herod the Great, the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah, a good and upright priest
and tells him that Elizabeth, his wife is going to bear a son. This child will be filled the Holy Spirit. God will be
with him in the spirit and power of Elijah so that he will lead many Israelites back to God and prepare them for
the Lord [Luke 1:17]. Zechariah'’ son like the ancient Nazirites when they vowed consecration to God [Num.
6:1-5] will drink no alcoholic beverages. But like his ancestor Abraham, Zechariah doubts the angel’s prophecy
for both he and Elizabeth are quite old. In order to punish him for his unbelief and also to give him a “sign” of
the validity of the prediction, Gabriel strikes Zechariah with dumbness which is to continue until the birth of his
son. Elizabeth conceives as the angel has foretold.

Six months later when Mary, the wife of Joseph and cousin of Elizabeth comes for a visit, at Mary’s
greeting the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy as if in awareness that Mary is going to be the mother of the
Messiah. Elizabeth blesses Mary and rejoices with her over the prospect of Jesus’ birth.

When Elizabeth gives birth to a son her friends urge her that he be named for his father but Elizabeth
says he will be called John. Zechariah writes, “His name is John”. [Meaning God is gracious”]. Immediately the
curse is removed from Zechariah and he praises God for keeping his Covenant with Israel and for sending John
as a forerunner of the Messiah. Zechariah’s song which begins with “Blessed be the Lord…” [Luke 1:68-79] is
familiarly known in Latin as The Benedictus.

John grows into manhood and lives in the wilderness until the time is ripe for his message to the Jews.

The Birth of Jesus

Sometime before Mary’s visit to Elizabeth her cousin, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary and tells her
that she has been chosen to bear a son to whom she will call Jesus. [Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua which
literally means “God is salvation”]. Mary is troubled and asks how this can be. Gabriel assures her that “the
Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Highest will overshadow her and the child born to her will
be Holy, the Son of God” [Luke 1:35].
 After informing her that her cousin Elizabeth will also have a child, the angel departs and Mary goes to
visit Elizabeth. As soon as Elizabeth greets her, Mary praises God for his goodness to her and to Israel. Her
song which begins with the words “My soul magnifies the Lord…” [Luke 1:41-55] is known in Latin as The
Magnificat.

Mary stays with Elizabeth until Elizabeth’s baby is due and returns home. In Matthew’s gospel we read
that when Joseph discovers Mary is with a child he decides to divorce her quietly [Matt. 1:12-25] but an angel
appeared to him to tell him that Mary’s baby is of the Holy Spirit and that this child will be called Jesus for “he
will save his people from their sins…”

In Luke’s gospel, we read the story of Jesus’ birth in the manger [Luke 2:1-21]. Caesar Augustus,
emperor of the Roman Empire decreed that everyone in the empire should return to his family’s native city to be
registered for the purpose of taxation. Joseph who belongs to the ancient family of King David goes from
Nazareth to Bethlehem. They are forced to take lodging in a stable because all houses were crowded with people.
The manger or stable was the space on the ground on each side of the steps leading up to the living room. Animals
were fed and sheltered in this place especially in cold weather. Here Mary gives birth to Jesus and wraps him as
was the custom, in a lengthy piece of material [thus the term swaddling clothes].

On the nearby hillsides while the shepherds guard their flocks at night an angel appeared and the
shepherds are frightened. The angels tell them of Jesus’ birth [Luke 2:10-11]. Following the angel’s direction
they find the baby in the manger, offer praises to God and spread abroad wonderful news.

When Jesus is eight days old [or a week old] according to the custom of the Jewish religion the baby is
circumcised. This is equivalent to our Christian sacrament of infant baptism. Circumcision signifies becoming a
part of the people of God of Israel just as baptism symbolizes our becoming a part of God’s new people, the
Christian church. At this time the baby is given the name Jesus. Today when babies are baptized and their
names are given the ceremony is called “Christening” which means giving a Christian name to the baby because
at his baptism he becomes a part, a member of the Christian community of faith.

