https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+3%3A13-17&version=NRSV (Matthew 3:13-17) Dear friends, I’d like to have you complete this statement for me: “Life is…” Some of you may think ‘life is a bowl of cherries’. We think of Forrest Gump who said “life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” Someone else has said “life is a journey.” There are T-shirts out today that remind us “life is good”. There are a whole host of possibilities with which you can fill in that blank. Now, how would you finish the statement: “Jesus is…” Again, there are a variety of answers to put in that blank. Some are true, some half true. Some are absolutely false. Some are versions of Jesus that simply reflect our own desires and our own leanings. I do want to you to know this though: that how you fill in that blank is really important. In fact, knowing Jesus and everything you can about Him is the most important thing you’ll ever have in life. The apostle Paul, who at one time was an opponent to the Christian faith but after meeting Christ had a different outlook, wrote “But whatever again I had I count as loss for Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” It’s an important blank to fill in. “Jesus is…” And for the next few weeks we’re going to let Scripture fill in that blank for us with a variety of truths about Jesus regarding His character, His purpose, and His vision for our lives on planet Earth. So today we began at the baptism of Jesus. God tells us quite plainly “Jesus is…My Son.” He’s the Son of God, this Jesus. Like the hymn says in ‘Beautiful Savior’ “Son of God and Son of Man.” He’s God in the flesh. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” That’s the Christmas story: God has come to be with us. Max Lucado, one of my favorite Christian authors, tells a wonderful story which encapsulates this truth: “Charlie was 10”, Lucado writes. “School was out for Christmas and the family had chosen to spend the holiday in the country. The boy pressed his nose against the bay window of the vacation home and marveled at the British winter. He was happy to trade the blackened streets of London for the cotton-white freshness of snow-covered hills. His mom invited him to go for a drive with her, and he quickly accepted. A halcyon moment was in the making. She snaked the car down the twisty road, the tires crunched the snow, and the boy puffed his breath on the window. He was thrilled to be out. Mother, however, was anxious. Heavy snow began to fall, visibility lessened. As she took the curve the car started to slide. It didn’t stop until it was in a ditch. She tried to drive out, the tires just spun. They were stuck. They needed help. A mile down the road sat a house. Off they went and knocked on the door. ‘Of course’ the woman told them, ‘Come in, warm yourselves, the phone is yours.’ She offered them tea and cookies, and urged them to stay until help arrived.” Lucado writes “An ordinary event, you think? Don’t suggest that to the woman who opened the door. She has never forgotten that day. She’s retold the story a thousand times, and who could blame her? It’s not often that royalty appears on your porch! For the two travelers stranded by the English winter were no less than Queen Elizabeth II and the heir to the throne, 10-year-old Charles.”The word on the streets of Heaven and the lips of Christians is that something far grander has happened to our world. Royalty has walked on our streets. Heaven’s prince has knocked on our door. His visit, however, was no accident, and He did much more than simply stay for tea. He came to save us, didn’t He? Jesus is God in the flesh come to be with us, to save us. Now since He is God in the flesh, that means he is sinless and perfect, right? Many people wonder, then, if He was sinless why was He...