64. THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A TITLEWhat do you call a man who has no father?
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Why does a woman plant roses in her garden? One reason is for the simple joy of admiring them. Admiration is an emotion that makes us smile on the inside. Admiration is a feeling of wonder, pleasure, and approval. It is seeing the good in someone else and delighting in them. To admire is respect and love all rolled into one grand experience. For example, it is very pleasant to see a little girl looking admiringly at her grandmother. How interesting it is to watch a music teacher admire her best student during a performance! How wonderful it is to attend a wedding and see the mutual admiration shared by a bride and groom. In this lesson we will look at God’s admiration for Jesus. Let’s start with a story.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was born in 1881 in a poor section of Salonika. The Greek gangs that roamed the streets and practiced extortion pressed his father, Ali Riza, hard. Feeling his opportunities lost and his spirit crushed, Ali sought escape from his miseries by using alcohol. Unfortunately, the situation became worse for seven- year old Mustafa when his father died of tuberculosis. His mother, Zubeyde, was a devout Muslim. Like every other Turkish woman in her day, her entire life was focused on her eldest son. With her deep religious convictions, Zubeyde wanted him to become a pious scholar. But Mustafa had different ideas.
He didn’t always agree with the ideas and manners of his teachers and never shied from exerting his own opinions. Considering himself more of an adult than a child, he didn't enter into children's games and often left himself out of their circles. He preferred to play alone and often fought with the other boys. Once, during one of his ghts, a teacher blinded with fury intervened and beat him so hard that his honor was offended. Mustafa ran away and refused to return to the school.
Zubeyde was in despair, not knowing what to do. Finally an uncle suggested that she send Mustafa to the military cadet school in Salonika in an attempt to make him into a soldier. Since the government subsidized it, it would cost them nothing. If the boy demonstrated ability, he would become an officer. If not, he would at least remain a private. In any case, his future livelihood was assured. However, Zubeyde did not approve. But before she could stop him, twelve-year-old Mustafa persuaded one of his father’s friends to introduce him to the college authorities. He took the examination and passed as a cadet. It was at that school that he found focus and his giftedness stood out.
Inside this important biography is a very personal story, which illustrates the Scriptural portion of this lesson very well. While in the military school, Mustafa met a math teacher who also had the name Mustafa. Young Mustafa was so successful academically that his math teacher bestowed upon him a special title of which he used the rest of his life. The math teacher said,
“In order that we may not be confused, let your name be Mustafa Kemal from now on."
As certainly every Turk is aware, the title bestowed by this admiring teacher means “perfection” in Arabic. It is so interesting that a teacher could admire a student in such a way. I wish we could look into the eyes of that professor and see them shining with delight at Mustafa Kemal’s success. Likely he imagined in some small way Mustafa Kemal’s future accomplishments.
Because of Mustafa Kemal’s achievements, he was given other titles and names throughout his lifetime. He earned the title paşa after his military accomplishments in the Ottoman army and the name Ataturk after expelling the armies of the foreign occupiers and helping to establish the modern Republic. Titles are important as they reveal the value that the giver, whether individuals, institutions, society, or even God, places on the recipient. It is a window into the level of admiration that person deserves.
In our last lesson we learned about John the Baptist who was preaching a message of repentance on the banks of the Jordan River.
"Repent and be washed of your sins," he proclaimed.
People came from miles around to listen to his teachings, to repent, and be symbolically washed of their sins.
John the Baptist had stated that his God given assignment was "to prepare the way" for the Messiah. Observe closely what happens as the prophet John looks upon Jesus the Messiah and clearly declares Jesus’ identity and purpose. Let’s start reading in John chapter 1 verse 28-31:
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” 30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.
Why did John suddenly give Jesus a new title? Did you notice his words as he looked at Jesus,
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”’ •
Obviously Jesus wasn’t a real lamb. What was the prophet John admiring about Jesus?
