Introduction
The outline for this message came out of the "Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible."
Our question today is “what is baptism all about? The answer is found in studying Jesus' baptism and John's reaction to Jesus' baptism.
Lets outline our passage this way:
1. The startling request of Jesus: to be baptized (v.13).
2. The humble reaction of John: humility and need (v.14).
3. The godly purpose of Jesus: to fulfill all righteousness (v.15).
4. The unusual signs of Jesus' baptism (v.16-17).
But first lets turn to Mark 1:9
Mark said that Jesus came "from Nazareth of Galilee"
Mark 1:9 (NKJV)
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
There are a couple of things to notice. The last recorded event of Jesus' childhood was His return to Israel from Egypt. He was only a "young child" at that time. The only other event recorded about Jesus' childhood and early manhood was His sharing with the religious authorities in the temple at age twelve.
Jesus' hometown was Nazareth. He apparently lived there between His return from Egypt until the launch of His ministry when He was about thirty years old. The distance from Galilee to the Jordan river was a long journey on foot. Jesus deliberately chose Jordan as the place to launch His ministry. It was in Jordan that His forerunner, John the Baptist, had been preparing the way for Him.
Many were now waiting "for the consolation of Israel," that is, the coming of the Messiah, And so we begin with Matthew 3:13.
Jesus Christ Baptism: the startling request of Jesus, to be baptized.
Matthew 3:13 (NKJV)
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
We should take Note of the words "to be baptized by Him, that is John the Baptist, Jesus came specifically to John to be baptized. Jesus was compelled to be baptized, but not just to be baptized. He was compelled to be baptized by John. He was to identify Himself with John's ministry. He was the Messiah, the Lamb of God, being proclaimed by John.
Why would Jesus want to be baptized? John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, would the Son of God need the baptism of repentance? The very fact that the Son of God would be baptized seems strange. He was the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Founder of the movement of Christianity. He was the One who was making baptism possible and effectual (working) for man. John's baptism was a call for men to take a stand and to become identified with a life of repentance and righteousness.
Jesus needed no repentance; He was already perfectly righteous.; He was the Purchaser of righteousness, the Ideal Man; His righteousness is the pattern, the very righteousness that could stand for and cover every man. Why then would Jesus be baptized? Very simply, in His own words, "to fulfill all righteousness."
Lets go on to Verse 14 of Matthew 3 to see the humble reaction of John, humility and need.
Matthew 3:14 (NKJV)
And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
John argued against Jesus coming to him for baptism, Why? John simply said, "I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me?" He was saying at least two things:
1. He was not worthy to baptize Christ.
2. Christ's coming to him was too great an honor for him.
He did not deserve the privilege of baptizing the Messiah, the Lamb of God. Turn to Mark 1:7, We should remember the words John spoke concerning his worthiness to carry Jesus sandals or as it says here in Mark 1:7.
Mark 1:7 (NKJV)
And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.
John's humility was most unusual, for John was the great one in the eyes of the people at this time. Multitudes of people were flocking to him; The general public, Tax collectors, Soldiers and the religious elite. He had reached the summit in the public's eye.
He was honored above all by vast numbers of people despite being opposed by religious elite and traditionalists. Yet when Christ approached him, he lowered himself and acknowledged that he was nothing in comparison. He felt that he personally needed the baptism of Christ. He needed what Christ had. Christ was to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. And John was confessing his need to receive the Holy Spirit and fire from Christ.
Here is the one man who might well have been righteous in his day. And yet he felt unworthy of Christ. Consider this, no one is worthy of God's call; no one is worthy to minister to Christ. Turn to Matthew 8:8.
The fact that God allows any kind of relationship with Himself is beyond our comprehension. Yet He has. He calls man to be with Him and to serve Him. This fact is too much for the human heart to contain.
Matthew 8:8 (NKJV)
The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.
Everyone needs what John had and what Jesus had, John had humility, Jesus had the Holy Spirit and fire. It is no disgrace to confess one's need for Christ and for what He offers. John so confessed. How can a person be disgraced by confessing what everyone else already knows? Man desperately needs God to give him life-eternal life. Man misbehaves and desperately needs the fulness of the Holy Spirit, that is, love, joy, peace.
The great (famous, powerful, wealthy) as well as the lowly need what Christ gives: the Holy Spirit and fire. The believer always needs more and more of the filling of the Holy Spirit. John had been "filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." Now I really don’t like the term filling as applied to our relationship with the Holy Spirit. At the very moment we commit to Christ., we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Turn to Ephesians 5:18.
