Foundations of Religion - Christianity SECTION B Why Did Jesus Choose to be Baptised?


Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God. He had never sinned. He did not need baptism. So why did he ask John to baptise him? Jesus did so to show that:


ò He would really share in all the daily struggles, the joys and sorrows, of the ordinary people around him.


ò He would completely dedicate his life to doing what was right, even if that led to his suffering and death at the hands of his enemies.


The Temptations in the Desert


After his baptism, Jesus went alone into the barren wilderness east of the river Jordan. He spent forty days and forty nights there, fasting and praying. He wanted to prepare himself for the many challenges he knew lay ahead. However, he was not alone. The Gospels say that Jesus had unwelcome company. On three occasions, Satan visited Jesus. He tried to test his determination and convince him to abuse his power. By doing so, Satan hoped to divert Jesus away from fulfilling his mission.


Christians believe that:


ò Satan is a spirit, i.e. a being without a physical body. ò Satan is not God’s equal. Satan was created by God but abused the gift of free will and rebelled against God. In punishment, Satan was condemned to hell for all eternity.


ò Satan is an evil, harmful and malicious being who wants to draw people away from God.


ò Satan does not have the power to force anyone to do wrong. However, Satan has the power to tempt you to do wrong.


The Gospels say that Satan tempted Jesus three times:


ò In the first temptation, Satan saw that Jesus was weak from hunger. So he tempted Jesus to use his power to turn stones into bread. Jesus refused. He told Satan, ‘Man cannot live on bread alone.’


ò In the second temptation, Satan offered Jesus great wealth and power. He said that Jesus would need it to make people follow and obey him. The only thing Satan wanted in return was for Jesus to worship him. Again, Jesus refused. He told Satan, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone.’


ò In the third temptation, Satan brought Jesus to the highest point on the roof of the Temple in Jerusalem. This was 450 feet above the ground. He tried to persuade Jesus to jump from there. Satan assured Jesus that it would be safe to do this, as God the Father would send angels to save him from harm. Also, everyone who saw this spectacular event would be so impressed that they would willingly follow Jesus. Once more, Jesus refused. He told Satan, ‘You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’


At this point, Satan gave up. He knew he had failed. So he left Jesus alone, until another opportunity arose. However, Satan would return again and again to tempt Jesus to abuse his power.


151


Satan is a Hebrew name meaning ‘the enemy’. Its Greek equivalent is Diablos or Devil.


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