Chapter Four – Jesus’ Ministry Begins

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John the Baptist spent his short ministry travelling throughout the region preaching a baptism for repentance—that is, a 180-degree change in one’s thinking and conduct. Throngs of people, attracted by his message, journeyed into the wilderness to be baptized and forgiven of their sins.

John’s preaching drew a following large enough to attract the attention of the religious leaders of the day. The Temple priests and Levites went out to question him, asking if he were the Messiah. Some may have feared he was just another terrorist leader in the making, someone who would cause trouble and bring the wrath of Rome upon the land.

John’s answer was plain: “I am not the Christ.”

When pressed further to explain who he was, John replied, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, as written in the book of Isaiah: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. And the crooked will be made straight, and the rough ways will be made smooth. And all mankind will see the salvation of God.’”

John the Baptist had come “in the power and spirit of Elijah” to proclaim the First Coming of Christ’s arrival. Speaking of Christ, John declared, “There cometh One mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose” (Mark 1:7).

Why Was Jesus Baptized?

God’s Word plainly teaches that baptism must be preceded by repentance (Acts 2:38) and belief (Mark 16:16; Acts 16:31, 33). Upon repentance, the blood of Christ cleanses one of past sins. Baptism involves being entirely submerged underwater as a symbol of acknowledging one’s sins. When baptized, one figuratively dies with Jesus, our Saviour, in a “watery grave”—which typifies the death of the old self and the emergence of a new person with a new life. Rising out of that “grave” is symbolic of the resurrection of the dead; we live a new (righteous) life through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit actively at work within us (Rom. 6:4; 8:9;Gal. 2:20).

The New Testament is not the first place baptism is found in the Bible. Rather, God used this symbol thousands of years before John the Baptist was born. Noah’s deliverance from the Flood—a watery grave for the sinful world—represented deliverance from the penalty of sin through baptism (I Peter 3:20-21). And Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage through the Red Sea was also considered a type of Christian baptism (I Cor. 10:1-2). In both events, at the Flood of Noah’s time and at the Red Sea, God miraculously delivered His people who looked to and trusted in His deliverance.

Water baptism also requires faith in Christ—faith in His sacrifice, which wipes clear the past sins of the repentant believer. Noah acted on his faith in managing the giant project of building the ark. Moses instructed Israel to move forward to the sea and obeyed God’s instruction to lift up his rod to cause the sea to divide. The truly repentant believer must also act in faith, trusting in the deliverance of Christ to cover his sins and “lift him up” to a new life led by the Holy Spirit. An active, living faith is required.

When the time came for Jesus to start His ministry, John the Baptist was told how he was to recognize the Christ when he would baptize Him at a future time. The baptism of John symbolized the outward expression of sincere genuine repentance of those who would be convicted by the message he preached. Luke 1:77 states John the Baptist came “to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins.” His ministry focused on the first step of salvation, preparing a people for Christ’s arrival. They did not receive the Holy Spirit; Jesus had not yet been resurrected and glorified so He could not send forth the Spirit according to God’s Plan (John 7:39).

Jesus came to His cousin to be baptized, but John was hesitant. He said to Jesus, “I have need to be baptized of You, and come You to me?” (Matt. 3:13-14). Christ never sinned—never broke any of God’s laws. One of the purposes of His earthly ministry was to set the example for those whom God the Father might call into the difficult long-life journey of Christianity. This is why Jesus permitted Himself to be baptized. Also, His baptism foreshadowed an event that would occur three and a half years later: His death and resurrection.

A Titanic Battle for Rulership

As soon as He was baptized and received His Father’s approval—“You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11)—Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, went into the wilderness, where He “fasted forty days and forty nights” (Matt. 4:1-2).

Matthew 4:1-25 and Luke 4:1-44 record in detail a monumental battle of wills between Jesus Christ and Satan the devil. The two engaged in a very real outright spiritual war to determine who would ultimately rule the earth and reign over all nations, kingdoms and governments!

To spiritually prepare for this great test, Jesus humbled Himself through fasting, denying His body food and drink for 40 days. Contrary to hunger strikes, used throughout history to gain sympathy from the public and essentially extort the powers-that-be to give in to one’s demands, fasting is different. It is not a method to somehow “twist God’s arm” into rendering a favourable decision, or impress Him with one’s “righteousness,” or gain His sympathy. Fasting—when done in the right way, for the right purpose—is used to lower the self in one’s own eyes, to see himself as God sees him.

The Bible states, “The heart [carnal mind] is deceitful above all things, and is desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). Therefore, man cannot “walk to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23) through life, making decisions that “seem right unto a man, but the end therefore are the ways of death” (Prov. 16:25), for “all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes” (Prov 16:2).

When our stomachs are empty and begin to growl, we then realize that life is temporary. “My days are like a shadow that declines,” Psalm 102:11 states, “and I am withered like grass.” King David wrote, “As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more” (Psa. 103:15-16).

When compared to the Great God of the universe, “the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity” (Isa. 57:15), this physical, chemical existence humans call life is less than a breath. While God has need of nothing, our physical strength and bodily existence relies on whether we eat. Fasting—denying the body food and drink for at least 24 hours—reminds us we are less than nothing in the grand scheme of things, and that we need our Maker and Sustainer to provide for all our necessities. This humble mindset permits one to be teachable and willing to suppress his will to readily receive God’s direction.

When Satan confronted Christ in the wilderness, the first thing he did was try to tempt Jesus into eating, thus breaking His fast (Matt. 4:3). Yet by making Himself physically weak, Christ actually strengthened Himself spiritually. The devil tried to appeal to Jesus’ ego by saying, “IF you be the Son of God”—in other words, “Prove it!” But instead of relying upon Himself, Jesus wielded the “sword of the spirit” (Eph. 6:17)—that is, He recalled the Holy Scriptures in His mind—and said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4), quoting Deuteronomy 8:3.

But Satan was not ready to give up the battle. Matthew 4:1-25 records that he set Christ on a pinnacle of the Temple, and then quoted Scripture. Again, trying to inflate Jesus’ ego, the devil said, “IF You be the Son of God, cast Yourself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning You: and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time You dash Your foot against a stone” (Mt 4:6).

Yes, the devil can read the Bible. Satan is the master at misusing Scripture to confuse and deceive billions into blindly accepting easily disprovable false doctrines. He has long used false ministers as his human agents to carry out mass deception—religious leaders who seem to be sincere and truthful, but God’s Word calls them “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness” (II Cor. 11:13-15).

Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12, taking the passage out of context. Jesus understood this, and answered with God’s Word rather than trusting in Himself. “It is written again,” He said, “You shall not tempt the Lord Your God” (Matt. 4:7), quoting Deuteronomy 6:16.

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