Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 212

July 30;   Matthew 3:17;   3/260(II);   ‘Beloved’ 

Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Twice, the Father in heaven declared His great love for His Son.  The Father said this same word, beloved, regarding the Lord Jesus, on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5).  God the Father and the Lord Jesus have been together for all eternity.  It would be hard for our mind to comprehend the love they have for each other.  Because of the sin of Adam, there was an incredible need for the Lord to intervene and save humanity from being eternally separated from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.  For a short period of time, thirty three years, the Lord Jesus would be away from His Father literally.  The Lord Jesus knew there was a vital need for the entire human race to be redeemed from sin and sickness.  No one else could do what the Lord Jesus did.  Jesus lived a life free from sin, and voluntarily submited to the incredible cruelty of the religious leaders and the Roman soldiers.  Jesus willingly went to the cross and took our sins and sicknesses upon Himself, being punished in our place.  The love beyond comprehension of the Father for Jesus had to increase even more because of Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself for us.  The Lord, in 3 John 2, calls each of us beloved.  It is the same word that the Father called the Lord Jesus.  This perfectly lines up with the Word of God.  In John 17:23, the Lord Jesus tells us that God the Father loves each of us, just as much as He loves Jesus.  Think of that truth.  If you receive this truth, knowing you are the beloved of God the Father, it will drive out every fear and challenge you will ever face.