Faith Lessons from Israel:

The Jordan River and the Baptism of Jesu

Matthew 3:15, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

He closed the door of the family carpentry shop one last time—its floor covered with sawdust and rich with memories of time spent with his dad, Joseph:

Remember, Jesus, “Measure twice, cut once.”

“Dad, which wood is harder? Cedar or oak?”

“Finish sanding that table leg and we’ll call it a day.”

Three-legged and four-legged stools, chairs with backs, dinner tables that stood very low to the ground, beds with slats to support a mattress, nightstands to hold small clay lamps filled with olive oil, and large wooden storage chests. The business would now pass to his younger brothers—James, Joses, Judas and Simon (Matthew 13:55).

Mary’s “firstborn son” (Matthew 1:25) embraced his young mother; she always knew this day would come. He soaked in the familiar Nazareth hills with a slow sweep of his head and set out down the dry riverbed of the Wadi Bira for the winding, muddy waters of the Jordan River “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

By the time Jesus arrived on the banks of the Jordan, possibly just outside of Jericho Town, believers and skeptics alike had already gathered there to hear the prophetic sermons of John the Baptizer, and in the case of many, to be baptized in the same water that had once divided miraculously so that General Joshua and the children of Israel could begin their conquest of the Promised Land. Any and all who confessed their sins each day at the Jordan followed up their change of heart with baptism. Baptized tax collectors promised to collect no more than the law required. Baptized soldiers promised not to bully civilians and to be content with their wages. Others promised to share their clothes and their food with the needy.

Forgiven sinners of all ages publicly identify themselves as sinners through the practice of baptism, which pictures the cleansing that God brings to the heart of men. The perfect need no baptism, so when Jesus stepped to the front of the crowd requesting baptism, the Baptizer initially refused. But Jesus insisted, saying, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (3:15). I suspect that John, like me, didn’t fully understand the meaning of Jesus’ words. They made little sense at the time. That’s why Jesus says, “Permit it to be so now.” In other words, some things that don’t make sense now will prove to be just right as we look back on them in the days ahead. Not fully understanding, John nevertheless fully trusted, and together they waded into the water for baptism—the sinless in the hands of the sinful. How fitting that Jesus, who could never identify himself as a sinner, nevertheless chose to identify himself with sinners! How comforting to know that Jesus understands our temptations, pressures and loneliness! He asks us to trust him in our moments of hesitation and confusion.

Today in Israel half a dozen or more locations have been proposed as the actual site of Jesus’ baptism—two in particular near Jericho. Despite the evident uncertainty, each site stands as a memorial to Jesus’ compassion for sinners and John’s obedience to Jesus in the face of the unthinkable.

God may be asking you too to do the unthinkable. It would be so much easier for you if it weren’t for the crowd nearby poised to criticize your actions; yet, you’ve clearly heard from God, so “permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for [you and God] to fulfill all righteousness.” Step into the water with him. It’s time to trust.

-Daniel McCabe

Trivia

On Location:

Israel’s Holocaust Museum

I loved my visit to Yad Vashem. Unfortunately I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to spend there. It was already getting closer to the end of the day, their closing time, but we were still able to snake through the museum, for it’s laid out in a zigzag pattern. I haven’t been to many holocaust memorials even though there are many around the world, but I was expecting a lot more horrifying pictures of emaciated prisoners and their hard experiences inside the concentration camp. However, there was less of that and more about the stories of people and the context that led up to those experiences as well as the fallout that followed the Holocaust after World War 2, which was great. It was actually a nice surprise. Of course, there were still troubling pictures and other items that you would expect to see, but you really come away with a greater appreciation of the gravity of the historical context. Then, as you exit the museum, there’s a beautiful view of the city of Jerusalem, and as someone who appreciates and longs for the future of what God will do with the Jewish people, it’s really uplifting to look out over the city where God has chosen to place His name and where the Lord will return and rule in righteousness and justice and peace.

A trip to Yad Vashem is a must at some point on one’s trip to Jerusalem, but take your time there. Carve out an afternoon, a full day if you can.

