”In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’” John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him. After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, 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 dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”“
Matthew 3:1-17 NLT
The story surrounding Jesus’ baptism is an interesting one. It highlights the many points of view in regard to heaven. John was right to denounce the Pharasaical attitude. They came to see him call for repentance because of the oddity of it. Associating them with the devil, he called them to prove their repentance by their lives. This was a challenge in line with their philosophy. They believed in the heavy practice of earning God’s favor. John taught a contrite heart and sorrow for sin, with an emphasis on hope for God’s reconciliation through a coming messiah. Yet, John also had his own pious attitude toward Jesus. When presented with the honor of performing Christ’s baptism, he didn’t understand his place in it. God wants us to work to be righteous, but to accept that we cannot be. He wants to give us blessings, but not to be entitled to them. John’s position is clearly the better of the two thoughts as he was able, with a bit of teaching, to accept the honor being given. Nonetheless, it is an easy snare for the faithful to forget that God knows us specifically, and seeks out the individual, although he is holy. God doesn’t call us to be insignificant, he calls us to be humble. The line between the two is an important one.
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