When Mary and Joseph brought the baby to the Temple, a devout old man, Simeon, sees the baby and
recognizes him as the Christ. Likewise an aged prophetess, Anna, sees the baby and gives thanks to God [Luke
2:25-38]. The story continues in Matthew’s gospel [2:1-23] and we read the fascinating story of the wise man’s
visit. Led from the East [perhaps from Arabia or from Babylonia] by a star, these wise men seek the newborn
“King of the Jews” in Jerusalem. When Herod the Great hears of their search he is greatly disturbed. He calls
the wise men in and encourages them in their search and asks them to report back to him for he too wanted to go
and worship the baby. The wise men find Jesus in Bethlehem and offer the Christ-child gifts of gold, frankincense
and myrrh, thus initiating the custom of gift-giving at Christmas time. [Biblical scholars think there is no
symbolism intended in these gifts but that these gifts were considered appropriate gifts for a monarch {IB, vol. 7,
pp. 259}]. Warned by an angel they did not report to the King Herod

Joseph too is warned by an angel and flees with Jesus and Mary into Egypt. Fearful for his throne, Herod
orders that all male children of the region who are two years younger be killed. This is the terrible “slaughter of
the innocents”. After Herod’s death, Joseph and his family return from Egypt but settle in the town of Nazareth
in Galilee, far from Bethlehem, for he fears Archaeleus, Herod’s son and successor in Judea.

The Significance or Meaning of Jesus’ Birth

The conviction or belief that the birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of a divine promise is especially vivid
in the gospel of Matthew. Almost every incident related to Jesus’ birth in Matthew’s gospel brings to our attention
a passage from the Old Testament. [See Matt. 1:22-23; 2:5-6; 2:14-15; 2:17-18; Lk. 1:54-55; 2:11; 2:30-32].

The background for their belief that Jesus was the fulfillment of the promises in the Old Testament, lies
in the history of Israel’s faith that God had mightily liberated them from Egypt. In the covenant at Sinai following
the Exodus [Exodus 19:1-9] Israel promised to be God’s faithful people. God said, “I will take you for my people
and I will be your God and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from the burdens
of Egyptians” [Ex. 6:7]. God had chosen Israel to be his people so that they would be his special agents in the
world, to be his instruments to bring all people back to him. Beginning from the time of Abraham God had said,
“I will make of you a great nation… so that you will be a blessing… and by you all the families of the earth will
be bless themselves” [Gen. 12:2-3]. Unfortunately some Israelites interpreted this special relationship to God as
a special status rather than as a special responsibility. The official teaching of Israel says that God had chosen
them from among others not because they were his favorites but because through their experience of God’s saving
love they would lead all other nations to know and love God too. The prophets of Israel especially those of the
eighth and seventh centuries B.C.E. [Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah] all reminded Israel that her
relationship with God was to be one of faithfulness and obedience to the Covenant promise they had made at
Sinai. But Israel attracted by the worship and luxurious ways of the pagan Canaanites began to imitate the
Canaanites and forgot God.

In 586 B.C.E. when Jerusalem was destroyed and the remaining inhabitants deported to Babylon the
prophets interpreted these tragic events as God’s punishment for a faithless and disobedient people.

What sustained the people’s faith was their belief and hope that God would send them a savior [a
“Messiah” which means the anointed one or the chosen one] to redeem them and restore them to their homeland.
The return to Palestine [ca. 530-450 B.C.E.] was made possible in the defeat Cyrus of Persia. They were allowed
to return to Palestine but the Jews were subject to Persia. In time Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great
[ca. 333 B.C.E.] and Palestine passed into Greek rule. The harsh rule of the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus IV [when
still part of the Greek empire] led to a fierce war for independence under the rule of the Hasmonean family [leaders
of the war against Seleucids] but in 63 B.C.E. Jerusalem was again conquered, this time by Pompey, general of
the Romans. When Jesus was born Palestine was part of the Roman Empire.

The Hope for a Messiah

Throughout all this period of foreign rule, the hope of a Messiah grew even more fervent as they suffer
great hardships and calamities. They believed that an ideal ruler would come who would rule in peace and
righteousness. Many believed that the Messiah would come from David’s royal line. Some

thought of a divine being who would descend from heaven and lead the Jews to heavenly Kingdom. But all agreed
that the Messiah when he comes would free the nation of her rulers, and restore the nation into the power and
prestige she had enjoyed in the glorious reign of King David.

Alongside the Messianic hope was the hope for the establishment of God’s rule throughout the whole
world. This is the idea of the Kingdom of God, that is, God’s righteous and sovereign rule when Israel would be
freed from her political oppressors and God would be acknowledged as the Lord and Ruler of all.

