Tag: John the Baptist
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Preparing the Way
John 1:6-8 There was a man sent from God. This man was not Jesus. John, the gospel writer, suddenly stops talking about Jesus in order to introduce another character in his narrative—John. He is not introducing himself. This is a different John, John the baptizer. John the baptizer is a man sent from God. He…
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Jesus Sees Us; Devo, John 1:43-51
Philip and Nathaniel follow Jesus. I don’t know why Nathaniel was under the fig tree, but Jesus’s divine knowledge of the occasion was enough to persuade Nathaniel that He was indeed the Son of God. Jesus promised Nathaniel he would see much greater things, including angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man—Jesus’s favorite…
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What do You Seek? Devo, John 1:35-42
John the Baptizer introduces two of his disciples to Jesus—Andrew and Simon Peter. We don’t often think about these two having first been disciples of John the Baptizer. After John introduced them to Jesus and upon hearing Jesus teach, the two men started following Jesus. Jesus asked them a question we should all consider, “What…
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Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Daily Devo, John 1:29-34
When I read this passage at face-value, it seems as though John the Baptizer does not know his cousin is the messiah until the Holy Spirit descends in this moment. This was not a premeditated rouse to capture followers for a new religion or cult. Jesus didn’t tell John. John was prepared to testify to…
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I’m No Prophet or Messiah: Daily Devo, John 1:19-34
John the Baptizer begins his public ministry, comprising mostly preaching Old Testament messianic passages and baptizing Jews who come to him. Some leading Jews come out from Jerusalem to question John, but John was not trying to be the next public teaching figure. Unlike others, he was not claiming to be the literal resurrection of…
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Live Your Best Life Now Or Be With Jesus?
Last week, we introduced this section of Christ’s teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew’s Gospel. In this section we learn the nature of Christ’s kingdom. So far, we have learned that Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of priests, not consumers. This week we will see the status citizens in Christ’s kingdom have in…
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Jesus Didn’t Do His Job
Tonight, we get to begin a new section in Matthew’s Gospel. The previous section described Jesus’s mission work on this earth and His calling on His disciples to partake in that mission work. This passage begins Matthew’s section in which Jesus teaches about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus has mentioned the Kingdom of Heaven (3:2;…
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Why Did Jesus Receive the Baptism of Repentance From John?
Last week, we started this section of Matthew’s Gospel that we are referring to as the prelude to Jesus’ preaching ministry. John the Baptist taught some very significant things concerning the kingdom of heaven, which was at hand. As he is teaching, Jesus comes to be baptized by him. Matthew 3:13-17 Then Jesus arrived from…
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What is the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord?
In Matthew 3:1-4:11, we find Matthew’s prelude to Jesus’ public preaching ministry. In this prelude, the necessity of the true Gospel will be made evident and Matthew will take the opportunity to, once again, prove that Jesus is the fulfillment of national Israel. Matthew 3:1-12 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in…