Following in the Footsteps - Matthew 3:4-17 - July 8, 2012
Series: Baptism
According to what we read in the pages of God’s word there are what we would call two ordinances that Jesus has established for us. Now the dictionary defines an “ordinance” as “an authoritative command or order.” (www.thefreedictionary.com) So they come to us from one who is in authority over us. In Matthew 28, verse 18, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” These particular ordinances come to us then under the authority that God the Father has granted Jesus the Son. They are things that Jesus established for us in His day and which the Church is expected to observe until He comes again. Those two ordinances are the Lord’s Supper, which we celebrate monthly, and then secondly, baptism, which we will be carrying out over the next couple of weeks.
Both of these ordinances proclaim the gospel. They are living pictures, if you will, of spiritual truths. When we understand them rightly, we see how they both illustrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, and in doing so how they proclaim the grace of God which is being revealed to the world. Don’t ever be tempted to think of them as simply traditions of man; rather think of them as commands from our Lord through which the gospel is made known.
Open your Bibles with me this morning to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew, chapter 3, beginning in verse 4. And as you’re turning there, let me set the stage for you. John the Baptist has come to the people filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He is preaching and teaching and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the kingdom of God was at hand. His is the voice that fulfills prophecy for He is the one who was to come; “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ (Matthew 3:3) This is John’s ministry – this is what God had sent him to do. And he’s doing it, and he’s doing it faithfully! The people are coming. They are flocking to him out in the wilderness, they are coming out to the Jordan river. They are being humbled by their sins, broken before God and crying out in repentance. Let’s begin in verse 4 …
“John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. [Doesn’t sound like he was much to look at but the] People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John the Baptist didn’t pull any punches when he spoke God’s truth! That’s what ultimately lead to his death because he would not compromise God’s word! And the message he preached is the same with which Jesus would begin His public ministry, “Repent and believe for the kingdom of God is near!” And it would make sense that the messages would be the same, and that Jesus would build upon what John had done, for God had sent John on ahead of Jesus to prepare the way for the tremendous things that would be done in and through the life, death and resurrection of the Christ.
And John called people to repentance for it is their sin that separated them from God in the first place. They needed to understand the reality of their sin, to be broken by their inability to cleanse their own hearts, before they could be made ready for a Savior. God has got a pattern He follows with people. It is Law to the Proud and Grace to the Humble. John came and he reminded the proud and self-righteous of God’s Law – Law that they had broken and in doing so had set themselves in rebellion against the Lord God Almighty.
This is the same Law that condemns men and women today. The Ten Commandments – God’s moral law to us – states #1 – That we will have no other gods but God alone. #2 – That we will not make nor worship any idol. #3 – That we will not blaspheme – take the Lord’s name in vain. #4 – That we are to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. #5 – That we are to honour our mother and our father. #6 – That we shall not murder. #7 – That we shall not commit adultery. #8 – That we shall not steal. #9 – That we shall not bear false witness – that is that we shall not lie. And #10 – That we will not covet that which belongs to our neighbours.
This is God’s moral law for His people and it condemns us! If we are honest with ourselves we see the reality of our own sin reflected in our failure to do each of these things. And before we’re tempted to feel too smug and believe that we’ve kept God’s moral law keep, this in mind: Jesus equated hatred with murder, and lust with adultery. And it isn’t the worth of the item you stole that makes it wrong it’s the fact that you took something that did not belong to you! And when it comes to lying it matters not if it was a little white lie in your books or a big old bold lie – the fact is that you bore false witness. And we’re told in the pages of the Bible that whosoever has broken one of these Commandments has broken them all. We are condemned by the Law! The law reveals to us the reality of our sin! In doing so it should break down our pride, it should cause us to humble ourselves and call out to God for mercy, for we are sinners in word, thought and deed! That’s Law to the proud.
But God’s mercy is this: He gives grace to the humble. Having once been broken by our sin, having seen our need for a Savior, having cried out in repentance and sorrow, He reveals Jesus to us. By preaching and proclaiming the reality of sin and the need for repentance, John was preparing people to meet with Jesus. He was preparing them for the wonder of the Gospel.
And Jesus is revealed to the people through His own baptism. Let’s keep reading in verse 13 …
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:4–17, NIV84)
Jesus comes to John to be baptized. John is filled with the Holy Spirit. He knows that though he is proclaiming a baptism of repentance that he too is a sinner and he needs what only the Messiah can do. He needs grace – God’s grace - that his sins might be forgiven and he receive new life. And so when Jesus comes to be baptized, John, who knows his own sinfulness, doesn’t want any part of it at first. “I can’t baptize you – I need to be baptized by you! You are more powerful than I for you are the Messiah. I am as nothing compared to you – how is it that I should baptize You, Jesus?” And yet Jesus says, “It’s o.k. John. For you to baptize me, is good and proper. It fulfills all righteousness.”
