Finding resilience, joy and our identity in Jesus Christ
Rhashell D. Hunter’s Horizons Bible Study
Lesson 8: Matthew 3:1-17, Mark 1:1-11, Luke 3:1-22, John 1:19-34 — Jesus’ Baptism
My name, Rosalind, has several meanings: “like a rose” or “a gentle horse or gentle strength.” As a child, I read a book about the meanings of names that informed me that “Rosalind” meant “like a rose or a deep-sea monster.” I have found no reference to the deep-sea monster since then!
Dictionaries of names might influence how we see ourselves, but it is usually the messages we receive as children that define us. We are labeled as smart or class clown, hard-working or not quite up to par, messy, or tidy — the list can go on. (How were you evaluated as a child?) In school, we navigate the rocky road of friendship, of who is included or excluded, what we are good at and what we can’t seem to master. Few of us leave childhood without scars. We all experience detours and wrong turns along the way. But underneath all the words we hear about ourselves, all of us long for the words of acceptance and love.
We know so little of Jesus’ life. We know of a faithful mother open to the voice of God, and we know of Joseph, righteous and decent, a star-studded birth, and the flight from a murderous Herod. He grew up in an occupied land. Taught to pray at least three times a day, Scripture was his daily food. Poverty was an everyday encounter, and riches were granted to few. We don’t read of temper tantrums or scraps with other kids, but Jesus probably had them. We don’t see his growing awareness that he is meant for something more than a respectable life as a carpenter.
What we do see is that, with the arrival of John the Baptist, there is excitement, a growing God movement of repentance and expectation. People ask John how they are to live, and John answers, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none.” “Collect no more than your due.”
“Do not misuse the power given you and be content with your wages.”
People are so fired up about this God movement that they line up to be baptized, Jesus among them. Jesus is baptized as a sign of solidarity with human beings and obedience to God. Jesus’ baptism is empowerment. After baptism, Jesus is praying. The heavens open, and the Holy Spirit descends upon him. A voice strongly declares, “You are my Son, my beloved. With you I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, and Luke 3:22). Roman Caesars claimed to be sons of God. In Psalm 2, God declares to the king of Israel, “You are my son, today I have begotten you” (v. 7). To Rome and to Israel, the name “God’s son” was a political title. But Jesus, as the beloved Son of God, brings a different power. Jesus will be a servant to bring forth justice, to be a light to the world, to open the eyes that are blind, to feed the hungry and include the outcast.
“You are my Son, the Beloved.” “Beloved” is a word we rarely use, but we know its meaning. It is parents or grandparents gazing with delight at a newborn baby. Beloved is the intimacy and sacrifice of a good marriage that will hold on for better or worse. If we are beloved by another person, it does not mean that we always get things right or get everything we want. In fact, love wants what is best for other people, even if it means confrontation with how we have fallen short. To be beloved is to be treasured by another. What do you think about God treasuring you?
In baptism, we are claimed as God’s own children and joined to Christ’s body, the church. God accepts us as we are and summons out who we can become, individually and as a church. We are not only named, but we are also called to a new way of life. We grow in prayer and knowledge of Scripture. We seek to be lights to the world in kindness and courage when we stand against inhumane practices and laws. We do not submit to the slavery of materialism. As the baptismal vow says, “We turn away from sin and renounce evil and its power in the world.”
As baptized people, we put Christ first. Meeting a church member for the first time, I asked a man to tell me a bit about himself. He said, “I am first a Christian, then a husband and a father, and then a financial advisor.” Above every other allegiance, we follow Jesus first and foremost.
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