God's Dearly Loved Son
Mark D. Roberts
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
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As John the Baptist was preaching his message of repentance and preparation for the Messiah, baptizing those who responded to his call, Jesus came to be baptized. As John baptized him and Jesus was praying, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus and a voice from heaven said, "You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy" (Luke 3:22).
The words of the divine voice connect the identity and ministry of Jesus to crucial passages in the Old Testament. In Psalm 2:7, for example, the Lord speaks to Israel's king, saying, "You are my son. Today I have become your Father." In Isaiah 42:1, the Lord says, "Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations." Jesus is the divine Son who will reign over God's kingdom with justice for all nations. He is also the Servant of God who gives joy to his heavenly Father and whose suffering will lead to salvation (see Isaiah 53).
Hearing the divine voice clarified and focused Jesus' calling as the one who was anointed by God both to rule and to suffer. It also brought the reassurance of the Father's love for and delight in Jesus.
Jesus was the Son of God in a unique way. He knew the Father's love with intimacy and immediacy that we can't fathom. Yet, through Jesus, you and I can be beloved children of God. In John 1:12, we read that all who believe in Jesus "become children of God." This good news is reiterated in John's first letter (3:1): "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!"
The knowledge and experience of God's love transforms us. I remember years ago praying for a young man who was deeply troubled. "Sean" had come forward for prayer after a worship service and only shared that he was struggling with deep discouragement and depression. As I prayed for him, I kept hearing the words of the divine voice in Jesus' baptism. Believing that the Spirit was guiding me, I prayed quite specifically that Sean would know he was God's dearly loved son and that God took delight in him.
Immediately, Sean burst into tears, crying with deep sobs for a long time. I felt quite unsettled, fearing that I had done something terribly wrong. Finally, when he had gathered himself, he explained that he grew up in a home with a father who never communicated his love to his children. Sean always felt uncertain of his father's love. When he became a Christian, he quite naturally transferred that uncertainty to his heavenly Father. He had come to church that day with a longing to know that God loved and accepted him. Hence his response to my prayer.
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