Matthew 3:13-17
The Baptism of Jesus
Sermon notes
Baptism. Today we are going to talk about baptism. Actually, we started talking about baptism last week when we looked at Matt 3:1-12. Yes I know I talked about repentance last week and showing fruit of that repentance. But remember it was in the context of baptism. It was in the context of what John the Baptist was saying about repentance and showing the fruit of repentance in our lives. And so today’s sermon is really a continuation of what we talked about last week as we look at the rest of Matthew 3. So Matthew 3 is about John the Baptist, and the reason John the Baptist is called John the Bapist is not because he went to a baptist church, but because he did a lot of baptising. And in chapter 3, we see him baptising. Last week we looked at him baptising the crowds who came to him. We saw in Matt 3.6 that as people were being baptised, that they were confessing their sins. We also saw that John wouldn’t baptise just anyone. Some Pharisees and Sadducees – religious people – came to John, and John wouldnt baptise them. And indeed it seems the Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t want to be baptised anyway because they didn’t think they needed it - they thought they were already okay with God. And John wasn’t exactly welcoming of them, and in verse 7 he called them a “brood of vipers” - that is - children of snakes! Why? Because they thought they were already okay with God, because they were born into the right race, the right family. They thought they had no need to repent and they did not show fruits of repentance in their lives. They did not show in their lives that they truly lived for God.
And so last week we finished with John the Baptist’s speech, and John finishes his speech by telling of the coming of Jesus. Jesus - the one who would baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire, and who would separate everyone in the world into one of two camps. One camp – who would live with Him forever. And the other - to be cast into never-ending fire – hell. And the basis of those two destinies is not being born into a Jewish family and doing all the right rituals. In our case, the basis of our destiny, is not being born into a Christian family and then doing all the rituals such as just going to church. But the basis of each of our destinies is on our repentance and belief in Christ. True repentance followed by a changed life, a life that puts God first. And it is obvious to everyone that you put God first. God comes before TV, sport, fishing, the beach, X-box, holidays. God comes first before anything else, and it will be obvious in the way we live.
So John has just finished his speech, and now in verse 13 we have a new visitor to John’s baptisms. It is none other than Jesus! In Matthew 3.13 we read that Jesus has come from Galilee – in the north of the country, down to the Jordan River. Why? We read in verse 13 His reason: to be baptised by John. Now before we go any further. We probably should look at what baptism is, what it means, and what it meant on that day that Jesus came to John to be baptised.
What does “baptism” mean? Go outside this church, to the secular world and ask people what baptism means… Well I’d be interested to hear what people who don’t go to church might think it meant. Some might think it the christening of infants. Some might think it refers to some trial, as in “so and so underwent a baptism of fire,” which you here on tele, for example, when a young sportsman plays his first match in an intertational or something like that. And even in the church, amongst those of us who call ourselves Christians, there’s many different ideas as to what baptism is. Some say we should baptise babies. Some say all babies should be baptised. Others say only those of believing parents. While others say we shouldn’t bapise babies, but should only baptise adults, or at any rate, people old enough to say themselves that they believe in Christ and want to be baptised. Some say baptising is by sprinkling, others say it is by immersion.
So, what does baptism mean? The reason we often don’t know what baptism means, is that baptism is not an English word. It’s not an English word. It’s a Greek word, put into English letters. Let me explain. Our Bibles are in English: that’s what most of us use here. But the Bible wasn’t originally written in English. Originally the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. And the New Testament (and Matthew is part of the New Testament) was written in Greek. And what we have with our Bibles is a translation of the original Greek. So for example, the first word in Matthew 3.13 in the Greek original is τοτε. Now when I want to put that word into English, I have two options. I can translate it, or I can transliterate it. Translate means to give the meaning of the word in English. Transliterate means to just change the letter to English letters. Greek has a different alphabet to us, so transliterate means to just use English letters but to leave the word the same. So if we only transliterate τοτε, it becomes “tote”. Does that help you understand it at all? No, you need it to be translated. “tote” is meaningless in English. Now τοτε. means “then.” So in our English Bibles it says “then” not “tote”. The second word in verse 13 is παραγινεται. Now if I only transliterate παραγινεται, it comes out as paraginetai - that is – same word, just using English letters instead of Greek ones. Sure, now you can read it because you know the English letters but you don’t know Greek letters. You can say, “paraginetai”. But it’s not very useful to be able to read something, that is, pronounce something, if you still don’t know what it means. To know what it means, you need it to be translated, not just transliterated. Translated, παραγινεται means, “he is coming.” That is, “Then Jesus is coming” – and we find out as we read further that He is coming from Galilee.
