Prism 05: The Water & the Challenge (Matt 3:1-17)

Review—Some big ideas in Matthew 1-2:

• The man Jesus is the Christ, son of David and son of Abraham.
• Yet his lineage (as Matthew relates it) honors a number of women.
• The Messiah to be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7), in Bethlehem (Micah 5), nearly murdered (Jeremiah 31), to depart from Egypt (Hosea 11), and to be a Nazarene (shoot, branch).
• Outsiders often grasp the truth when insiders don’t.
• There can be only one King in our lives.
• The magi devoted considerable time, expense, and energy to finding Christ. How about you and me?
• The Messiah fulfills the Scriptures

• John prepares God’s people for a sort of second return from the Exile.
• Or a second Exodus.
• A preparation for a royal arrival.
• Matt 11:7-14 confirms the point that John is the "Elijah to come."
• Isaiah 40 and Mal 3-4 prophesy the coming of a herald, and then the Lord.

Why was Jesus baptised?

• Perhaps because he would be bearing our sins (a proleptic action)?
• Or to emphasise the importance of baptism?
• Does this make me uneasy?

Questions for thought:

• Am I, like John the Baptist, doing my part to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord?
• Am I scandalised by the humility of Jesus Christ?
• Do we appreciate that it is Jesus only to whom we should look? (Not Moses, Elijah, Peter, or Paul? Not ourselves, family, friends, or church leaders?)
• Do I remember how the Father chose me, smiled on me, and made me his son or daughter in my own baptism?
• What would John the Baptist say to us—About our traditions and mindset and religious pride? If we'd lived back then, would we have identified with him, or dismissed him as an extremist, or managed somehow to otherwise ignore his message?

Next message: Temptations Three (Matt 4). 

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