Over the years, although I have kept no count, I dare say I have baptised dozens of people, people of all ages and with all kinds of backgrounds in rivers, lakes and sea, as well as swimming pools and baptismal tanks. Most baptisms I have completely forgotten the details of, but a few stick out.
Irene – because she was pregnant with Rachel and had to be baptised from a sitting position. (The only baby I ever baptised!)
Gareth – Being baptised late at night in the Irish Sea
The Baptism at the Boyne
The rushed baptism – 10 in 10 minutes (2 at a time)
This evening we come to the baptism of Jesus. Never was there a baptism like this baptism. In some ways it was no different from any other. Certainly the mode was the same. Notice, “And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John IN Jordan.” And then, “And straightway coming UP OUT OF the water…” So it was clearly a baptism by immersion. Jesus was in the water and out of the water. He was neither sprinkled nor poured upon. Bible baptism is always by immersion. In that regard this baptism is no different from any other. And like believer’s baptism should be, it was an adult baptism, Jesus being, according to Luke’s record, about 30 years of age. And yet it is unique, a one off.
For a start, though John administered it, it was not a baptism of repentance, because Jesus had nothing to repent of and no sins to be forgiven from. It was not a baptism looking forward to the coming of Christ, as John’s baptism was, neither was it a baptism looking back at the work of Christ as Christian baptism is. It was uniquely His because it marked the starting point of earthly His ministry.
It was no different from other baptisms in that many people witnessed it. But it was strangely different from other baptisms in that it was attended by the sight of the Spirit’s descent and the sound of the Heavenly Father’s voice. Every baptism is significant. Every baptism paints a picture, signals a truth, but in a way peculiar from all others Jesus’ baptism presents us with three clear signals.
I. There Was A Physical Signal.
A. Baptism is a physical act that represents a spiritual truth.
1. In the case of believers baptism that act portrays the death, burial and resurrection of Christ; it also presents onlookers with a testimony of the candidates to death to self, burial of the old way and adoption of a new life in Christ.
B. In the case of John’s baptism we see him as the forerunner, declaring the way of the Lord.
1. But how is John, or indeed his follower to know whom the Messiah is and precisely when He has arrived.
2. Mark tells us that, “there went out unto [John] all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.”
3. So gathered along that riverbank, day after day, people are coming to be baptised.
4. Ever strata of society are there. There are, of course, the common people, but also soldiers and tax collectors (publicans) and undoubtedly the religious leaders of Israel were also there. John uses similar language to Jesus when addressing these Pharisees, preaching, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” (Luke 3:7-8).
5. Into that morass of humanity we read, “Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee.”
6. This is His moment of entry. This is the point at which His ministry and work begins. And John, looking up sees this serene figure walking through the crowds gathered there, and pointing to Him, he cries, (in what is one of the most radical and profound statements in all the Word of God), “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
C. Something in John knows who He is, and He knows why He has come. He has come to be baptised.
1. Now, the question is often asked why did Jesus need to be baptised?
2. After all, He knew no sin. He had no need of repentance. He was not a convert of any kind.
3. But remember baptism is a sign, not a sacrament. By that I mean there is no saving work in baptism, by being baptised Jesus was not indicating a need for salvation, but signaling something else altogether.
D. He signified His commitment to the plan of God.
1. See Matthew 3:13-15
2. Jesus was baptised because it was the right thing to do. Later in His ministry He was able to say, “I do always those things that please him.”
a. Baptism is STILL the right thing to do and it STILL pleases God.
3. By His baptism Jesus signaled His intent to do that which would please His Father. He identified Himself with the Father’s will, and His father’s plan.
4. He also identified Himself with those His Father had sent Him to save.
a. Notice the Trinitarian nature of this event: The Son is in the water, the Spirit is in descent and the father is heard from above, Father, Son and Holy Ghost communing one with another.
b. In Genesis 1:26 we see the first mention of such communion within the Godhead when we read in the creation story, “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
c. Then the Triune God said, “Let us make man.” Now He is saying, “Let us save man.”
d. You see every Person of the Godhead is engaged in the plan of salvation. Father, Son and Holy Ghost are reaching down to save humanity, and by His baptism Jesus identifies with those who needed to be saved, with those who had submitted to the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
e. It was a physical sign.
II. There Was A Visual Signal.
A. We read in verse 10, “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him.”
1. The heavens were opened, lit. “torn asunder”. The suggestion is of something sudden and dramatic, something that would have caught the eye of every bystander, and then the Spirit like a dove descended.
2. The Spirit was not a dove, but He appeared as a dove.
3. This was important to John, it was a conformation that the one He had instinctively point top as the Lamb of God was indeed the Promised Messiah – This is a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” (Isa 61:1)
4. Here Christ was being set apart for service, here He was being marked as the messenger and servant of Jehovah.
5. You say, “Well, why would He need to have the anointing of the Spirit? Isn’t He God?” Yes He is. “Isn’t He the Second Person of the Godhead?” Yes He is. Isn’t the Spirit, the Spirit of Christ?” Yes He is. “Was He not God in the flesh?” Yes. So why does He need this anointing? Why does He need this power of the Spirit upon Him?
