POINTING OTHERS TO JESUS CHRIST
Luke 3:15-22
Proposition: “Baptism truly points others to Jesus Christ who is the One who died and rose again for us.”
Objective: My purpose is to challenge people to look to Jesus Christ and be obedient to Him in one’s spiritual life.
INTRODUCTION:
Illus: A liberal scholar stated, “The account of Jesus’ Baptism is legend, certain though it is that the legend started from the historical fact of Jesus’ baptism by John. It was told in the interest not of biography, but of faith and it reports Jesus’ consecration as Messiah.” The baptism of Jesus is not simply a “faith-legend;” it is a historical fact.
Illus: “John the Baptist, as one has said, was content to be a signpost pointing the way to Jesus." John the Baptist’s life was fueled by one burning passion -- to point others to Jesus Christ and to the coming of his kingdom.
John the Baptist’s life and ministry pointed people to Jesus Christ. This was the mission of John as well his task of John to prepare the nation for the Messiah and then present the Messiah to them. As John 1:8 explains of John, “He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.” In our text, we see how John pointed people to Christ. It is significant that at the beginning of the passage, people are speculating about whether John himself might be the Christ. Even so, if we want to be used by God to point people to the Savior, we must fade from view and leave the person with Jesus alone, along with the divine testimony, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” That God the Father is well-pleased with God the Son is at the foundation of the Gospel message we are to proclaim.
I. A BAPTISM OF ENABLEMENT POINTS PEOPLE TO JESUS CHRIST (for Power) (vvs. 15-16a) “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”—The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the only means by which the redeemed sinner is united into the body of Christ and is the only means of identification with our redeeming Savior at the moment of salvation.
Illus: A good hunt dog is special, able to sniff out a covey’s location. A good hunt dog can point the way to the goal and indicate where we should be headed. John the Baptist was rather like that. He could point the way for those who wanted to know where God’s plan was going. He was “the one who goes before,” while Jesus is the stronger One to come.
1. The Messiah (v. 15a) “Now as the people were in expectation” “of the Messiah to come soon” (LB)—Messianic expectations were in the air. When John burst onto the scene, the people were excited. He was obviously a great prophet, and they were sure that the eagerly awaited age of the Messiah had come. Some, in fact, thought John himself was the Messiah. John spoke like the prophets of old, saying that the people must turn from their sin to God to avoid punishment and to experience His mercy and approval.
2. The Misunderstanding (v. 15b) “all reasoned…about John, whether he was the Christ or not”—The people begin to wonder. John wrought no miracles and was not in David’s line and yet he moved people so mightily that they began to suspect that he himself was the Messiah. The Sanhedrin will one day send a formal committee to ask him this direct question (John 1:19).
3. The Message (v. 16a) “John answered, saying”—He quickly denies it. John says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) John was quite sure that he himself was only the forerunner, not the Messiah. He was not sent to be a talk about himself, but to bear witness about Jesus, God’s Son. A good question is, “Am I pointing people to Jesus?”
Illus: During World War 2 about 500 American soldiers attended a performance of "Rigoletto" in a great Italian opera house. In the middle of a scene an air raid caused a power failure, leaving the opera house in darkness. One soldier pulled out his flashlight and pointed it toward the conductor. That wasn’t much light, but it helped. Within seconds 500 soldiers had their flashlights out and pointed toward the conductor. The whole stage was illumined. The conductor turned, bowed to the audience, and the opera began right where it has stopped. His role was simple and clear: to point others to the Jesus, the true light. Like that first soldier, he let his light pierce the darkness and point to the conductor.
4. The Manifestation (v. 16b) “I indeed baptize you with water”—While John baptized in water, the Messiah would baptize with both the Holy Spirit and fire. “I can only administer the outward baptism, but He will bring about the inward purifications and renewal.”
5. The Marvel (v. 16c) “One mightier than I is coming”—This is the first direct mention of Jesus by John. John’s baptism was minor compared to what was coming from Jesus. In that day one of a slave’s duties was to remove his master’s shoes. John stresses the superiority of Christ’s person.
