Troublemaker: His Birth to His Baptism

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near.  A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. Numbers 24:17

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Matthew 2:16

...(Jesus) was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." “Why were you searching for me? He asked. Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" Luke 2:46-49

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?  Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?  Aren’t all his sisters with us? Matthew 13:55-56

Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work in the Tent of Meeting. Numbers 4:3

1. Baptism was a turning point in Jesus' life.

2. Jesus' baptism was a demonstration of His humility.  

3. Jesus' baptism is a picture of His ultimate mission.  

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4

4. It was His public expression of His commitment to God.  

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith. Not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9