6. Jesus needed the power and presence of the Spirit upon Him because He did not come into this world to live as God; but because He came into this world to live as a man.
a. Philippians 2:5-8
B. So what did this visual signal of the Spirit indicate? Why did He appear as a dove?
1. Of course, everyone knows that the dove from the time of Noah has been a symbol of peace.
2. The dove is often portrayed with the olive leave in its beak, symbolising that trouble is past, that a new beginning has begun.
3. Jesus of course is presented in Isaiah 9:6 as the Prince of Peace, indeed he often spoke about peace, and He came in Peace.
4. He didn’t, at His advent, come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it.
5. He came with the olive branch, so to speak, to reconcile man to God.
6. But there is something else about the dove that we must not miss.
C. The humble dove served as the poor man’s sacrifice.
1. If a man was so poor he could not afford a lamb, or a goat he could bring a dove as an offering for sin.
2. You may recall this was how Joseph and Mary appeared in the temple after the birth of Jesus – Luke 2:21-24.
3. This was the poor man’s offering, and so doves were associated with sacrifice for sin.
a. That reminds me of what David wrote in Psalm 34:6, “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”
D. You see the descent of the Spirit was a signal of God’s anointing upon Him, it was a mark of His calling, but it also served to signal the nature of that calling, that He was destined to be the sacrifice of poor lost sinners, and inas such would reconcile those who believed to God.
III. There Was An Audible Signal.
A. “And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (verse 11)
1. Now to complete the witness of heaven, the Father speaks.
2. 1John 5:7 says, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
a. If your version of the Bible doesn’t say that, I would ditch it for one that does.
b. The Son has testified to His role by submitting to the baptism, which was preparatory to the coming of Messiah, the Spirit has testified to His role by descending as a dove, and now the Father testifies to His role by speaking from the heavens.
B. The word “Thou” can be stated as “Thou and thou alone”. This identifies Jesus as the “only begotten of the Father”.
1. Understand that Jesus’ relationship to the Father is unique.
2. When the Father spoke He was intimating is His Son is a way that no other is.
3. Understand when we say Jesus is the only begotten of the Father, we are not for one moment saying He was created or birthed by God the Father, but that He was uniquely related to Him.
4. In Heb 11:17 Isaac is described as the “only begotten son” of Abraham, but Isaac was neither Abraham’s only son, nor even his firstborn son, but he was the son of promise.
5. Jesus too is God’s Son of promise, the one who’s coming was predicted as far back as Genesis 3:15 – He alone holds this unique relationship with the Father.
C. The word “art” means “have always been”.
1. Jesus did not become pleasing to the Father at His baptism.
2. Jesus was eternally pleasing to the Father.
3. There had never been a moment when He was not pleasing to His Father.
a. See Psalm 2:7-12
b. Jesus did not become the Son at Bethlehem, nor indeed at His baptism, He had always been the Son, always pleasing to the father, and always worthy of our worship.
D. The word “beloved” indicated the special bond of love that exists between God the Father and God the Son.
1. Jesus is often referred to as the “beloved” Son.
2. You see God is love. That is a vital part of His nature, of who He is, and that love is perfectly expressed between Father and Son, and Son and Father.
Conclusion: Jesus is the One in whom the Father is well pleased. It is interesting the Father always says that the Son is the One IN WHOM He is well pleased, rather than WITH WHOM. You see the word “pleased” means, “finds pleasure”, and the pleasure of God was not something Jesus earned by means of His baptism, but something Jesus had because of His Person.
Now that could not have been said about you or me. For thousands of years God has looked down upon man and declared him to be nothing less than sinful and rebellious. But remember last week we spoke of the baptism of the Holy Ghost? Listen carefully, when I trust Christ the Spirit of God baptizes me INTO HIM. I am IN HIM, and He is IN ME. And now when God looks down upon me, sees Jesus and finds pleasure.
See Isaiah 53:10. Do you see that phrase, “the pleasure of the LORD”, that’s you and me who have believed.
There are many truths brought to us by the baptism of Jesus. But perhaps the greatest was the fact that this moment marked the beginning of a ministry that would lead Jesus to the cross. And because of His life, His death, His resurrection we can be saved, immersed into Him, hidden in Christ, so that God may find pleasure in us also.
Maybe you are here tonight and you are not a Christian. This would be a great time to be saved; to ask God to forgive your sin through the death of Lord Jesus, and to receive a new life in Him.
Maybe you are here as a Christian and you have never been baptised. You know right is right, no matter what. Maybe you need to submit to the command to be baptised, to follow the example of the Lord in this area. Or maybe you need to commit yourself to His will no matter what. Jesus wasn’t fooled about where His path was leading, and yet He yielded to it, knowing it tio be the death of the cross. We may not know where are path may lead us, but we know who it is we are following along it. I wonder tonight do you need to commit to the Lord with respect to His will and to say wherever He leads I‘ll go.
"Take up thy cross and follow Me," I heard my Master say;
"I gave My life to ransom thee, Surrender your all today."
Wherever He leads I’ll go, Wherever He leads I’ll go,
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I’ll go.
