Scripture

But Jesus said, “It must be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.”

Observation

Jesus goes from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptised by John the Baptist. John tries to talk Him out of it, but Jesus replies, “We must carry out all that God requires.”

As Jesus comes up out of the water, the heavens open, and the Spirit of God comes on Jesus in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven says, “This is my dearly loved Son who brings me great joy.”

Application

Obedience to God is not a matter of choice or convenience.

Jesus says, “We must carry out all that God requires.” For Jesus the great test was to accept the suffering of the cross.

We see our lives as a series of choices from what to wear to what to eat, whom to marry, and so on. In this series of choices, we see obedience to God as an option.

For a person committed to walking in the way of Jesus, there is no choice to be made.

Obedience is obedience at every point. We cannot be 80% obedient. We cannot pick and choose how we will serve God and in what parts of our lives we will be surrendered. We have to carry out all that God requires, and not just the bits we enjoy.

Surrender to Christ means to give up the right to choose- perhaps even our choice of clothes.

As soldiers in an army obey their orders without question, so too christians must learn to obey God’s orders without hesitation.

Prayer

Lord Jesus please teach me what it means to be obedient to you in all thing, so that I can carry out all that God requires. Amen