So what’s this got to do with baptism? Well, a lot. Because in our English Bibles, the word “baptism” is not a translation, it is only a transliteration. In Greek the word is
βαπτισμος if it’s a noun, and βαπτιζω if it’s a verb. Now let’s put the noun into English letters. βαπτισμος becomes baptismos, and the “os” at the end sounds a bit funny in English to you chop it off and you get “baptism”. Look at the verb: βαπτιζω. In English letters it becomes “baptizo”, but you have to change the ending to one that fits English grammar, so it becomes “baptize.” In other words, “baptism” and “baptise” are not translations - they are transliterations! So why are they not translated in our Bibles? Well, good question. I wish I knew the answer. And it’s a problem that it’s not translated. Because back in the Greek it had a pretty simple meaning.
Baptizo meant to dip or immerse something in a liquid, usually water. For example, it was used to describe the process of dying. You’d baptizo – immerse – cloth into dye to dye it a different colour. Even in our Bibles, baptizo is used with this normal everyday meaning. For example in Mark 7.4b it talks about the traditions of the Jews:
Mark 7.4b And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. This word for “wash” in the Greek is actually “baptizo”. That is, the Jews would baptise their cups and pots and so on in order to clean them. That is, they stuck them in water, like we do, in order to clean them. Now by the time of Jesus, the word meant not only to dip or immerse, but was used for “wash,” in particular for when a person bathed, when a person bathed in a pool or bath. That was baptising. And the Jews began to use the word to symbolise ritual washing or bathing in water. And this bathing – this baptizing - it would symbolise not just physical cleansing, but spiritual cleansing. Some Jews uses baths. And others would bath in rivers. We see an example of the use of the word
”baptizo” used in this way in the Old Testament. If you look at 2 Kings 5.14, when Naaman wants to be healed of leprosy, Elisha tells him to go and wash in the Jordan River 7 times. And in 2 Kings 5.14 it says: 2 Kings 514 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. This word “dipped”, in the Septuagint - the Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament - in the Septuagint the word for “dipped” is “baptised”. That is, Naaman went down and baptised himself seven times in the Jordan. But of course, it makes much more sense to say that he dipped himself 7 times in the Jordan.
And it would make much more sense for the average person if our Bibles used “dip” or “immerse” or “wash”, everywhere the word “baptizo” was used, instead of “baptise.” It would make much more sense, because that’s simply what the word means. So John was dipping, or immersing, or washing people in the Jordan. Verse 13 should read
Matt 313 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be immersed by him.
It might sound a bit strange to your ears now because being churched people you’ve got used to the word “baptism,” but using the plain meaning of the word actually gives it a lot more meaning. And it makes sense. They were in the Jordan River when they were being baptised by John. In 3.16 we read about Jesus’ baptism:
Matt 316 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water,
That means, if Jesus went up from the water immediately after He was baptised, it meant that He was in the water when He was baptised. And it is because of that, from the natural use of the word, and the way they baptised in the New Testament – by immersion - that as Baptists we baptise by full immersion, and not by sprinkling. So if back then it was by dipping or immersing or washing, why are so many baptisms today done by sprinkling? Well it probably started out as an exception for when there wasn’t enough water available for baptism by immersion. In the Didache, which was a book of teaching in the early church written about 100 years after Jesus’ earthly life it says:
71 As for baptism, baptize in this way: Having said all this beforehand, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, in running water.
2 If you do not have running water, however, baptize in another kind of water; if you cannot do so in cold water, then do so in warm water.
