Have you ever wondered why God created us?  Theologian and author J.I. Packer says, “God created us for His pleasure and so that we, as His creation, would have the pleasure of knowing Him

Packer went on to say, “being created for God’s pleasure does not mean humanity was made to entertain God or provide Him with amusement. God is a creative Being, and it gives Him pleasure to create. God is a personal Being, and it gives Him pleasure to have other beings He can have a genuine relationship with.

Jesus, with his baptism as told in Matthew 3: 13-17, is bringing  pleasure to God.  How do we know this?  For the text says that when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist the heavens opened and a voice was heard to say  "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

A close examination of the text reveals three things that Jesus did that brought pleasure to  God, as the smart creative beings that God made us to be.  It is wise to follow the example of Jesus so that we can bring - the pleasure to God that we were created for.  

Jesus Publicly Acknowledge God 

Jesus went to the Jordan river at a spot were people gathered to be baptized in public by the most famous of all the baptizer – John The Baptist. Jesus pleased God because he publicly acknowledge the Lord.    

Proverbs 3:6 tells us, “In all your ways acknowledge God, And the Lord will make your paths straight."

God is pleased when we publicly acknowledge the Lord and put God first in our lives.  For Jesus himself said in Matthew 6:33, “seek first the kingdom of God  and the Lord’s righteousness." 

So the question for us is are we publicly acknowledging God?   Are we putting the Lord first in our lives and do people know, really know about out Christian walk?

Jesus Went Beyond Obedience

Jesus knew that being baptized was the fulfillment of  “all that is right”.  In order words as the obedient son of God baptism was something that he had to do.  However, it can be argued that Jesus went beyond obedience so that he could be of even greater pleasure to God.     

• Jesus went beyond obedience by:  Staging his baptism at the popular Jordan River      

• Jesus went beyond obedience by:  Making his baptism public

•   Jesus went beyond obedience by:  Being baptized by John

The question, for all of us as Christians as we routinely go about being obedient, is this: are we going beyond obedience in our service to the Lord? How often have we gone the extra mile with our time, talents, and money for the Lord?  

Jesus Was Humble

In his baptism, Jesus showed an uncommon humility worthy of our emulation.  Think about it. Jesus the Son of God, The Prince of Peace the Lilly of the Valley, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords insisted that John a man described in scriptures as wearing clothes of camel's hair, living on locusts and wild honey, would take the superior role over Jesus and baptize our Lord and Savior. 

In fact John The Baptist knew the vast superiority of Jesus when he said to the Lord, “I need to be baptized by you.”

The question is how humble are we?  If we are true in doing the work of the Lord we must be humble for the work or the Lord will humble us.   

Finally, remember the word of J.I. Packer, “God created us for His pleasure and so that we, as His creation, would have the pleasure of knowing Him.”    

• Jesus in his baptism pleased the Lord by publicly Acknowledging God,

• Jesus in his baptism pleased the Lord by going beyond obedience

• Jesus in his baptism pleased the Lord by showing humility

Jesus, in his baptism, has given us a pathway to bring pleasure to the Lord reinforcing what God created us for.