Jesus revealed

 John has an established ministry, he is known, has a nickname (The Baptist), and a following. John is even know (and disliked) by Herod, so the leaders of the area know about him. You could say that John is pretty famous. People certainly flock to see and hear him. Then, during one of John’s teaching and baptising sessions, Jesus turns up. He seems like he is just one of the crowd, also listening and responding to John. Yet John knows who Jesus really is.

Matthew 3:13–15 (ESV): 

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

What an honour for John to baptise Jesus, i am sure the privilege of doing that would have never been forgotten by him. John knew Jesus was The Son of God - he had known that before he was born! Now, here is Jesus waiting to be re-birthed through the water of repentance, although no wrong could ever have been found in him. Through being baptised, Jesus honoured and affirmed John and his ministry. This must have been the highlight for John out of all the things he had said, seen and done, all of the people he had spoken to and all the lives that had been transformed through hearing about God’s kingdom. Baptising Jesus and the experience that followed must have given him great joy. What John had always known about Jesus was being revealed now to others. 

Matthew 3:16–17 (ESV): 

‘when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”’

Can you imagine that? John has probably baptised thousands of people by this point, none ever had a response like this. ‘The heavens were opened’ - what does that mean? What did that look like to the other people there? Then, ‘a voice form heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”’ Can you imagine being there? What would you have made of that? I wonder if John got to baptise any more people that day after that experience. It seems like no more words need to be said! John’s belief and understanding of who Jesus is, was confirmed in a mighty way. John must have celebrated! He had lived his life knowing this truth that seemed like a big secret, and he could only talk about the Messiah to come in a way that did not point directly to Jesus until it was God’s time to reveal it. The time was now! Have you ever waited a long time for something great, and when it finally happens - oh what joy! Relief, joy, contentment, satisfaction, i am sure John felt them all. He was living on the Earth at the same time as The Messiah, and not only that, he already knew and loved him! John had been waiting for this revelation, and he had seen it. Jesus time of ministry has come. 

The experience of Jesus baptism is a lovely moment, Jesus affirms John and God affirms Jesus. God reveals who Jesus is, and that He is pleased with him. I wonder what people made of it, and if people at that moment then started following Jesus. I am sure this would have been talked about amongst friends and families, the news spreading about John and Jesus. What is your response to the revelation of Jesus? 

Have you followed him into the waters of baptism? Do you acknowledge that he is the Son of God? Are you waiting for him to reveal himself in your life? For, he already has. John knew who Jesus was before this moment. Jesus has already shown up in your life too and has been revealing who he is - have you seen him and accepted him for who he is yet? John did, and his life was dedicated to preparing people to meet, hear and respond to Jesus. What is your response to Jesus being revealed to you as the Son of God?

God has 'worked salvation'

Psalm 98:1–9 (ESV):  

1  Oh sing to the Lord a new song, 

for he has done marvellous things! 

  His right hand and his holy arm 

have worked salvation for him. 

 2  The Lord has made known his salvation; 

he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 

 3  He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness 

to the house of Israel. 

  All the ends of the earth have seen 

the salvation of our God. 

 4  Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; 

break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 

 5  Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, 

with the lyre and the sound of melody! 

 6  With trumpets and the sound of the horn 

make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! 

 7  Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 

the world and those who dwell in it! 

 8  Let the rivers clap their hands; 

let the hills sing for joy together 

 9  before the Lord, for he comes 

to judge the earth. 

  He will judge the world with righteousness, 

and the peoples with equity.

What an uplifting psalm, one that inspires praise for God has done ‘marvellous things’! What are the marvellous things you see that He has done? 

One of those marvellous, incredible things is that God has worked hard to bring salvation. God put in effort, and went through pain in order to allow you to enjoy salvation. It hurt Him and was difficult for Him to allow His son, Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice to abolish all sin. At the moment of Jesus death, for the first time in history, God and His son were separated. It was not an easy task to plan His son's death, but it was necessary for us to know forgiveness. God ‘worked salvation’ and suffered for our freedom. It was difficult, but God did it anyway. God wanted to achieve a way for all people to be made righteous. So, He planned it, put in effort and persevered even when it broke His heart. He wanted to ensure that there was a way for you to be free from sin and the associated guilt and shame. 

Yet, God’s salvation plan did not end there. He didn’t let salvation be a one time only thing. The pathway of salvation hasn’t withered, gone out of date, or been lost in decades past. God has ensured that all people of every generation, throughout history, and well into the future, can find their way to Him. For He has ‘made known his salvation’. The life, birth, death and resurrection of Jesus are not secret. There are historical eye witness accounts of it and people who follow God explain it. God’s salvation plan has been worked out and revealed for centuries. God is making sure that ‘All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God’.  He wants everyone to have the opportunity to know forgiveness and restoration through salvation, it is freely and universally available because of God’s love and faithfulness. God has worked salvation!

Interestingly, the same verse that tells us that salvation was worked out by God also says that salvation is ‘for him’, for God. Have you ever considered that? It is easy and natural for us to accept that salvation is for us as we get all the benefit of forgiveness, acceptance, being made new plus a restored relationship with God. It seems like it is all for us because of God’s great generosity and love. So what does salvation bring about for God? 

