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The Holy Son
[Lesson 62: The Messiah's Birth]
[Table of Contents]
[Lesson 64: The Lamb of God]
Lesson 63
The Holy Son
Luke 2; Matthew 3,4
Peace be with you, listening friends. We greet you in the name of God, the Lord of peace, who
wants everyone to understand and submit to the way of righteousness that He has established, and
have true peace with Him forever. We are happy to be able to return today to present your program
The Way of Righteousness.
In our last study in the holy book of the Gospel {Injil}, we heard the thrilling story of the Messiah's
birth. No one has ever been born as Jesus was. He was born of a virgin, by the power of God,
in the town of Bethlehem, exactly as prophesied. On the night that Jesus was born, God sent a
multitude of shining angels to some shepherds who were spending the night in the fields surrounding
Bethlehem. One of the angels said to the shepherds, "I bring you good news of great joy that will be
for all the people! Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord!"
(Luke 2:10,11)
Today we plan to study what Jesus was like as a child and as He became an adult. The book
of the Gospel shows us that following the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary had four sons and some
daughters. The child Jesus grew up with his younger siblings in a crowded house in northern
Palestine, in the town of Nazareth. As you know, Joseph did not beget Jesus, but in the eyes of men,
Jesus was the son of Joseph. Since Joseph was a carpenter, Jesus also worked as a carpenter while
He lived at home. Consequently, Jesus was accustomed to hard work. Thus the Scripture says: "And
Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52)
Like all children, Jesus ate and slept, played and studied. However, there was something about
Him that made Him different from other children. Do you know what it was? It is this: Jesus never
committed sin! No unjust word ever came out of His mouth. (1 Pet. 2:22) He never told anyone,
"Forgive my faults" {Wolof formula/cliché for asking forgiveness}, because He never wronged
anyone. He could not commit sin, because there was no root of sin in Him! He had a holy nature
(character). Evil was not a part of Him. He only did what pleased God. He had a physical body like
ours, but He did not have an evil nature like ours! That is what the Scriptures declare, when they
say: "We do not have a high priest {mediator, spiritual leader} who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without
sin." (Heb. 4:14,15)
When Jesus was thirty years old, the time for Him to begin His work {mission, ministry} as the
Savior of the world had come. One day He bid farewell to his family, left the town of Nazareth, and
headed for the Jordan River where the prophet John {Yahya} was preaching and baptizing the
people in water.
Do you remember John? He was born six months before Jesus. John was the prophet whom God
sent to prepare the hearts of people, so that they might repent of their sins and welcome the Messiah
whom God had sent. Listen to what is written in the Gospel concerning the prophet John and how
he prepared the way of the Messiah.
In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter three, the Scripture says:
(Matt. 3) 1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3This is he who was spoken of through the
prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make
straight paths for him!'" 4John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt
round his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem
and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized
by him in the Jordan River.
Let us pause here to think about what we are reading. Did you hear John's message? In brief, John
preached: "Repent of your sins! Turn from your evil deeds, and prepare to meet the holy Messiah
who has come to you from heaven!" Those who confessed their sins before God were baptized by
John in the river. Thus, the prophet John became known as John the Baptizer. Being baptized in
water could not wash away the people's sins. It was only a sign {mark, demonstration} which showed
that they had repented of their sins and were ready to receive the Messiah as their Savior.
Some of those who responded to John so that he might baptize them, belonged to the two most
famous Jewish sects, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were the wealthiest Jews
and had influence in the Roman government. But in their hearts they did not care about the Writings
of the Prophets. The Pharisees were the religious experts who were very zealous in praying,
fasting, giving alms and paying tithes. However, their worship was worthless, because they were
trying to become righteous before God by their own efforts. Also, the Pharisees mixed their traditions
with the true Word of God. Consequently, their worship of God had become nothing more than a
flashy show combined with contempt for those who did not belong to their group. In short, the
Pharisees and the Sadducees honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him.
Now then, let us continue to read in the Gospel and hear how John rebuked these religious experts
because of their hypocrisy. The Scripture says:
(Matt. 3) 7But when [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was
baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming
wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves,
'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children
for Abraham. 10The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce
good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11"I baptize 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 baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His 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!"
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to
deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15Jesus replied, "Let
it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness." (Then John consented.)
Thus John baptized the Lord Jesus in the Jordan River. Perhaps some might ask, "Why did Jesus,
who was without sin, ask John to baptize Him?" It is true, the Lord Jesus did not need to repent of
anything, because He had never committed sin. Why then did Jesus come to John, so that John
might baptize Him as he was baptizing sinners? What did Jesus say about this? Jesus said to John,
"Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness." By being baptized, Jesus not
only put before us an example to follow, but He also showed us that He came to live as one of us
and to die for us.
In the end of the chapter, the Scripture says:
(Matt. 3) 16As 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 lighting on him.
17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased!"
Friends, whose voice echoed from the sky? It was the voice of the Lord God! What did God say?
God said of Jesus, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased!"