The Caldwell Commentaries Podcast

Whereas the baptism of Christ declared His royalty, the temptation of Christ demonstrated His royalty!  It was in a desolate and dangerous wilderness that Jesus first demonstrated His power over evil, for it was there He faced the full force of Satan's masterful deception and yet remained untainted from the battle!  By His victory over temptation (even in a weakened Human condition), He accredited Himself worthy to both redeem mankind as sinless Saviour and reign over the Kingdom His Father would give Him.  He also gave His followers (us) His example on how to be victorious over temptation!

We discuss an important distinction between the doctrine of peccability and the doctrine of impeccability in this lesson.  These doctrines address the question, "Could the Son of God be tempted as men are tempted and could He have sinned as men sin?  The doctrine of peccability declares He could have sinned, while the doctrine of impeccability says no, He could NOT have sinned.  Did you know a very extensive and heated controversy about this issue took place in Church history during the Middle Ages?  Yet, most people today have never heard of this debate, nor can they support which one of the two doctrines they believe!  LEARN about this issue and a lot more very rich information in this study!

This is the lesson in which we come to the event that launched the Lord's earthly ministry - His water baptism.  He was 30 years old.  He had supported His widowed mother as the son of His earthly, step-father until His brothers were able to assume responsibility and His sisters were likely married.  He was ready to fulfill His obligations to the whole world as the Son of His heavenly Father!  After thousands of years of anticipation, the Redeemer-King appeared before His faithful forerunner, John the Baptist, for His "coronation" or "commissioning" service.

Why did the Baptist protest baptizing Jesus?  Why, in fact, did Jesus need to baptized at all?  Wasn't John's baptism a baptism of repentance and confession of sin?  Jesus was sinless!  Does this indicate a "consciousness of sin" on Jesus' part, as liberal theologians proclaim?

What are the various types of baptisms mentioned in Scripture?  You may be surprised how many there are!  We discuss the one time in Scripture the Holy Spirit was represented as a dove, and what it signified.  We also discuss the first of three times in the New Testament God the Father spoke from Heaven His approval of His Beloved Son.  All three Members of the Trinity were involved in this important event!

In this second part of a two-part study entitled, we look at a "sermon" given by the fearless, faithful, Spirit-filled John the Baptist in which he denounced the self-righteous, hypocritical religious rulers who came to the Jordan River to "check him out".  He immediately confronted them for the fake religionists they were, calling them a "generation of vipers"!  He did not pull any punches.  He did not fear powerful men; he feared all-powerful God!  He demanded their true repentance, which would be evidenced if they would actually produce some good "fruit," and he seriously cautioned them about their foolish reliance on salvation simply because they were descendants of Abraham.

Thousands of people (like those First Century religious rulers) have lived and died under similar, blind delusion, thinking because they are connected with some particular religion, church denomination, nationality, or godly heritage they are guaranteed a place in Heaven.  This is why it absolutely critical for a person to understand that salvation is solely based on one's personal (individual) relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ - and not to anything or anyone else.  "Ye must be born again" (John 3:3)!!

Before getting into a discussion of the bold Baptist, we discuss those he confronted and described as "fruitless vipers".  We learn of the various religious and political sects of Israel at the time of Christ.  That may sound "boring" to some, but it is actually quite interesting, as well as needful to know because it helps us better understand their various interactions with Christ, Rome, and with one another.  The two political sects were the Herodians and the Zealots (at least one of the Lord's Apostles was a former Zealot). 

We also discuss the three main religious sects: Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes.   This is not just about the past, for there is a world full of religious people just like them today!  A third collective group we look at in this study is the judicial "branch" of Jewish government (under Rome, of course), the powerful Sanhedrin Council. 

Just think of this fact:  if the Romans allowed the Sanhedrin to have jurisdiction over the death penalty, Jesus would not have been crucified.  He would have been stoned to death.  If that was the case, He would not have fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and types about the manner of suffering and death the Messiah would face (being pierced; lifted up like the brazen serpent on the pole in the wilderness, etc.).  If Jesus did not fulfill even one Messianic prophecy dealing with His First Coming, He would have disqualified to be the Saviour of the world.  But, don't worry.  He fulfilled every one of them, literally - to the very jot and tittle.

In ancient times, it was common for a herald to precede the arrival of a reigning king.  Along with a contingent of royal servants, the herald would make sure the roadways were smooth and as straight as possible, that obstacles were removed, and roads were safe from highway robbers and wild animals.  As the herald inspected the roads, he was also busy proclaiming to the people of the land that king was soon coming, and all the preparations should be made ready for him.  Thus, the royal herald's duty was twofold: (1) to proclaim the coming king, and (2) to prepare his way.  This was the twofold duty of John the Baptist, who "paved the way" spiritually for the King of kings, Jesus Christ, by attempting to remove obstructions of sin in the peoples' hearts.

Why was the Baptist the greatest Old Testament person born of a woman (eliminates Adam) to ever live, according the Christ?  What was about him that earned that accolade?

In this lesson, we learn about Biblical repentance; we learn about the difference between a baptism of righteousness and a baptism of repentance; we learn about the personality and humility of John, his clothing, his diet, his dedication to his commission, and his Nazarite vow - much to learn about the voice crying in the desert to prepare the way for the Sovereign Saviour. 

When we consider how little is found in the Bible about the childhood and the pre-ministerial life of the Lord Jesus, we discover how true is the statement that God did not write Scripture to satisfy man's curiosity; He wrote it to sanctify his conduct!  Though there is a lot of speculation (and a great deal of misinformation) about the years between Christ's infancy and the beginning of His public ministry "about thirty years of age" (Luke 3:23), the Bible is almost completely silent.  

