13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. Matthew 3:13-15
Last week we introduced this series with the subject – Humility as demonstrated by Jesus Himself. He said “… unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. And, whoever humbles himself as … little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 18:3-5 Humility is the nature of God and conversion is how you get there.
Today we are talking about Fulfillment, this can be defined in as many ways as humanly possible – like beauty in the eyes of the beholder. But God defines fulfillment in the context of His kingdom and righteousness for everlasting life. 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 This is what Jesus Christ came to accomplish for you and me. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26. King Solomon, perhaps the richest, most powerful, and popular ruler of his time, wrote “11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 2:11 In other words, there is no fulfillment worth Christ dying for under the heaven. Even the best of us can claim to be fulfilled regardless of the inherited nature of sin and mortality. This is the reason why God offers us the Messiah as the way, the truth and life, to fulfill all righteousness forever.
In human terms, fulfilment is often seen from different perspective. Yes, there is a sense of satisfaction in every phase of human accomplishment. It is so by designed. “… God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:27-28 Material fulfilment is inherent in the blessing of God but more importantly, everlasting life in kingdom with His righteousness. Unfortunately, man deviated from the image of God, disobeyed God, and yielded to the lies and deception of Satan. And all hell broke loose. Chaos, envy, murder, hatred, and everything but the righteousness of God prevailed on the face of the earth. It became a struggle to be fulfilled or fulfil all the righteousness of God. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were typical example of people who did the best they could to walk toward God and His righteousness. God even commended Abraham and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. Genesis 22:16-17 Who can be more fulfilled than to be blessed by God Himself. And what a failure if you gain the whole world and die without the hope of everlasting life. Therefore, “… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 You do not have to reject God and his righteousness because of your personal goals in this life, everything is included in life and the abundant life Jesus promised. This is the reason why He came to fulfil all righteousness.
Life is a gift of God and so is the blessing to be fulfilled in life and with His righteousness for eternal life. Imagine a world without sin and mortality, where everyone can be fruitful, multiply and have everlasting dominion as God intended. That is the Abraham kind of blessing and fulfilment. That is why Jesus died, resurrected, and coming back. To restore to you the original and everlasting blessing of God.
Therefore, Jesus said, we must fulfill all righteousness. 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that we must be converted and become as little children, so we can enter the kingdom of Heaven. This is the new covenant blessing to all people. That anyone who believe in Jesus becomes a covenant partner in the blessing of the son of God. You will experience fulfillment in times of need or plenty, in times of pain or pleasure. Therefore Jesus said “…Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:21-22 fulfillment as Jesus, is with humility and the righteousness of God. We will continue from here next week. God bless you.