Jesus’ baptism is an important event because it is noted in all four Gospels. It is also important because it signals the start of his ministry.
After his baptism, Jesus goes into the wilderness and fasts for forty days. At the end of that time, Jesus is tempted by Satan. While Jesus was divine, he was also human. Therefore, he had the ability to yield to temptation just as we do. The fact that he was able to successfully resist similar temptations from Satan that we experience is an example for us to follow.
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he went to live in Capernaum and started calling the disciples. He began to teach the people and preach “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” All of this started after his baptism.
Scholars and theologians have written volumes on the Baptism of the Lord with many views on it. One of the struggles is “Why did the Son of God who was sinless need the baptism of repentance?”
Bishop Barron wrote: “John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the prophets, correctly discerns that Jesus is the Son of God, but what he finds disconcerting is that this God-man comes to him for baptism: “I should rather be baptized by you.” This reversal – still stunning 2000 years later – is indicative of the Incarnation’s purpose: God’s desire to enter into the state and condition of the sinner out of love.”
Jesus was a unique blending of humanity and divinity into One Being. God, the divine coming to earth to live like us so he could truly understand the trials and temptations that we experience.
The divine side was the great love with which he loved us, even in all our sinfulness. The human side gave Jesus the free will to submit to temptation. Jesus’ love for his Father and his desire to do his Father’s will enabled him to resist the temptations of Satan and overcome them.
What great love God has for us; that he would have his very own son, who was just like him, come to earth and become like one of us in all things including temptation, suffering and death.
The essence of God is love. The love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit from the beginning of time which still flows out to us even today. There is no greater love than the love that God has for each of us. Sometimes we forget how much God loves each person.
God loves the person that we can’t stand to be around. God loves the homeless person on the corner asking for money. We may think that they should go get a job and provide for themselves, but God still loves them, and he loves us too even though we think less of that person in need. Maybe we should share a fast-food gift card with them so they can get a hot meal.
God loves the starving person in Africa whom we don’t even know. God loves the worst criminal on death row whom we want to get the death penalty for their crimes. Our ProLife response is to pray for the person and fight for the end of the death penalty just as much as we fight for the end of abortion.
If God loves all these people, some I can’t stand or wish would go away, and I profess to be a Christian, why can’t I at least pray for them and help them in their journey of life?
