l        Today, I'm primarily talking about Jesus baptism and Kingship. 

l        Most structural understanding or basic purpose in the scriptures comes from the beginning and the end of the individual books of the bible, and the gospels are no exception. Jesus baptism is located at the beginning of all the gospels. 

l        Less than a chapter of information is given but a wealth of things were imparted at that moment.

l        I believe it was as important as his birth, death and resurrection because at this moment he was blessed to walk in his calling for the next three or so years and into eternity.

l        Some of the info and interesting little facts you will have been exposed to no doubt, but you may not have been exposed to how and why these major revelations and events came to amalgamate at one point in history to catapult Jesus ministry and the Kingdom of God into the 2^nd age – the age we live in.

 

l        When Jesus came down to the Jordan to be baptised he was already a King, King of the Jews.

l        One problem we have with familiarity is not just that it breeds contempt but that it can also (if you grow up with it) ruin the meaning of a word.

l        Jesus was and is King of the Jews. He is the eternal King. The end of the line.

l        From the line of the Kings of the tribe of Judah a direct descendant from Israel's favourite king - David. 

l        If there had been a royal birthmark in the shape of a crown on the backside of King David, Jesus' earthly father, King Joseph (Mary's husband) would have had that mark also.

l        Jesus admits to Pilate, not long before he was tortured to death, that he was a King in all four gospels.

l        Remember the Magi looking for a baby king? King Herod was serious about killing out that king and any line coming from him because Herod was not from Jewish heritage and let alone from the line of Jewish kings. (Matt 2)

l        A real king would have been a huge threat to him and the current Roman system. Not to mention that this man was a cold blooded killer with many of his friends and close relatives executed by him, among other innocent people (according to many historical documents). So he heartlessly murdered many babies to make sure he got that king. But he didn't. Ha ha.

 

l        As christians we all find it easy to believe that Jesus is the Son of God the Father – it's his main title.  

l        Now Jesus was and is a Jew. The Jewish people in the ancient world, and many today, would have bar mitzvahs for the boys and bat mitzvahs for the girls. This was the ceremony and celebration of the rite of passage to becoming adults usually around the age of 12. At one point in the ceremony the son is raised up on a chair held by some uncles (or some people like that while) everyone is dancing, the father points at the son and says repeatedly, “This in my beloved son in whom I am well pleased!”   Now it is highly likely that Jesus never received that blessing as a young man because he had been conceived out of wedlock. He may have had a ceremony with some reduced formalities.

l        Now going back to the baptism - as the dove settled on Jesus the voice of THE Father come out of heaven in front of all those people who had been attending bar mitzvahs since their infancy heard the words spoken over Jesus “This is MY beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased”. Every one there knew what just happened. He just became an initiated man by Father God. What's gonna happen now? There would have been some great expectancy in the air I think, to say the least.

 

 

l        Traditional Christianity has centralised much of the teaching of the baptism around this part of the event.

l        The Holy Spirit descending on Jesus being represented by a dove coming down upon him. In the O.T. the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of God. You will see many times when the Lord wanted to perform a specific task through a person the “Spirit of the Lord came upon him” statement is often made, particularly when it is a supernatural task (take Sampson the bibles strong man, for example). And we know Jesus had a lot of those.

 

 

l        Jesus came to be baptised by his cousin John at the river Jordan. 

l        But why? John baptised with the baptism of repentance, and what did Jesus have to repent of? He was sinless. He fulfilled every part of the law, not breaking any part of it and after all even John said, “I need to be baptised by you.” 

l        I believe the answer lies in Jesus' answer, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” And also in who John the Baptist was.

l        So who was he? In Matt 3:3 John quotes Isaiah saying it is talking about himself, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'make ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight!'” So he facilitated the coming of the Lord. And this is how he did it.

l        John was a cousin of Jesus through his mother's side. Both of John's parents were from the tribe of Levi, descendants of Aaron, and his father was a priest serving in the temple. So John was of the sons of Aaron.

l        At that time in Jewish history due to the Roman occupation of Israel, the priesthood was fairly perverted. The Romans knew if the Jews had people in the office of the High Priest that were the correct appointed priests they would have constant trouble. And if you read your Torah (the books of the Law) you can see that they were right! So, the High Priest was appointed by the Romans to make sure that things went as smoothly as possible but still to a level were the Jewish people could function in their ways and not get too upset and possibly revolt. Kind of what like the yanks are doing in Iraq establishing a government there. So this means that Caiaphas who was High Priest in those years probably paid his way into that position of authority. 

