I will send a messenger ahead of me

 

Read Malachi 3

The Hebrew people were a mess.  The priests were a mess and were largely responsible for the people continuing down the wrong path.  They were complicit in the matter.

What does God do when his people are a mess?  He sends a messenger, and not just a messenger but one that will prepare the way for his coming.

There will be a messenger.  For us he has come.  It was John the Baptist or if you keep reading, Elijah. Later, Jesus would note that John and Elijah were the same man.

God would not leave his people in the mess of their own making.  He would come and bring a New Covenant.  He would offer life to those enslaved by death and sin.

But who could endure his coming?  He will be like a refiner’s fire.  He will sift out impurities.  Those who continue in rebellion will perish.  This is judgment.

But it is also restoration.  God can do more than one thing at once. We are told that God will purify the Levites.  Those who he chastised severely will be cleansed and refined like silver or gold.  Then offerings pleasing and acceptable to God may resume.

For some there is hope.  There is restoration.  The offerings of the people will once again be acceptable to God.  God said not to fear his coming.  He does have good plans for his people.

Were we to continue reading, we would see that God has more admonition for his people.  He gives them hope and he chews them out at the same time. The tithe is the focus of the next reprimand.  We will save that for another time.

For now, let us have hope and take courage that even in our worst mess, God still loves us.  He does not want to see us perish.  He does have good plans for us.

If you go to the end of the chapter, you will see that there were some people who still feared the Lord. They made a scroll of remembrance. God heard them.

There will be a time when it will be too late to worship and serve the Lord, but that time has not yet come.  So long as it is still called today, we hope and encourage and share God’s love.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

God through Malachi is giving his priests and his people a harsh chewing out, but he is also speaking of a time when he will come in the flesh and forgive sins and make a way where there was no way. He will be everything we need.

We have received the fulfillment of this prophecy.  Jesus has come.  He made the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  We have been restored and made right with God not by anything we did but by God alone.  We have received his mercy.  We live in his favor and grace. 

We have received what was promised by the prophet Malachi.  We have received what the people of Malachi’s day saw as a future promise.

That promise lives in us.  We must never let ourselves become like God’s people of Malachi’s time—complacent, apathetic, and without hope.

We have no excuse for God himself lives within us. 

Your pastor, the body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit are here to challenge and encourage you.

The promises of God are true.

So let us never make God second best in our lives.

Let us never give him leftovers when we have first fruits.

Let us always seek him first, and not be enslaved to the things that the godless seek after.

Let us long to be known as his disciples by our love.

Let us take the admonishments and lessons of Malachi and apply them to our lives so as to be his faithful servant. 

Amen.

Matthew 16 - Part 3

 

Read Matthew 16

Jesus and his disciples headed west to the region of Caesarea Philippi.  This is west of the Sea of Galilee and south of Mount Carmel.  It was here that Jesus asked his disciples an interesting question.

Who do people say that I am?

There was a variety of answers.  John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or other prophets were being mentioned by the people when they talked about Jesus.

Jesus reframed the question.  Who do you say I am?

Peter spoke.  If there is one thing that we can say about Peter, he will get out of the boat.  Peter answers his Master.

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus noted that Peter—Simon son of Jonah—didn’t figure this out on his own.  He marked this moment in these words.

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Peter—you are indeed what your name means—and on this rock I will build my church.  On this God-given profession, Jesus pronounced that he will have a church and it will not be overcome by the forces of evil. 

Jesus confirmed Peter’s revelation and further revealed that he would have many more disciples than these 12.  In his church, heaven and earth come together. 

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven would be manifest in the church.  The church would still stumble and require continual confession, but abundant life and eternal life would begin with the church.

After these revelations, Jesus instructed his disciples not to tell anyone.  That’s got to be a tough pill to swallow for these disciples that have followed Jesus all over the Promised Land.  Now that what they had suspected was confirmed by Jesus himself, they were instructed to keep that tidbit to themselves.

Put this in the his time had not yet come file.

Jesus promised the keys to the kingdom.  That’s a metaphor for all eternity.  The kingdom of heaven was opened to Peter and to us.  God with us had made a way for us to be with God for eternity. 

