Sabbath: Baptism and Temptations
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 3:1-14; Rom. 6:1-6; Luke 3:21-22; Luke 4:5-8; Isa. 14:13-14; Luke 4:9-13.
Memory Text: And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said,
(Luke 3:22, NKJV).You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased
As we saw last week, Luke provides a list of great historical dignitaries to, we believe, help show that his account of Jesus and John is as real and as historical as these powerful men.
But there’s another important reason to mention these mighty men of power and influence. It is to contrast them with the humble man of the wilderness, John the Baptist, God’s chosen messenger who was to prepare the way
for the most significant event in all human history so far: the coming of Jesus, the world’s Redeemer. How interesting that God chose not one of the world’s great
men to herald the Messiah but one of the lowlier
ones instead.
Scholars put all these historic personalities together and give us a date close to A.D. 27 or 28 for the start of ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus. It is within the historical time frame of these Roman Empire luminaries that Jesus was baptized and received the benediction of Heaven that He is God’s beloved Son
(Luke 3:22). Luke establishes this fact right at the outset, even before he presents to his readers the orderly account
of the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 11.
(24)
I don't have a comment but a question.
how important it was for christ to be baptised, because he is the owner of baptism?
infact, the reason behind christ to be baptised was what?
Jesus was our example in many things. It was also an opportune time for God the Father to show His approval and relationship with the Son to all that were present. Matt 3:13-17
I have heard it said that Jesus was also baptized on our behalf so that if for some reason we are not able to be baptized (thief on cross) that Jesus' baptism is imputed to us.
Isn't that there is going to be babtism for those who are like the thief on the cross when we get to new Jerusalm! I think Christ's baptism was an example to all those who followed him.
Good question Pandelani- "the reason behind christ to be baptised was what?"
First of all i agree to the recent replies to your comment.
1. Jesus was our example
2. It was an opportunity for God to show His relationship and approval of His Son to those that were present.
The point i will add to that is that this event (Baptism) is a very import prophetic marker of the 2300 days prophecy that God through Gabriel revealed to Daniel more than 400 years before.
More importantly for Jews because from that 2300 years, 490 years was allotted to them to put an end to their sins (Daniel 9:24- 27). The baptism or anointing of Jesus marks the last 7 years the Jews have left in their time of probation. Their probationary time ended on 34AD when they sealed their fate at the stoning of Stephen and they received their judgment in 70AD when the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.
If Jesus was not baptized then;
1. He would not be the Messiah
2. He would not have fulfilled the prophecy he gave Daniel through Gabriel
3. John would have not have received the sign of whom He was preparing the way for (John 1:33, 34).
4. The Jews who were students of prophecy would fail to see the prophetic marker for their last 7 years of probationary time.
5. This would also affect our pioneers who were studying the fulfillment of the 2300 days prophecy of Daniel 8:14.
I hope that these few points may help answer your question concerning the Baptism of our blessed Lord Jesus.
God Bless
Paul, I fail to see any connection between the baptism of Jesus
and anything in Daniel 8 or 9. The anointing in Daniel 9:24 is a place rather than a person. The Most Holy was in the temple that was rebuilt per versions and commentaries other than the KJV. Jesus was and is the Messiah from birth. That was why He was named Jesus. Matt 1:21 and Immanuel, God with us verse 23 and Savior, Luke 2:11. The Holy Spirit was the source of His life as a human. In answer to John's objection, Jesus said, paraphrased, Do it because it is the right thing for (us) to do. AS an example seems to fit.
Mr Paul Blanke,
Thanks for your thoughts. Yes you are right that the most holy is a place and that Jesus was our saviour from birth and that His baptism was an example for all that would by faith follow Him. The term Messiah is used 2 times in the book of Daniel chapter 9 verses 25 and 26. This is the prophecy of the 7 weeks (49 years) and the 62 weeks (434 years) 457BC being the starting point and 27AD being the year when shall be the Messiah the Prince (Daniel 9:25).
