Baptism: A Call to Action

We have to jump forward to Matthew Chapter 4 for the next crimson conversation. This takes place right after Jesus baptism. While the style of writing in the day may not have given a hard time-line of events, we do get a good chronology of the order of the stories in Jesus life.

We are often told that as sinners the devil has no need to battle with us, as he has us right where he wants us. There is of course wisdom in this thought. That being the case, we must also recognize that when we do come to Christ, when Christ has won us over and we have confessed and given ourselves to Jesus, that the enemy then has a need to try and steal us back. He will of course do so, in any way possible.

While Jesus was always God, always divine, His baptism was a turning point in even His life, it was also the commencement service of a new stage in the life of Jesus. His ministry.

Jesus birth, and the fulfillment of tall the prophecy that came along with that event and the years spent in exile awaiting the call from the Holy Spirit to move back to Israel, the event of Jesus baptism is an significant event in not only His life, but in the historical timeline of all history. We do not know on what day Jesus was baptized, and it’s probably a good thing, as knowing man, we would have through some religious service made that day another grand event to venerate and worship in and of itself. But, we do know that it happened. And we know that it was noticed.

Jesus got baptized. The Holy Spirit fell. His ministry is inaugurated – and Satan comes a runnin’!

Doesn’t it work that way in most of our lives too? Sure, it’s easy to make a wreck of your life. Drinking, drugs, addictions of all sorts plague mankind. Debt, pride and selfishness also run amok and tend to take their toll as well. But when you hit that point, be it ‘rock bottom’ or not, that you finally make that decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, it is not until then that Satan has lost you. Prior to this moment, in spite of the fact that you were doing a bang-up job ruining your life all by yourself, Satan did not have to do any work to keep your life a wreck. You were searching all sorts of worldly solutions and ‘programs’ to improve everything from your “self-esteem” to your finances. But as long as you were not turning to God for solutions, Satan could play you totally hands-off. Not now. Now the fight is on, and he comes a runnin’.

Relating this somewhat to Jesus and the verses we look at today, we can make some minor correlations. Prior to this event, the baptism of Jesus, we do not see Satan himself actively involved in the life of Jesus. At least during Jesus’ incarnate life and in the manner that he attacks our lives, and will soon be attacking Jesus.

When Jesus rose from the water of baptism, things changed for Satan. Jesus was going to be actively involved in the salvation of mankind! Of course, we are told that this was the plan before the foundations of the earth (Hebrews 4:3, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:20). Yes, the plan had always been in place. Yes, the plan was been known by Satan. He knew this in the Garden. Yes Satan also knows that there was nothing he could do to stop God’s will from taking place, but this does not mean he will just sit back and watch it happen!

What changed for Satan here, is that God’s plan is not longer stagnant in the movement of history. The plan was now being put into action! Jesus was here, on earth, SATAN’S EARTH, where he had been ruling and ruining lives for millennia. But now the divine presence of God was WITH man, walking beside them, teaching them, training them, preparing them, not only for the way that their lives are going to have to change, for the influx of Grace the true means of salvation, but also preparing the people (this is US as well) to defend themselves against Satan himself.

This baptism was a call to action for Satan. In a like manner, it needs to be a call into action for us who are baptized. Satan is like a roaring lion seeking to devour your soul. Is it not just good sense to arm ourselves with the things of the spirit to defend ourselves? Of course it is. And here Jesus gives us the perfect example (how could He do any less), on how to do that.

Always begin your defense with a foundation of the Word of God. More on this next time.