3 But if you have neither, pour water on the head thrice in the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit.
And so we see about 100 years after Jesus, that the church made an exception that if there was not enough water around – either the running water of a stream or the still water of a pool or bath, then you could pour water on someone. But over time the exception became the normal practice. But in the time of Jesus it was not so, and even for hundred of years after Jesus, baptism by immersion was the norm. And you can see that in the archeological evidence of baptismals in the ancient world - they are the size for immersing adults in. Baptism was by immersion, dipping or washing because that’s what the word meant!
Now of course another reason why baptism came to be administered so much by sprinkling rather than immersion was that over time the church started to baptize infants. And of course it can be dangerous to immerse infants who can’t hold their breathe underwater, so you sprinkle them with water instead. Now in the time of the New Testament there is no evidence that infants were baptised. In fact, as we shall see, there’s a lot of evidence that infants were not baptised. How can we say that? Well we can say that because of what we see here in Matthew 3. Notice that in Matt 3.6, that when people came to be baptised, they came confessing their sins. That is, the people being baptised were confessing their own sins. And an infant is not able to confess their own sins.
Now, the argument for infant baptism is that the parents confess the sins on behalf of the infant. And that the parents profess faith in Christ on behalf of the infant. But remember last week what we noticed in Matthew 3? Remember the Pharisees and Sadducees came to John, and John had a go at them, because they thought they were alright with God, because they were born into the right race, the right family. Remember that John said we need to show fruits of repentance if we are truly God’s. We must do that ourselves. We cannot rely on the faith of our parents or the faith of the church. It must be our own faith, our own decision, our own repentance. And baptism is a sign that we have made that decision – for ourselves.
Some say that baptism is the New Testament equivalent of circumcision in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, male babies were circumcised when they were 8 days old. It signified that they belonged to the Jewish people – God’s people. And some say that we baptise infants for the same reason, to signify that they are part of the church – of God’s people. And it is true the circumcision marked belonging to the the Jewish race, and baptism marks belonging to the church – God’s people. But this rationale overlooks one very important point, which is what John the Baptist points out in chapter 3, and that is, true repentance, true belief in God, is not a decision of one’s parents, a decision of what society you are born into, but it is a decision that each person must make for himself. Christianity is not the same as being a Jew. You became a Jew by being born a Jew, so it made sense to circumcise infants. But you become a Christian not by birth, but by repentance and faith – spiritual rebirth, being born again. So it makes sense that we only baptise those who have repented and made a confession of faith. Remember, God has no grandchildren, only children, and baptism is the mark of that decision to follow Christ.
And later on, after Jesus rose from the dead, at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gave baptism as the sign that someone had decided for themselves to follow Jesus. And we can also see from early church writings, that it was the practice of the early church to only batpise those who chose to be baptised themselves. For example, in the Didache (about 100 years after Christ) it says about baptism:
7.4 Before the baptism, let the person baptizing and the person being baptized—and others who are able—to fast; tell the one being baptized to fast one or two days before.
Now remember the Didache wasn’t part of Scripture so the bit about fasting is not a command, but it does show that their expectation was that it was grown people who were being baptised, either older children or adults who were baptised, because you can’t tell infants to fast.
So I want to urge you, if you have been baptised before you believed, you should be grateful for your believing parents who had the faith to arrange that for you. But you also should consider the teaching and practice of the New Testament, that baptism was always marked by one’s own decision to follow Christ, and if you haven’t been baptised by immersion as a result of your own decision to follow Christ, then you really ought to, and I’d love to hear from you so we can arrange that.
Now let’s get back to Jesus. Notice Jesus came to John to be baptised. Now notice John’s reaction in Matt 3.14 when Jesus came to be baptised:
Matthew 314 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Why did John say that? Well, people had been coming to John to be baptised as a sign of their repentance, confessing their sins. And now Jesus comes, the only person who has ever lived who had nothing to repent of! The only perfect, sinless, human came to be baptised! No wonder John tried to prevent Jesus from being baptised, because of all the people in the world, Jesus was the only one who actually didn’t need to repent and be baptised.
How does Jesus answer John?