Do you remember how Jesus used the disciples in the miracles of feeding the 5000 and the 4000?  He used Peter and uses us to open the kingdom of heaven to all creation. 

Our commission is not just to save people from eternal darkness but to bring them into eternal light.  I’m stealing from John and preaching Matthew.  The kingdom of heaven was opened to us.  We might fully live.  We might live in accord with God’s purpose for us.

Not only could we seek his kingdom and his righteousness, we could live there.  We can live there.  We have begun living there.

And the gates of hell will not overcome it!

When it looks like the love of many has grown cold, remember the gates of hell will not overcome the church.

When people call evil good and good evil, remember the gates of hell will not overcome his church.

When the followers of Christ Jesus spend more time picking at other believers than they do sharing the love of God, remember, the gates of hell will not overcome this church.

So continue the work of the church.  We have unfinished business.  Don’t look at the darkness all around you.  Don’t covet what others have.  Don’t spend your best efforts criticizing how other believers live.

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and trust in his promise that the gates of hell will not overcome his church.

And the gates of hell will not overcome it!

Amen.

Matthew 11 - Part 2

 

Read Matthew 11

John’s disciples started back to report to John, but Jesus used this visit as a segue into John’s role in what God was doing.

Jesus asked the people to consider their expectations with regard to John.  Were they expecting to see a man in fancy clothes in a fancy dining hall? 

Did they go to the Jordan just to take in the scenery?

Why did you go to see John?

He was a prophet and not just a prophet, but the greatest prophet sent to humankind.  He was Elijah for those who had eyes to see.  He prepared the way for the Lord.

He also marked the onset of battle between the kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of Heaven which was breaking out everywhere.  God had opened his kingdom to humankind as never before and the world fought against it.  Even the religious leaders of the day fought against it.

There were prophets and there was the law that had preceded John, but once John—the forerunner—came, the battle between the ways of the world and the ways of God were directly opposed on this earth.  The spiritual struggle was manifested on the earth.

People could conform to the patterns of the world or repent of those ways and seek the ways of God.  God open his kingdom to humankind and humankind fought against it. 

Think to Jesus saying that he did not come to bring peace but a sword.  It was time to choose sides.  You can’t be a friend of God and a friend of the world at the same time. 

God sent his Son to save the world not condemn it; yet, some chose to live conformed to this sinful world over receiving the One who came to save them.  It was a battle and those resisting the Lord fought violently.

But those who received the Lord also came with gusto.  People knew who held the words of life and they did not hold back. 

The battle was at hand.  Some trusted God and some opposed him.  Victory would be won on the cross, but battle lines had been drawn on the earth in the hearts of men.

Amen.

 

 

 

Matthew 3 - Part 2

 

Read Matthew 3

In the first service I went through all of the Old Testament scriptures concerning baptism.  It took no time at all.  Literally, it took no time.  There aren’t any.

There are some general analogies we might make, such as Jonah and his time underwater in the great fish, but upon further examination; we see Jesus use the Jonah reference with regard to resurrection.

But by the time that Jesus had come into the world, baptism was common enough that none of the religious leaders questioned the baptism part about what John was doing.  They were more focused on being called a bunch of snakes and defending their righteousness based on the fact that they had Abraham as their father.

I suppose that you could count the flood noted in Genesis as a huge baptism, but those who went under the water here did not reemerge.

There is ritual cleansing but not the baptism that we know today, at least in Christianity.  Pagan religious, mainly eastern religions, had a water purification which may have included immersion.  In fact, the Sumerian tradition from some three millennia earlier was adopted into the Greek culture and mythology and accredited to the god Ioannes which in English is John.

You might see why some consider the baptism of John a continuation of this myth.  You might also see why the religious leaders were interested in what John was doing at the Jordan.

In any case, John was real and not a myth.  He baptized with water.  He drew quite a crowd and then Jesus came for baptism. 

We don’t’ get the words that we do in John’s gospel.  Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

We do have a little insight into the words that preceded the baptism of the Lord.  John did not ask Jesus if he repented of his sins.  That would have been awkward.

How do you ask the one who has not sinned if he repents of his sin?