In the new testament the term Messias is used 2 times, and both are mentioned after the baptism of Christ (John 1:41; John 4: 25).
I may be wrong when i wrote that "if Jesus was not baptized, He would not have been the messiah" If i am wrong then i stand corrected.
Now the question, why did Gabriel told Daniel to write that after the 7 weeks and 62 weeks shall be the Messiah the Prince?
Sister White wrote: "Christ's life had been so retired and secluded at Nazareth that John had not a personal acquaintance with him, and he did not positively know that he was the Messiah...The Lord had shown him that the Messiah would be pointed out to him by a distinct sign; when this should be done, then John could present him to the world as the long-expected Messiah, the Lamb of God, that was to take away the sin of the world." {2SP 58.1}
From this I understand that the fulfillment of Daniel 9: 25 is that after the 7 weeks and 62 weeks comes to an end in 27AD, then the Messiah would be publicly revealed by John "The forerunner" of the Messiah.
Mr. Blanke you said that you "fail to see any connection between the baptism of Jesus and anything in Daniel 8 or 9."
I don't know about you sir but i believe that yes there is a connection between the baptism of our Lord Jesus (27AD) and the prophecy of Daniel 9 which is a cut off from the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14.
God Bless
Hi Paul, thank you for your contribution to this topic, however if Jesus was not the anointed one then the Bible would not be true, and therefore could not be the Word of God. Also it cannot be authentic, because Isiah 8: 20, reminded us that to the Law and the Testimonies if it is not in accordance with what was written before there is no light in it. In other words what ever we accept to be truth must be measured by scripture, and scripture only. Jesus also testified, His words are truth. John 17: 17. I would suggest that you do some more research on this particular section and as you study revelation will come, but if this is not the truth about the anointed one then our hope will be in vane. We have to be careful also that we are not giving the devil, thumb up, to be the one that was anointed, instead of Jesus. This is one of the Core Message within the concept of the Adventist message and remain unchangeable for all times, because truth cannot change,as Jesus cannot change. We may verify our approach, but cannot change the principles. From everlasting to everlasting Jesus is God.
Paul, I think I understand what you are saying. As I understand it the title, "Messiah" literally means "anointed, anointed one" which is basically what "Christ" means. Jesus testified that the Father anointed Him for ministry (Lk 4:18) and Acts also testifies to the same thing (Acts 4:27; Acts 10:38). The problem is that I can find no place in the Gospels where Jesus was specifically anointed except at the baptism when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove. That seems to be the thrust of Acts 10:38, "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit" (NKJV).
Further the text in Dan 9 that says, "That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks" (Dan. 9:25 NKJV). Just happens to be within one year of the baptism of Jesus according to the historical record Luke gives. The coincidences are just too great for me to ignore them.
That doesn't at all mean that Jesus didn't have the ministry of the Holy Spirit before the baptism but it does say that Jesus was officially and ceremonially commissioned and anointed for ministry at the Baptism when he was about 30 years of age, when men could be called rabbi according to Jewish custom.
thanx a lot
wooow! You're "the man" Paul. bless You
In Luke 2:40 it states that "...the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him". I seems to me that at that stage Jesus had not yet taken ownership of the Holy Spirit, it only mentions that he was strong in the spirit (small "s")that is His human spirit was strong.
Baptism is symbolic of life and death, the death and resurrection of Jesus,In His case a future event, in our case, the passing away of our old self and being replaced by a newness of life in Christ. So Jesus was baptized to; firstly to fulfill prophesy,secondly, to receive the Holy Spirit' and thirdly to give us an example and a paradigm of what is involved in the "new birth" as Jesus explained to Nicodemus (John 3:3-5).Furthermore, it is done publicly to testify that this person has undergone rebirth in the Lord Jesus Christ and to serve as an invitation to those watching to do likewise.
I'm sure there are many people who may like to comment on this, but these are my thoughts, God bless you all.