Do you remember the lesson about Abraham and his son when they climbed up Mount Moriah to make a sacrifice?17 In spite of his inability to understand why, Abraham had determined to obey God’s order and sacri ce his beloved son. On the journey up the mountain his son asked him,
“Father, we have the wood, and the re, but where is the lamb?”18
His father looked at the boy and uttered these prophetic words in Genesis chapter 22 verse 8:
8 God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. And the two of them went on together.
Do you remember when Abraham faithfully raised the knife over his innocent beloved son? As he was about to bring that knife down, God stopped him and said:
“Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 19
The scriptures then say that Abraham looked up and saw a ram with his horns caught in the thickets. It was this miraculous ram that Abraham sacrificed that day.
Think about that event for one moment. Why did God give a ram? What about the lamb that Abraham had prophesied about? He said,
“God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son.”20
Was Abraham wrong? No, Abraham prophesied with certainty that God would provide a lamb. The Jews had never forgotten this prophecy. They were waiting for Abraham's words to be ful lled because this lamb would be of great significance.
Almost 2000 years ago, while John the Baptist was standing in the midst of the Jordan River, he saw Jesus approaching. Suddenly the Spirit of God brought this ancient prophecy to John's mind. John, a prophet himself, saw that Jesus was the fufillment of Abraham’s prophecy. John called out,
“Look, the Lamb of God!”
It was not an ordinary title and certainly Jesus had no ordinary mission. He was to take away the sins of the world! He was to be God's sacrifice. He was the long awaited lamb!
Jesus slowly stepped into the water and moved forward to be baptized. Let’s see how John reacted in Matthew chapter 3 verses 14 and 15:
14 But John tried to deter him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? 15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. Then John consented."
When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John was startled and unwilling to baptize him. It was John's conviction that he needed to be baptized by Jesus. How could he as a sinner baptize a sinless man?
Why was Jesus baptized? First we need to understand that it was not typical for Jews to be baptized. Yes, they had purification baths before religious holidays, but baptism had been reserved for proselytes who came into Judaism from other religious backgrounds. It made sense that a sin-stained, polluted foreigner should be baptized. But the Jews had come to think, that as descendants of Abraham, God would automatically forgive their sins. In their minds, it just didn’t seem plausible that they themselves could be sinners shut out from the blessings of God.
John came at a unique time of national insecurity. Judea was under the direct control of Rome. For the first time in nearly 400 years, the Jews realized their own sin and their own personal, pressing need of God's offer of forgiveness. All longed for freedom from Rome, but those who gathered at the Jordan longed for an even higher and nobler freedom, the freedom from sin!
John came onto the scene when Israel's religious life was at it's lowest. Ritual and formality were at their highest, with men paying great amounts of money for sacrifices and parading around during religious holidays. But in private behind closed doors, adultery and all sorts of perversions abounded. Women were far from virtuous, spending days in gossip and vanity. They were more concerned with the outward adorning of gold and silks, than with the inward beauty of a humble heart. The men had an outward form of piety but they lived a lie. Their prayers at the temple were only a show. In reality they cheated in the marketplace and looked for ways to rob one another and their government. But John's words pierced their consciences and awakened a desire to live differently.
This was the very moment for which Jesus had been waiting. Men were conscious of their sin and the need to ask God for forgiveness. God had orchestrated this opportunity. The Jordan River’s banks were lled with people who were deeply convicted that God was calling them out of their lives of hypocrisy and deceit.
In baptism Jesus identified himself with the men he came to save. Just as he mingled with the poor villagers and the low of society during his whole ministry, he would not miss the chance to be baptized. Being baptized was his rst strike at the hypocritical religious structure of his day.
In fact, there are several vital lessons that we can draw from Jesus' consent to be baptized. First, he showed that his ministry and
teachings were in perfect harmony with John's. In other words, all true prophets are in harmony. Jesus was to build his efforts on the foundations of that which had already been laid. Second, Jesus was baptized as an example to us. The first century historian Josephus, himself a Jew, wrote this about John the Baptist:
John, surnamed the Baptist . . . was a good man and had exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, to practice justice towards their fellows and piety toward God, and so doing to join in baptism. In his view repentance was a necessary preliminary if baptism was to be acceptable to God. They must not employ it to gain pardon for whatever sins they committed, but as a consecration of the body implying that the soul was already cleansed by right behavior.21
These are important words for those of us who do ritual washings to gain God’s pardon or favor. Baptism was an act of “consecration,” a confirmation of the heart cleansed through the act of repentance and changed behavior. Baptism was not a deed done to earn God's favor. And so Jesus, as one who was already pure and sinless and who also had no need to repent, entered into baptism as a consecration for ministry.
