Fulfilling All Righteousness: Jesus Showed the Way – Matthew 3:13-17 || John the Baptizer had drawn crowds as he preached, “The one who is coming after me is stronger than I am. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). Then Jesus came to the river. Instead of saying, “Stand aside, John—the main act is here,” Jesus joined the line waiting for baptism. “John, of course, is horrified.... Surely if anything he, John, needs to be baptized by Jesus himself?” What can we learn from these four verses? There was a practical reason to baptize Jesus. In his church (cf. Matthew 16:18), baptism wasn’t only for “outsiders” (Gentiles), but for all of his followers. Why let anyone say, “Why should I be baptized? Jesus wasn’t.” In loftier words, “The baptism of Jesus identifies Jesus as the messianic servant who stands in solidarity with his people. As their representative he came ‘to fulfill all righteousness’ (Matthew 3:15).” How did Jesus' example add meaning to every baptism? There was more. Yes, Jesus was relaunching God’s kingship, including God’s judgment on evil and rescue for God’s people. But Jesus' way was “by humbly identifying himself with God’s people, by taking their place, sharing their penitence, living their life and ultimately dying their death... the coming judgment will not be achieved through a warlike or vindictive spirit but will mean the making of peace.” How did Jesus in the river show how differently God’s power works?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, your world-changing impact came about, not bullying or intimidating people, but by humbly exercising God’s love among us. Keep teaching me what it means to live out your power. Amen.

John's Bold Call: Change Your Life Today – Matthew 3:1-12 || Nearly four hundred years had passed with no clear prophetic voice in Israel. Many Israelites were spiritually hungry. When John the Baptizer (or Baptist) began preaching, forcefully and urgently calling people to change their lives, he drew crowds hungry for a word from God. He baptized people as a symbol of cleansing and change. He warned those crowds that claiming to be Abraham’s descendants was worthless if their lives dishonored Abraham’s spiritual legacy. Before John, Israelites baptized Gentile converts, but did not see any need to accept baptism for themselves. “John’s call for a one-time baptism for those who had been born as Jews was unprecedented. He insisted that one’s ancestry was not adequate to guarantee one’s relationship with God.” Have you ever hoped that a family faith tradition, or a denominational identity, would be enough to secure your standing with God? What makes personal baptism important? John the Baptist’s mission was to lead people to answer God’s call to change their hearts and lives and show it through baptism (verse 6). But, jailed by Herod Antipas for criticizing his illicit marriage, John was puzzled (cf. Matthew 11:2-3) and “concerned that [Jesus' deeds] differed from John’s message of end-time outpourings of the Spirit and fire.” Do you, like John, ever wish Jesus had just zapped bad people instead of modeling self-giving love as God’s way of defeating evil?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as St. Francis is said to have prayed, make me an instrument of your peace. In 2025, let me spread your love, kindness and healing wherever I go. Amen.

Divine Voice Launched Jesus' Kingdom Mission – Matthew 3:16-17 || We saw (cf. Matthew 3:13-14) that John said Jesus didn’t need baptism. “In John’s baptism there was a summons to repentance, and the offer of a way to the forgiveness of sins. But, if Jesus is who we believe him to be, he did not stand in need of repentance, and did not need forgiveness from God. John’s baptism was for sinners’ conscious of their sin.” But God affirmed that Jesus was not here to stand judgmentally apart from humans, but to identify with and thus save them. The message was not trivial. The first part quoted Psalm 2:7, seen as God’s promise of the Messiah. The last phrase came from Isaiah 42:1, the first of four passages about God’s Servant which ended with Isaiah 53’s picture of the Suffering Servant. Hearing that, Jesus “knew that he was destined to be a conqueror, but that his conquest must have as its only weapon the power of suffering love.” How did that voice support Jesus' sense that his mission was different than many people expected? People sometimes think the Holy Spirit didn’t show up until Pentecost, after Jesus’ resurrection. But Matthew, reporting that Jesus saw “the Spirit of God coming down like a dove,” let those who read the baptism story know that God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit were already present, as they had been eternally. In what ways has God’s Spirit guided, comforted or inspired you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for accepting and living out the saving mission communicated in that pivotal moment at your baptism. Give me the courage to live out my part of your mission as you direct my steps. Amen.