Illus: E.V. Hill, when pastor of the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, spoke of the ministry of an elderly woman who was a member of his church. She was called 1800 because no one knew how old she was. 1800 was hard on unsuspecting preachers because she would sit in the front row, and as soon as the preacher would begin, she would say, “Git Him up.” After a few minutes, if she did not think there was enough of Christ in the sermon, she would again shout, “Git Him up!” Pity the minister if he did not give proper emphasis to Jesus as she would continue to shout out, “Git Him up!”
6. The Meaning (v. 16d) “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”—mentioned 4 times in Gospels ( Mat. 3:11; Mark 1:8; John 1:33), 2 in Acts (1:5; 11:16) & once in epistles (1 Cor. 12:13)—This is an act of imitation. The baptism of the Spirit takes place when the sinner trusts Christ and becomes a part of the body of Christ. “At the moment of regeneration He (Holy Spirit) baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ.” He is identified as a believer and indicates a relationship with Jesus as Savior. Jesus empowered the church to bear witness for Jesus on the Day of Pentecost. Therefore: Every believer possesses the Holy Spirit & Every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit.
Illus: When a group were present at the Niagara Falls, there was discussion about the beauty and the force present there as strangers viewing the Niagara whirlpool rapids one day and one said to the other, "Come and I’ll show you the greatest unused power in the world." Taking him to the foot of Niagara Falls, he said, "There is the greatest unused power in the world!" "Oh, no my friend," came the reply, "not so. The greatest unused power in the world is the Holy Spirit of the living God."
Illus: Franklin Segler states, “In baptism the believer identifies with Jesus Christ just as in our Lord’s baptism He identifies with the believer.”
II. A BAPTISM OF EVALUATION POINTS PEOPLE TO JESUS CHRIST (for Punishment) (vvs. 16b-20) “He will baptize you with…fire”—There will be a definite judgment of sin.
1. The initiation (v. 16b) “Baptize…with…fire”—Note the picture of judgment (v. 9) as the Messiah was poised with an ax to cut down the tree that does not bear good fruit.
2. The ingathering (v. 17) “He will…gather the wheat into the barns”—John preached judgment, but the Messiah would bring judgment. The wind of the Spirit would either blow away the chaff or keep the good grain for the granary.. He separates the wheat from the chaff. They would take a type of shovel called a winnowing fan. It was a wooden, forklike shovel. Like a cross between a shovel and a pitchfork. They would use this fan, this shovel, to toss the grain in the air. It would create a draft of air to blow the chaff off, and could be used like a shovel to toss the grain. The grain, because it is heavier, falls back down into the pile, but the chaff blows off to one side. When the grain and chaff were adequately separated, they would load the grain up into bags or bushels and cart them off to storage in a barn or something, and then, if the chaff had piled up in places, they would burn the chaff. Because it was so light, it would burn really quick.
Illus: Morris, “Judgment is not at first sight very good news; but it is an integral part of the Gospel. Unless we can be sure that in the end evil will be decisively over-thrown there is no ultimate good news.”
3.The indictment (vvs. 18-20) “being rebuked by him…concerning
Herodias…and all the evils which Herod had done”— Both had been married before (Herod to the daughter of king of Arabia & she to his half-brother Philip. Herod persuaded her to leave Philip & marry him. Because John rebuked Herod Antipas for his adulterous marriage to Herodias, he was imprisoned by the king and finally beheaded (as Salome danced before the king). John wouldn’t compromise his message and spare his life, he was a faithful witness with fearless honesty.
Illus: You remember the story of “Titanic” The supposedly unsinkable ship hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage, sending 1,517 people to their watery graves. What you may not know is that most, if not all, could have been saved. Another ship, the Californian, had passed within sight of the Titanic and made radio contact at 11 p.m. At 11:30, the captain and wireless operator on the Californian went to bed. Ten minutes later, the Titanic hit the iceberg. Although the officer on duty on the Californian saw the distress rockets from the Titanic, he wasn’t sure what they meant and he couldn’t arouse the sleepy captain. A report testified that if the Californian had responded, many, if not all, of the lives that were lost could have been saved. We may condemn the captain of the Californian who slept while 1,500 people perished nearby. But aren’t we often guilty of the same thing if we’re complacent while people around us perish? We need to be pointing others to Jesus Christ. John pointed people to Jesus.
