We need to begin to understand that Jesus' security came from what God said about Him.
Matthew 3:11-16: [13] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. [14] But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptised 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 fulfil all righteousness." Then John consented. [16] As soon as Jesus was baptised, 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 lighting on him. [17] And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
He could see the crowds at the Jordan and hear the distant voice of his cousin, carrying across the expanse, raising to a crescendo, "I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Perhaps Jesus smiled as He heard the words, John preaching repentance and judgment in one breath. Didn't he know that Jesus had come to save the world, not condemn it? In God's heart there was a long pause between salvation and the judgment to come.
Pushing His way through the throngs their eyes met. John hesitates. He knows why Jesus is there but surely not. How can this be? As Jesus enters the Jordan John cries out, "I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus smiled. Like all prophets John saw much but not all things.
Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness." Then John consented.
Jesus had to fulfil all righteousness. Being baptised as a man for Him was not a baptism of repentance. It fulfilled something required of Him by God. A fulfilment of righteousness. An acknowledgement that whilst Divine He is fully human too, and that humanity is weak and subject to temptation. An acknowledgement that if this salvation plan is to work that Jesus was going to have to fully depend on God as a man. It is a consecration.
Thunder! The thunderous voice of God rings out across the galaxy, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." The clouds part and the Holy Spirit descends like a dove..
For the first time in thirty years the Trinity are reunited, ever so briefly, but the moment thrills the heavens and hell trembled.
God says three things about Jesus for those who could understand what was happening. The three things would sustain Jesus too.
Firstly, "you are my Son."
We know that Jesus' default name for God in prayer is Father.
Father's favourite name for Jesus in these intimate moments is Son.
Jesus, as a result of being God incarnate, has stepped into a realm to be enjoyed by Christians ever since: to be a child of God.
Jesus is God's only begotten son. There also had to be the declaration from God of this paternity. We are all created in the image of God. That image is tarnished. For the image to display the family likeness of the Father there has to be a claiming back of the family name. Jesus had committed no sin, never did. Humanity had. Jesus had to become what the writer of Corinthians called the Second Adam - and to do this He had to be acknowledged as the first child (1 Cor. 15:20-22).
Secondly, "I love Him!"
This was no superfluous use of the phrase that we have in our society today. It is not change of status on social media with little hearts next to it. This is a dramatic statement.
A parent's love for their child knows no limits. It is effervescent and passionate. It does not wilt, nor die or lose it's fervour.
In Father God's case it is a continuum that echoes throughout the eons and seeks to touch the heart of every man, woman and child who has lived or ever will live. For Jesus this is a powerful infusion of love that He will display to others innumerable times over the next three and a half years and, ultimately, that love will keep Him on and through the curse of the cross.
Thirdly, "I am well pleased with you!"
This is a Father's blessing. The Old Testament gives us several occurrences of when the Father's blessing was passed to the first born and subsequent children. Jacob gives a blessing to all of his sons (Genesis 49: 1-28 cf. Hebrews 11:20-21) as his father had done and his grandfather had done, although we know he stole his brother Esau's birthright.
The blessing was not just a sign that the father was about to die, although this is normally given when there are obvious signs of fragility and decay, but it was also a sign of the pleasure a father took in a son. Father God is making it perfectly clear to Jesus and the listeners that He has blessed Jesus.
He doesn't just say, "I am pleased," but, "well pleased." There is an overuse of the word 'well' in parts of the east of London and into the county of Essex in England. When something is good or to be commended or to be emphasised as wrong many will add well as a form of exclamatory prefix. That was "well good," or "that was well bad." This phrase in the Gospels is not an indication that God is from Essex!
It does carry an emphasis we should not miss. It is a statement that God is emphatic in His pleasure, He is pleased to be pleased with Jesus.
The three statements that Father spoke over Jesus have dynamic relevance for us today. We understand that everyone is created in the image of God and therefore have an intrinsic value. None of us can walk in that image untarnished as Adam and Eve did in our own self worth or purity. Sin makes sure of this.
Yet God desires to speak the three statements He spoke to Jesus to our hearts too because Jesus, through His sacrifice, has made it possible. The death of Jesus the brings us forgiveness of sins needs to be seen from that viewpoint of who is actioning the forgiveness. Jesus gives us a clue on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Father God is the one who forgives.
Jesus' death was to allow access back to the Father for the debt of sin was paid. The blood of Jesus shed on the cross pays the penalty for our sins. Many Christians seem to think that this was some kind of celestial bargain made with the devil, that in some way payment was given to him by Jesus' death. This is heresy and a misunderstanding of the need for God's wrath to be satisfied. Sin separated us from God. No other sacrifice could save us from the consequences of eternal separation from God. God sent Jesus to die in our place and make the way open again back to the Father (Genesis 3:15; Colossians 1:19-20; 1 Peter 2:24; John14:6).
Three things the cross makes possible for you to hear today: you are God's child, you are loved, and Father takes pleasure in you.
Jesus made a way for your adoption.
There are three ways to become a member of a family. By birth. By adoption. By marriage. I have experienced all three. Obviously I was born into a family. Shortly afterwards my biological parents divorced and a relatively short time later my mother remarried. I was then adopted by my step-father. When this occurred all parental responsibilities and legal requirements of my biological father were voided, as though they never existed. In 1988 I married and became part of my wife's family.