Behold God's Son, the Lamb who takes away sin – John 1:24-34 || “Most scholars date the Gospel of John to sometime during the last two decades of the first century.... In John, details of events and even the words of Jesus are not so much about what actually happened, though clearly, they are rooted in what actually happened. Instead, they are about the meaning—the spiritual significance—of Jesus’ life.” So John gave a different, deeper picture of Jesus' baptism, one that added to our understanding of that event’s meaning for Jesus and us. “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” showed that Jesus fulfilled the imagery of Israel’s sacrificial system. Worshipers confessed their sins over an innocent lamb. A priest put the sacrificed lamb’s blood on the altar to figuratively clear the sinner from guilt. What does calling Jesus “the Lamb of God” tell you about the central reason he came (cf. Matthew 1:21)? How can you fully trust that “the Lamb of God... takes away the sin of the world,” including yours? John’s brief section was full of meaning. “John makes three statements about Jesus: (1) Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, (2) even though Jesus comes later than John, he existed before John and ranks above him, (3) the Spirit has descended on Jesus, and he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” How did John, who’d spent a lifetime pondering his time with Jesus, link the man Jesus to the baby honored in the “12 days of Christmas”?

Prayer: Jesus, Lamb of God, when John the Baptist called you the Lamb, he laid out what I might call your “career path.” You willingly gave yourself up to save me, and I bow in humbled gratitude. Amen.

Baptism: Dying and Rising with Christ – Romans 6:1-4, 11 || Before the writing of any of the gospels, the apostle Paul said baptism identifies each Christian with Jesus’ death and resurrection. That, he said, means we have “died” to our old life and now walk in “newness of life.” (He expanded on that idea in Colossians 2:12-3:3.) Baptism is a symbolic act that points to a deep spiritual reality. “The distinctive Christian understanding of baptism in terms of dying and rising is based on the convert’s relationship to Christ who died and rose from the dead.” Scholar N. T. Wright wrote, “Baptism (the mode and sign of entry into the Christian community from the very earliest days to the present) is all about ‘putting off’ an entire way of life. It means dying to the old world and coming alive to God’s new one.... What religious and philosophical attractions in your world are most likely to draw new Christians away from the ‘fulfilment’ they already have in the king?” How has Christ’s gift of grace brought you “alive for God”? Scholar William Barclay noted that we sometimes downplay the impact of baptism. “In modern times we may have tended to stress the fact that acceptance of the Christian way need not make so very much difference in a life. Paul would have said that it ought to make all the difference in the world.” Jesus' grace can deliver you from all that is hurtful, outwardly or inwardly, and give you a fresh start. How can living in that newness shape a life worthy of Jesus' gift?

Prayer: Jesus, to choose you as my “Lord” is to say, “I want you, not my broken habits or instincts, to rule my life.” Thank you for giving me the promise of a new, better way to live. Amen.

Baptize New Believers Into God's Family – Matthew 28:16-20 || Jesus made it plain that his resurrection was not the end of his story, but just the beginning of a new chapter in establishing his eternal kingdom. As people who’ve showed that we believe Jesus is alive by being baptized in his name, we don’t just sit idly by and watch God search for others. Jesus' “marching orders” to his followers were that we be his witnesses, making disciples, baptizing and teaching, actively taking part in God’s work of calling humans back to God. Jesus appointed his disciples, then and now, to share his life-changing forgiveness. “You are witnesses,” he said (Luke 24:48). God would empower them for their mission. It’s still our mission, and we never pursue it alone—Jesus promised to be with us every day. Jesus commission to his followers was to “make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you.” In what ways does believing that Jesus rose from the dead change your heart and life? How does the resurrection make credible for you Jesus' claim to have the divine authority to forgive your sins? In what ways are you gifted to help carry out Jesus' directive? How does Jesus' command to live out his mission shape your understanding of what it means for Resurrection to be “the church”? Jesus gave the commission because “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth.” In the first century, that meant that not even the mighty Roman Empire could block him from being with his followers. And no power on earth today has the authority to make Jesus abandon you. How can trusting Jesus is always with you give you courage, strength and peace?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, amazingly, challengingly, wonderfully, I get to be a part of your strategic plan to reach the world. Grow me into a person who joyfully lives my role in carrying out your marching orders. Amen.