We noted last week that John the Baptist baptized with water to prepare people for the coming Messiah Jesus Christ and to teach them about the good news of ultimate forgiveness of sins.
We will read in our passage today that the Messiah Jesus Christ Himself was baptized by John. Why did John baptize Jesus when Jesus is the Messiah and had no sin? We will try and answer this question today.
Open your Bibles now to the Gospel of Luke Chapter 3 and read along with me v16-38….
What truths can we note from this passage?
1. Again, John baptized with water for repentance from sin.
2. Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire!
3. John taught and preached the Good News of Salvation!
4. John was imprisoned (and based on other Scriptures, John was beheaded!).
5. Jesus was baptized (by John as stated in Matthew 3:13-14 and Mark 1:9)
6. What happened when Jesus was baptized?
v21-22….
As a side note, some will say that there is no such thing as the Triune God for God is One; ask them to explain what happened here! God is One but exists in Three Persons!
7. Jesus started His ministry when He was about thirty years old.
8. Jesus is the “Son of God the Father” (v22)! Jesus was the “son of Joseph” (v23-38)!
While on earth, Jesus Christ was fully man but also fully God!
But we also note something interesting in v38 don’t we?
9. The first man Adam was the “son” of God! Adam and all his descendants can be called sons of God because God is the source of all human life.
But let us note what Jesus said in John 8: The Jewish Leaders said "We are not illegitimate children," …... "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say, you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.”
What about each one of us; are we listening and following Jesus Christ? If not, we are really listening to the devil and there will be judgment.
Now, we still have to answer our main question; from this passage in Luke, why do you think John baptized Jesus??
The result of the baptism of Jesus gives us one of the answers why He was baptized. Jesus was baptized to affirm His deity!
We also note that John the Baptist was imprisoned and we noted that eventually John was beheaded. Do you think Jesus knew this was going to happen to John? Absolutely! And how did Jesus view John? This is what Jesus said in Luke 7:28, “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John!” Jesus loved John and Jesus knew what hardships John faced and will face. And so, don’t you think Jesus allowed Himself to be baptized by John to honor John? Look again at what John said about Jesus Christ in Luke 3:16…. John saw himself not worthy of doing anything for Jesus but Jesus made John baptize Him! Jesus was baptized by John to honor and encourage John!
And let us briefly look at the other Gospels to note other reasons why John baptized Jesus. Let’s start with the Gospel of John Chapter 1:32-34….
What can we note from this passage? John’s testimony affirms that John himself needed to know for sure who Jesus was. And so again, one of the reasons for Jesus’ baptism was for John’s benefit!
Let’s turn to Mark 1:9-13…..
We note the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus and in v12 the Spirit led Him to the dessert to be tempted by Satan. What we can note is that Jesus ministry started right after His baptism and He was led by the Holy Spirit. And so another reason for the baptism of Jesus is to start His ministry on earth. Two things to note for us: Jesus’ life was led by the Holy Spirit. And secondly, Attacks by the devil is part of the Christian life which can only be won through the empowering of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word! We will learn more about this next week.
Let’s close by looking at the Gospel of Matthew; Chapter 3:13-17…..
And so we note that John the Baptist ask the question we are trying to answer; Joh said directly to Jesus, “Why do I need to baptize you?” What was Jesus’ answer? "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." And did John complain about doing something he thought wasn’t right? We read, “John consented!” i.e. John obeyed Jesus! And so the other reason why Jesus was baptized was it was the right thing to do according to God not man!
2 important things we need to note:
1. Whatever Jesus says is proper and right no matter what we think!
2. We can question God BUT we are to do what He says!
Many times we wonder, “God won’t you tell me directly what to do?” You see, God is telling each one of us directly what to do; the question is, are we truly listening and are we obeying?
If you’re not a Believer of Jesus Christ, that’s the only thing you need to do, is to believe in Jesus Christ as your only Savior and God (look at the back of the “Salvation Process” handout)…..
If you are already a Believer of Jesus Christ, here are the basics of what He’s telling each one of us directly (look again at the handout):
God the Holy Spirit lives in every believer of Jesus Christ.
Do we truly believe this?
A Christian will allow Christ to rule in every aspect of his/her life.
A Christian trusts the Bible, hungers for it daily, and follows its teachings.
A Christian will pray to God often.
A Christian will belong to a local church.
Every Believer becomes more and more like Jesus Christ by yielding to the Holy Spirit.
Before we take Communion, which is another instruction for us to remember Jesus Christ, take a moment to pray about who you are to God and what you need to do…..
