Matthew 4:12-17 12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 13 He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “In […]

Quick recap of the storyline so far. The adult man Jesus makes a public declaration to dedicate His life to the service of God by immersion in the waters of the Jordan River by John the Baptist. John identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Holy Spirit falls on him like a dove and […]

Luke 4:1-2 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.”  After his baptism and the heavenly pronouncement, which must have […]

Matthew 3:16-17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. At that moment the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, who brings me great joy, with […]

On the liturgical calendar, the baptism of Jesus is traditionally commemorated on the second Sunday of Epiphany. Reading from Matthew chapter 3:13-15 13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be […]

The Fruit of Repentance Consider Luke 3 verse 8 (Amplified Translation) “8 Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness].” We started with this passage in Episode 9. John the Baptist was very direct and somewhat harsh […]

Reading from Luke 2:25 after baby Jesus was presented in the Temple.  25-32 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was pious, righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah […]

Matthew 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Now in the last episode, we were looking at the message of John the Baptist in Luke 3, which is also recorded in the synoptic gospels of Mark 1 and Matthew 3. Matthew’s version has a few extra details which are worth discussing, […]

Luke 3: 1-12 NIV, MSG, CSB The word of the Lord came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one […]

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 As a young boy, Jesus would have grown up learning all of the Scriptures we know as the Old Testament, so he would have the Torah, the Proverbs, the Psalms and Prophets to learn from. And for sure he would he have known […]