Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be for now, for it is proper to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved with whom I am well pleased.”

So what else is necessary to convince anyone that Jesus was the messiah? Wrapped up in these verses are John the Baptist immediately recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, coupled with reference to prophecy of the coming messiah of the old testament.

A voice from heaven declaring Jesus as God’s son! The Spirit of God descending upon Jesus like a dove! How much evidence then or today does a person need to believe?

The people of Jesus’s time looked for a military leader to defeat all their enemies. It didn’t happen then, and the Romans eventually defeated their uprising. Jesus is not that kind of Messiah.

Jesus personified God the Father’s voice here on earth. He taught and performed miracles so that all people would believe. Many did believe, while there are those then and today who do not.

Jesus gathered his disciples around him, and from him they witnessed and learned. The disciples questioned him and wanted to know. As common people, the disciples must have been as astonished as anyone else then or today at the power of Jesus and his mastery of the Old Testament upon which they had been raised. Jesus was there from the beginning. He knew the prophets of the Old Testament and met with them on the mountain top in front of select disciples.

To be among the crowd on the banks of the river Jordan, to see the dove, to hear the declaration by the voice of God the Father! Wow!

Let us pray.

God in heaven, we are your voice on earth today and tomorrow. Let our actions and words glorify you in our daily lives as we spread your love, near, far and wide. Amen.

This devotion written and recorded by Sam Barto.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.