In this lesson, we will discuss - from the few verses of God' Word about each stage of Christ's early life (1) Jesus the Child, (2) Jesus the Adolescent, (3) Jesus the Young Man, and (4) Jesus the Carpenter.

Although Jesus was God and could have easily by-passed all normal growth processes, He willingly subjected Himself to live in a human body so as to empathize with the whole human experience.  He did not simply appear in the world as an infant with an adult mind.  He did not come physically as a grown man  He was the very Word of God, but He had to learn to speak like we all do.  His wisdom and knowledge came to Him by degrees (though greatly accelerated because of His sinless nature).  

Who were Jesus' brothers?  Did He have sisters?  How does the fact that He had half-siblings disprove the perpetual virginity theory about Mary?  When do we first know that Jesus knew His mission?  What kind of father was Joseph and when did he disappear from the scene?  How appropriate is it that the Creator-Carpenter of the Universe chose to be a Carpenter is His pre-ministerial life?  

We note that Jesus did not fall victim to fleshly impatience by striving to obtain honor and glory on His own or for His own glory.  He waited on His heavenly Father's timing as He spent 30 preparation years laboring diligently at His trade (building things) and in the Word (of which He is both Author and Finisher)!  Great, very informative lesson about a lot of things Christians don't normally think about with regard to our Saviour.

Find how some additional Old Testament prophecies came to light and came to fulfillment as the young Christ Child was moved around by the divine hand of His heavenly Father.  In this lesson, "Prewritten Pathways," we discuss two journeys made by Joseph and Mary during the early childhood years of Jesus.  First, there was their journey from Bethlehem to Egypt (at the direction of a God through a messenger angel to escape the wrath of Herod), and then there was their journey (again at God's direction after the death of Herod) from Egypt to Nazareth.

Learn how these divinely orchestrated movements of Jesus fulfilled three Old Testament propecies: Hosea 11:1 (out of Egypt God would call His Son), Jeremiah 31:15 (Rachel would weep over a massacre of infants, which occurred with Herod's "Slaughter of the Innocents"), and Isaiah 11:1 (the coming Messiah would be called a Nazarene).  

It always perplexed the Old Testament scholars how one Messiah could fulfill all three Messianic prophecies concerning His "origin"!  How could He be born in Bethlehem Ephrata (Micah 5:2), be called by God "out of Egypt" (Hosea 11:1), and be called a Nazarene, meaning from Nazareth (Isaiah 11:1)?  Well, in Jesus Christ all three prophecies were fulfilled!  What other possible "would-be" Messianic candidate would ever be able to fulfill them?  Yet, the Jews still await a messiah other than Jesus.  

In this lesson, we discuss three events in the life of the Lord that took place shortly after His birth: 1.  His circumcision at 8 days of age, 2. His presentation in the Temple at 40 days of age (His first visit there) for the ritual of cleansing Mary and redeeming Him, her firstborn son, from priestly service (although the Bible never says Mary and Joseph paid the five shekels to redeem Baby Jesus from the priesthood - fascinating!).  3.  The third event of Jesus' Infanthood discussed in this lesson is the public recognition He was given by the lips of two extremely godly and very elderly servants of God - one a man (Simeon),the other a woman (Anna).  This lesson is worth listening to just to learn about these two amazing people who were part of the small, but faithful remnant of true Israel.  Out of the mouths of two witnesses, the young Jesus was proclaimed in the Temple to be "the Lord's Christ," "the Consolation of Israel," and the long awaited Messiah!  

This second half of Lesson 6 is on "Three Responses to Jesus" at the time He was about 2 years of age.  Those responses were from the Wise Men, Herod the Great, and Israel's chief priests.  The Wise Men, who were not even Jewish, traveled a very long distance (likely from the area of ancient Southern Babylonia), carrying gifts fit for a King in order to adore the young Christ Child.  Herod, the wicked, murderous, usurper Idumean "king" of Israel, was heavily agitated when he heard the news of the Christ's arrival.  Israel's chief priests, who should have been very excited to learn about the star out of Jacob that led the elite Gentile Magi to seek out the Christ, were so utterly apathetic they didn't even travel a few miles to Bethlehem to check it out!

Did you know that 700 years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah (60:3, 6, 9) predicted the arrival of Gentiles on camels coming to the light of the Lord, bearing gifts of gold and frankincense?  Learn in this study why there is no mention of myrrh in that prophecy!  Find out how Balaam, the "prophet for profit," is part of the narrative regarding the Wise Men.  Find out how the extraordinary Daniel was also involved in the story of the Magi from the East!  

Listen to this message, and you will have much additional information to share with your family this Christmas about the early life of Christ (of course, you don't have to wait for Christmas, but you may have to rearrange your Nativity sets - the Wise Men weren't there at His birth).  

This lesson is about the births of two of the greatest men ever born: John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.  Of course, the first man rightly understood he was not worthy to loosen the shoe latches of the Second.  Nonetheless, John was an extraordinary man; the bold forerunner to the long-awaited Messiah; the voice crying in the wilderness to introduce Israel to the Lamb of God Who came to take away the sins of the world.  Learn the details about John's birth and of his priestly father's inspired praises and prophecies (once he was "unmuted"). 

In this important lesson, we also discuss the birth of "the Lamb of God"!  Perhaps you think there is not much new you could hear about "the Christmas Story," but have you ever considered how divinely orchestrated all the various circumstances had to be for Christ's birth to be in Bethlehem (not Nazareth)?  To bring about just that one fulfillment, God set "the whole world" in motion!  For one thing, He "inspired" Herod the Great to choose the Roman method of taxation rather than the Jewish method.  That one decision, if different, would have disqualified to be the True Messiah! 

YOU CANNOT STUDY THE DETAILS OF CHRIST'S BIRTH AND DENY WHO HE IS!