III. A BAPTISM AS AN EXAMPLE POINTS PEOPLE TO JESUS CHRIST (for Proclamation) (vvs. 21-22) “Jesus was also baptized”— It was, in short, an act of obedience and identification. He identified with sinners He came to save. This was the official start of His ministry.
1. Divine anticipation (v. 21b) “Jesus also was baptized”—John baptized in order to present Him to the people, not because He was a repentant sinner. This is His public commitment to His redemptive mission. Jesus identifies with the people He came to save and with the stand for righteousness that His act signifies. Jesus was baptized as a symbolic anticipation of His passion and death (12:50; Isa. 53:12). Jesus commits Himself to a mission of service and sacrifice. Our Lord’s baptism was a picture of His work of redemption.
2. Divine Access (vvs. 21c) “While He prayed, the heaven was opened”— Jesus prayed in order to serve the Father, how much more we need to pray. He depended upon His Father to meet His needs. Only Luke mentions that Jesus was praying, and this was only one of many occasions (Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28-29; 11:1; 23:34, 46). As the perfect Son of man, Jesus depended on His Father to meet His needs, and that was why He prayed.
3. Divine Action (v. 22a) “The Holy Spirit descended upon Him”—
When our Lord came up from the water, the Father spoke from heaven and identified Him as the beloved Son of God, and the Spirit visibly came upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Those who deny the Trinity have a difficult time explaining this event. Jesus was praying when the Spirit descended in the form of a dove.
4. Divine Announcement (v. 22b) “A voice came from heaven which said”— This is the first of three recorded occasions when the Father spoke from heaven. The second was when Jesus was transfigured (Luke 9:28-36), and the third was during His last week before the cross (John 12:28). The emphasis here is that God has spoken. The voice from heaven was a divine benediction and assurance on this mission of service and sacrifice.
5. Divine Approval (v. 22c) “You are My beloved Son”—God puts His stamp of approval on what Jesus has come to accomplish. This is an heavenly endorsement that Jesus is both King and Servant which is fundamental to His identity. God’s approval of Jesus as God’s Messiah and Servant.
Illus: There’s a contemporary song called "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" and the lyrics to the chorus go like this:
It’s all about You, Jesus.
And all this is for You,
For Your glory and Your fame.
It’s not about me, as if You should do things my way,
For You alone are God, and I surrender to Your ways.
CONCLUSION:
1. Pointing people to Christ requires confronting their sin.
2. Pointing people to Christ requires warning of the reality of the coming judgment.
3. Pointing people to Christ requires exalting His supremacy over all.
1), Have I followed Jesus in believer’s baptism?
BAPTISM IS: A public commitment to be an open disciple of the Lord.
2). Have I received the power of the Holy Spirit?
3). Am I seeking to please God alone?
"Lord, let your light burn brightly in my heart that I may know the joy and freedom of your kingdom. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and empower me to witness the truth of your gospel and to point others to Jesus Christ."
Illus: Larry Lewis tells this, "My favorite baptismal illustration relates to a Mexican mission congregation in Dallas, Texas, where Rev. Paul Billington was pastor. On a particular Sunday morning, a teenage girl came forward to profess Jesus as her Savior. Following the service, she asked the pastor to pray for her because she feared the anger of her father when he learned that she had made a profession of faith and wanted to be baptized into the membership of a Baptist congregation. Later that afternoon he got a call from a nurse at a nearby hospital. When this young lady returned home and told of her experience, her father beat her unmercifully and she had to be hospitalized. Paul Billington rushed to the hospital and stood beside her beaten, broken body, only to hear her say, ’Brother Paul, when I came home today and told Daddy that I had been saved and wanted to be baptized, he got very mad! He beat me until I lost consciousness and woke up here at the hospital. But I want you to know, I still plan to be baptized anyway.’ This story should be an inspiration to all of us who have had to suffer very little to take our stand for Christ, while others, like this young Mexican girl, have had to suffer much."
Prepared by: Gerald Steffy, 6206 N. Hamilton Rd.
Peoria, IL 61614, Phone: 309-691-3680
E-Mail grsteffy@yahoo.com for weekly MY SERMON NUGGETS
