It had to be quite a sight, a man in a camel hair coat standing dripping wet in the middle of the Jordan River. More than that can you imagine the smell; dry camel hair does not smell the best, can you imagine the smell of wet camel hair? Besides dressing funny and smelling bad his behavior was quite strange. He was quite judgmental and what’s all this talk about a new kingdom that is coming? However, even more surprising are the crowds that are coming out to not only hear him but to be baptized by him. As you scan the crowd there are the poor, there are those who are looking for a shred of hope to grab on to, there are the religious leaders who have many questions about this guy and there are even some Roman soldiers in the crowd. Who is this guy named John? Could he be the Messiah? Then all of sudden out of the crowd steps a man by the name of Jesus, he is John’s cousin and is six months younger than Him. He wants John to baptize Him, needless to say that puts John in an awkward position because he knows who Jesus is. This is the Messiah, the Lamb of God that John proclaimed earlier. Jesus is clearly superior to John which makes this encounter quite interesting. Today I would like us to look at the significance of Jesus’ baptism so that we can get a better grasp of the reasons behind it. But more than that I want us to see exactly why baptism is important to us today.
I. What should we make of the fact that Jesus came to John to be baptized?
A. The question that we wrestle with is, “why did Jesus need to be baptized?”
1. John’s baptism was one of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.
2. If Jesus was truly sinless and had nothing to repent of, why was He baptized?
3. Scripture proclaims Jesus as being sinless. Consider the words of the Hebrew Writer.
4. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15—NIV)
5. We shouldn’t feel bad if we struggle with this question because John had the same question. He realized that Jesus was superior to him and his logic concluded that an inferior should not baptize his superior.
6. John makes his objections known because in His mind none of this is making any sense. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and John should be baptized by Him.
B. Jesus presents the reason that John needed to baptize Him, this needed to be done to fulfill all righteousness.
1. Aren’t you glad that Jesus made it all crystal clear? How could this act of baptism accomplish this?
2. There are those who believe that Jesus was simply providing us with an example to follow.
3. Could this be more than just a mere example? Especially since there is something unique about this event, it is mentioned by all four Gospel writers. That alone says that this is a pivotal event, so it must be extremely important.
4. This seems to mark the beginning point of Jesus’ ministry. Consider the unusual things that happen during this event.
a. The Heavens are opened which was a common sign of an impending divine revelation.
b. The physical manifestation of the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove.
c. God’s voice thundering His approval of Jesus from Heaven.
5. When you think about it, Jesus being baptized for the sake of providing an example seems kind of pointless. It has to be much more than an example.
II. What was the meaning of Jesus’ baptism?
A. Jesus baptism marks the inauguration of the Kingdom of God.
1. Have ever considered the possibility that Jesus was baptized for the forgiveness of sins?
2. This is not unheard of in the Jewish world. In fact throughout Jewish history leaders repented for the sins of the people.
a. In Daniel 9, Daniel repents for the sins of His people which led to their exile.
b. Nehemiah fasted as a result of the sins of Jerusalem.
c. Ezra and Ezekiel both took responsibility for the sins of their fellow Jews.
3. This would make Jesus’ baptism one of repentance in preparation for the coming of the Kingdom. This makes perfect sense in light of His mission.
4. This would allow substitutionary events to mark both the beginning and ending of His ministry. The crucifixion would mark Jesus once again taking on the sins of the people.
5. Mark’s word choice in his Gospel seems to imply a connection between Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion.
a. He uses the Greek word schizo which means to be torn open when he describes the heavens opening at Jesus’ baptism.
b. Mark only uses this word one other place in his Gospel and that was to describe the tearing of the temple curtain during Jesus’ crucifixion.
6. If Christian baptism is all about the cross, then why not Jesus’ own baptism?
B. Jesus’ baptism was a bold declaration to all those who were present.
1. Jesus is clearly claiming to be the Messiah in no uncertain terms.
2. God’s voice from Heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit provides great credibility for these claims.
3. The voice from Heaven reveals the two aspects of Jesus status.
a. The servant who would suffer and die.
b. The Messianic King who would reign on the throne of David forever.
4. God speaking from Heaven only occurs three times during Jesus’ ministry and each time was at a critical point.
5. Mark Moore professor of New Testament at Ozark Christian College describes this event in a unique way, “The trinity converges at the river to announce the dawning of a new age, not to merely applaud a noble act of obedience.”
6. Jesus baptism was truly a transformational event, the preparation is over the fulfillment of all the prophesies now has stepped on to center stage.
7. When we look at Jesus’ baptism within the scope of His mission, we will understand Him in a brand new light.
III. Things that we should understand from this event.
A. Through baptism we identify with the one who came to save us from our sins.
1. At His baptism Jesus identified with all those who John was challenging to repent, He takes on all of their and our humanity upon Himself just as He will later take the sins of the world upon Himself at the cross.
2. Baptism is not simply an act of obedience; it has to do with the forgiveness of sins. It marks our acceptance of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
3. Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. (Romans 6:3-5—NIV)
4. Just as Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of a new age our baptism marks the beginning of our new life under God’s grace.
B. Baptism separates us from our past.
1. In the waters of baptism we bury our past so that we will able to start life again with a clean slate.
2. Baptism marks the fact that we are entering into a covenant relationship with God a covenant that is based upon the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.
3. We step into a new life with the intention of never returning to our old way of life again.
C. Through baptism we are united with the whole purpose of God.
1. Baptism is not an expression of our individuality it is a sign of our desire to enter into team ministry with God’s people.
2. It is through baptism that we become a part of God’s family, the church.
3. Jesus at His baptism assumed His role in carrying out the purposes of God; just as our baptism should mark our acceptance of God’s purpose for our lives.
4. A Christian is not called to live a solitary life; to be in Christ means to be in His body, to dwell with His people and to work with other Christians to accomplish His purposes.
5. Baptism can never be viewed as an end in itself as Friedrich Rest reminds us. “In baptism the direction is indicated rather than the arrival.”
Toward the end of World War II, two pilots, one a Scottish chaplain and the other a professor from Glasgow was shot down behind enemy lines. German soldiers quickly captured them and led them to a nearby prison camp. The camp was separated into two sections. One barracks housed American soldiers and the other housed British soldiers. For some reason the two British pilots were separated and one was placed among the American soldiers.
Every day the two men would meet at a wire fence that separated the allied troops and exchange greetings. Unknown to the guards, the Americans had a small homemade radio and they were able to get news from the outside, something more precious than food in a prison camp. The professor would share a headline or two with his friend who in turn would share it with their fellow British soldiers. They knew the allied forces were advancing, getting closer and closer to victory.
One day news came over the radio, announcing that the German high command had surrendered and the war was over. The professor took the news to the fence, then stood and watched as his friend disappeared into the British barracks. Moments later a roar of celebration came from within the British barracks. When the German guards finally heard the news, three nights later, they fled in the dark, leaving the gates unlocked. The next morning, the British and American troops walked out as free men, although they had truly been set free three days earlier by the news that the war was over.
