JESUS' BAPTISM IN THE PROPHETS?

". . . He said to me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You'" (Psalms 2:7).

"And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering . . ." (Daniel 9:27).

The pictures are of the area in the Jordan River, immediately south of Galilee, where baptisms can be done. It was cold the day my group was there. Consequently, we didn't get one of the older women completely immersed because she began to hyperventilate. We didn't want her to have a heart attack. In the picture, one of the younger women was completely immersed.

The other picture is from the same area, but of the scriptures that are posted there in different languages. This one is in Pidgin--it made me laugh.

None of the prophets specifically speaks of Jesus' baptism, however, Jesus' baptism marks the public statement from God himself that Jesus is His beloved son (Matthew 3:17). And,

many Bible scholars understand the beginning of the 70th week in Daniel 9:27 to be Jesus' baptism. The middle of the week to be his death burial and resurrection and the end of the week to be the stoning of Stephan, which occurred three and a half years later. Some scholars put the destruction of the temple, which would occur some 36 years later, as the end of the 70th week.

There is no doubt that his baptism did mark the beginning of Jesus' three and a half year ministry and it was the point in time when God announces publicly that Jesus is His Son.

One of the things we know for sure about Daniel's prophecy is that we are in the last days!

Grace&Peace,

Tom