Now it was the custom of the time that when a man or woman was baptized they were fully submersed under the water. They weren’t doused with a bucket of water or sprinkled on the head. No, baptism was full submersion into a body of water. In spite of its near disappearance in some churches, this custom has remained alive for centuries.22
Baptism represented a person's death, burial, and resurrection.
When baptized, the person leaves behind their sinful life and starts a new one. A Jewish community of 1st century esoterics named the Essenes called this process, "becoming a Child of the Light".
But there was a huge difference between Jesus and the other people who were baptized. Jesus was sinless and didn't need to repent! It is for this reason that Jesus’ baptism was special and surrounded by extraordinary events. We have a record of those events because the apostle John recorded John the Baptist’s eyewitness account. Let’s read it in John chapter 1 verses 32 and 33.
32 Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
We nd the same testimony of the event given in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Here is Matthew’s description in chapter 3 verse 16.
16 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 lighting on him.
Let’s imagine the scene for a moment. A crowd is standing on the riverbank, the sun is shining, and the sky is blue. Suddenly, they see something gracefully descending from the sky. It is moving towards Jesus and begins to envelop him. In an instant a voice from heaven booms like thunder echoing through the Jordan valley. Let’s see what God said in Matthew chapter 3 verse 17:
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
God called Jesus Son! Why? Obviously, God was so pleased with Jesus’ character and life that He wanted to show everyone how much He loved and valued him. To be called God’s son implied that Jesus resembled God; that is, he had the same love, thoughts, desires, and aspirations as the Creator. Is Jesus God’s offspring? No. Did God father a boy? Definitely not. Did God in heaven call Jesus “son”? Absolutely yes!
“Son” is a title of extreme honor. Did you know that God never called any other prophet “son”? It may be hard for us to understand, and for some people it may even seem wrong, but God unashamedly proclaimed His love for Jesus and called him son in front of everyone who was standing on the banks of the Jordan River. Historically wars have been fought over this subject! Men have attempted to control what God can and can’t say. Some have even assumed they were defending God’s reputation by claiming that the holy scriptures were changed to say this. Is God not strong enough to protect His holy writings? Can Holy Scriptures really be altered? Does God have holy books or “formerly” holy books? Thankfully, God has preserved His word for us since ancient times and there is solid proof to counter man's made up accusations.
Did you know the Messiah was called son 700 years before Jesus was born? It wasn’t a title made up to suit someone’s twisted theology. It was a truth that stood the test of time. The first time the coming Messiah was referred to as “God’s Son” is in the Psalms, whose ancient manuscripts far precede the New Testament. Let’s read several verses written by King David in Psalm 2:
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy ossession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Based on what we just read, would the Messiah’s title of son have been difficult for Jews to accept? Jews are a monotheistic culture. They believe in one, all-powerful God. Yet, surprisingly from ancient times the Jews knew that “Son” was a title God would give to his Messiah. In fact they knew it since the time of King David.
While studying the life of Jesus we will see Jews freely using the term, Son of God. Even the Jewish High Priest said it! Why did they not take offense to this title? Because they remembered this Psalm and knew that the Messiah’s character would resemble God’s.
Besides, what would you call a man who had no earthly father and was born of a virgin?
Let’s answer that question by looking at Jesus’ genealogy as recorded in Luke chapter 3 verses 37 and 38:
37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
What do you call someone who has no father? Adam was called the Son of God. Jesus, born of a virgin, in a sense was a second Adam because he also had no father.
People stood on the banks of the Jordan River and watched Jesus with admiration. John the Baptist had called him “the Lamb of God.” Now God had thundered from heaven,
“This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.”
Is it wrong to take pleasure in that which pleases God? Should we not feel obligated to show respect and admiration for what He admires and loves? If God says something, should we be ashamed to proclaim it as truth?
