INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• We are in Chapter 23 of The Story, The Ministry of Jesus begins!
• After the birth of Jesus and all the events surrounding that magnificent event, we find Jesus in the temple as a 12 year old, He was a source of amazement for those who were with Him.
• We do not read anything about what Jesus was doing until we get to this point in The Story, the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.
• John the Baptist was plowing the road for Jesus and one day, John to his amazement sees Jesus!
• We see people do amazing things on the athletic field as we stand in awe, we wonder how they are able to do what they do.
• When Jesus Christ came into public ministry, people made these kinds of statements: “Who is this? How can he have such wisdom? How can he do that?!” Jesus Christ was, indeed, THAT good!
• Jesus’ ministry was a sight to behold.
• Today I as we dive into chapter 23 of The Story I want to share three observations concerning the ministry of Jesus.
• Let’s begin by looking at Matthew 3:13-17
• SLIDE #2
• Matthew 3:13–17 (NIV) 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of His public ministry.
• This was an exciting time, the baptism of Jesus mars the beginning of His public ministry!
• This event takes place in December of 26 AD or possibly January of 27 AD, 3-4 months before the Passover celebration of 27 AD,
• Luke 3:23 tells us that Jesus was ABOUT 30 years old when He began His ministry, putting His birth around 6-4 BC.
• Before Jesus comes to be baptized, John the Baptist is preaching to large crowds, people are intrigued by John.
• The religious leaders were there and John was going right at them, then Jesus shows up!
• John does not want to baptize Jesus because he feels unworthy, but Jesus tells John He needs to be baptized by him so all righteousness can be fulfilled!
• When Jesus was baptized and came UP from out of the water the skies ripped opened and verses 16-17 tell us; At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
• We see God the son being baptized, God the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and God the Father speaking from heaven!
• Why was Jesus baptized? Was He not sinless? Yes He was, verse 15 tells us that Jesus did it to fulfill all righteousness.
• John’s baptism was not a part of the Old Testament system, yet we see that it was and is a part of God’s will, a command given by God through the His prophet!
• SLIDE #4
• John 1:33 (NIV) And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
• So Jesus was saying He was doing this because it was what God wanted Him to do!
• As a side note, today if you have not been baptized into Jesus, you need to do it. Why?
• It is part of what God calls us to do in order to accept His gift of salvation! Plus, Jesus was baptized and He commanded His followers in the Great Commission to baptize those who want to be in His family and then teach them about the things of God.
• So if one wants to get into an argument over semantics over what you think baptism means you can do that, but the bottom line is followers of Jesus need to follow Jesus and be immersed into Him as Romans 6 among other passages teach us.
• Even though this was not stated as a reason in the Bible, the baptism marked the beginning of Jesus ministry!
• Now let’s examine our second observation concerning Jesus ministry.
• SLIDE #5
II. The devil tried to derail Jesus’ ministry before it got off the ground.
• After the baptism of Jesus, Mark says in Mark 1:12 that IMMEDIATELY Jesus was compelled by the Spirit to go into the desert.
• Well, it was not milliseconds later, but in a very short time after the baptism, Jesus is led into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
• Many times in life spiritual highs and victories are followed up by great temptations.
• The Bible makes it plain that the origin of evil is with the devil.
• “Devil” is from the word diabolos which comes from a verb which means “to divide.”
• The devil, Satan, is not a myth, but a very real being who wants to divide us from God and from one another.
• He had some success in the garden separating Adam and Eve from God!
• I like the way Matthew 4 opens up.
• SLIDE #6
• Matthew 4:1–3 (NIV) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
• I love verse 3, After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
• REALLY? Thank you for that one Captain Obvious!
• The devil thought he had found a weakness and he was going in for the proverbial kill.
• Do you know when the devil attacks you? When you are weak!
• After that fight with your spouse, after 6 months of sobriety when a crisis comes and you have to decide whether to go back to the old ways or stay on the right path.
• Here is Jesus, He is hungry and the devil swoops in.
• IF you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread! Seems simple, seem harmless, what would it hurt?
• I mean, sharing my problems with my co-worker of the opposite sex, what would it hurt, I am supposed to get help, she seems like she could help (and she is hot!). Cheaper than a counselor. My wife will not listen to me. Besides, she probably does not care anyway.
• One dinner after work together, no problem, one thank you peck on the cheek, no problem, etc… etc…
• WEAKNESS.
• The devil used some of the same technics in the Garden with Eve by the way so his playbook is old and worn out, yet so many fall for the tricks.
• SO why did Jesus need to be tempted?
• So He could show that temptation can be overcome and so He could relate to our struggle!
• SLIDE #7
• Hebrews 4:15–16 (NIV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
• Another reason was so He could personally defeat the devils schemes.
• And for an example for all of us follow.
• So how did Jesus fight off the temptations? Did He argue logic and law with the devil? NO!
• Jesus used the scriptures in each of the three temptations Jesus used scriptures as a defense against the temptations. The devil even used a passage out of context to try to convince Jesus to acquiesce to his demands.
• When you face the devil you can defeat him also!
• SLIDE #8
• 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
• The devil is alive and well and you can defeat him when he comes to try to feed on you!
• The devil tried to take Jesus out by giving his best punch, but Jesus didn’t even blink. Jesus won!
• Since the devil could not defeat Jesus on his own, he recruited some folks to help him!
• SLIDE #9
III. The religious leaders allowed the devil to use them to try to derail Jesus ministry.
• The Pharisees and Sadducees were more than willing to help the devil derail Jesus ministry because they were jealous of Jesus’ wisdom, understanding, popularity and His ability to perform miracles!
• Of course not ALL of them were out to get Jesus, some like Nicodemas in John 3:2-16, were earnestly seeking the truth. So not all took the bait!
• In Luke 6:6-11 Jesus is with some of these leaders during the Sabbath, there was a man with a withered hand whom Jesus was going to heal. You would think a healing would be a time to rejoice, but not for these guys.
• SLIDE #10
• Luke 6:6–11 (NIV) 6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
• Their legalism opened them up to be used by the devil, there are still “religious” folks today we are still opening themselves up to the same thing!
• We must always guard ourselves against schemes of the devil!
• SLIDE #11
• 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
• Way too many people end up becoming lion chow!
CONCLUSION
• Jesus was attacked by the devil, so will you! Jesus defeated the devil with the bible, so can you!
• This part of The Story reminds us why Jesus came!
• SLIDE #12
• John 3:16 (NIV) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• God has been pursuing you since the fall. Jesus went through all the trials and temptations because He loves you! Never forget that!
• Are you ready to be covered with His love today?
