Baptism Of Jesus

“Baptism of Jesus”

Luke 3:21-22

A sermon for 1/10/21

Pastor John Bright

Luke 3 “21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

There are many ways to love being with the kids and grandkids. Watching them enjoy what they are doing is a good one!

When was the last time you watched a child blowing bubbles as the wind grabs them and they go chasing after? There is pure joy in the little children doing this… it can be the same for adults – just give a room full of them some bubble solution and a little wand. They will just blow and watch the bubbles float away.

Ever see a square bubble come out? How about a long skinny one? Maybe a flat one? Nope – they are all round and there is physics involved. You see, water (the main ingredient in the bubble solution) has a physical property called surface tension. It wants to stay together and form an equal surface all around. If I take a cup of water and throw it up, the water forms drops – just like when it rains.

I need to talk to you about tension today. For the 20 centuries of the Church, we have held certain beliefs in tension – beliefs that don’t seem to go together but we need to keep them together. For example – part of our Orthodox Christian belief is that Christ was both fully God and fully human. You have probably heard that before and kept going because it is a phrase we use on a regular basis.

Let’s think about it – if something is fully one thing, how can it also be fully something else. We like to say that something or someone is 50-50. That makes sense. So how can Christ be fully God and fully human? I DON’T KNOW! It’s a mystery. It’s a matter of faith. It’s part of the Creator that the created can’t comprehend.

So, the Church has kept these two in tension. Every time the emphasis is put too much to one side or the other, folks have resisted because there is always a risk of denying the other side. It’s tough, but the effort is worth it to have a clear picture of Jesus Christ. This week I will focus almost exclusively on the Divinity of Christ through the picture of His baptism. Next week, we will consider the humanity of a Savior that could be tempted by satan himself.

The heavens are opened – v. 21

“21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.”

In Luke’s account, there is no discussion between Jesus and His cousin as in Matthew 3. All the Gospels have some form of this event recorded. One distinctive element in this verse is the very first reference to the prayers of Jesus. We are not told what He was praying, only that He prayed as the heavens opened up.

This is a description of events that day that would have meaning for those who knew the Jewish scriptures - Ezekiel 1:1 – “Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.”

This will also be a way to describe events in the Early Church – Stephen the first martyr told his accusers: Acts 7:56 “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

When Peter has his vision on the roof in Acts 10:11 - *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,”

Then in the book of Revelation, we hear this same description – 19:11 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.”

When the heavens open up – something is getting ready to happen – things will be seen and heard that come straight from God.

Next, the Holy Spirit is visible – v. 22a

“22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him,”

This is just one appearance of the Holy Spirit for He (not “It”) is found from the beginning of the Bible all the way to the very end.