Let’s bring this lesson to a close by asking a simple question. What should we tell every foreigner who asks us what being a Turk means? Words cannot express the scope and depth of the trauma visited upon our ancestors from 1877-1922. The calamity that befell Turks during the wars with Russia (1877) and in the Balkans (1912-1914), not to mention WWI (1914-1918) and the Turkish Independence War (1919-1922) is staggering.
The Family Name Law of 1934 in Turkey gave us a truly unique opportunity to immortalize our family stories once and for all. Our fathers selected with dignity last names that accurately conveyed their stories. Some selected the names of quaint little towns, faraway villages, golden wheat elds, emerald rivers, snow capped mountains, pine scented valleys, and charming ports where they were expelled from and/or where they lost their loved ones. Others chose names of character like Yilmaz, Korkmaz, Son of a Lion, Son of a Wolf, Son of a Pepper, or Son of Iron. These survivors had been through hell and only their will to fight, a bit of cleverness, and the hand of God had kept them alive. It was a different generation than the one we live in, and the names may seem foreign to a pampered generation filled with televisions, computers, cell phones, and supermarkets. Nonetheless, the names are ours. We don’t forget our grandfathers because there is great admiration and character behind our last names. They are our titles. As Turks let us defend the glory of God by preserving the title that He gave to Jesus: Son of God. If a man can be Son of Steel, let us allow God to give His own applause in His own way to whomever He admires.
Discussion Questions
1. Who do you admire? Why? What pleases you about them?
2. What did John claim that the “Lamb of God” would do?
3. It is interesting that the people at Jesus’ baptism likened God’s Spirit to a descending dove. Can you remember another story from
the Bible that had a dove in it? What did the dove symbolize?
4. Take a moment to imagine what God meant when He said, “In whom I am well pleased.” Discuss.
5. In our country, we have last names that mean "son of the lion" and "son of iron," which were chosen by people when the Surname
Law was passed in 1934. Most assuredly, people chose these names because they wanted to declare that they had the special
characteristics of the things they admired. Lions are brave, iron is strong, etc. How can these surnames help us understand why G
God gave Jesus the title of "Son of God"? What characteristics was He wanting to say that Jesus had?
21 Book 18, section 116.
22 An interesting side note, archeologists recently uncovered a 4th century baptismal tank in Hagai Sophia and Laodicea.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was born in 1881 in a poor section of Salonika. The Greek gangs that roamed the streets and practiced extortion pressed his father, Ali Riza, hard. Feeling his opportunities lost and his spirit crushed, Ali sought escape from his miseries by using alcohol. Unfortunately, the situation became worse for seven- year old Mustafa when his father died of tuberculosis. His mother, Zubeyde, was a devout Muslim. Like every other Turkish woman in her day, her entire life was focused on her eldest son. With her deep religious convictions, Zubeyde wanted him to become a pious scholar. But Mustafa had different ideas.
He didn’t always agree with the ideas and manners of his teachers and never shied from exerting his own opinions. Considering himself more of an adult than a child, he didn't enter into children's games and often left himself out of their circles. He preferred to play alone and often fought with the other boys. Once, during one of his ghts, a teacher blinded with fury intervened and beat him so hard that his honor was offended. Mustafa ran away and refused to return to the school.
Zubeyde was in despair, not knowing what to do. Finally an uncle suggested that she send Mustafa to the military cadet school in Salonika in an attempt to make him into a soldier. Since the government subsidized it, it would cost them nothing. If the boy demonstrated ability, he would become an officer. If not, he would at least remain a private. In any case, his future livelihood was assured. However, Zubeyde did not approve. But before she could stop him, twelve-year-old Mustafa persuaded one of his father’s friends to introduce him to the college authorities. He took the examination and passed as a cadet. It was at that school that he found focus and his giftedness stood out.
Inside this important biography is a very personal story, which illustrates the Scriptural portion of this lesson very well. While in the military school, Mustafa met a math teacher who also had the name Mustafa. Young Mustafa was so successful academically that his math teacher bestowed upon him a special title of which he used the rest of his life. The math teacher said,
“In order that we may not be confused, let your name be Mustafa Kemal from now on."
