Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - The Cure for Self-Absorption | The Gospels | Matthew 3:13–16

Episode Date: September 15, 2026

Why are we so focused on ourselves? What happens when humility turns into doubt? How do we stop measuring ourselves and start looking at Jesus? In today’s episode, Tanya explores how Matthew 3:13–16 reveals that the cure for self-absorption isn’t thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking more about Jesus and trusting his power at work in you. Read the Bible with us! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and it's never too late to join! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passage: Matthew 3:13–16

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. Have you ever met someone who made you feel like they had nothing more important to do than have a conversation with you? They listened without moving their eyes away when you were talking. They didn't scan the room to see who else was coming in. They didn't glance down at their phone or interrupt you. They didn't connect what you said to something about them.

they just listened until you were done and you felt truly heard. Tim Keller wrote a short book called The Freedom of Self-Forgitfulness. And he sums this up in a couple of sentences. He said, the thing we would remember from meeting a truly gospel humble person is how much they seem to be totally interested in us because the essence of gospel humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself.

It is thinking of myself less. I think thinking of ourselves. less is something we would all strive to do. But it is really hard because if we're honest, most of us have a self-absorption problem. We want to be people who are in the art of self-forgetfulness, but the reality is that we are living by a playbook called the Freedom of Self-absorption. And that book sounds a little bit different because the things of that book say, be your own boss that says do what feels good. And it says, listen to your inner voice. The problem with playing by that book is that we're not equipped.

We're not wired by our creator to handle ourselves that way. And so when we do that, we don't have the power. We don't have the power to rule over our own lives. So when we try, we experience things like overwhelm and guilt and anxiety. We end up burning bridges instead of building them. We end up comparing ourselves to others and falling short. And constantly thinking of ourselves causes us to, either love ourselves or hate ourselves, there seems to not be an in-between. So what's the cure?

What's the solution for self-absorption? Here is the thing. Self-absorption and unbelief are actually closer than we usually admit. Because both keep the spotlight on us. It keeps the spotlight on whether we are capable, whether we're worthy before God and others, whether we measure up, whether we can do what we think we're supposed to do. It keeps the focus on us instead of on who God is. Doubt and non-beliefs say, I can't trust this because I don't understand it well. Self-absorption says,

I can't trust this because it doesn't center on me. There are different sentences, but the subject is always I or me. So the only way we can think of ourselves less is if we think of Jesus more. The only way to loosen doubt's grip is the same way we loosen self-absorption's grip by keeping our attention and our worship fixed on God and asking him to help us in our unbelief. So let's take that. Let's look at our biblical passage for today because I think you'd be surprised

that even John the Baptist struggled with this. Even John the Baptist struggled when he met Jesus face-to-face. See, John the Baptist was on a mission to prepare the way for the Lord, but when he meant Jesus, his own sense of unworthiness kept him from simply obeying what Jesus told him to do. From Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 to 16, listen in. Then Jesus came from Galilee to Jonathan Jordan to be baptized by him. But John tried to stop him saying, I need to be baptized by you and you come to me. Jesus answered him, allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then John allowed him to be baptized. When Jesus was baptized, he was baptized, he up immediately from the water. The heaven suddenly opened for him, and he saw the spirit of God

descending like a dove and coming down on him, and a voice from heaven said, this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. John's hesitation was a kind of doubt dressed up his humility. Surely you don't mean me. Surely this isn't how it's supposed to go. We go around trying to tell Jesus what to do or what we're not going to do or what we're not fit to do what we don't feel like doing it makes our prayers smaller our hopes are less grand our heavenly imaginations are obscured because we're stuck negotiating with our own doubt instead of obeying Jesus but Jesus has a grand story to fulfill in us Jesus isn't limited by what we bring to the table he's not limited by our skill he's not limited by our creativity. He's not limited by our brokenness. Our energy, our intelligence doesn't

limit what he can do in our families, in our work. It doesn't limit what we can do in the places where we live. And when the relationships that we have, when we surrender to him, our doubts and all, he sends his spirit to give us power. Luke describes in Acts 1-8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Jesus gave this charge to a small band of followers two thousand years ago, but those words were for a shadow of the shockwaves that would spread to surrounding regions and eventually throughout the world. Jesus did all the work. He accomplished his mission on the cross, and by his grace we are redeemed. Through his power, we are, we,

We are the messengers who carries good news to the wayward, to the wounded, and the broken, doubts, hesitations, and all. So if doubt and self-absorption both keep our eyes on ourselves, let's put our eyes back where they belong. We worship God because he is so much bigger than we are. We worship God because he accomplished our redemption on the cross. We worship him because he is making everything new, including us. We worship God because the blood of Jesus covers our sins. We worship God because He is bigger than our

doubts because His promises always come true. So we are called to be more than excuse givers and doubters. We are called to be more than humble braggers. We are called to be the message givers in the kingdom of God. We are called to be light in the world. We are equipped to tell the world about our Savior. He's given us the Holy Spirit to carry out the mission. And the end of the story has already been written. The victory has already been won. We can read Revelation chapter 20 and see the city, the new city come down from heaven. And the angels rejoice and we can see the feast at the table. It has already happened. We rejoice because God is making everything new. And one day our broken bodies and our broken minds and our broken hearts are going to be made new and they are going to

rejoice at the table with our fellow believers in eternity with our faithful Lord. Amen. Hey, before we wrap up, can I tell you about something we've been working on here at 10-minute Bible talks? We believe that everyone should know how to read the Bible. But the truth is, a lot of us have never been shown how. That's why we created the 10-minute Bible guide. It's a simple framework for helping you understand God's Word and build a sustainable Bible reading habit, not so that you can simply check the Bible reading box off your to-do list, but so that you can spend meaningful, life-giving time with God in His Word. Inside our guide, you'll find practical tips for getting started, strategies for how to stay consistent, ideas for how to apply the Bible to

your life, and how to pray through the Bible, and even journal through it once you're done. So, if you've ever thought, I want to read my Bible, but I don't know how to start. or how to stick with it, then this is for you. You can download our free 10-minute Bible guide today at 10-minutebibyltalks.com or just hit the link in our show notes.