Day 6 - 30 years of nothing

We had baptisms in church a couple of weeks ago - always a great time.  In the lead up someone preached a sermon about Jesus being baptised and said that when God spoke ' this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased'  Jesus hadnt yet ' done ' anything.   He hadnt healed anyone, preached to anyone, raised any dead people or forgiven any sins.  He had just been living quietly as a carpenter.  His baptism signalled His 'official launch' into ministry.

I have heard this before many times and I get what is being said, but for some reason when hearing it this time I felt something rise up inside to to strongly disagree that Jesus had ' done nothing' for 30 years.

For 30 years Jesus had lived a sinless life.

Which is not ' nothing'.  It is, in fact, more remarkable than all the miracles and healings and preaching put together.

I started thinking about my boys and trying to remember at exactly what age they began to be naughty, disobedient, lie, etc.   I reckon they were pretty young.  Probably before they were able to talk they had begun to deny responsibility for things  ' Did you hit your brother?'  Shake of head, eyes down.  ' Who threw that toy?'  ' Not me'.  It starts so very young and it is not a learned behaviour because who teaches their children to lie and pass the blame and scapegoat?  We teach them the very opposite, but still, they somehow have ingrained in them ( and for ' them' read ' us' because of course this applies to everyone) from the very earliest age that desire to blame someone else and to lie about what happened.   Just like Adam and Eve.

Jesus wasnt like that.   From the earliest age, because He was without sin, He was truthful - there was no shadow of deceit or dishonesty in Him because He IS TRUTH.  He never passed the buck to His siblings, never bullied or lashed out at His schoolmates, never pinched anything from His Mother's purse or the sweetie jar.  He never blagged a day off school or threw a sickie cos He couldnt be bothered to go to work.  He never parked on a double yellow line,  threw rubbish out of the car window, watched TV without a licence or went home with one of those little biros from Argos in His pocket 😉

For thrity years, from the day He was born, Jesus lived as a man without sinning.  Ever.  At all.

Im not surprised that God was pleased with Him and lighted on Him as a dove when He got baptised.

The reason Jesus came was not just to forgive us our sins and provide us with a free pass to heaven, but it was also to show us how it is possible to live if we make the daily choice to be ruled and steered by the Spirit of God.   I think its fascinating that it was only after 30 years of utter obedience that Jesus was released to do miracles, raise the dead and forgive sins.   I often wonder why people dont get healed every time I pray for them, demons dont scream as I walk down the street and people dont get saved in their thousands when I speak.  The reason is that I havent yet managed to spend thrity days, or even thirty hours without sinning, let alone thirty years.    God graciously chooses to use me sometimes in small ways to limited effect.  But if I want to do the works of Jesus then I have to live the life of Jesus.  He has made it possible for me to do it.  I just need to do it.

And so do you.