The gospel writers [Matthew, Mark, Luke and John] interpreted Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and
resurrection as the fulfillment of the divine promise [cf. Lk. 1:49-55 and Micah 7:20, also Matt. 2:6 and Micah
5:2]. Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior promised in the Old Testament. But the promise was fulfilled in an
unexpected way. The wise men expected the baby to be born in Jerusalem, the capital city, known also as the city
of David because it was David who built and established Jerusalem as the religious center of Israel. Instead it was
the little town of Bethlehem, David’s hometown to which the wise men were directed. According to Luke’s story,
the shepherds were told “…to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord…” But the
baby who is “the Lord” is born in a manger! Eventually the Jews would find that Jesus as the promised messiah
did not fit their own idea of what a Messiah should be. God’s ways are indeed strange and unexpected but his
promise was fulfilled in Jesus.
 UNIT III. THE INFANCY AND BOYHOOD OF JESUS

It is Luke alone who records one incident in the Scriptures concerning the boyhood of Jesus when the boy
was twelve. But we can learn something about Jesus’ boyhood and of his home life from the few Biblical
references to Joseph and Mary, the remarks and reactions of the people to Jesus when he began his ministry and
from the many examples and illustrations of Palestinian life which Jesus used in his teachings. In Jesus familiarity
with the Old Testament and his tender affection for his mother, we can discern the loving and religious atmosphere
in which the child was nurtured.

Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a little town in Galilee yet one located close to the main highways which
connected the East with Egypt, and the East with Europe.

Both Matthew and Luke tells us that Jesus belonged to the royal line of David. As such although he
belonged to the ordinary working class as a carpenter [Matt. 13:55] he would be aware of the continuing hopes of
Israel for the coming of a Messiah and it would naturally be in this atmosphere of Jewish patriotism in which
Jesus was brought up. Joseph is also described as an upright, just man [Matt. 1:19]. The story of Mary and Gabriel
reveals Mary as a deeply religious person who accepts the Word of God even though she does not quite understand
it [Lk. 1:38; 2:19].

Jesus’ Circumcision and Presentation in the Temple

As we have read in Luke, Jesus’ parents observed the required religious ceremonies for a Jewish baby
boy. At eight days of age, he was circumcised and given a name [Lk. 2:21]. And at forty days he was dedicated
in the Temple [Lk. 2:22]. Luke says he was “presented to the Lord” and according to custom they offered two
young pigeons as a sacrifice [Lev. 12:1-4; 6-7].

In Christian practice the baby brought to the church to be baptized and given his name. This symbolizes
the bringing of the child into the fellowship of the Church. Some Christian parents prefer to dedicate their babies
in the same that the parents of Jesus “presented him to the Lord” he was over a month old. This service looks
forward to the time when the child will be baptized when he reaches the age when he can understand for himself
the meaning of Christian discipleship. This is usually encouraged when the child reaches the age of twelve years.
Often the Church holds communicants classes for these children so they will really understand what it means to
accept Christ as his Lord in the Christian ritual of confirmation. This means he will confirm or agree to the vows
and promises made for him by his parents at his baptism. The Christian service of confirmation is similar to the
Jewish Bar-mitzvah which is the ceremony for the Jewish boy who at the age of 12 becomes a “son of the Law”.
This means he is now responsible for his own actions. He has now reached the end of the childhood and is now
going to join the older men in the community. the story in Luke 2:41-51 of Jesus and his parents visit to Jerusalem
when he was 12 is most probably the time Jesus became a “son of the Law”.

Jesus’ Education [Synagogue, Rabbi, Torah, Shema, Phylactery, Mezuzah]