Instead, John inquires if instead of him baptizing Jesus, that Jesus should baptize him.  That would make more sense, wouldn’t it?

It would!  Absolutely it would make more sense from John’s perspective and probably from ours, except that Jesus was on a mission from his Father that was about to jump into high gear.  His baptism was like the commissioning of a ship.  The journey was about to begin in earnest and it had to begin the right way.

Jesus would not only go to the cross as a lamb that had not sinned by refraining from doing things he should not have done; he must arrive at that point doing everything that he was sent to do.

He must live a life that continued in right standing with his Father for the duration of his time in the flesh.

He would fulfill the law.  He would fulfill the prophets.  He would fulfill all righteousness.

Baptism was one of the first things on that bucket list and Jesus hit the target.  How do we know?

As soon as Jesus was baptized, 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.”

Dad said, You nailed it, Kid.

Jesus did this not because he needed to repent, but so that while he was in this world, he would do what no person had ever done.  He would do everything right in the sight of his Father, not because he needed it.  It was all for us.

Let’s see how that fits into our lives.  Do we do things because other people have expectations?  Sometimes, we do.  Sometimes the expectations of others are like a prison that we build for ourselves.

Do we do things because God has called us to do them and, whether others see them or not, we want to be right with God and his expectations for us.

Yes, we will fall short, and God promises forgiveness with every confession, but we want to hit the target that God has given us.  That’s really had to hit if the expectations of the world are in opposition or even just in competition with God’s direction.

Whose expectations influence our decisions?

How can you hit a target if you can’t decide where to aim?  Which expectations influence our decisions?

Jesus told John that he had his marching orders from his Father and baptism was on that list.  Do you want to do this your way or God’s way?  Sometimes all expectations are in sync with God’s way and there is no dilemma, but often we must choose.

There is a question that should hit home with us today.  Do we want to do what we think is the best course of action or do we trust God that his way is best?

It’s a Joshua sort of question.  Choose this day whom you will serve.  You have plenty of choices of who or what you put first in your life.  Some may seem very attractive and profitable.  Some may help you blend in with the crowd.

Some may make you appear unique and feed your esteem.

Jesus had no personal need for a baptism of repentance.  He did it because it was the right thing to do before his Father and he was on a mission to do everything right.  That would ruffle some feathers along the way, but it brought a lamb without blemish to the cross.

That’s bigtime for us, so let us celebrate this simple display of doing what was right by his Father in heaven that we might have an unblemished sacrifice offered for our sins.

And let us consider our own lives.  What do we do out of the expectation of others and what do we do because God has revealed his will to us?

We did not earn our right standing but we should live up to it as best we can.  We should do our best to hit the target.

Amen.

Matthew 3 - Part 1

 

Read Matthew 3

Let’s begin with a review of all of the Bible verses in the Old Testament about baptism.  Do you remember in which part of the Torah we find the instructions on baptism?

Exodus?  Leviticus?  Or did those instructions not come until Joshua entered the Promised Land?

There is no biblical instruction on baptism available to us from the Old Testament; yet, this chapter begins with John the Baptizer earning his title.  He was baptizing at the Jordan.

His baptism was one of repentance.  Now repentance was and is a concept that we can get our heads around with Old Testament precedent.  Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because the people there might repent and turn away from their evil ways and God would spare them the punishment and destruction that they so richly deserved.

But there is no mention of baptism.  Wearing sack cloth and putting ashes on your head might have been the thing to do, but baptism never entered the conversation. 

Repentance was a dry land experience as far as the Old Testament goes.  John does something different, but obviously familiar to the people of that age.

The Scribes and Pharisees say nothing of the fact that John is baptizing people.  Somewhere along the way, baptism became a part of Hebrew life.  The New Testament is full of baptism references, but John is the first instance that we note of this practice.

John baptized with water.  He promised one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.  John’s mission was to prepare the way for Jesus.

How do you prepare the way?  If a king was coming, you fixed the roads.  If the tin horn had washed away, you got a new one and smoothed out the crossing over the gulley.  Detours were not acceptable to the king.  He would not want to go around the problem.  You were supposed to fix the problem before he got there.

Get rid of the detour and keep the road straight. 

