Teaching Notes
We all have read about the baptism of Jesus Christ and how he rose out of the water and all that. But was that it?? Did we miss something here?? Remember, the Bible is about layers or levels, if you will.
Now, if you want to look it up yourself and don’t want the spoiler alert, go ahead and pause the video now. LOL
Mathew 3:13-17(NLT)
(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 baptized by you,’ he said, ‘so why are you coming to me?’ (15) But Jesus said, ‘It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.’ So John agreed to baptize him. (16) 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. (17) And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.’”
NOTES:
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A king never goes anywhere unannounced. It’s always a messenger who goes first to announce the king’s coming. (Mathew 3:11)
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Why would John the Baptist try to talk Jesus out of getting baptized? Perhaps, John the Baptist was feeling humbled and was thinking, “Who am I?” Wow, that sounds like a song doesn’t it! LOL
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Notice, God says “…who brings me great joy.” Now, this is even before Jesus starts his ministry, and God is already pleased! Imagine applying for a job and before you even start, your boss tells you, “Wonderful work; I just love what you do!” That’s unheard of, and it’s hard for us to wrap our minds around it. But this is how our God operates, He loves you BEFORE you do one thing!!!! That’s good news!!!
Now, what else do you notice?
You probably read this scripture many times. Do you notice anything?
I TOLD YOU THE BIBLE IS ABOUT LAYERS. IT’S ABOUT LEVELS!
Do you see it, saints? Okay, spoiler alert, we are about to go deeper.
Ok, let’s back up so we can see the BIG picture.
Back in the early days of the Israelites, you had the Levites, you also had the priests and one high priest.
The Levites collected the tithe from the people, and then in turn, the Levites would tithe the tithe to the priests. Now, at one point, the Levites stopped tithing to the priests, but that’s another story I won’t go into right now.
The Levites also served as guards, maintained the temple, and sang Psalms during the service. They interceded to God for the people by making sacrifices. They were descendants of Jacob.
Priests, on the other hand, were the descendants of Aaron. Among the priests, one was selected to be the high priest, and he alone would enter into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer blood sacrifices on the Ark of the Covenant.
Now, let’s look at Zechariah.
Luke 1:5-17(NLT)
(5) “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. (6) Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. (7) They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old. (8) One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. (9) As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. (10) While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. (11) While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. (12) Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. (13) But the angel said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. (17) He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.'”
NOTES:
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Zechariah was a priest of the order of Abijah
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Elizabeth was of the priestly line of Aaron!
See how God is orchestrating this?! John the Baptist is from the lineage of Aaron, which makes him the high priest!
DURING BAPTISM, GOD WAS TRANSFERRING THE HIGH PRIEST FROM JOHN THE BAPTIST TO JESUS!!!
That’s why John the Baptist said He must increase, but I must decrease.
GOD TRANSFERRED THE HIGH PRIEST MANTLE FROM JOHN THE BAPTIST TO JESUS IN FRONT OF THE PHARISEES AND EVERYONE ELSE!!!!
And nobody had a clue!!! God is dealing with generations at a time while we are focused on the day-by-day mundane things!
Now, how many times have we read this and missed it?!! The bible has layers, I tell ya! Glory to God!
And this is how Jesus became our high priest! When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he covered ALL THE BASES! He fulfilled the prophecies about him. He went over with a fine tooth comb and covered every dot and every tittle of the word!
I love you all!
Pastor Jeno