See when Jesus came to be baptized, He was identifying Himself with sinful mankind. He was entering into our reality and showing us the way. He entered into the waters of baptism though He was without sin. How much more then, ought we, we who have covered ourselves with sin, how much more ought we be willing and ready to enter into the waters of baptism as we follow in His footsteps? How pleasing it was to God when Jesus took this simple step, entered the waters, underwent a baptism, and emerged up out of those waters. There are not very many times in the New Testament that we’re told God audibly speaks to His people but this is one of those times. “This is my Son, whom I love;” He declares, “with Him I am well pleased.”
What is it that so pleased God about this? Well, you see, in entering into the waters of baptism Jesus was identifying Himself with the message that John had been proclaiming. He was acknowledging the truth of the word that John had been preaching that the Messiah was coming and that in the wake of His coming there would be a day of judgment dawn upon mankind. To use John’s imagery, the wheat will be gathered up and the chaff burned up! There will come a day in which many will experience the fullness of God’s grace, while many others, those who have rejected the Son, those who have not walked in repentance and received Jesus as Lord and Savior in word, truth and deed, will experience the terrible wrath of God that will be poured out against all sin. In entering the waters of baptism Jesus was taking up the mantle of the ministry for which He had come in the first place. He was uniting Himself with God’s plan of redemption for sinful humanity. He was preparing to stand in the gap between people broken by their own sin and a Holy God in whom no sin abides.
Years ago, a wealthy lady from the East made many trips to Salt Lake City to be baptized for the dead. Over the years she was baptized 30,000 times! She did it for relatives and friends and former people like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar,[and] Napoleon. A Mormon elder commented, “I believe that this lady, in the day of judgement, through being baptized for the dead has saved more souls than Jesus.” (www.sermoncentral.com, David Yarbrough, “Baptism: Obligation or Option”)
Friends, do not believe it! Baptism in and of itself does not save anyone! Picture a pop bottle, filled with dirty, muddy water. The cap is screwed on firmly, a cord is tied around the bottle, and you cast it into the river, holding onto the cord until that bottle is scrubbed clean. But friends, how long will it take for the river to make the inside of that bottle clean? … It cannot do it, can it? Something else must be done to the inside of that bottle before it can be made clean and the waters of the river cannot do it! In a similar way no physical act on our part – no doing of things – can ever make us “clean inside.” Only way for the inside to get clean is for the “bottle” to be broken. When we are broken by our sin we call out to God, lay down our rebellion, and take up the cross of Christ as the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us.
That’s why Peter writes regarding these things that “this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” (1 Peter 3:21–22, NIV84) We are saved by the grace of God – through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus our Lord! It’s not the washing with water that does it – it’s what it represents – that pledge of a good conscience towards God – that godly sorrow that brings repentance and leads to salvation. And again Peter points us to the authority that Jesus wields. It is through Him alone that we are saved. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”” (Acts 4:12, NIV84) No one is saved apart from Jesus!
So why be baptized? If baptism does not save you, then why be baptized at all? Is it not then something that’s simply made up by man? Not at all! Baptism is an ordinance given to us by Jesus to whom all authority has been given. Turn with me to Matthew 28. Matthew 28 beginning in verse 18 … “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:18–20, NIV84)
Three things Jesus tells us to do there. First, make disciples. That is teach people the truth about God and Jesus, about Sin and Salvation. When they believe, when by faith they have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, then baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And then after that we continue to teach them about the way of life that God has shown us, what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength; what it means to present yourself as a living sacrifice dedicated to God; what it means to walk by faith and grace and truth.
Why should I be baptized? Because Jesus commanded it. It is a step of faith – it ought to be nearly my first step of faith as a new Christian. Go to the pages of the Bible and what do you see? People believing and then immediately being baptized. Lydia, the Ethiopian Eunuch, the Philippian jailer – each one was baptized immediately following their believing in the gospel message. Why do we so often wait years between belief and baptism? It’s not biblical! We aren’t supposed to wait till we’ve done away with all sin because we’re going to struggle with sin till we die.
Why be baptized? Because love walks in obedience. Jesus says this: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15, NIV84) We’ve just seen that Jesus commanded us to be baptized – not as infants but as disciples – those who believe Jesus is the Son of God who paid the price their sins demanded. Jesus equates the reality of our love for Him with the reality of our obedience. Those who claim to love Him, will walk in obedience to His commands. If we say we love Him, but fail to walk in obedience, we’ve made ourselves out to be liars. Love is expressed best in action. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV84) God’s love moved beyond mere words and expressed itself in action as Jesus died on the cross and was then raised to new life.