As certainly every Turk is aware, the title bestowed by this admiring teacher means “perfection” in Arabic. It is so interesting that a teacher could admire a student in such a way. I wish we could look into the eyes of that professor and see them shining with delight at Mustafa Kemal’s success. Likely he imagined in some small way Mustafa Kemal’s future accomplishments.
Because of Mustafa Kemal’s achievements, he was given other titles and names throughout his lifetime. He earned the title paşa after his military accomplishments in the Ottoman army and the name Ataturk after expelling the armies of the foreign occupiers and helping to establish the modern Republic. Titles are important as they reveal the value that the giver, whether individuals, institutions, society, or even God, places on the recipient. It is a window into the level of admiration that person deserves.
In our last lesson we learned about John the Baptist who was preaching a message of repentance on the banks of the Jordan River.
"Repent and be washed of your sins," he proclaimed.
People came from miles around to listen to his teachings, to repent, and be symbolically washed of their sins.
John the Baptist had stated that his God given assignment was "to prepare the way" for the Messiah. Observe closely what happens as the prophet John looks upon Jesus the Messiah and clearly declares Jesus’ identity and purpose. Let’s start reading in John chapter 1 verse 28-31:
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” 30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.
Why did John suddenly give Jesus a new title? Did you notice his words as he looked at Jesus,
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”’ •
Obviously Jesus wasn’t a real lamb. What was the prophet John admiring about Jesus?
Do you remember the lesson about Abraham and his son when they climbed up Mount Moriah to make a sacrifice?17 In spite of his inability to understand why, Abraham had determined to obey God’s order and sacri ce his beloved son. On the journey up the mountain his son asked him,
“Father, we have the wood, and the re, but where is the lamb?”18
His father looked at the boy and uttered these prophetic words in Genesis chapter 22 verse 8:
8 God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. And the two of them went on together.
Do you remember when Abraham faithfully raised the knife over his innocent beloved son? As he was about to bring that knife down, God stopped him and said:
“Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 19
The scriptures then say that Abraham looked up and saw a ram with his horns caught in the thickets. It was this miraculous ram that Abraham sacrificed that day.
Think about that event for one moment. Why did God give a ram? What about the lamb that Abraham had prophesied about? He said,
“God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son.”20
Was Abraham wrong? No, Abraham prophesied with certainty that God would provide a lamb. The Jews had never forgotten this prophecy. They were waiting for Abraham's words to be ful lled because this lamb would be of great significance.
Almost 2000 years ago, while John the Baptist was standing in the midst of the Jordan River, he saw Jesus approaching. Suddenly the Spirit of God brought this ancient prophecy to John's mind. John, a prophet himself, saw that Jesus was the fufillment of Abraham’s prophecy. John called out,
“Look, the Lamb of God!”
It was not an ordinary title and certainly Jesus had no ordinary mission. He was to take away the sins of the world! He was to be God's sacrifice. He was the long awaited lamb!
Jesus slowly stepped into the water and moved forward to be baptized. Let’s see how John reacted in Matthew chapter 3 verses 14 and 15:
14 But John tried to deter him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? 15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. Then John consented."
When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John was startled and unwilling to baptize him. It was John's conviction that he needed to be baptized by Jesus. How could he as a sinner baptize a sinless man?
Why was Jesus baptized? First we need to understand that it was not typical for Jews to be baptized. Yes, they had purification baths before religious holidays, but baptism had been reserved for proselytes who came into Judaism from other religious backgrounds. It made sense that a sin-stained, polluted foreigner should be baptized. But the Jews had come to think, that as descendants of Abraham, God would automatically forgive their sins. In their minds, it just didn’t seem plausible that they themselves could be sinners shut out from the blessings of God.
John came at a unique time of national insecurity. Judea was under the direct control of Rome. For the first time in nearly 400 years, the Jews realized their own sin and their own personal, pressing need of God's offer of forgiveness. All longed for freedom from Rome, but those who gathered at the Jordan longed for an even higher and nobler freedom, the freedom from sin!