-Dan McCabe

Pneumatology, Part 6:

The Holy Spirit’s Enablement for Service

There are various ways in which the Spirit enables men for service. For example, He’s given men the ability to interpret dreams, such as Old Testament Joseph and the prophet Daniel. We see too that He’s endowed certain men with administrative skills, e.g., Joshua in Numbers 27 who would be empowered to lead the Israelites in excellent ways. God has given people excellent military leadership like Gideon and poetic ability like David, the sweet psalmist of Israel.

Also, the Spirit has enabled others with special craftsmanship. Remember Bezalel and Aholiab when God gave instructions to Moses to construct the tabernacle. We see this in Exodus 31:2-3. Bezalel and Aholiab were two individuals of whom God said that His Spirit would give them great abilities of craftsmanship to carry out the work. Many of the Israelites were builders, but the construction of the tabernacle would not be an easy task, so He specially enabled certain people with excellent craftsmanship to do what He wanted them to do.

Then there’s Samson whom God gave great physical strength only when the Holy Spirit came upon him. It wasn’t Samson doing these great feats in his own strength. In fact, when I close my eyes and picture Samson, I don’t see a muscle-bound meathead or a gym rat. I picture a normal guy. The Holy Spirit came upon him at certain times, enabling him to perform miraculous feats of strength that no one could possibly do in his own human strength. Samson wasn’t able to lift huge boulders as soon as he woke up every morning. His strength appeared only during those times when the Holy Spirit came upon him.

There’s also a theocratic anointing of the Holy Spirit, meaning a special ministry to certain individuals to be the mediator between God and man. Yes, of course, the Bible teaches that there’s one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. But in the covenantal relationship that God had with the nation of Israel, He appointed theocrats, leaders that He called who would mediate between Himself and the people. Certainly nobody is a mediator between God and man in the same way that Jesus is, but the Spirit appointed human agents to serve in a special administrative way. For example, He raised up Moses, Joshua, various judges over the tribes, Saul, David, and all the kings after David. We see this many times throughout the Old Testament, but Jesus had a special mediating role as evident in Luke 4 when He read from the scroll of Isaiah that the Spirit had anointed Him for His ministry. But yes, the Spirit also rose up certain individuals to serve as the theocratic mediator between God and His covenant people. I think this is what David means in Psalm 51 when he says, “Take not Your Holy Spirit from Me.” I don’t think David is fearful that God would take his salvation away from him by taking away the Holy Spirit. I think instead that David is asking God not to take the kingship away from him because he knows what happened to Saul. Saul failed in such a grievous way that God took the kingship from him and eventually gave it to David. But then David sinned greatly with Bathsheba and against Uriah. Saul had violated an important instruction that God had given to him, and that’s technically what disqualified him from being king. Thus, in Psalm 51, I think David feared that God would remove the theocratic anointing of the Holy Spirit from him for his great sin with Bathsheba.

Lastly and best of all, the Holy Spirit worked in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in special ways. We know that Jesus was conceived and filled by the Holy Spirit who led Him in both Matthew 4 and Mark 1. He anointed Jesus, and Jesus acted according to the power of the Spirit. We see this in Mark 5:30 and Luke 4:14; 5:17. Jesus’ entire ministry, the miracles He wrought, the revelation He gave, everything that is beyond the ability of a normal human was done by the power of the Holy Spirit who came upon Jesus at His baptism, enabling Him for His messianic public ministry. That’s why when Jesus’ opponents accused Him of working His miracles by the power of Beelzebub that Jesus responded, “Wait a minute, you’ve blasphemed the Holy Spirit! Anything you say against the Son of Man can be forgiven you, but what you just did by blaspheming the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, for He is the power behind Jesus’ ministry. Jesus operated according to the power of the Holy Spirit who, as we know, raised Jesus from the dead.

-Adam Keim

On Location The Center of the World

During our September 2022 trip to Israel, in which Gigi (alongside Richard) is standing behind a decorative stone that marks the center of the world–well, at least according to the Greek Orthodox. It’s located approximately 50 feet from the traditional site of the resurrection of Jesus Christ inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

I know some of you believe that the center of the world is the 50-yard line of AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and how could I possibly disagree with that, but even if you were to challenge the credibility of either claim, may we never doubt the one who made and loved the world (John 3:16). In fact one day Jesus will return to earth to reign from Jerusalem for 1000 years, and I think we can easily agree that his throne in that coming day will rightly be called the center of the world.

-Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

C. David Ben-Gurion

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