So, the action on earth is the actualization of the reality of something that's already happened. The church, the priesthood of all believers, is the mechanism through which God works, and Hades—Sheol—doesn't stand a chance. Jesus doesn't just save us from Hades, he completely dominates it in his death and resurrection.
You Have to Repent Before You Can Fish
Before you call someone else’s attention to Christ you yourself must be turned toward him—facing him. You have to experience his love and his daily forgiveness. You must emulate it, show mercy, have a Christ-centered disposition. A mind transformed to see all things through Jesus—the same Jesus who lives inside of you and loves through you—is not something to be taken lightly.
3 Things That Keep Us from God
Jesus overcame these temptations from the very outset of his ministry leaving Satan powerless over him. The Spirit that was with Jesus at his baptism and in the wilderness, is the same Spirit that was with us in our own baptisms and remains with us throughout our lives. The angels who ministered to Jesus after what I can only imagine was a grueling 40 days—they’re watching over us as well.
Come and You Will See
As Jesus invites us into his home, he also brings us along to be a part of what he’s doing here and now—to be a part of the transformation that he has brought and continues to bring. He invites us to bear witness to his sacrifice as the Lamb of God, that we ourselves might embody his love and his mercy, which he has freely given to us.
The Baptisms of John and Jesus are Different
When Jesus comes to John to be baptized, a gesture showing Jesus’ own faithfulness to his heavenly Father—mourning the sins of his own people—something else happens. Mark writes, "In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'”
Jesus takes ownership of his people’s sin
In Jesus’ own body—in his own existence, the human and the divine are reconciled to each other. We talk about it during Christmas. We talk about it at Epiphany. But we see it in Jesus’ own baptism. Humanity is reconciled to God now and forevermore. That means your humanity is also reconciled to God through the existence of Jesus Christ, who would go on to show his faithfulness even in the face of torture as his humanity is put into question by those around him—as they try to strip it from him on the cross.
