LW Baptist

By Rolland Coburn

Pastor

Jesus’ first recorded words were about doing the father’s business. He was in the temple, the place of sacrifice, where believers meditated on God’s unfailing love. Lambs were washed before sacrifice, because they substituted for sinners, who needed cleansing from sin. Which is why Jesus began his public ministry by being baptized, and the baptizer announces Jesus is God’s lamb, who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the priest who offers sacrifice to God for us by being the substitute sacrifice himself.

Jesus consecrated himself by being washed for service as the priests and as the sacrifices were (Luke 3:21-38). Being a true man, he is like us so he can represent us; to pay for our sins and reconcile us to the father.

Jesus does what every priest is to do, he prays, and when he does, amazingly heaven opens. He is the intercessor we need, to whom heaven opens.

With heaven opened, Jesus’ priestly anointing takes place, not with oil, as the Old Testament priests were, but with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is God’s anointed savior-Messiah. The Holy Spirit appeared as a dove, a sacrificial bird of innocence, to anoint Jesus for sacrifice. The dove symbolizes Jesus’ sinlessness, and the Holy Spirit’s descending on him as a dove reminds us he is God’s sacrifice who comes from above.

A voice from heaven says, “You are my beloved son.” The father said, adding “In you I am well-pleased,” confirming Jesus’ spotless purity. He alone is fit to be our redeeming substitute.

Jesus’ family line and true humanity fulfill prophecy. He was legally recognized to be Joseph’s adopted heir with title to David’s throne. Jesus was a descendant of David also through Joseph’s father-in-law Heli, Mary’s father. Jesus’ body was from his virgin mother. In his body he would carry our sins once for all on the cross Jesus was the chosen seed promised to David, Judah, Abraham and Eve. The woman’s seed, God promised in the garden (Eden), would crush the serpent’s head by his atoning work. Only God could pay for every human being’s sin-debt; only man could die.

Jesus became man for us and our salvation. He is both a man and the Son of God, the Lord from heaven. The father sent the son to be the savior of the world, as a hymn celebrates: “God so loved the world that he gave us his son/ Who yielded his life an atonement for sin/And opened the life-gate that all may go in.”