In the weeks after Christmas, we are in the season of Epiphany. This begins with the arrival of the Magi which we consider the first glimpse of God’s incarnation to the world.
This first week of our series feels like the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. John the Baptist has been proclaiming the forgiveness of sins in baptism, and Jesus arrives to be baptized as well. This baptismal tradition continues today, and in the United Methodist tradition we consider this a beginning of a life of faith and spirituality in community. For many of us, this changes us profoundly.
Matthew 3:13-17 (CEB)
13 At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River so that John would baptize him. 14 John tried to stop him and said, “I need to be baptized by you, yet you come to me?”
15 Jesus answered, “Allow me to be baptized now. This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness.”
So John agreed to baptize Jesus. 16 When Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on him. 17 A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him.”
Consider these questions:
- Why do you think John the Baptist tried to deter Jesus from being baptized (v14)?
- What happened after Jesus’ baptism? Why might this be significant?
- What might it mean that Jesus’ baptism by John would “fulfill all righteousness?”
- Have you ever participated in a Remembrance of Baptism service? What significance (if any) did it carry for you? How do you think baptism might serve as the foundation for discipleship?
- If Jesus was without sin, why do you think he was baptized?
- In this coming year, how might we learn to live out our baptismal promises anew?