Matthew 3 DEVO: John the Baptizer, Repentance & Jesus’ Baptism

Chapter 3:
What makes a person great? Fame? Wealth? Family heritage? Earning & having $? Academic degrees? Expertise? Athletic ability? Artistic talent? Military office? Potential? If you use these measurements, Jesus was not great. And John was even worse, yet Jesus said of John, “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…” (Matthew 11:11) So what makes a person great?
John’s greatness was related to his calling. He faithfully fulfilled his role of pointing people to Jesus! His message was REPENT – an inner change of heart leading to an outer change in direction. His motive? “The Kingdom is near” – this phrase appears 32 times in Matthew! In other words, “Hey, get your hearts right with God because He’s coming back soon!”
What also made John great was radical lifestyle. The clothes he wore & the food he ate were of little importance. He was on a mission for God and his message was powerful. He addressed everyone and confronted the “religious make-believers” – those who only outwardly spoke of Jesus. “Brood of Vipers” was not a compliment and yet he offered hope, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” True inner repentance always shows itself outwardly.
What made JESUS even GREATER? His greater calling! He too faithfully fulfilled his calling of laying down His life for you & me!!! He is about to begin the ministry He is called to and we see the trinity at work in His Baptism: God the Son: Is baptized, not because he needed to repent but to validate His ministry. God the Holy Spirit: Descends from heaven and gives light. God the Father: Audibly speaks and says, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Up to this point, no old testament sacrifice had ever truly pleased God (because they covered sin, but had not removed it), but now God is pleased, in advance, with the sacrifice His Son would make! Whoah!~ Cool God Stuff!
SO WHAT?!
*All of us want our lives to count, we want to be great in some way or another. So what measurements do you use to determine greatness? Man’s (listed above) or God’s? Use mans and you’ll be disappointed, but use God’s and you can be sure of a life with impact for eternity!
*Jesus & John both fulfilled God’s calling on their lives. Believers in Jesus all have the same calling – To Know Jesus & Make Him Known! Take a sheet of paper and write that phrase at the top. Draw a line down the middle and begin to list on the left side the ways you are working at Knowing Jesus. Then on the right, list ways you are currently working at Making Him Known. How does your list look? Long? Short? Out of balance? Ask God to help you in the needed area so that you can better fulfill your calling!
*Repentance is at the heart of the free forgiveness Jesus offers. The call to Jesus is a call to different thinking & different living. How can you & I “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” today?