The Bible has the same analogies to describe becoming part of God's family, to be born again, to be adopted and to be part of the Bride (John 3:3; Ephesians 1:5; Revelation 22:17).
Jesus is the "one and only Son," in the New International Version translation of John 3:16. This could be ambiguous considering we have just learnt that we can be adopted, and therefore be classed as sons and daughters too.
It is clearer in the footnote that says, "only begotten Son," meaning a physical union has taken place.
This fact, declared from the heavens, opened up the way for you and I. We are born again. We are adopted. That means all legal rights of our previous life have now been made null and void.
Over the years I have known some families who cannot have children and some of these choose to adopt. It's an emotional process and I admire these new parents greatly. Sometimes, when there has been an adoption, the mother will conceive naturally. Not always, just sometimes. With God it was the opposite. He fathers Jesus and then adopts us.
Jesus made a way for the lavish love of God to be enjoyed.
Parents love their children. It is natural. Sometimes this can go awry with tragic consequences but generally speaking is the case. Something changes within the heart of a man when he holds his baby for the first time. There is an overwhelming desire to protect and provide for the new life in his arms.
My wife and I have been blessed to have three sons. All of them are exceptional, fine young men. When we were expecting our second child my wife confided in me that that was nervous about the impending arrival. When I asked why he replied, "I'm not sure that my heart is big enough to love two." I tried to be be reassuring but, to be honest, was lost for words and simply hugged her. Things like this a man stashes away for the future in case there are problems ahead. The birth came and went reasonably well although our son didn't breathe for the first minute. This was bit traumatic but when he filled the room with his cries it was one of the most joyful sounds we had ever heard. Some time later I reminded my wife of our earlier conversation. All seemed fine to me as a husband and a father but I thought it was wise to check. Her reply taught me a lesson. "Oh that," she said, "my heart just got bigger!"
If you are a mother of children you will instantly understand what my wife meant. I am not sure I can prove how big God's heart and His capacity for loving us is. I am not sure if His heart grows each time a person becomes His child. I am not sure if His heart has a defined boundary, a set limit, on how many people He can love. I figure the clue is in John 3:16; He has a capacity to love the whole world that was then, is now, and those yet to come.
I do know this: His heart has room for you. That love is a stubborn and forceful love that compels the whole of creation to long for the full number of believers to be accounted for (Romans 8:18-25).
You are not the exception that proves the rule. God loves you. Lavishly. He loves you with an everlasting love (Psalm 103:17 & Jeremiah 31:3).
His love is stubborn. The Hebrew word used in Jeremiah 31:3 carries the idea of being stubbornly unwavering. He has made His mind up to love you and not to turn His face from you.
He may not approve of all the actions you take. He calls you to repentance and even, from time to time, discipline you as any good parent will (Hebrews 12:7-11).
In all things His love for you is the motivation.
Jesus made a way for God to show you His pleasure.
Father's decide is to bless you. I am not a 'name it and claim it' type of preacher. I do not come from the prosperity stream and do not believe all blessings are necessarily financial. I also do not believe that God is that concerned with your happiness.
I hear parents all the time who say that their only wish for their children is that they are happy. How do those same parents cope when their children do things under the banner of happiness that are patently destructive?
A recent theme song to a hit animation movie rang out around the western world this summer that happiness was not only a goal but the truth. We all tapped our feet along, because it is a great melody, and hummed away, "because I'm happy!" That kind of happiness is shallow and is for minions.
The truth is no parent simply wants happiness for their children. We want our children to have happiness but not at all costs for we know true happiness is not found from within.
When God shows you His good pleasure He is saying, "This is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased!"
He begins to bless you in spite of what is happening around you. Jesus did not say that we would always be happy or that we would have a smooth ride a Christians: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble," (John 16:33a).
Take note that He promises us peace in Him. He also tells us that in this world, in this chronological timeframe in which we live in, this segment of eternity, that we will have trouble as followers of Him.
Many times we will ignore this cautionary phrase as we do not want to accept that we may have difficulties. When I became a Christian life around me fell apart. Shortly after my mother left home to live with her boyfriend, returning on weekends to ensure that was a least food at home for my brother and I. During this period we were burgled several times, the last of which resulted in arson and the destruction of everything we had. Added to this I was mercilessly bullied at school and found myself physically and emotionally victimised to the point where I skipped a portion of my high school education. These were tough years for my brother and I.
Jesus went on to say, "But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).
Now that is a word of hope. It is a promise of provision and blessing. No matter what comes our way Father has made a way for His pleasure to be displayed in spite of it.
His blessings may be tangible, material or emotional. They may be intangible too. Sometimes it can be hard to see the hand of God at work in our lives in a given instance. Sometimes the fingerprint of God is difficult to see. Occasionally He appears to wear gloves.
Resolute always, He still cries out from heaven that you are His. His pleasure. He is well pleased with you!
Wrapping this up!
God identifies you as His child if you have accepted His forgiveness through Jesus and live for Him. Never forget who your Daddy is!
God proclaims His love for you to the whole universe - the whole world. He does not hold back on His declaration over your life.
God is pleased with you. His anger has been appeased on the cross. His blessings are now yours.
Smile children of God, you're adopted, loved and blessed!
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