Well, God has always wanted a family. He started with Adam and Eve, and that was great for a while, but they sinned. Then time went on and Noah was saved out of the rest of the Earth, then we hear about Sodom and Gommorah. The pattern of humanities descent into sin and chaos is repeated throughout history. Yet so is the fact that God rescues, restores and favours a few. He notices those who follow Him the best they can despite the despair and dysfunction around them. So, He takes care of them and saves them even though they are not perfect. Why? because God wants a big family. He wants to be with people who know, love and appreciate Him, is that not what most of us want too? (No surprise there as we are made in His image!). This is why God has worked hard to bring salvation. He wanted to make a way for you to belong to Him so that you can enjoy His presence and He can enjoy yours. Salvation gives you the opportunity to know Him and approach Him as His son/daughter and that is what He has always wanted, this is why salvation is for Him.

What a reason to be joyful and appreciative of God’s kindness and great love! The whole of creation sings, claps and testifies of His goodness because He is righteous, fair and kind. How do you make your happiness known because your God loves you and has ‘worked salvation’ for you?

Do you judge fairly?

 Psalm 82:1–8 (ESV):  

1  God has taken his place in the divine council; 

in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: 

 2  “How long will you judge unjustly 

and show partiality to the wicked? Selah 

 3  Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; 

maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. 

 4  Rescue the weak and the needy; 

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 

 5  They have neither knowledge nor understanding, 

they walk about in darkness; 

all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 

 6  I said, “You are gods, 

sons of the Most High, all of you; 

 7  nevertheless, like men you shall die, 

and fall like any prince.” 

 8  Arise, O God, judge the earth; 

for you shall inherit all the nations! 

This psalm is a great reminder of the responsibility we have to one another. God has created and equipped each of us to bear responsibility on Earth for justice. He has delegated us authority in whatever areas we have jurisdiction, whether that be; in the family, at work, in the community or even as a judge/leader in some capacity. Yet God is in supreme authority over all things to ensure justice is done on an overall and eternal level (v1). 

There are several things you need to know about justice that Psalm 82 reveals:

1) It is a delegated authority that you have from God to ensure justice is done for all people. 

How are you using that God-given authority and conscience to ensure you ‘give justice to the weak…..maintain the right of the afflicted’? 

2) You are expected to treat everyone fairly (v3-4). 

Do not discount people because they are different to you, or others speak negatively of them. Give everyone a fair chance. Society talks about equality - it is not a new idea - God has instructed us to do this in His word! Have consideration for those who may not present themselves as well as others, be mindful and ask God for discernment as you encounter others in your daily life. If you are kind and fair to everyone, then you are displaying the love and kindness of God.

3) ‘you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you’. You are made in God’s image, under His authority, therefore you are expected to demonstrate justice as He does. 

 It is His instruction, and He has entrusted and equipped each of you to rule, govern, guide, discipline and instruct others in His ways. Humanity is uniquely created to reflect God, His will and His ways, we are all ‘gods, sons of the Most High’. Therefore it is your duty to display God’s character. You are God’s child and you have been created and empowered to do what is right and fair for all people. Therefore be mindful of how you treat and speak about others - they too are created in God’s image, they also are His children, and you are expected to help and support those that need it by exercising your God-given authority to be a fair administrator of justice.

4) At the end of days God will ‘judge the earth’, including you. 

All things on Earth will come under God’s scrutiny as He assesses whether they lived up to His expectations. This includes you as an individual. How will He find you have been living your life? Have you been abiding by His laws and expectations, being fair and just? On that day, God will consider how you have followed Him, and treated people. If that day were today, what would you change? If there is something that you know you would do different, then start doing it. You do not know when this day will come, so live today determined to honour God and bring justice to those around you, one day it will be too late to live different and you will face God and Hid judgement.

servant or son?

At the beginning of Hebrews 3 we see a great comparison of two great men of faith - Moses and Jesus.

The writer shows that both of these highly thought of religious figures were faithful in the house of God.
They were both obedient and faithful. Both are worthy of glory, they are honoured and revered by others. They both conversed with God and had a significant relationship with Him. They both have been essential in building up the household of God through their service and unending faith in God. They both knew who they were, their roles and responsibilities and they recognised the privilege they had in the household. Both Moses and Jesus were all in.

With so much similarity - what actually differentiates these two men?

One is a servant, the other a son. 

Moses knew who he was, he knew he was a servant, and he accepted the role and lived it well. He enjoyed the benefits of the household but realised the limits of his capacity. He served whole-heartedly and enjoyed a close confidential relationship with the master.
Moses was a great precursor to Jesus. He showed as best he could, how to be a part of the household of God. He was faithful and worthy, a honoured member of God’s house, but no matter how great and magnificent a servant he was, he could never own the house or gain the recognition a son does. Moses earned his position through faithful service, obedience and bravery. A servant earns their recognition and authority through acts of service whereas a son is born with it.

The son of God, Jesus, is not only born with authority, but he carries the very DNA of God and shares the same characteristics. The son carries the essence of the father inherently. As the son of the master, he is born to govern and serve and so carries a different authority and standing in the household than a servant.

However this in no way diminishes the role of the servant. A faithful servant is still a revered, loved and trusted servant. It is just that the role and responsibility of a servant and a son differ. Moses could in no way attain the glory of son-hood. Yet, those who trust and believe in Jesus can.

If you know Jesus is the son of God, and you place your life in his hands, as he placed his own life into the hands of the human race, and you know that he died as an innocent man with the weight of your sin on his shoulders, then rose again to prove that he truly is God, and he truly can absolve you of every nasty thing you’ve ever done - if you believe in all of that, then you have the blessed privilege of being in God’s household, not as a servant, but a son.

Are you living in the knowledge that you are no longer a servant but a son?
Do you take seriously the responsibility you have for God's household?
Are you accessing the privilege of access and relationship you are entitled to?