Matt 315 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
Hmm. What does it mean, “to fulfil all righteousness”? Well it’s not totally clear what Jesus means here, and not everyone agrees, but I think it means that it is linked to Jesus’ mission. What did Jesus come to do? He came to die for our sins. And I want to tell you today, if you are here, and you don’t know Jesus Christ, if you haven’t repented of your sins and come to Him in faith, then I would like you to listen carefully here. The reason Jesus came and lived among us, was to pay the penalty for the all the wrong things we have done. That is – sin. Jesus was without sin, perfect, and so He came to die in our place on the cross. So that if we repent, that is, turn from life without God or ignoring God, and turn to Him, then we will be forgiven of our sins, and can have eternal life with Him in paradise.
And so Jesus’s mission to earth, was to die for our sins, and to fulfil our righteousness, to be righteousness in our place. And so I think that is what Jesus is doing here. Jesus came to fulfil our righteousness. He took our place on the cross, and so He was baptised too, perhaps as an example for us, in our place, showing that He too was willing to undergo the waters of baptism. And so we read in the next two verses what happened when Jesus was baptised:
Matt 316 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
We see some amazing things here. We see the Trinity in action. God the Son – Jesus – is being baptised. And as Jesus comes up out of the water we notice the heavens opened, and God the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended upon Jesus. And we hear from the heavens the voice of God the Father. And what does God say?
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
You might remember around Christmastime, we looked at the genealogy of Christ in chapter 1 and realised that Jesus was God’s son. And now here, we see God the Father declaring directly that Jesus is His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Now remember last week, how we said that John the Baptist was the messenger foretold in Isaiah 40. The messenger who cries in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. Now we see that Jesus is God’s chosen servant, or child, as foretold in
Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
The word “servant” here in the Greek can also be translated as “child” or “son,” and He is the one in whom God delights. And we see that here at Jesus’ baptism, Jesus is the Father’s beloved Son in whom He delights. We’ve also seen at Jesus’ baptism, that the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus, just as prophesied in Isaiah 42. So for a Jew familiar with the Old Testament, when he or she heard about Jesus’ baptism, he or she would realise that Jesus is this servant or child, God’s chosen one, prophesied hundreds of years before. And now we see at the end of Matt 3, God the Father says:
Matt 3.17b “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
God the Father is well pleased. Now it isn’t apparent in our English translations, because in the Greek, the words “well pleased” are in a tense we don’t have in English called the aorist tense. But what it means is this: that God was pleased with Jesus at a specific moment in time. That is, we know generally that God the Father is pleased with Jesus all the time. But in this particular case here it refers to a specific moment or occasion when God the Father is well pleased, and no doubt it refers to the occasion of Jesus’ baptism. God the Father is pleased with Jesus’ baptism, during which time Jesus identifies with us by being baptised, and starts His mission to fulfil all righteousness on our behalf.
And we see in Jesus’ baptism something that we didn’t see in John’s baptisms. Remember back in verse 11, John said that Jesus will baptise with the Holy Spirit. And we see at Jesus’ baptsim itself, that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus. And later when Jesus rose from the dead, and gave His final commission to His disciples, He told them to
Matthew 28 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Baptizing. Immersing. That is, evangelising, telling people about Jesus, and then as they repent and come to faith, baptising, immersing them in water as the sign of their repentance. And as they believe, God Himself also baptises them with the Holy Spirit.
Friends, last week I challenged us all to consider if we have truly repented. If we are truly saved. Your parents’ faith is not good enough, although it is very helpful in modelling a Christian life. Your upbrinding is not good enough, although a good upbringing is helpful. But each and every person must repent himself, and baptism by immersion in water is the way the Bible tells us that we show to everyone that we have decided to follow Jesus for ourselves.
If you haven’t repented, if you aren’t showing fruit of that repentance in your life, then I urge you to do so. Repent, turn to God and put Him at the centre of your life.
And if you have repented, you are a Christian, but haven’t yet been baptised on your own volition as symbol of your own decision to repent and turn to God, then you ought to do that too.
If either applies to you, please come and talk to me sometime, or talk to one of the deacons about it.
