W2D5 A New Beginning

READ THE BIBLE

Matthew 3: 13

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’

REFLECT ON WHAT IT MEANS

One day a young woman decided to do something really different to everyone else in her community. She had been getting together with some people from outside her village and learning about Jesus and what it means to be “born again.” Then one day she, too, turned from her past ways, gave her life to Jesus and asked him into her heart. In an instant she was “born again.”

Her new friends explained that there was something simple, but really important, that she should now do to demonstrate on the outside her new faith and change of heart inside. She should do something called getting “baptised.” So she did. She was dipped right under water as a sign of her past mistakes, wrongs and sins all being washed away. “It’s like burying your old life in the water and when you come up out of that water, it’s like rising to a new life,” her friends told her.

Where she lived was a hot climate and water wasn’t in great supply, so the only deep enough pool of water available was a drainage channel next to the road. That’s where she was put under the water and brought up again, to be baptised into Jesus. As she came up out of the water a bus was passing, full of people from her village.

They all stared at her through the windows of the bus. When she got home that night, she was stopped from entering the village by some of the leading people of that place.

When she asked why, they explained that lots of people had seen her being baptised next to the roadside. They told her that in their eyes what she had done had shown everyone that she was obviously a new person with a new start. If that’s the case, she had given up her rights to be a citizen of that village since she no longer followed the same way of life and beliefs that they did. She would have to live outside of the walls and set up a new home for herself there. There was no way she was ever going back on her decision, so off she went to a spot outside the walls to set up a new home for herself. When she got there she found she was not alone, but others like her had also built new homes there. “You can see this outside lots of villages,” they told her, “Just a few huts outside the walls - for the people who get baptised into Jesus.”

Being baptised is more than just a simple church thing to do. It’s a powerful statement both in this world and the spiritual world that we are following Jesus totally. There will usually be a price to pay for it, maybe misunderstanding or comments from friends and family, or people treating you differently or maybe leaving you out of things. But God sees you and he approves of what you do and he will help you.

You will notice in our Bible verses today that Jesus was baptised and that might seem a bit strange at first. After all, Jesus was perfect and without sin, so why would he need his old life washing away? The answer is, he didn’t. So, why did he get baptised then? The answer is, to set an example for us to follow. If he did it, then so should we! For him it marked the start of a new stage in his life, one of going public, doing miracles and teaching the people. For us it marks the start of our new “born again” life in the Holy Spirit and following Jesus’ example by living for God and telling others about him.

Our Bible verses tell us God was so pleased with Jesus that he even spoke in a voice from heaven to encourage Jesus in this way. Well, you may not get a voice from heaven when you are baptised, but you can be sure that God is just as pleased with you when you follow Jesus’ example and get baptised.

RELATE IT TO YOUR LIFE

Ask around at church and find someone who has been baptised.

Ask them what it was like and what it has meant to them.

Talk to your guide about baptism and ask them any questions you may have about it.

RESPOND WITH A DECLARATION

“Baptism means the death of my old nature and the start of a new life for me.”