Today we complain about our roads and then we complain about construction when somebody starts to fix them.  While I’m sure that the new Diamond Interchange makes it easier for trucks and large vehicles to access and exit (especially left turns); I don’t think it fits the model of make straight the way.

John prepared the way for Jesus by calling all to repent of their sins.  If you want salvation, you must first repent.

We must still prepare the way to receive our Lord and Savior.  Sometimes that takes years.  Sometimes it is a moment, but however long, we must realize that our life lived only for ourselves is not one that has readied the way for our Lord.

We are not ready for grace without repentance.  The world wants that.  The world wants sin in one had and forgiveness in another.  While God is a forgiving God; we must not become cavalier to his lovingkindness. 

We are called to repent.

John called all and baptized those who came to repent of their sins.  The One greater than him who would come after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit, but would also call for repentance.  As we will see in the next chapter, Jesus called people to repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.

And I can’t leave out John’s treatment of the Pharisees and Sadducees who had come just to watch.  They were spectators and arm-chair quarterbacks but we know  of none who came to repent or for baptism.

Why should they repent?  They were sons of Abraham.  They had their ticket punched.  Or did they?

John warned these snakes—you brood of vipers—that God could take the rocks around them and make new children of Abraham if he so desired.

John warned them that they better invest less in their lineage and more in their lives proved worthy by the fruit they produce.

John came before Jesus and would continue his ministry concurrently with Jesus for a time and at different locations, but the message remains for all.

Prepare the way for the Lord.  How? Repent of your sins.

What is the message that you hear from me at Ash Wednesday?  It’s a reminder.  There is no Ash Wednesday in the Bible.  The apostles didn’t partake of Ash Wednesday.  The ashes have no power.

The message of that time which I believe is a reminder to us should be life for the world. 

REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS!

We should not only hear these words but share these words with this lost world.  Amen.

Life and Death

Read John 3

After Jesus came to John at the Jordan, John did not stop baptizing.  You might think that his job was done.  It was not, but it was lessening.

You might wonder why John didn’t follow Jesus.  John had his assignment and he would not become a distraction for the very One for whom he prepared the way.

People still needed to repent of their sins.  Not all of the people who needed to do this would make their way to see John.  John kept doing what he was called to do, but he had perspective.

In the course of a discussion that began with ceremonial washing, the context turned to the fact that people were following Jesus more than John.  Even some of John’s own disciples had left to follow him.

John explained that he was not the Christ.  He had explained this before but did it again.

The Christ is from heaven. He is the only one who has seen and known heaven.  He is on a mission from his Father.  That’s why he is with us.

John was of the earth.  He had surely been given gifts by the Father, but he originated of a father’s desire.  He had a heavenly mission but was a man with a God-given mission.

That mission was to prepare the way for the Christ.  That was a big deal at first but had lessened somewhat since the arrival of Jesus at the Jordan.  There would come a point—in this case imprisonment—when John’s work at the Jordan and other places would come to an end.

John was not upset about this.  In fact, this is what he thought being the forerunner called him to do.  He prepared the way for the One who was coming after him.  Now that One had surpassed him in his earthly ministry.

Have you ever watched a relay race?  Runners don’t just run their leg and stop and then pass the baton.  The runner of the first leg runs as fast as he can and passes the baton to the next runner at full speed.  That first runner keeps on running.  It would be unnatural to slam on the breaks.  Once the baton is passed, he gradually slows down.

The race is in the hands of the next runner, but the first runner still runs for a bit.

Jesus had the baton.  Jesus was the reason for John’s mission.  Jesus was the One that brought life and life eternal.  The Father had placed everything into the hands of Jesus.

John had preached repentance but now he preached life and death.

Whoever receives the Son has life but those who don’t remain dead.  The wrath of the Father is still upon them.

John proclaimed repentance and turning away from a sinful world.  He prepared the world that was under the wrath of God for the Christ.

Jesus proclaimed deliverance because his Father desired mercy and forgiveness over wrath, but belief in the one and only Son of God was essential.  It is essential.

In the middle of his explanation, John appeared to be a little exasperated.  He said the One who comes from above has testified to the truth but no one has believed him.  John was not concerned that his part has lessened.  He wondered why everyone was not responding to the One who came after him.