According to Jewish customs the boy Jesus must have joined the synagogue school at the age of 6 years.
The synagogue was the local place of meeting for the Sabbath worship, and for court proceedings when the elders
come together to settle some problems of law or crime in the community. But it was mainly a place for study of
Israel’s sacred history and laws. This particular institution it is believed,
developed during the period of the exile when the Jews had no temple for worship and when they needed

a place for the teaching of the faith to their children. Later when so many Jews were scattered in various place in
the Mediterranean, the Jewish Law required that a synagogue should be built wherever there were at least 10 or
more Jewish families in the community. Through out Palestine in Jesus’ day synagogues were to be found in
every town and in Jerusalem there were a number of these synagogues. The synagogue was a simple structure
perhaps very similar to the little chapels found in the little towns and barrios in our country. The bigger
synagogues usually had an upper gallery for women worshippers who worshipped separately from the men. The
scrolls of the sacred writing [Torah] were kept in a special place at one end of the synagogue. The elders sat in
front for Sabbath worship. The men came into the sanctuary usually wearing phylacteries. The phylactery was a
long strip of cloth [like a sash] on which a little pocket was sewn. Into this pocket was inserted a tiny scroll in
which the words of the great Commandment called Shema was written. [Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The
Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your strength.” This is the great Commandment. It is called the shema because the first word “hear” is ‘shema’
in Hebrew.]

In Deuteronomy 6:7-9 the Israelites are told to teach this commandment to their children “when you sit
with them in your home, when you walk with them, when you lie down and when you rise.” They are also told
“to bind them as a sign upon your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes”. And “you shall write
them in the doorpost and in your gates”. These instructions are to impress upon the Israelites the importance of
the first and great Commandment of loving God above all. The “phylactery” which they wore around their
forehead and bound around the upper left arm as their way of literally following the instruction given in
Deuteronomy 6:8. Later in Jesus’ preaching [Matt. 23:5] he criticized some of these religious Jews who wore the
phylacteries but did not follow or obey the law of love written in it. [The Jewish houses usually had a wooden
panel nailed to the front door in which we also inserted a little scroll on which the “shema” was written. The
family always touched this panel whenever they left the house or returned to it. This was also to follow the
instruction given in Deut. 6:9. This little reminder was called mezuzah. Up to this day many Jewish families
place this at the door of their homes.

The Jewish teacher called a rabbi taught the Jewish boy. [The Jewish girls did not come. They were
probably taught by their parents at home]. They studied the Hebrew language in which the Holy Scriptures were
written. The language spoken in Palestine in the time of Jesus was Aramaic. A Semitic dialect similar to Hebrew
but not exactly the same. The boys also studied the Torah, [literally meaning “instruction or law”] which refers
to the first five books in the Bible [also known as the Books of Law or the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch].
These form the most important sections of Israel’s sacred Scriptures. Added to these were the books called the
Writings, the most important of which was the Book of Psalms. The Psalms which are really songs of praise and
prayer was the devotional book of Jewish worship. Jesus must have memorized many of the Psalms. He quoted
some of his passages in time of crisis in His life [In the temptation experience, Lk. 4:10-11, Psa. 91:11-12; at the
cross, Mk. 15:34, Psa. 22:1].

Jesus Becomes “Son of the Law” [Bar mitzvah]

 When the boy Jesus is twelve years old he accompanied his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover
Festival. [This was the most important festival of the Jews because it commemorated the time when Israel under
Moses’ leadership successfully escaped from Egypt to become a free and independent nation. The Israelites
believed that it was God’s mighty hand that delivered them from Egyptian slavery so the Passover celebration is
always a festival of thanksgiving to God and a time of renewing the covenant promise of faithfulness and
obedience to him.] Every Jew who lived within 15 miles [or about 22 kms.] from Jerusalem were bound by law
to observe the Passover at the Temple. Jesus’ parents attended the Passover every year although Nazareth was
about 60 miles [or 100 kms.] away. This gives to us some idea of Jesus family and the kind of faithful devotion
to God they observed in their home. As they would

all be traveling by foot, the families traveled together and we can assume the children walked together. Thus
when Mary and Joseph begin the journey back to Nazareth they did not realize Jesus was not with

them till they were ready to prepare for the night. They seek Jesus among relatives and friends and not finding
him they returned to Jerusalem the next day. They must have gone back directly to the place were they had stayed
while in Jerusalem. Eventually after they had looked for him in other places probably in the shops and market
place they go back to the Temple and find Jesus sitting in the midst of the Jewish teacher, listening to them and
asking questions. The bystanders and the teachers are impressed by Jesus’ understanding and knowledge. His
parents rebuke him for causing them much anxiety and he replies that they should have known he would be in his
father’s house [Lk. 2:49]. Did Jesus mean that they should have remembered he would go to the Temple when
they found he was left behind? Or did Jesus at this time begin to have an idea of his future vocation – to be about
“his father’s business?” Luke 2:50-51 reads, “…they did not understand the saying he spoke to them. And he
went down with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them and his father and his mother kept all these things in
their hearts”.

