I believe that most of us are familiar with the Red letter edition bibles. They are those in which the words considered as being spoken by Jesus Christ are printed in red ink. What books of the Bible have red letters? Most of the red Bible verses are in the 4 Gospels. The Gospels consist of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose content stands on its own.  “The Pew” for the next few weeks will spend some time in the Red… We will take a closer look at the words that are believed to be spoken by Jesus as  he taught and and went about his ministry. Some facts as taken from the synopticgospel.com . The texts from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John…from the New American Standard Bible, count a total of 83,680 words. Of these, counting only the words Jesus spoke a total of 31,426 words, an astounding 48% of the entire gospel. I must stress that this is an unverified count. I found all of this interesting enough to warrant a closer look. I will be using the New Living Translation for these scriptures.

This week we will begin our journey looking closely at the words of Jesus as indicated by the Red type. Today we will start in Matthew Chapter 3 verse 15… It has always been an issue among people of the faith and those of the theological community as to why Jesus felt he had to be baptized. At first John the Baptist objected… thus the reply of Jesus…the very first words of Jesus we encounter in this the closer look. 

15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.

From a layman’s point of view we can accept the fact that a mission, in this case one that was ordained by the Father, would require the right time and place. Jesus had waited for years carrying out the simple tasks of home, work and waiting for that moment to come. When John emerged Jesus knew his time had come. Consider this… the Jews did not hold with being baptized except for those converts who came into Judaism from some other faith. Jews believed that being of Abraham assured them of salvation, they had no need of baptism for themselves. Let your mind travel a bit and try to consider the possibility that John The Baptist’s Ministry could be liken to a national movement of penitence and part of the people’s search For God. So why did Jesus decide to be baptized? The people had been awakened to their sin and in this hour they searched for God…This was the moment Jesus had come for…to save the sinners and complete the restoration of God’s people to his loving grace and care. Jesus also now realized two certainties… that he was indeed the Son of God and his calling would certainly lead to the cross. 

There are other verses here in Matthew. In chapter four, verse four, where Jesus who had retreated the wilderness and was tempted by the devil, is challenged to turned the stones to bread, answered…

Matthew 4:4

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

This was a time of testing for our Lord but it was also a time of revelation. Here Matthew has moved to the the temptation of Jesus but let’s back up just a moment. Matthew tells this story step by step.   There is an order and purpose as to what is written here. He starts by telling us how Jesus was born. He shares the common belief that Jesus was faithful to the duties of his home and work. He had proven to his father that he was faithful to the smallest task and duty that came his way. We read how the coming of John the Baptist was a sign to Jesus that his time had come. Now comes the pivotal decision to be made. How would he…Jesus, turn the dream into a reality? How would he chose to lead the people back to God? As we now know Jesus chose to adopt the method of patient, sacrificial love? I am excited to continue this look at reading in the red…Join us here in the “Pew” next week as we continue this Journey.

Life is Good…jk