Surely, no one does not mean every single person on the planet for we have already noted some who did believe and follow Jesus.  John was wondering how so many had come to see him and partake of this earthly baptism, yet were not yet ready to believe in the One who came after him.

These people who had come to see John had only known repentance and forgiveness for a time.  Whatever they had done in accordance with God’s law, they would do again next year.  Maybe they grew closer to God for a time, then the relationship would atrophy.

I can’t imagine a Hebrew feeling any better than he could on or just after the Day of Atonement. But a few months later, the slavery of sin would rattle its chains more and more each day.

David had said that his sin was always before him.  All the blood of goats and bulls could not make him clean.  Only God could create in him a pure heart.

We are temporal beings made from the dust of the earth.  We don’t comprehend eternity, but God placed eternity in our hearts.  We can’t know it in the world, only in God.

Eternity had come in the man we know as Jesus.  He brought life and life eternal, but so many did not want to receive what he brought.  The darkness of the world was too appealing.

From the beginning of this gospel, the state of the world has been compared to darkness.  The light came but people did not recognize him.

The darkness cannot overcome him but somehow people chose darkness.  It’s comfortable.

Hello darkness my old friend.

 I’ve come to talk with you again.

 Paul Simon’s words sometimes hit close to home.

How could people not receive the testimony of the One who came from heaven?  People were comfortable with their condemned state. 

How can people today reject the truth that we know in Jesus Christ?  

Condemnation is comfortable.  You have heard me talk about the twin gods of Apathy and Ambivalence before.  Their companions are bitterness, vitriol, and acrimony.  They are alive and well in modern American and they have taken the life out of life for so many.

So many people are checking on their stimulus check every hour and don’t check in with God once a month.

So many people who watch part of this broadcast as a program and are not participating in worship, won’t be here when we start to gather again.  Not because of health concerns or geography but comfort.

So many people love their comfort and darkness so much that they won’t hear the testimony of the one true God that we know in Christ Jesus.

Most of the time when we gather together, I preach to disciples.  I challenge those who already have professed Jesus not just as Savior but as Lord.  Jesus is Lord.  He reigns.  My comfort zone is continually being changed by him.

Most of my messages are for those people, people who are following the Lord and growing in his grace.  Most are not about salvation for in your profession of faith you have been saved from sin and death and in your discipleship, you are stepping into abundant life.

In this new format, I know that we are reaching some who just want to check the God block on their to-do list just in case this pandemic thing gets really bad.

I know some are just running this broadcast in the background of something else that they are doing.

Some just post their like or heart emojis and then get back to binge-watching Netflix. 

Some are worshiping because the Spirit of God that lives inside of you compels you to worship.  If that’s you, pardon me for a moment while I speak to everyone else.

This message of life and death is for real.  It’s not theory or philosophy.  It’s not something to be considered only in your old age. 

This is here and now life and death. 

We see the pandemic deaths posted on the news every day.  You will grow comfortable with the numbers.  You’re still breathing.  Those are just numbers.  Death is not near you, is it?

That’s a cold thing to say.  How can you say that?

Talk with someone who is old enough to remember the Vietnam War but was not sent to Vietnam.  What do they remember?  The numbers and sometimes the names of those lost that day would be published on the evening news.  Yes, there was a time where half an hour of local news and half an hour of national news was enough.

People grew accustomed to the daily accounts of American casualties.

Men and women still die in battle all around the globe.  We seldom hear about them.  Many more die when they come home and take their own lives.  Little attention is given to them.

We have grown accustomed to and comfortable with death.  Death counts grow every day from war, disease, starvation, and even the contagion of the year.

What we are missing is that we are already dead.  We are already dead until we believe in Jesus.  Jesus brings life and life eternal.

If you are comfortable in your present existence but don’t know life, eternal life may not be appealing to you.  You may be comfortable in your present darkness and think that it’s good enough.

You may think that you don’t want to give up what you have for what you believe life as a disciple of Jesus Christ is.  What you need to understand is that all that you have, all your worldly belongings and pleasure and treasures of many kinds are just decorations on your casket because you are already dead.