John came onto the scene when Israel's religious life was at it's lowest. Ritual and formality were at their highest, with men paying great amounts of money for sacrifices and parading around during religious holidays. But in private behind closed doors, adultery and all sorts of perversions abounded. Women were far from virtuous, spending days in gossip and vanity. They were more concerned with the outward adorning of gold and silks, than with the inward beauty of a humble heart. The men had an outward form of piety but they lived a lie. Their prayers at the temple were only a show. In reality they cheated in the marketplace and looked for ways to rob one another and their government. But John's words pierced their consciences and awakened a desire to live differently.
This was the very moment for which Jesus had been waiting. Men were conscious of their sin and the need to ask God for forgiveness. God had orchestrated this opportunity. The Jordan River’s banks were lled with people who were deeply convicted that God was calling them out of their lives of hypocrisy and deceit.
In baptism Jesus identified himself with the men he came to save. Just as he mingled with the poor villagers and the low of society during his whole ministry, he would not miss the chance to be baptized. Being baptized was his rst strike at the hypocritical religious structure of his day.
In fact, there are several vital lessons that we can draw from Jesus' consent to be baptized. First, he showed that his ministry and
teachings were in perfect harmony with John's. In other words, all true prophets are in harmony. Jesus was to build his efforts on the foundations of that which had already been laid. Second, Jesus was baptized as an example to us. The first century historian Josephus, himself a Jew, wrote this about John the Baptist:
John, surnamed the Baptist . . . was a good man and had exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, to practice justice towards their fellows and piety toward God, and so doing to join in baptism. In his view repentance was a necessary preliminary if baptism was to be acceptable to God. They must not employ it to gain pardon for whatever sins they committed, but as a consecration of the body implying that the soul was already cleansed by right behavior.21
These are important words for those of us who do ritual washings to gain God’s pardon or favor. Baptism was an act of “consecration,” a confirmation of the heart cleansed through the act of repentance and changed behavior. Baptism was not a deed done to earn God's favor. And so Jesus, as one who was already pure and sinless and who also had no need to repent, entered into baptism as a consecration for ministry.
Now it was the custom of the time that when a man or woman was baptized they were fully submersed under the water. They weren’t doused with a bucket of water or sprinkled on the head. No, baptism was full submersion into a body of water. In spite of its near disappearance in some churches, this custom has remained alive for centuries.22
Baptism represented a person's death, burial, and resurrection.
When baptized, the person leaves behind their sinful life and starts a new one. A Jewish community of 1st century esoterics named the Essenes called this process, "becoming a Child of the Light".
But there was a huge difference between Jesus and the other people who were baptized. Jesus was sinless and didn't need to repent! It is for this reason that Jesus’ baptism was special and surrounded by extraordinary events. We have a record of those events because the apostle John recorded John the Baptist’s eyewitness account. Let’s read it in John chapter 1 verses 32 and 33.
32 Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
We nd the same testimony of the event given in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Here is Matthew’s description in chapter 3 verse 16.
16 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 lighting on him.
Let’s imagine the scene for a moment. A crowd is standing on the riverbank, the sun is shining, and the sky is blue. Suddenly, they see something gracefully descending from the sky. It is moving towards Jesus and begins to envelop him. In an instant a voice from heaven booms like thunder echoing through the Jordan valley. Let’s see what God said in Matthew chapter 3 verse 17:
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
God called Jesus Son! Why? Obviously, God was so pleased with Jesus’ character and life that He wanted to show everyone how much He loved and valued him. To be called God’s son implied that Jesus resembled God; that is, he had the same love, thoughts, desires, and aspirations as the Creator. Is Jesus God’s offspring? No. Did God father a boy? Definitely not. Did God in heaven call Jesus “son”? Absolutely yes!
“Son” is a title of extreme honor. Did you know that God never called any other prophet “son”? It may be hard for us to understand, and for some people it may even seem wrong, but God unashamedly proclaimed His love for Jesus and called him son in front of everyone who was standing on the banks of the Jordan River. Historically wars have been fought over this subject! Men have attempted to control what God can and can’t say. Some have even assumed they were defending God’s reputation by claiming that the holy scriptures were changed to say this. Is God not strong enough to protect His holy writings? Can Holy Scriptures really be altered? Does God have holy books or “formerly” holy books? Thankfully, God has preserved His word for us since ancient times and there is solid proof to counter man's made up accusations.
