If Jesus Couldn’t Do It, Neither Can
You!
One of the less talked
about events in Jesus’ life, is His baptism by the Holy Spirit. Immediately
upon being baptized by John, the Scriptures say the Holy Spirit came down and abode
and remained upon Jesus. Now many are confused by Jesus’ water baptism, but it
is not a mystery. Baptism is always an outward picture of a proper inward
disposition of the heart, in sinners this is achieved through genuine
repentance. Baptism follows the aligning of one’s spiritual compass, something
Jesus always kept pointed towards the Father, and so He was a candidate for
baptism at any and all times, not due to the repentance of sin, but simply as a
testimony of a right heart. When John questions Jesus’ baptism, Jesus simply tells
him it is necessary to set a proper example (fulfill
all righteousness) for all who will follow in His footsteps. Jesus was illustrating
what Peter would proclaim… “Then Peter
said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ to remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”
Act 2:38. A right heart, is a right heart, whether through repentance, or as
in Jesus’ case, through a life always aligned with the Father, His purposes,
and His Will! Jesus was demonstrating the pattern, sequence, and nature of the
baptism of the Holy Spirit, and so we should not be surprised that upon His
baptism, He received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, this as a picture of
what would soon come to pass. This was clearly John’s understanding of the
event as well… “And John bore record,
saying, I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and He abode on
Him. And I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water, that One
said to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon
Him, He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” John 1:32-33.
So the question becomes,
why? Why did Jesus receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and did Jesus need
the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Well, they say that timing is everything, and
it is certainly true on this occasion. Jesus is thirty years of age when He is baptized,
and this becomes key to understanding its significance for Jesus personally. Jesus
has managed to do some remarkable things so far without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He has grown in His
knowledge of the Scriptures, confounding the elders at the Temple and in the Synagogue.
He has also grown in favor with God and man, demonstrating a piety and grace few
if any could match. More importantly though, He has lived sinlessly for thirty
years. When He receives the baptism of the Spirit, He is the spotless, sinless,
Lamb of God. So why now, and for what purpose does the Holy Spirit come upon
Jesus. Actually the answer is quite simple. Jesus at thirty years of age is
just now embarking on His earthly ministry, which will last only three and a half
years. The missing years of Jesus, are missing, because there is nothing to
see! The baptism of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus coincides with the beginning of
His earthly ministry, the point in time when He officially sets out to do the
Will of the Father.
You see, although Jesus
could do everything mentioned beforehand, without the indwelling, the one thing
He could not do, was faithfully complete
what awaited Him over the next three and a half years. The Spirit indwelling
Jesus gave His humanity the power to complete the race the Father had set
before Him. Without it, Gethsemane would have proved too much for Jesus’
humanity. Jesus had become the recipient
of the same power He told His followers would come upon them, so they could be
His witnesses. The giving of the Spirit in Jesus’ life was for the same reason
it is given to us, to provide us the power to live supernatural lives, and this
as it relates to doing the will of the Lord. From this lesson in the life of
Christ we can infer a couple unmistakable truths, the first is, that those who
possess His Spirit have been given the power and strength they need to be
victorious in this life, we have inherited the power to lead supernatural lives
and truly conquer what is before us. However, on the other side of that coin,
is the sad reality of those who do nothing. If the power of the indwelling comes upon us
to fulfill the Lords will in our lives, it must at the same time serve as an
indictment upon the millions who sit in our churches doing nothing! In
Scripture, the surest sign of the lost is not their imperfections, but rather
their indifference to the cause of Christ. We must remember that it is not a
saint who sins that makes Christ nauseas, but rather a lukewarm church member!
Rev. Joel M McDuffie Jr.
2/20/2017
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