Some of those who are here every Sunday are thinking, “What got into Tom?  He is always preaching about love and growing in God’s grace.  What’s the deal?”

You would be correct if I were talking to those who know the Lord and desire to follow him, but right now I am talking to those who are dead and don’t even know it.

If that’s you, stop listening to me and confess your sins to the Lord, profess your belief in him, and affirm that you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and sent his Spirit—his own Holy Spirit to live within us.

Then I want you to do one more thing.  Call someone that you know who is a believer and begin learning about following Jesus.

Learn about being his disciple.

Learn about life abundant and life eternal.

Learn about growing in the grace of God.

Understand that professing Jesus as Lord is not something to be saved when you think death is near.  Death is here and you are under the wrath of God.  It’s a wrath that God does not want you to bear so he made a way for you to receive his love and forgiveness and grace.

Your profession of faith in Jesus Christ is not the finish line.  It’s the starting blocks for you can now live as God designed you to live.

For those who have professed their faith in this moment, know there is a celebration in heaven over you that’s just beginning.

For those who have been faithful disciples for some time, be ready to receive our new brothers and sisters as they reach out to you for help.

Let them know this God who is love by our love. 

Celebrate that their names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life and that God has entrusted them to you to help them grow in his grace.

Amen.

Behold the Lamb of God

Read John 1

It’s a new day at the Jordan.  John is back at work.  I imagine that he is waterlogged from the waist down.  The baptism business is good but not the main business that John is about.

He is preparing the way for the one who is so much greater than he is.  He may or may not have seen him growing up.  John jumped in his mother’s womb when Mary, the soon to be mother of Jesus came to visit, but from this part of the text, it sounds like these two did not grow up together.

But on this day, John sees Jesus walking his way.  He has no doubt who is approaching.  He exclaims, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

What powerful words.  This is the one that I was talking about.  This is the one who has come with a divine mission.  This is the one who will do what we couldn’t do from the beginning.  He will take away our sin.

That’s a tall order and there is much more to it than is revealed in this proclamation, but this is a big proclamation.

We don’t get a full sequence of events here.  John knows Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, because the Spirit of the Lord descended upon him. 

How did John know all of this?  John was on a mission of his own, yes, a mission from God.  God told him this is how the Messiah, the Christ, will be revealed to you. 

John was headfirst into baptizing people preparing the way for the Messiah.  He didn’t know how long this assignment would be but he was fully engaged in calling people to repent and be baptized.  Then the very person whom he had been preparing the people for arrived.  From this point forward, John’s ministry decreases—not brought to a halt—and that of Jesus begins and grows.

The Spirit descended upon him and John makes one more pronouncement.

I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.

This could have been considered blasphemy.  Who is this character to call anyone the Son of God?  This guy said he wasn’t the Christ.  He wasn’t Elijah.  He wasn’t even a prophet according to his own words, but now he has proclaimed a man, an ordinary man by all evidence thus far, to be the Son of God.

These two statements are going to be on the final.

Behold the Lamb of God who
 takes away the sin of the world.

I have seen and I testify that
 this is the Son of God.

Today, we consider these statements as basic elements of our faith.  This is an account of Jesus who is the Son of God and who has come to take away the sin of the world.

 

But think of being at the Jordan and hearing these words for the first time.  Many of God’s promises take a long time.  The people knew what the prophets of old had said and how patient God was before what the prophets foretold came to pass. 

So, is this person who is so much greater than John coming today or in 200 years?  Imagine what it would have been like to be among the people at the river at this time. 

Imagine what it would have been like to hear the man you walked a long way to see, hear, and receive his baptism say, “Here he is.  This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  This is the Son of God.”

We were not there.  We did not see, but if we turn ahead in John’s gospel 20 chapters, we find these words.

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

This is the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ.  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world had about 3 years to minister to this lost world before he would die for us. 

Each gospel account varies in many ways and for many reasons, but all of them see the ministry of Jesus begin with John at the Jordan.  Remember these two very foundational statements.

Behold the Lamb of God who
 takes away the sin of the world.

I have seen and I testify that
 this is the Son of God.

Things were about to start happening in the ministry of Jesus whom John had proclaimed Savior and Son of God.

Amen.