Luke telescopes or summarizes the growing years of Jesus at Nazareth in one memorable sentence. “Jesus
increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” [2:52]. It could not have been better said. The
boy Jesus grew intellectually and physically, spiritually and socially.

Jesus’ Home-Life

Joseph was a carpenter and probably very early began to train Jesus to be a carpenter too [Mk. 6:3].
Jesus had both brothers and sisters but only the names of brothers are recorded: James, Joses, Judah, and Simon.

Some Bible scholars conclude that Joseph must have died when the children were still because there is
no more mention of him in Jesus’ adult life or even at the time of Jesus’ death. One of Jesus’ last words on the
cross is to one of the disciples, entrusting his mother to his care [Jn. 19:26-27]. This would mean that in Jesus’
youth he was Mary’s right-hand, her real help in bringing up his younger brothers and sisters of whom there were
at least six. Perhaps this is also the reason why Jesus waited until he was 30 when he began his own public ministry
[Lk. 3:23].
 UNIT IV. PREPARATION FOR JESUS’ PUBLIC MINISTRY

Jesus’ Social and Religious Life

We know from Jesus’ teaching as an adult that he was familiar with the common everyday life of the
average Jewish family. He was familiar with the farmer sowing the seeds in their fields, the fishermen who
repaired their nets and fished at Lake Galilee, the shepherds guarding their sheep at the hillsides, the housewives
baking bread and keeping the house. He must have attended weddings and parties as well as enjoyed quite talks
with folks who came to his carpentry shop. Jesus observed the Sabbath faithfully as did most Jews. The Sabbath
began with the blowing of the horns from the synagogue as soon as the sun began to set on Friday evening.
Evening prayers led by the father or the head of the house were said around the supper table. On Sabbath day
Jesus would sit with the men in the synagogue while the Scripture was read and interpreted. With them would sit
the older boys with their prayer caps on their heads while the little ones and their mothers and sisters sat and
participated in the Sabbath worship up in the galleries which were located on the upper sides of the synagogue.

Jesus also knew the Pharisees and Scribes, teachers of the Law, and e must have had some close friends
among them [see Jn. 19:38-39]. Scribes and Pharisees were overlapping groups. Not all Pharisees were Scribes
or Rabbis. The scribes were official copyist of the law [the written laws were done by hand] and were therefore
experts on the law and naturally became teachers of it. The Pharisees were a distinct group of Jews who were
descendants of the Hasidim or “pious ones”. They believed very strongly in the teaching that Israel had been “set
apart” to be God’s people. They interpreted this to mean that the Jews must keep themselves ceremonially pure
observing such purification laws as circumcision, food or dietary laws [which forbade Jews to eat certain fish,
animals, birds, as well as blood] and not associating or eating with Gentiles [non-Jews] or Samaritans [half-Jews]
or the sinners of society. This latter group include not only drunkards, gamblers, bad women, but also the hated
Publicans or tax collectors. Thus, the Pharisees were called “separatists”. But the Pharisees were highly respected
leaders of the community. we are told that in the ancient world “there was no finer standard of righteousness than
the Pharisaic with its emphasis on personal holiness and social responsibility” [IB, vol. 7, p. 293]. However, their
careful obedience to the Jewish law made them critical towards those who are not as religious as they.

Among the Jewish leaders were also the Sadducees and Zealots [see Unit 1]. Mention has also been
made of the publicans or tax collectors. They were fellow-Jews who collected taxes for the Roman government.
For this reason they were held in contempt by the Jews. Tax quota were made by the government for different
regions of the country. Taxes were also collected on goods for sale, on roads, gates, bridges, etc. In the process of
collecting, the tax collectors collected as much as they could get. The extra money serves as their wages but this
meant “squeezing money” from the people. Jesus must have sorry for these tax collectors who were regarded as
“sinners” or “outcasts”. One of Jesus’ disciples, Matthew, was a tax collector.

The Messianic hope, the hope of God’s intervention to free the nation increased as troubles grew and life
became more difficult. It was the fervent hope of every Jewish patriot that soon the Messiah would appear and,
like a new David, would smash the yoke of the Roman oppressor. The more religious minded dreamed of a
supernatural Messiah who would come in judgment, cleanse the world of its evil, and by strong power of God,
reign over a new earth.

