First Words, Part III
After the inaugural post (First Words) on The chalktalX Blog, it spurred a curiosity in me to see what are the first words by God that are given to us in the Bible. I flipped to Genesis and found them in verse 3: “let there be light”. These were the first recorded verbal words of God. Do note as I delve into this brief survey of God’s initial spoken words that I do believe all the words of the 66 books in the Bible to be God’s Word, His holy and inspired Word given to us for life, for godliness, for knowing Him. Are these first words more valuable or important than the other spoken and written words of God? Not at all. It’s just been an enjoyable survey to consider these firsts.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is God incarnate. He is both fully God and fully man. So what were His first words recorded in the Gospel of Matthew?
Beginning to sift through the opening pages of Matthew’s gospel, a reader will encounter the scene preparing the way for the Lord Jesus. A few decades after he lept in his mother’s womb when Jesus in Mary’s womb came near, John the Baptist was out in the wilderness preaching, ‘“repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”’ Isaiah spoke about John the Baptist, telling of one coming who would have “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight”. That’s what his God given purpose was, and he faithfully prepared the way of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Jesus came to the Jordan river to be baptized with water by John. John displayed his humble purpose when he saw the Messiah approaching by exclaiming to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus seems to accept John’s humble posture but refuses his humble request. Jesus was coming to the Jordan to be baptized by John. “But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’” (verse 15, ESV).
Isn’t baptism for sinners as an outward sign of their changed life? Isn’t baptism a confession of one’s brokenness and of one’s dire need of a Savior? Peter declares in Acts 2:38 “repent and be baptized…for the forgiveness of your sins”...is this the purpose of Jesus being baptized by John? By no means.
Here we have Jesus coming to a sinner to be baptized like a sinner. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords; Jesus is perfect, holy, and righteous. He needed not to repent of any sin whatsoever, for He was without sin and undefiled. Dr. J Vernon McGee shared on this passage (button below for his recording) noting that the purpose of Jesus’ baptism was to identify fully with those whom He came down to save. King Jesus knew no sin but became sin on behalf of those who have a saving faith in Him. He came down to completely identify with you and me. And He did so as a perfectly righteous Ultimate Substitute. The sins of the world were placed upon Jesus; your sins and my sins were placed upon Him. Not an ounce of sin was within Him.
Tim Keller’s well used quote is helpful: “the Gospel is that Jesus Christ came to earth, lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died.” He had to fully identify with fallen humanity to fulfill God’s substitutionary plan of redemption. The Ultimate Substitute took on flesh and was baptized merely because He loves you and me. One of the verses in the Verse+Content Set 3 is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life". Jesus Christ of Nazareth “...[fulfilled] all righteousness”. His love for you and me is amazing!
Written by Warren M. Grimm