My first reaction to this article was the statement where John responded to Jesus, when he was first asked to baptize him. In verse 14, “John flatly refuses to baptize Jesus” (5). My first thought after I read this was, why would any great priest refuse to baptize the messiah? I thought that this would be a great honor for John to be the one who baptized Jesus. If someone as well known and powerful as Jesus would request to be baptized by him, wouldn’t he be excited about it? Even God himself said that, “Jesus had to be baptized under John’s hand and his hand only” (6). For John to refuse Jesus and God, even though he was unknowing of this at the time, was a strong move on John’s part. John was so involved with his mission and he believed
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To me, it only made sense that Jesus would be baptized by a priest. Before reading this article, or taking this Bible class, I always thought that Jesus’ baptism was about him being cleansed from worldly sins. I did not realize that this particular baptism “had nothing to do with cleansing and/or repentance from sin” (15). This was a complete shock to me. I had never heard of a different meaning to the word ‘baptism.’ However, this baptism was done to fulfill all righteousness, which it says in the bible. I never thought in depth about what the words ‘righteousness’ or ‘fulfilled’ really meant. Learning what those words meant really gives a whole new meaning to Jesus’ baptism that I had never realized before. Righteousness can be translated to mean “right-wise-ness, which is the position of being rightly or properly related to someone or something” (15). The word ‘fulfill’ means “to bring to intended conclusion” (16). With this information, it only makes sense that the baptism would “[align] perfectly with God’s great plan… [And show that] God’s will was done” (15-16). I never thought that a baptism could be anything other than getting rid of sin, but Jesus’ baptism was special and straight from …show more content…
Zacharias and Elizabeth are the parents of John, and both come from families from the highest caliber of priesthood available at that time. Zacharias was actually a priest, while Elizabeth was a daughter of the first priest of Israel, by Gods appointment, in the line of Aaron. Both of his families have a strong background with the church. When I read the information about his family I could look at the following verse from Exodus 28:43 with a new perspective: “The priesthood of Israel subsequently passed to Aaron’s sons and then to Aaron’s seed perpetually throughout all generations” (8). When I read this statement I realized that John was born, by Gods will, purposely so that John could baptize Jesus and anoint him as Christ. When I had this realization, it surprised me because all of a sudden everything made sense! We see that in Luke 1:11 when Zacharias was promised the birth of John, when he was in the temple. God had a specific purpose for John before he was even born. According to the article, “John was in the priestly lineage according to the specific plans of God” (8). John’s purpose on Earth is clear now, and he even realizes it after he baptized Jesus. As I mentioned before, “John was fully enlightened to the meaning of the ritual once it was completed” (6). Now, with the knowledge of John’s family tree, this statement makes even more sense with
To me, it only made sense that Jesus would be baptized by a priest. Before reading this article, or taking this Bible class, I always thought that Jesus’ baptism was about him being cleansed from worldly sins. I did not realize that this particular baptism “had nothing to do with cleansing and/or repentance from sin” (15). This was a complete shock to me. I had never heard of a different meaning to the word ‘baptism.’ However, this baptism was done to fulfill all righteousness, which it says in the bible. I never thought in depth about what the words ‘righteousness’ or ‘fulfilled’ really meant. Learning what those words meant really gives a whole new meaning to Jesus’ baptism that I had never realized before. Righteousness can be translated to mean “right-wise-ness, which is the position of being rightly or properly related to someone or something” (15). The word ‘fulfill’ means “to bring to intended conclusion” (16). With this information, it only makes sense that the baptism would “[align] perfectly with God’s great plan… [And show that] God’s will was done” (15-16). I never thought that a baptism could be anything other than getting rid of sin, but Jesus’ baptism was special and straight from …show more content…
Zacharias and Elizabeth are the parents of John, and both come from families from the highest caliber of priesthood available at that time. Zacharias was actually a priest, while Elizabeth was a daughter of the first priest of Israel, by Gods appointment, in the line of Aaron. Both of his families have a strong background with the church. When I read the information about his family I could look at the following verse from Exodus 28:43 with a new perspective: “The priesthood of Israel subsequently passed to Aaron’s sons and then to Aaron’s seed perpetually throughout all generations” (8). When I read this statement I realized that John was born, by Gods will, purposely so that John could baptize Jesus and anoint him as Christ. When I had this realization, it surprised me because all of a sudden everything made sense! We see that in Luke 1:11 when Zacharias was promised the birth of John, when he was in the temple. God had a specific purpose for John before he was even born. According to the article, “John was in the priestly lineage according to the specific plans of God” (8). John’s purpose on Earth is clear now, and he even realizes it after he baptized Jesus. As I mentioned before, “John was fully enlightened to the meaning of the ritual once it was completed” (6). Now, with the knowledge of John’s family tree, this statement makes even more sense with