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Jesus Baptized by John the Baptist

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(Matthew 3:16-17)

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

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John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus.
God let John the Baptist prepare the way for the coming of Jesus.

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John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist.

His food was locusts and wild honey.
He preached the gospel in the Desert of Judea.

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"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

When people heard John, they repented and confessed their sins, then they were baptized by him.

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As time passed by, many people gathered to be near John the Baptist.
He preached the gospel to them.
He baptized each one of them in the Jordan River.

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One day, a very special person appeared there.
It was Jesus. Jesus came to John the Baptist.

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Jesus said to John, "Baptize me!" John was so surprised.

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John said to Jesus, "I need to be baptized by you, why do you come to me for baptism?
I cannot do it." John said that he could not baptize Jesus because Jesus has more power than him and because he knew that Jesus is the Son of God.

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Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."

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So John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.
Jesus went up out of the water after getting baptized.

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As Jesus was coming out of the water, a surprising thing happened.
At that moment heaven opened.

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The Spirit of God descended like a dove. The Spirit of God in the image of a dove came down on Jesus' head. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love and with him I am well pleased."

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This showed that Jesus is the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. In the place where Jesus the son of God was baptized, God the Father in heaven, appeared as a voice and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove. God in three appeared at once. This surely showed that Jesus is the Son of God.

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John the Baptist shouted loudly. "I saw when Jesus was baptized, heaven was opened, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove on Jesus' head God told me to baptize by water saying, “When you baptize a man and when the Holy Spirit stays on the head of that man, He is the Son of God who will give baptism of the Holy Spirit.'"

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The Son of God, Jesus has no sins. Yet baptism is a ceremony displaying being cleansed from sins and rising out of the water as new. Then why did Jesus get baptized? Jesus carried all of our sins and baptism is a symbol of dying on the cross.

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Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist with water for all of our sins. Jesus died for us and rose up then Jesus achieved our salvation. So these days, if we believe in Jesus, we can have a great blessing of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. We should become faithful people, thanking Jesus for this amazing grace everyday.

   (The conclusion of the CTM Animation is provided by CTM. Preachers are advised to change the      animation conclusions based upon the level that you are teaching.)