John the Baptist

What drew Jesus to John the Baptist was not doubt the rumor pervading the whole land that a new prophet
had arisen who declared that after agelong delays the Kingdom of God or the rule of God in

judgment and mercy was now immediately at hand. The burden of John’s message [Mk. 1:1-8] was that the
messianic age was at hand. He himself was merely the herald or messenger of God’s Messiah. The distinguishing
feature of his campaign was an invitation to all who were moved by a sense of guilt by the coming messianic
judgment, to be baptized by immersion in the Jordan as an outward token or sign of their repentance. However,
this baptism by water is only a prelude to a more significant baptism, which was the gift of the Holy Spirit.
 It was only to be expected that john’s unusual appearance [Mk. 1:6] and his message should arose
widespread interest. Genuine prophecy had not only died but all prophecy had fallen into disrepute in Israel [Zech.
13:4-6], and in Maccabean times [the brief period Jewish independence before the Romans came] even the best
of the High Priest was regarded as holding only a temporary leadership awaiting the reappearance of true prophecy
in the messianic age [see Joel 2:28]. [Note: Prophecy in the biblical sense meant speaking the Word of God for
the people in that particular time and place. Most of the prophets began their message with the words: “Thus says
the Lord…” The best example of these prophets or spokesmen for God in the Old Testament are Amos, Hosea,
Micah, Isaiah, etc.].

Many came to John to be baptized confessing their sins. Among them in addition to tax collectors and
soldiers [Lk. 3:10-14] were some Pharisees and Sadducees whom John warned to “bear fruit that befits
repentance” [Matt. 3:7-8].

Jesus Baptism by John

Jesus went the four days’ march from Nazareth down into the Jordan Valley near where it enters into the
Salt Lake [or the Dead Sea] and after all the people seeking baptism has been baptized, he too was baptized
seemingly alone.

Why was Jesus baptized? John was preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins but we
have no record of any sin or consciousness of sin on Jesus’ part at any time. In fact, the writers of the New
Testament consistently maintain that he was without sin [2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15, 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22, 1 Jn. 3:5].
Matthew records the purpose “to fulfill all righteousness” [3:15] but what was involved in fulfilling of all
righteousness? In the light of the whole story of Jesus, we can make certain suggestions. First, Jesus showed that
he accepted John’s ministry as ordained by God. Second, he was willing to be numbered among those who in
baptism turned from their old ways to the Kingdom or rule of God at hand. Third, he identified himself with the
people he came to save. “For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God” [2 Cor. 5:21]. Finally, Jesus’ baptism was an act of dedication to the Father’s will and
an anointing “with the Holy Spirit and with power” [Acts 10:38].

“He saw the heaven open and the Spirit as a dove descending upon him and voice came out of heavens,
‘Thou art my only Son with Thee I am well-pleased’” [Mk. 1:10-11]. We need not suppose that the vision and
the voice were a spectacle which would have been seen. More probably they were like the visions and voices
which came to the prophets in the Old Testament. But if we are to understand truly anything about the mission
of Jesus, we must recognize that at the moment he received with deep conviction the assurance of the divine
vocation as the messiah and the power to fulfill it.

Jesus accepted the baptism of repentance not for his own sins but as one who identified himself with His
people as the Messiah would do if he were to come. His experience at the moment of baptism suggests that it was
at this point Jesus became certain that he was the Messiah. There can be no other meaning in the two Old
Testament texts which he quotes from Psa. 2:7 and Isa. 42:1.

The first word of God’s commission, “Thou art my beloved Son” comes from Psalm in which the
Messianic king is promised dominion over the whole world. The second “in whom I am well-pleased”, is one of
the Servant Songs in Second Isaiah [42:1]. By joining this together, Jesus accepts his commission as a charge
from God to the Messiah, the divine savior for whom the faithful among the people of God longed and prayed,
but who at the same time will be a servant-Messiah. Kings do not ordinarily think themselves as being servants
of the people; no wonder the disciples of Jesus were so slow in coming to an understanding of the true nature of
Jesus’ messiahship.

In what respect is Christian baptism like Jesus’ baptism by John? In what respects is it different?

