The four Gospels present to us the life of Jesus and they allow us to know his experiences while he was on this earth: the Son of God spent his life healing the sick, freeing captives from unclean spirits, teaching and forgiving people’s sins, etc. But how did it all start? The Bible tells us that Jesus went to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist at the age of 30. At that time he was known to be a Nazarene carpenter, son of Joseph. However, after his baptism, his life changed completely. Let’s discover this important episode of the life of the Son of God on earth.
19839 members
The Baptism of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew
“11 I baptize you with water so that you may convert; but he who comes after me is mightier than I am, and I am not even worthy to take off his sandals. He will baptize you in the Holy Ghost and in fire.
12 The pitchfork is in his hand and he will cleanse his threshing floor: he will gather his wheat into the barn and burn the chaff in an unquenchable fire.
13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan and presented himself to John to be baptized by him.
14 Juan resisted, saying to him: «I am the one who needs to be baptized by you, and it is you who comes to meet me!».
15 But Jesus answered him, “Now let me do this, for it is fitting that in this way we fulfill all that is right.” And Juan allowed it.
16 As soon as he was baptized, Jesus came out of the water. At that moment the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove and go towards him.
17 And a voice was heard from heaven saying: “This is my very beloved Son, in whom I have placed all my predilection”. Matthew 3:11-17
John the Baptist
Jesus testified to John the Baptist saying: “I tell you the truth, no greater man has been born than John the Baptist; however, the smallest in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than him.” (Matthew 11:11). Jesus also spoke saying: “Among you it must not happen like this. On the contrary, whoever wants to be great, let him become your servant”. (Matthew 20:26). The Bible also testifies that John served others throughout his life, preparing the way for the Lord, and leading people to repentance. This reminds us that the heart of a servant is one that pleases God and gives us true greatness.
This is my beloved Son
24445 members
Coming out of the water, the Father bore witness to who Jesus is for him, and this happened even before Jesus performed the first miracle before the eyes of men. In fact, his love was so great that he declared in a loud and clear voice: “This is my very dear Son, in whom I have placed all my predilection”. To tell the truth, through these beautiful words, the father reveals a powerful message to us: God loves us and publicly declares his love, long before stopping to look at our actions. For this reason, we invite you to listen again today to the message of love from our Heavenly Father. Keep in mind that the Bible is the love letter that God the Father addresses personally to each one of us.
Pray with the gospel of the day in !
In , you will find various prayer proposals to pray and meditate every day with the gospel and sacred texts. For example, you can:
Join the community “the reflection of the day” and receive every day a good dose of spiritual food through the Holy Scriptures
Be part of the community “the Gospel of the day” so that every morning you receive a meditation taken from a spiritual leader, so that you can better assimilate the Word of God in your heart.
Discover how God comes to meet you through the Bible through lectio divina, which allows you to start a conversation with God and promotes spiritual growth.
Come and discover the Word of God with !