Did you know the Messiah was called son 700 years before Jesus was born? It wasn’t a title made up to suit someone’s twisted theology. It was a truth that stood the test of time. The first time the coming Messiah was referred to as “God’s Son” is in the Psalms, whose ancient manuscripts far precede the New Testament. Let’s read several verses written by King David in Psalm 2:
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy ossession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Based on what we just read, would the Messiah’s title of son have been difficult for Jews to accept? Jews are a monotheistic culture. They believe in one, all-powerful God. Yet, surprisingly from ancient times the Jews knew that “Son” was a title God would give to his Messiah. In fact they knew it since the time of King David.
While studying the life of Jesus we will see Jews freely using the term, Son of God. Even the Jewish High Priest said it! Why did they not take offense to this title? Because they remembered this Psalm and knew that the Messiah’s character would resemble God’s.
Besides, what would you call a man who had no earthly father and was born of a virgin?
Let’s answer that question by looking at Jesus’ genealogy as recorded in Luke chapter 3 verses 37 and 38:
37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
What do you call someone who has no father? Adam was called the Son of God. Jesus, born of a virgin, in a sense was a second Adam because he also had no father.
People stood on the banks of the Jordan River and watched Jesus with admiration. John the Baptist had called him “the Lamb of God.” Now God had thundered from heaven,
“This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.”
Is it wrong to take pleasure in that which pleases God? Should we not feel obligated to show respect and admiration for what He admires and loves? If God says something, should we be ashamed to proclaim it as truth?
Let’s bring this lesson to a close by asking a simple question. What should we tell every foreigner who asks us what being a Turk means? Words cannot express the scope and depth of the trauma visited upon our ancestors from 1877-1922. The calamity that befell Turks during the wars with Russia (1877) and in the Balkans (1912-1914), not to mention WWI (1914-1918) and the Turkish Independence War (1919-1922) is staggering.
The Family Name Law of 1934 in Turkey gave us a truly unique opportunity to immortalize our family stories once and for all. Our fathers selected with dignity last names that accurately conveyed their stories. Some selected the names of quaint little towns, faraway villages, golden wheat elds, emerald rivers, snow capped mountains, pine scented valleys, and charming ports where they were expelled from and/or where they lost their loved ones. Others chose names of character like Yilmaz, Korkmaz, Son of a Lion, Son of a Wolf, Son of a Pepper, or Son of Iron. These survivors had been through hell and only their will to fight, a bit of cleverness, and the hand of God had kept them alive. It was a different generation than the one we live in, and the names may seem foreign to a pampered generation filled with televisions, computers, cell phones, and supermarkets. Nonetheless, the names are ours. We don’t forget our grandfathers because there is great admiration and character behind our last names. They are our titles. As Turks let us defend the glory of God by preserving the title that He gave to Jesus: Son of God. If a man can be Son of Steel, let us allow God to give His own applause in His own way to whomever He admires.
Discussion Questions
1. Who do you admire? Why? What pleases you about them?
2. What did John claim that the “Lamb of God” would do?
3. It is interesting that the people at Jesus’ baptism likened God’s Spirit to a descending dove. Can you remember another story from
the Bible that had a dove in it? What did the dove symbolize?
4. Take a moment to imagine what God meant when He said, “In whom I am well pleased.” Discuss.
5. In our country, we have last names that mean "son of the lion" and "son of iron," which were chosen by people when the Surname
Law was passed in 1934. Most assuredly, people chose these names because they wanted to declare that they had the special
characteristics of the things they admired. Lions are brave, iron is strong, etc. How can these surnames help us understand why G
God gave Jesus the title of "Son of God"? What characteristics was He wanting to say that Jesus had?
21 Book 18, section 116.
22 An interesting side note, archeologists recently uncovered a 4th century baptismal tank in Hagai Sophia and Laodicea.