Today I had a chance to read and talk through Matthew chapter 3 with the guys at the farm. This came on the heels of my coworker going through the first 2 chapters and describing the gospel the as the best and most exciting story over told. As many of you know this is the passage of Jesus’ baptism by John. It hit me as I prepared for the lesson that it seems odd that Jesus, who had no sin and was perfect, being both God and human, would need to be baptized. After some time thinking about it, I could only think it was to fulfill the prophecy dealing with John and that was it. While I was presenting the lesson though, I felt a thought or rather reminder come to me. God desires obedience rather than sacrifices. Jesus, the king and savior of the world was obedient and humble enough to be baptized by his “crazy cousin John” who ran around the woods eating grasshoppers and stirring up bees like Winnie The Poo. I’m sure some of the people who witnessed John baptizing people only came just to see if this guy was real. Since this part of the story takes place early in all four of the Gospels, it sets the stage for the craziest and yet most important story ever experienced, seen, told or heard.
Another thought I just had was that Jesus did all this crazy stuff that was recorded for us in a span of about three years. So, I will leave you with this: If you are willing to follow the calling God places on your heart and obey his direction, even for two years, you can have a greater impact on lives of people than you or they may realize at the time (the 12 apostles). And hey, you might even have some crazy stories of your own by the end of it.