Baptism of Christ

👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾#Baptism of #Christ Dear followers of the Orthodox teachings on John's Repentance website .we greet you with the peace of the Lord.Today , based on the topic mentioned above, we present to you the following important lesson.We encourage everyone to read it carefully and learn from it. ✍🏾Meaning of Baptism Baptism is one of the nine great feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ, foretold by the prophets and revealed in the Holy Gospel. The word baptism comes from the verb meaning to "Tetemke". Its meaning is to be fully immersed in water, usually in flowing water such as a river, spring, or lake. The baptism performed by the priests of the Church is a holy sacrament, distinct from all other forms of symbolic baptisms. ✍🏾 Baptism in the Old and New Testaments ✍🏾 In the Old Testament, baptism was a baptism of repentance. In the New Testament, baptism is the baptism of rebirth and adoption as children of God, beginning from infancy. However, the baptism of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is unique and unlike any other. Though He is God by nature, He humbled Himself, not seeking honor from humanity, but honoring humanity. ✍🏾 To be an example and a spiritual Father to us, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Through His baptism, He revealed His natural Sonship and His divinity, testified by God the Father and the Holy Spirit. On that day, He sanctified the waters, and afterward He withdrew and began His fast . ✍🏾 The Law and the order that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fulfilled were not fulfilled as something foreign or strange, like a guest who arrives unexpectedly. He fulfilled the prophecies that were spoken beforehand, the examples that were foreshadowed, the appointed times that were counted, and the hope of salvation that was given to Adam from the beginning. The Holy Scriptures testify to this fulfillment and example as follows: 👉🏾“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.”(Matthew 3:13; Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21; John 1:32) 👉🏾But John objected and said, “Does the Lord receive baptism from His servant? Should the servant baptize the Lord? Does the servant go to the Lord, or does the Lord come to the servant?” ✍🏾 When our Lady, the Holy Virgin Mary, came from Nazareth to visit Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, Holy Elizabeth said, “Why is this granted to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?” Likewise, John expressed humility before Christ. But our Lord said to him, “This is our joy and our gladness: ✍🏾that you are proclaimed in the ministry of baptism and your honor is spoken of, and that I am baptized by the hand of a servant and My humility is proclaimed. Allow it for a time, for it is fitting for us to fulfill the prophecies of the prophets.” ✍🏾He was baptized once, not twice; willingly, not by force; in His human nature, not in His divinity. For He who is pure God had no need of cleansing, yet He accepted baptism to fulfill righteousness, to reveal humility, and to establish the sacrament for the salvation of humanity. It was foretold by the prophets that John would baptize, and that the Lord Himself would be baptized by John. Therefore, our Lord said, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness,” meaning that the prophecies spoken beforehand must be fulfilled. This was done for the joy of the believers, so that when they are baptized, the Holy Spirit may come upon them. It was also for the joy of the Father, who testifies to His Son; for the joy of the Son, who reveals His obedience and humility; and for the joy of the Holy Spirit, who is manifested to the world. When the Son was baptized in the Jordan River, God the Father bore witness from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” At the same time, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove and rested upon Him. Through this divine manifestation, the unity and revelation of the Holy Trinity were made known. Continues 👇🏾