We can get no more or have no less of the Spirit then we do at that moment. But, the term is used in Scripture in this manner and we understand what it means. It is a matter of us allowing the Holy Spirit free reign in our heart and life. Now with Christ confronting John face to face, he confessed his need for more of the Spirit of God and of the Lord's fire. Now just the latter part of Ephesians 5:18.
Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV)
be filled with the Spirit,
The closer a person lives with Jesus Christ the clearer he sees his need for more humility and more of God's Spirit. John was already close to God; in fact, he had been "sent from God" But he saw his need for what Christ had to give. Now lets go to Matthew 3:15. The godly purpose of Jesus, to fulfill all righteousness.
Matthew 3:15 (NKJV)
But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him.
Jesus was baptized primarily "to fulfill all righteousness." One commentator believes that Jesus was symbolically predicting what He was going to do for sinful man. He was going to fulfill every law of God for man. Baptism was one of those laws. Therefore, he had to be baptized.
Baptism is not in the Levitical Law. But it was part of the ritual when a gentile converted to the worship of Jehovah. Judaism had moved away from the worship of the one true God and had become mere ritualism. John’s baptism was part of the change of religion to a return to the worship of the true God. Jesus was going to pay man's penalty for having broken the law with the integral penalty of death. His immersion was a symbol of His coming immersion into death. He was demonstrating to the fullest extent His humiliation in becoming a man.
He had emptied Himself and "made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." He was identifying with those He came to save, and He was insisting that all who follow Him also become so identified. He was pioneering the movement of repentance and righteousness which John was proclaiming. In founding the movement, that is, the life of righteousness, Jesus had to set the Ideal and the Pattern for every man. Every person was to be baptized, so the Son of God pioneered and established the ordinance of baptism in the Christian faith.
He was initiating His ministry. There are several lessons to learn from Christ's request to be baptized : Righteousness, every person must determine to "fulfill all righteousness" just as Christ did. Many who claim to be Christian have never been baptized. They refuse to humble themselves in obedience to Christ’s command for baptism.
Now we do not say that baptism is absolutely necessary to be saved. But, in the very first requirement of Christ after accepting Him as Savior, the unbaptized believer is, pardon the expression, thumbing their nose at Christ. Lets turn to Luke 9:23-26.
There is in baptism an element of sacrifice . Every person should be so willing to give of himself that he would die in order to live for God.
Luke 9:23-26 (NKJV)
Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. {24} "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. {25} "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? {26} "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.
Here we are talking about the very first expression of surrender to Christ. If an individual refuses this first instance o f obedience we have reason to question w3hether their confession is real, whether their confession is true.
Humility. Every person demonstrate to the fullest extent his willingness to serve others. He should become one with others and set the example of such before all. Identifying with others. Every person should become one with all others, excluding no one from his life or service. Pioneering the life of repentance and righteousness. Every person should repent and live the life of righteousness. And Every person should pioneer and proclaim such a life to all other men.
Ministry. Every person should minister to others; he should let his willingness to minister be known. What is our ministry? Your specific ministry is determined by the Lord. But generally it is to be a servant to others. Christ calls and insists that a person accept His call, and Christ does not back down. Now let us turn to Matthew 3:16 - 17.
Christ, Baptism, The unusual signs of Jesus' baptism. Three signs in particular are mentioned by Matthew.
Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV)
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. {17} And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
The heavens were opened. This may have been a scene of the clouds being rolled back and the dove descending from the heavens, that being the clouds and sky. Or it may be some special vision given to Jesus and John, revealing that God was opening up heaven for the full approval and manifestation of God's power upon His Son. The Spirit descended like a dove. The Spirit in the form of a dove was given to John as a special sign that Jesus was the Son of God Turn to Galatians 5:22 - 23.
Signs in Jesus' ministry were given to stir belief. Most believers can point to very special signs and circumstances that were given by God to stir their faith and give direction to their lives. There are very special signs that prove a person has received the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, {23} gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
The the voice of God. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. This is My Son: this points to the deity of Christ, this points to the love within the Trinity, well pleased: this points to the perfect life Jesus lived. He was without sin"
The one thing that a believer should want to hear is what Jesus heard: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Believers are adopted as children of God. Believers can have their lives and service approved by God. To have such approval will be the ultimate reward. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.
God saw the life and behavior of Christ, and He judged Christ as well pleasing. God sees every person, and shall judge the life and works of every one. Nothing is hidden from His eyes.
We should note that this is the first time the Trinity, the three persons of the Godhead, is clearly seen in the New Testament. The Son, Jesus Christ, was being baptized. T he Holy Spirit descended upon the Son. And God the Father voiced His approval.
Consider this, if Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness, how can we abstain from obedience to our Savior’s very first ordinance?