John, first I don't understand what you mean by, "ownership of the Holy Spirit." Are you saying that when Jesus was baptized that He had control of the Holy Spirit from that point on?
Concerning baptism I think there are several ways we can look at it. How you view it is the traditional way Adventists have always viewed baptism based on Paul's use of the subject in Rom 6:4. The point Paul was making in that part of his letter can be summarized in his question, "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Rom. 6:2 NKJV). It can also be viewed as symbolic of the immersion of the Holy Spirit in one's life.
Whenever I want to understand baptism I usually go to its foundation which is found at the laver in the sanctuary. That item was placed in the courtyard and used for ritual cleansings. Further if we combine that with a couple of Jesus' statements about water (Jn 7:38-39; Jn 4:10,14) and a vision Ezekiel had (Eze 47) we can gain the understanding that the water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and that when we are submersed in it, it washes away the defilement of sin much like the refinement by fire which is another symbol of the Holy Spirit. That is how I view things like the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Mat 3:11; Acts 1:5) as a cleansing. It is the same as justification or as the removal of the filthy garments of Joshua the high priest in Zech 3. In this way when we are baptized it becomes a statement of our acceptance of the cross and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
This way of looking at it is opposed to our traditional way of viewing it from a sanctification point of view.
I need clarity on this issue: to be baptized by fire and holy spirit what's the different, who actually receive it and how will one knowns that she/he has been baptized by fire
hi guys a collegue who isn't an adventist asked me for a verse which stipulates tht saturday is the true sabbath, i only gave matt28:1. Get me more
Hi Rueben, you gave him a good verse.
Just to note that there really isn't a dispute as to the order of the days - the first day of the week being Sunday. I have seen in more recent times calendars with the first day of the week being Monday but historically there has never been confusion about which day is the first and which the seventh. In fact in other languages the name for Saturday sounds a lot like Sabbath e.g. Sabado in Spanish or sabado feira in Portuguese.
However, genesis indicates very clearly that the seventh day God rested and made holy.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made (Genesis 2:2-3 KJV)
Then, God gives a reminder in the Ten Commandments,
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." (Exodus 20:8-11 NIV)
I hope this helps.
Reuben,
The verse you've mentioned (Matt 28:1) and Daniel's reply is good enough to convince an honest seeker for truth to believe. All we need is two or 3 witnesses to establish a fact according to the bible (Matt 18: 16, 2 Corinthians 13:1; Heb 10: 28).
Note: Jesus baptism and Messiahship cannot be disputed because He had more than 2 witnesses (True Witnesses).
1. The Father
2. Holy Spirit
3. Angels
4. John the baptist
5. Prophecy
6. Simeon
7. Elisabeth
and the list goes on.
But the biggest witness was in the life of Jesus Himself, so the biggest witness and influence to the world that the Sabbath or any other sacred teaching is true is seen in the life of those who believe those truth.
God Bless your personal witnessing brother Reuben.
Hi Reuben,
Here are a few more verses that may be of help:
Mark 16:1, 2; Luke 23:56; 24:1;Exodus 16:26
In the Bible, the Sabbath is designated as the "seventh day" while the day we know as Sunday is referred to as "the first day of the week".
For God, the first day of the week is a regular working day like Monday to Friday but the Sabbath is His day of rest. He called it the "Sabbath of the Lord Your God" (Deuteronomy 5:14),not "the Sabbath of the Jews." The seventh day is the only day, Jesus claimed ownership of. He is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). And He made it clear that the Sabbath was made for man verse 28). The word used for "man" is "anthrōpos" which means a human being.
Jesus kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16).
It was Paul's custom to keep the Sabbath (Acts 13:13, 14, 42, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4.
There is no scripture anywhere in the Bible that says that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day to the first. Something as important as that would have been imparted to Jesus' followers. Jesus had ample opportunity to let them know if there was such a change. There was not and that's why His followers continued to keep the seventh day Sabbath. The seventh day Sabbath is important because it identifies the Creator and His purpose for setting aside the day. The first day of the week was important simply because it was the day Jesus rose from the dead as He said He would but it was never meant to be observed as a day of worship. The seventh day Sabbath was instituted by God Himself while man instituted Sunday as the new day of worship.