The Prayer and Temptation in the Wilderness

After his baptism, Jesus chose to go apart and think through His Messianic Vocation. It is to be a period
of prayer and fasting. The account of the temptations must have been communicated by Christ to His disciples.
Some scholars suggest that the incidents described in the Temptation narrative – the carrying of Jesus to the top
of the Temple and again up into a high mountain were spread out under his eyes all the kingdom of the world—
were not external occurrences but Jesus represented as in a parable to His disciples, what were really inward
experiences of His soul-powerful and vivid images. The temptations of Jesus were representations of the
temptations which came to him as the Son-Servant-Messiah. In the New Testament, the Devil [or Satan] is not
only the personification of the sin of man but it is that evil which is purposeful, powerful, and cosmic. It is outside
of man as well as in him, but it is not outside the sovereignty of God. Temptation is not sin, but it is an appeal to
disobey God. The temptations of Jesus remind us that the Son’s humanity was real. He was not playacting to put
on a good show. There was no tense in his humanity.

The three temptations represent not so much the temptation of an ordinary man as the typical temptations
of the exceptional man, whose soul is possessed with a deep sense of vocation which absorbs his whole interest.
They have no meaning except for one who was aware that he was possessed of power in nature, that he could turn
stones to bread, call upon God to protect him if he threw himself from the top of the Temple, and one to whom
the vision of world-wide sovereignty in some sense, represented no ridiculous impossibility.

Thus it was that Jesus found himself tempted to supply His urgent physical needs by turning stones into
bread. But while the temptation was partly to use His supernatural power for himself this is not the main thrust of
the Tempter. Moses, God’s great leader in the past, had been the instrument of providing manna and quails for
the people in the wilderness [Ex. 16:4-36 compare with Jn. 6:30-33]. Jesus’ own hunger enable him to be acutely
aware of His hungry people whom he loved and for whom he had deep compassion. The temptation was real.
How wonderful would it be to use His powers to feed the people? But Jesus answered with words from Deut. 8;3,
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”. In other words
Jesus recognized the necessity of food for the sustenance of life, but He was unwilling to make the feeding of the
people the center of his message and ministry. While he was always sensitive to man’s physical needs he did not
want to make material goods the highest value in life. the first temptation was to be an economic Messiah. Jesus
refused to consider the idea of an economic program the center of his ministry.

The second temptation was to be a marvelous Messiah; that is, Jesus was tempted to get people to follow
him by working spectacular miracles. Jesus, later in his ministry, was constantly tempted in this way by the
demands that He would show the people a “sign”. But this temptation he met with another text

from Deuteronomy. It would be “temp God”, not to rely on him [6:16]. Jesus made a moderate use of his
extraordinary power and gave it a subordinate place. He refused to use it for display but kept it as an instrument
of divine compassion to be used under the guidance of prayer.

The third temptation was to be a political Messiah, to be the political and military leader the people had
been waiting for. It was the temptation to win the world by accepting the service of Satan – that is, by using the
ways of the world. To “fall down and worship” Satan meant to fulfill the kingdom’s purpose by political
compromise, the use of violence and military force.

Jesus answered with words from Deuteronomy 6:13 : “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him
alone you shall serve”. God’s will and God’s ways would remain the will and the ways of His Son. Later, when
Jesus talked to His disciples of His role as the Suffering Servant, Peter renewed the temptation to avoid such a
role. Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!… for you are not on side of God but of men” [Matt. 16:21-23].
By refusing to be a political Messiah, Jesus did not say we have no need of politics but implied that political
systems must be judged by the heavenly Father. The Kingdom does not come by the power of the sword, but by
the power of the Spirit [2 Cor. 10:4].

All three temptations of Jesus were related to the problem of how best to go about His ministry. Would
feeding the people bring people back to God? Or would this result in “rice Christians’? Such Christians would
only come to church if they can receive something for coming to the church. Would performing some spectacular
act bring people to him? Or would this result in an attitude of fear and wonder towards God, instead of turning to
God in trust and confidence in His love? Would the use of violence and force to free Israel of her enemies bring
about the Kingdom of God on earth? But would political freedom free the people of other fears and anxieties,
meaninglessness and emptiness of life? The deliverance that the people needed most could not be attained through
a change government but only through the active concrete expression of God’s love and purpose in human life.