Bible In One Year-Day 52 (Friday, February 21, 2014)

Commentary: Matt4-6. John the Baptist was prophecy incarnate. But the revelation he received after baptizing Jesus made the difference. Just like him, we are prophecies incarnates but we need revelation to fulfill that prophecy. There is no life that is accidental; there is a purpose for that life. Three things are related to life; discover purpose, be connected to purpose and live the purpose. Deviation from any of this will not result in a fulfilled life. And there is no way one could achieve purpose without the Holy Spirit. John’s baptism is different from Jesus’ baptism and the different could be seen in Matt3:11.

Matthew 3:11 “I indeed baptize you with water to repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire:”

As a way of explaining this; a man must be dead before he could be buried. The same way, one should have repented from sin before being baptized in water, i.e. you must have been in the position of repentance before baptism (total immersion in the water). Therefore, John’s baptism is to fulfill all righteousness while Jesus’ baptism is to fulfill purpose and destiny. Meanwhile, the baptismal ceremony is one, the fruit of repentance matters more, Matt3:8.

Matthew 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:”

Matt4 reveals the truth while a lot of Christians fall. There are two basic types of personal fasting; being led by the Spirit and being led by the flesh. That of the flesh goes with boastings and pride and totally contrary to God’s ordination, Isaiah58. Jesus was led by the Spirit and the devil could not defeat Him. The fasting yielded result and brought about purpose. You could see that Jesus did not start His ministry without the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit all His actions were measured. You need the fullness of the Holy Spirit otherwise it would be difficult to fulfill the prophetic life for which you are created. When the jobs at hand were getting larger, He had to select workers. He sat them down and started teaching them, in preparation for the work. The disciples never started their ministry without the baptism of the Holy Spirit which Jesus alone gives. In His teaching, He made them to know what would be expected of them, what they would get back from people and how to handle things that come their way. He demonstrated His teachings with actions; by their fruits we shall know them. The fruit of repentance should be seen in you as a Christian; this is the demand of John in Matt3:8. Ceremonies are by the way, fruit yielding is more important. Through fruits, you salt the world and give light to those in darkness. By your fruit Jesus derives satisfaction, Mark11:12-13. He made them to know that He never came to abolish the law but to fulfill it. In addition, He made them to know that doing the commandments will give you the status of heaven. These are to prepare them for what He was about to teach them; immorality, divorce, tolerance, anger, lack of love, worries etc. these are the areas where human logics are being utilized to excuse the law. He gave detailed explanation to all these areas. The problem of people then was that they had excused themselves from the law and are teaching others same things; Jesus came to make corrections. Forgiveness is absolutely needful and care for tomorrow is out of order. In the Lord’s Prayer, there is a clause we must be conscious of when saying it “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” think on this each time you kneel down to pray. May the grace of our Lord Jesus abound towards us, AMEN. Next mile on the trip is Matt7-9. Keep the fire burning and alive. JESUS IS THE LORD forever more. AMEN!!!