Matthew

The word 'baptism' comes from two Greek words which have a cascade of meanings: 'dip', 'pour', 'immerse', 'submerge' and 'overwhelm'.

John's baptism was all about confessing sins and repenting of them. People came knowing that they were not spiritually clean.

Jesus' baptism was the start of His public ministry. He had identified Himself with sinners and prophetically demonstrated that He would bear their sins.

It may seem strange that after Jesus' baptism, the Son of God was led by the Holy Spirit to face Satan.

Jesus was very hungry at the end of a long period of fasting and praying in the wilderness. He was preparing Himself to face up to Satan.

The Jews believed that the Messiah would come from the skies to the Temple (Malachi 3:1).

Jesus faced Satan's third temptation, to be seen as earth's King, without the sufferings of crucifixion. The devil’s condition was for Jesus to bow down and worship him, just once.

John the Baptist had been imprisoned for challenging King Herod about his immoral marriage to his brother's wife (Luke 3:19-20).

When Jesus called these two sets of brothers, it was not because of what they were, but because of what He would make of them.

Matthew wasted no time in giving an overview of the Gospel ministry of Jesus. He ministered personally: He travelled throughout the province of Galilee.