l        Now, there were people in the priesthood who were actually descended from Aaron working in the temple. John's dad being one of them. I believe that John the Baptist, by blood lineage, was supposed to the High Priest in those years, and through his baptising Jesus, he passed that office of high priest to Jesus, and I'll explain why.

l        The Jordan River has always been a place of three main phenomenon: change (Israelites walking into promise land), miracles (parting of the Jordan by the priest carrying the ark), multiplication (Elisha getting his double portion from Elijah).  The Jordan was mentioned constantly through the old testament with many famous stories. Many people who have been there even today will say how it is different from one side to the other (google earth). This is the place where John was baptising – it was no mistake or coincidence. 

l        Now at some point King Jesus becomes the Great High Priest right? According to the book of Hebrews several times. Heb: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

l        But we have a problem. Jesus is of the line of the Kings who were from the tribe of Judah and the priests come from the tribe of Levi. At some point Jesus seems to have broken the rules. 

l        Whenever a High Priest retired and passed the position on to the next one he would perform a full water baptism on that man. So Jesus, at the river of change, comes to John and is baptised by him receiving the authority of High Priest. At that point! Not at his death and resurrection.

l        If you look at the book Hebrews that's not all that happened. He became High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Heb 5:10

l        Remember who Melchizedek was from Genesis14:18? The priest of the most high God who Abram paid tithes to. But, he was also a King. 

l        And do you know what Melchizedek means? King of Righteousness. 

l        So Jesus who is a King becomes a High Priest to the order of King of Righteousness. 

l        Melchizedek was also a gentile so the priesthood and Kingship is no longer confined to the Levites and Israelites, but has been made available to the whole world!

l        So now as Jesus comes out of the water He is King of the Jews, King of Righteousness, Great High Priest, initiated Son of the most high God, full of the Holy Spirit.

l        Not bad for a few seconds of obedience.

l        What does this all mean? I'm glad you asked. We have been given these titles to draw an analogy of something that we already know and make it meaningful.

 

l        Because of the authority Adam lost, to Satan at the fall, the King came to get it back. 

l        He was able to because he was a sinless king – King of Righteousness. 

l        So he could grab back (what Adam had given away) and keep dominion over the earth and sin and its effects – i.e. death. 

 

l        In Jesus' day, from the moment you had your Bar or Bat Mitzvah, in which you recieved Father's blessing, you could do the works of your Father, for example working the family business or running a household. 

l        It's no different today actually. Your father has that authority in your life whether he knows it or not. (John 5:19, 14:9)

l        Jesus did not perform one miracle or do anything in his ministry until he got that blessing.

 

l        The High Priest's main job was to atone for the sins of the nation of Israel. 

l        He also had access to the Holy of Holies once a year on Yom Kippur or The Day of Atonement. 

l        So by becoming the High Priest at the beginning of his ministry Jesus had access to the holiest place in God.

l        The place where you experience the ultimate intimacy with God and encounter the impossibilities of the eternal God of the universe and bring them into the realm of time.

 

l        God's presence. 

l        For any major work of God to be carried out it always requires his presence.(Gen 1:2) 

l        And with that presence comes his power and all the character of God. Meaning: the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit. 1Cor:12, Gal 5:22

 

SUMMARY CONTINUED

l        If you look around you can actually see these facets within different churches and denominations at work now. 

l        One body of believers will focus on the majesty (i.e. Kingship and authority) of Jesus, another; the baptism of the Holy Spirit (which you see in many of the pentecostal type chuches), the Father's heart type teachings and Sonship is getting many churches interests now, and lately many people have started becoming interested in and operating in the Glory of God (i.e. Holy of Holies) type experiences. 

 

l        I believe each facet of Jesus' encounter with God at his baptism was vital to his success in fulfilling His calling.

l        If Jesus had only the Holy Spirit and not the Fathers blessing, he would not have had the confidence in himself to perform the works of the spirit.

l        If Jesus was a King but didn't have the Spirit on him, he would not have the power and the presence to back up his authority.

l        If Jesus had the Father's Blessing but was not the great high priest, he would not have had the access to heaven, to bring heaven down to earth.

l        My belief is that God is wanting to bring all these things together like he did with Jesus and he is in the process of restoring this now.

l        Now my main point in teaching this is: If Jesus needed ALL these encounters before he embarked on his ministry, how much more then do we need encounters like these before we can expect to see the type of life that Jesus lived being walked out by us?