Baptism by Fire
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
[Please contact me at kerry.n.haynes@gmail.com for sermon outline in Word.]
Today’s story is all about Jesus’ baptism. I could tell you some funny baptism stories. As a Baptist minister, I’ve done lots of baptisms. It’s in our name, you know! I remember one morning I checked the baptistery, and the water was too hot! Now that was a new problem, because usually it was too cold. I couldn’t find the custodian, so I thought, “I’ll just let some of the water out and add some cold water; that should make it just right!” The only problem was, this baptistery was like one big bathtub, and the drain was right in the middle. I grabbed a pole the custodian used, and pried up the drain a little, and sure enough the water started to drain out. Then, I couldn’t get the drain back in with the pole. At this point, I began to panic a little, because if all the water drained out, we would have to fill up the whole thing again, and it would never get warm enough in time for the service. So I threw off my suit coat and tucked in my tie and hiked up my shirt sleeves and, in the best imitation of Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible,” I sprawled out across that baptistery, my body spanning it, my feet resting on one ledge and my hands on the other, and very carefully I reached down into the water with my right arm and got that drain closed. Somehow, I managed to get my body off the top of the baptistery without falling in, and we were able to refill it in time to baptize that day. All was well at Parkland First Baptist Church!
That’s just one story. There are many more. “Baptizo” is a Greek word that’s not fully translated in our English Bibles. To be “baptized” means to be immersed. John the Baptist was baptizing people in water for the remission of sins. In other words, he was encouraging people to get baptized to show they were seriously trying to make a change in their life, to stop sinning and to start following God.
Jesus never sinned, so why did he need to get baptized? It sure shocked John; that’s for sure. Jesus asked to be baptized for lots of reasons: He validated John the Baptist’s ministry. And God the Father validated Jesus’ ministry. Some people believe Jesus was filled with the Spirit to begin his earthly ministry when that dove came down. Jesus provided an example for us in baptism. And he also provided a picture of his own death and resurrection, as symbolically we are lowered in baptism into the watery depths and raised to walk in newness of life.
All four gospels carry today’s story, so we know it’s important. Looking at his baptism, I see three amazing attributes of Jesus, attributes that call us to a deeper relationship with him. First,
Jesus is my...
1. Sovereign – “You are my son...”
Today’s story is unique, because it includes a booming endorsement from heaven. God later would say almost the exact same thing at the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:35). Both times God would publicly identify Jesus as his son.
God basically is quoting from Psalm 2:7: “He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’” The New Testament writers later used this same psalm to illustrate Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 13:33), his superiority over angels (Hebrews 1:5), and his appointment as high priest (Hebrews 5:5).
I want to use the phrase to highlight Jesus’ divinity. 1 Timothy 6:15 tells us that God is King of kings and Lord of lords, so that means his son is also royalty. I know this because I watch all things BBC! And then later, scripture calls Jesus the same thing: Revelation 17:14 calls Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lords.
If King Jesus is Lord of my life, then I owe him the utmost allegiance. I owe him obedience. I owe him everything. If he really gave his life for me, then my life now belongs to him. Remember why the Magi came at Christmas? They were looking for the newborn king. Christian singer Toby McKeehan quips, “Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus.”
Jesus is not only king, though. In an amazing paradox, he is also a...
2. Servant – “in whom I am well pleased”
What king would ever be a servant? King Jesus, that’s who. The Heavenly Father says, “You are my Son ... in whom I am well pleased.” Here God is quoting from Isaiah 42:1, one of Isaiah’s four “Servant Songs” that point to a suffering servant Messiah who will come to the rescue of his people. Listen to Isaiah 42:1: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.” Matthew later would apply this verse specifically to Jesus (Matthew 12:15-18).
So how is Jesus both a king and a servant? He is not just a king; he is a good king; he is a benevolent king; he is a servant king. He’s the kind of guy that would wash your feet when no servant was to be found. He’s the kind of guy that hung out with prostitutes and tax collectors and lepers and non-Jews and women and other unpopular souls in his day. And he’s one that would take a bullet for you, because he loves you. And he did, at Calvary.
Jesus is sovereign. Jesus is servant. And lastly and most importantly, Jesus is ...
3. Savior (vv. 16b-17)
John the Baptist baptized people in water, but he spoke of one to come who would baptize “in the Holy Spirit and fire” (verse 16b). That prophecy actually came true at Pentecost, when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit down into every believer, tongues of fire rested on their heads, and they spoke in various languages, so that the crowd heard the good news of salvation in their own tongue (Acts 2:1-4). It was an amazing day as the church was born! And ever since, when a person answers the call of God and opens up their life to Jesus’ kingship and lordship, the Holy Spirit comes in. Pastor Milton Vincent says, “The gospel is true, but it is the Holy Spirit who makes it vivid to the soul.”
That Holy Spirit is in you right now, if you’re a believer. The Holy Spirit does lots of things. He illuminates scripture for you so that it speaks to your life. He brings a heaven-sent message tailored just for you through what you hear in a Sunday sermon or on TV or in a song or devotional. (Have you ever thought the pastor must have been spying on you? That was the Holy Spirit at work, speaking directly to you!) The Holy Spirit comforts and convicts and guides and accompanies you so that you are never alone. The Holy Spirit does lots of things. And Jesus sends the Spirit into each believer.
John the Baptist uses a farming illustration to show Jesus as Savior at the end of the age. Listen to verse 17: “His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Here is Jesus granting salvation but also damnation. The ancient Israelite farmer would use a “winnowing fork or fan,” a kind of wooden pitchfork, to throw the grain up in the air. The wind would blow the lighter chaff to the side, to be burned. And the heavier grain would fall straight down.
This Holy Spirit fire that Jesus brings on believers for power and boldness and strength and cleansing is the same fire that will bring death and destruction on those who have rejected God. It is an unquenchable fire, one that will never go out. It’s a sobering look at Jesus as Savior and Judge. He will save those willing to be saved, but he will allow those who reject him to go to their eternal destruction. The Orthodox Study Bible notes, “It is the same Power and the same Spirit which both enlivens the faithful and destroys the faithless” (“The Orthodox Study Bible, eBook: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World,” Thomas Nelson, p. 1369).
Yet, if you have come to Jesus humbly as your Lord and Savior, you will hear the same message from heaven given to Jesus. Through forgiveness of sins purchased by Jesus at the cross, God adopts you into his family (Galatians 4:4-7). And he says to you and to me, “You are my child, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the refreshing ordinance of baptism. Thank you for this beautiful picture of death and life, death to sin and resurrection to life everlasting. Please help someone today to respond for the very first time to Jesus to make him their Lord of lords, King of kings. Help all of us to be drawn closer to our Sovereign, our Servant, our Savior. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Luke 3:15-17
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you in water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Luke 3:21-22 21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
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Welcome time:
The young son of a Baptist minister was in church one morning when he saw for the first time the rite of baptism by immersion. He was greatly interested in it, and the next morning proceeded to baptize his three cats in the bathtub.
The first kitten bore it very well, and so did the other young cat, but the old family cat rebelled. It struggled with him, clawed and tore him, and got away.
With considerable effort, he caught it again and proceeded with the ceremony. But she acted worse than ever, clawed at him, spit, and scratched his hands and face.
Finally, after barely getting a drop of water on her head, he let her go in disgust and said, “Fine, be a Methodist!”