Why be baptized? Because I believe that Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life. Like obedience, belief is best expressed by our actions as well. “A man went on vacation to the Holy Land with his wife and her mother. While in Israel, the mother-in-law died from a heart attack. The couple went to a local undertaker, who explained that they could either ship the body home which would cost more than $1500, or they could bury her right there in the Holy Land for only $150. Without hesitating the man said, "We’ll ship her home." Surprised, the undertaker responded, "Are you sure? That’s an awfully big expense, and we can do a very nice burial here. "The man said, "Look, 2000 years ago they buried a guy here and three days later He rose from the dead. I just can’t take that chance."” (www.sermoncentral.com, Illustrations, Jim Kilson) We laugh, but the guy’s belief changed the way he looked at the world. It changed the way he did life. That’s the type of belief Scripture talks about as well – a belief that moves beyond mere intellectual acknowledgment to a heartfelt belief that results in transformed lives!
Why be baptized? Because I want to be identified with Jesus Christ! Just as Jesus’ baptism was a way for Him to be identified with sinful man, so too does our baptism become a way in which we can be identified with Jesus who says, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26, NIV84) Baptism is a way of saying, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16, NIV84)
Why be baptized? Because I want to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. In the Gospels we read how Jesus has set us an example that we are to follow. We are told to count the cost, to take up the cross, to walk as He has walked, to live as He lived. Baptism is but the first step of a transformed life.
And finally, I want to be baptized because baptism proclaims the reality of what Jesus has done in my life. Another pastor has said it this way … “From the time of Abraham to the time of Jesus, the Jewish people were the chosen people of God. They were the only people on the face of the earth who knew the one, true God. From Abraham, God raised up this nation to be his voice to the entire world. It was to them that God introduced Himself, gave his laws and commands. His manifest presence was confined to the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle and later the temple. The only way for a human being to know and understand God was to be born a Jew, or to become a Jew through conversion. …
There was a process through which a non-Jew could become a Jewish proselyte, and that process involved three things. A sacrifice, circumcision, and baptism. … Once this process had been completed, the proselyte was now considered to be a Jew in every way. He had fully renounced his previous life, his previous nationality, all allegiances he had to his previous life ceased to exist, he was fully Jewish. He or she was not someone who had simply added Jewish-ness to his old identity. In a sense, the Gentile died when he went under the water and a new person with a new name, and a new identity was born when he came out of the water.” (www.sermoncentral.com, Illustrations, Bill Huffhine)
Folks, in a way that is a picture of what is to happen to us as we become children of God through faith in Jesus. There has been a sacrifice – Christ’s blood has been shed. There has been a circumcision of our hearts. And then there is to be a baptism. We enter into the water with one identity and we emerge with a new one as we identify ourselves with Jesus, and His sacrifice, and His resurrection, His ministry, His kingdom. It’s symbolic of being made dead to sin but alive in Christ and it illustrates not just death and new life, but it also proclaims our very real hope in the resurrection that we will one day undergo and it speaks too of the new life that we have entered into through faith in Jesus.
William T. Barker tells about a machinist that worked at the Ford motor company after it had been first started in Detroit. This machinist over the next few years “borrowed” various tools and parts from the company, which he had never returned. While this practice was not condoned it was more or less tolerated by the management because they all did the same thing. This machinist however yielded his life to Christ and was baptized and took the change seriously! The very next morning he arrived at work loaded down with all the tools and parts he had taken from the company. He explained to the foreman that he had taken these things, that he knew it was wrong and he hoped he’d be forgiven and explained about his conversion. The foreman was so impressed that he cabled Henry Ford himself, who was visiting a new European plant, and explained the whole situation in detail. Immediately Henry Ford cabled back: “Do this at once. Damn up the Detroit river and Baptize the entire city!” (www.sermoncentral.com, Illustrations, Timothy Smith)
Baptism becomes the starting point of this new life, this new way of living, that we receive in Jesus. He who is faithful in little things will be faithful in much and baptism is a step in the right direction as you follow in Jesus’ footsteps. So if you’ve never been baptized before, but believe that Jesus died for your sins and that through His sacrifice you receive forgiveness, and through His resurrection that you receive new life, then you ought to be baptized as soon as possible. And if you were baptized as an infant, but never as a believer, and you believe today, then you ought to be baptized as soon as possible as well. And if you’ve just repented and come to faith today and received forgiveness for your sins, then you ought to be baptized too!
We will be having two baptism services this summer – July 15th and July 22nd. So far there are three people wanting to be baptized but perhaps you realize that this is something you want to do, need to do, have put off for too long, or just never considered before. If that’s the case, come and talk to me and it would be a privilege to enter into the waters of baptism with you, on one of those two weeks.
Let’s pray. …
