Imitation

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January 7, 2007 - Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Open It

1. From what period of history would you most like to meet one of your ancestors?

2. What mental image comes to mind when you hear the word "baptism"?

3. Of all the things a person could hear God say to them, what would be one of the most meaningful?

Explore It

4. In what way was John becoming famous? (3:15)

5. What title were the people beginning to give John? (3:15)

6. What was John's response to those who thought he might be the Messiah? (3:16)

7. How did John explain his phrase, "Produce fruit in keeping with righteousness"? (3:8, 11-14)

8. How did John describe Jesus? (3:16-18)

9. Who baptized Jesus? (3:21)

10. How were Jesus, the dove, and the voice all related in Jesus' baptism? (3:21-22)

11. To whom did the voice from heaven speak during Jesus' baptism? (3:22)

12. What did the voice from heaven actually say about Jesus? (3:22)

13. What was Jesus doing when the Holy Spirit descended on Him? (3:22)

Get It

14. What about Luke's description of Jesus' baptism leads us to think of God in terms of three persons-the Trinity?

15. Since Jesus was sinless, what made his baptism necessary?

16. How does Jesus' baptism demonstrate his willingness to identify with our human condition?

17. What does it mean that God publicly claimed Jesus as his Son?

18. In what ways were the events during Jesus' baptism a commissioning ceremony for him?

19. What does it mean for someone to call his or her way of life a ministry?

20. How are repentance, baptism, forgiveness, prayer, the Holy Spirit's presence, and God's blessing all important in the life of a Christian?

Apply It

21. In what kinds of ways can you be a minister of God to others this week?

22. To whom can you express support for his or her public ministry this week?

Notes

Luke 3:21-22: Luke emphasizes Jesus' human nature. Jesus was born to humble parents, a birth unannounced except to shepherds and foreigners. This baptism recorded here was the first public declaration of Jesus' ministry. Instead of going to Jerusalem and identifying with the established religious leaders, Jesus went to a river and identified himself with those who were repenting of sin. When Jesus, at age 12, visited the temple, he understood his mission (Luke 2:49). Eighteen years later, at his baptism, he began carrying it out. And as Jesus prayed, God spoke and confirmed his decision to act. God was breaking into human history through Jesus the Christ.

3:21-22 If baptism was a sign of repentance from sin, why did Jesus ask to be baptized? Several explanations are often given: (1) Jesus' baptism was one step in fulfilling his earthly mission of identifying with our humanity and sin; (2) by endorsing the rite of baptism, Jesus was giving us an example to follow; (3) Jesus was announcing the beginning of his public ministry; (4) Jesus was being baptized for the sins of the nation. The Holy Spirit's appearance in the form of a dove showed that God's plan for salvation was centered in Jesus. Jesus was the perfect human who didn't need baptism for repentance, but he was baptized anyway on our behalf.

3:21-22 This is one of several places in Scripture where all the members of the Trinity are mentioned-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the traditional words of the church, the one God exists in three persons but one substance, coeternal and coequal. No amount of explanation can adequately portray the power and intricacy of this unique relationship. There are no perfect analogies in nature because there is no other relationship like the Trinity.

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