Hope this helps. May the Lord continue to be with you as you share His truth with others.
While the lesson author presents the contrast between Jesus with the political luminaries of that time it is also interesting that Luke places Jesus' baptism within one year that the Messiah was to be anointed according to Dan 9:24-25. That fact might also partially answer the question of why Jesus told John, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt. 3:15 NKJV). It was not only symbolic but also fulfilling prophesy.
Scholars well know that Luke wrote his gospel for the Gentile world not for Jews. Unlike Matthew who, as a Jew, is interested in establishing Jesus according to prophesy on the basis of genealogies, it is only Luke who implicitly nails Jesus ministry to the time prophesies of Daniel that establish Jesus as the Messiah on that basis.
While baptism has meaning for us I would like to suggest it had an entirely different meaning to Jesus. Kings and priests were routinely anointed much like the ceremonial laying on of hands we do in placing a person in a leadership role in the church. The Messiah was also to be anointed at the proper time signifying Heaven's stamp of approval.
If Christ was not baptized could that met that there is no salvation
So was it necessary for Christ to be baptized? Because He was without sin
taken from spirit of prophecy:
Jesus did not receive baptism as a confession of guilt on His own account. He identified Himself with sinners, taking the steps that we are to take, and doing the work that we must do. His life of suffering and patient endurance after His baptism was also an example to us.{DA 111.2}
To Reuben, I had that question poised to me one day by a Catholic friend. In fact, she stated if I could prove to her Saturday was the Sabbath she would keep it. My mind immediately went to the fourth commandment and so I took her there. It states...six days shall thou labor, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, we went to our calendars and counted...Sunday, Monday, and so on to Saturday, and lo and behold, it fell on the seventh day. Although the Holy Spirit answered her question and she believed it, she did not keep her word. No problem, I always ask people, if you were told on your job to pick up your check on the seventh day or you could not get it, when would you go? They instinctly say Saturday. Thereby, they answer their own question, and are left with the Holy Spirit to convict them. Pray and God will convict them, I pray they will hear His voice. God Bless.
Regarding baptism, Jesus was baptised because it is what we must do, it is our declaration of dying to the old and being reborn to the Heavenly. He pleased His Father, so much we. It indicates we have made a decision to live for our Lord and Saviour, and He was a forerunner of that decision. Follow Him and we can't and won't go wrong.
Reuben,
In addition to the texts mentioned in the previous comments, I also would present to your friend evidence of the substitution of Sunday as the “official” day of worship. Note this section of The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine:
Q. Which is the Sabbath day?
A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, (AD 336) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.
Q. Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Roman emperor Constantine, a sun-worshiper, professed his conversion to Christianity, although his subsequent actions suggest that the “conversion” was more of a political move than a genuine change of heart. Constantine proclaimed himself Bishop of the Catholic Church and then enacted the first civil law regarding Sunday observance in A.D. 321.
Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her!
I venture to say that many who worship on Sunday are not aware that they do so based on a political decision by Constantine.
Additionally, I direct you to the website, “www.sabbathtruth.com”, which is a ministry of Amazing Facts. It has a frequently-asked-questions section and a Sabbath History section which will be of benefit as you prepare to witness to your friend about the Sabbath.
My prayers are with you as you share the truths of this very important topic.
I thank God for this Truths. Jesus is our example. Follow Christ's examples and you will never go wrong.
We can not tell.” This answer was a falsehood. But the priests saw the position they were in, and falsified in order to screen themselves. John the Baptist had come bearing witness of the One whose authority they were now questioning. He had pointed Him out, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. He had baptized Him, and after the baptism, as Christ was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God like a dove rested upon Him, while a voice from heaven was heard saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17. – {COL 274.2}