Matthew 3:17 A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.”

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The crowd of people were buzzing with excitement. The wilderness in Judea was not usually an exciting place, but today a crowd had gathered to hear a man speak. They had heard about this man who traveled from place to place telling people to turn away from their sins and turn to God. They were wondering if this man was the Messiah. They were expecting a person to come and save them from their troubles. They called this man the Messiah which means savior.

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When he stood up to speak, a hush came over the crowd. He was tall and broad. His hair was long and wild. He wore rough clothes woven out of camel hair. It was said that he ate locusts which were like grasshoppers and honey. Yuck! Hopefully, he put the honey on the grasshoppers to make them taste better!

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John spoke. “After me, there is someone coming who is more powerful than I am. I’m not good enough to bend down and untie his sandals.  I baptize you with water. But he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

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This man was known as John the Baptist. He was called this because when people decided to turn away from sin, he would dip them in the water of the Jordan River. This is called being baptized. It is a symbol of being made clean by God.

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John’s main goal was to point people to God and to prepare the way for the Messiah, the Savior.

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Enter Jesus!

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Jesus was John’s relative. John’s mother Elizabeth was cousins to Jesus’ mother, Mary.

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“John!” Jesus embraced John. “I am here today to be baptized in the Jordan River by you.”

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“No, Jesus! I need to be baptized by you. You are greater than me!” John tried to talk Jesus out of being baptized by him. But Jesus insisted that it needed to be done.

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John and Jesus waded into the water of the Jordan River. John put his arm behind Jesus’ back and lowered him into the waters head and all! When Jesus came up out of the water heaven was opened. Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down on him. God’s Spirit looked like a dove. 

 

God’s voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.”

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The people murmured among themselves. “Did you see that? Did you hear that?” There was no doubt left in the minds of the people after that day. Jesus was not just the son of Mary and Joseph from the town called Nazareth. He was the Son of God, the Messiah meant to save the world from their sin!