“Baptism of Jesus”
Luke 3:21-22
A sermon for 1/10/21
Pastor John Bright
Luke 3 “21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
There are many ways to love being with the kids and grandkids. Watching them enjoy what they are doing is a good one!
When was the last time you watched a child blowing bubbles as the wind grabs them and they go chasing after? There is pure joy in the little children doing this… it can be the same for adults – just give a room full of them some bubble solution and a little wand. They will just blow and watch the bubbles float away.
Ever see a square bubble come out? How about a long skinny one? Maybe a flat one? Nope – they are all round and there is physics involved. You see, water (the main ingredient in the bubble solution) has a physical property called surface tension. It wants to stay together and form an equal surface all around. If I take a cup of water and throw it up, the water forms drops – just like when it rains.
I need to talk to you about tension today. For the 20 centuries of the Church, we have held certain beliefs in tension – beliefs that don’t seem to go together but we need to keep them together. For example – part of our Orthodox Christian belief is that Christ was both fully God and fully human. You have probably heard that before and kept going because it is a phrase we use on a regular basis.
Let’s think about it – if something is fully one thing, how can it also be fully something else. We like to say that something or someone is 50-50. That makes sense. So how can Christ be fully God and fully human? I DON’T KNOW! It’s a mystery. It’s a matter of faith. It’s part of the Creator that the created can’t comprehend.
So, the Church has kept these two in tension. Every time the emphasis is put too much to one side or the other, folks have resisted because there is always a risk of denying the other side. It’s tough, but the effort is worth it to have a clear picture of Jesus Christ. This week I will focus almost exclusively on the Divinity of Christ through the picture of His baptism. Next week, we will consider the humanity of a Savior that could be tempted by satan himself.
The heavens are opened – v. 21
“21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.”
In Luke’s account, there is no discussion between Jesus and His cousin as in Matthew 3. All the Gospels have some form of this event recorded. One distinctive element in this verse is the very first reference to the prayers of Jesus. We are not told what He was praying, only that He prayed as the heavens opened up.
This is a description of events that day that would have meaning for those who knew the Jewish scriptures - Ezekiel 1:1 – “Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.”
This will also be a way to describe events in the Early Church – Stephen the first martyr told his accusers: Acts 7:56 “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
When Peter has his vision on the roof in Acts 10:11 - *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,”
Then in the book of Revelation, we hear this same description – 19:11 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.”
When the heavens open up – something is getting ready to happen – things will be seen and heard that come straight from God.
Next, the Holy Spirit is visible – v. 22a
“22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him,”
This is just one appearance of the Holy Spirit for He (not “It”) is found from the beginning of the Bible all the way to the very end.
Genesis 1 “1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”
We also see Him present at the birth of the Church– Acts 2 “1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
When we read that last account from Acts, I like to ask questions – Was the wind blowing in the Upper Room? Actually, NO, it’s a description of the sound. Were there tongues of fire like we have in our UMC logo? Actually, NO, this description is a lot like the description at Jesus’ baptism.
Acts 2:3 – “as of fire”
Luke 3:22 – “like a dove”
Whenever I teach the Book of Revelation, we deal with this phrase “like a” as a way of describing what can’t be described. It’s like seeing something you have never seen before and trying to compare it to something you already know. Often people will taste a new kind of meat and say, “It kind of tastes like chicken.” Because of this description of the Holy Spirit in Luke 3, the most often used symbol for Him is the dove.
In the Old Testament, when God is made present in a tangible way, we call that a theophany. In Exodus, the Lord appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush. Moses could see Him as a flame that did not consume the wood of the bush. This is how the Holy Spirit came to be seen by the witnesses that day who would later tell Luke about it. The same Sprit of God that hovered at creation is seen to descend from an open heaven and come to the praying Jesus.
So far, we have two persons of the Trinity present on the scene in the Jordan River when Jesus is “about thirty years old.” (Luke 3:23) Now comes the awesome declaration of the Father.
Jesus is the Son of God, v. 22b
“and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
One part of Apostolic Orthodox Christianity is a belief in the Trinity. Those who hold this belief are called Trinitarians. Not everyone believes this to be true because the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible. But here we have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all together in one place and time.
Speaking of time – we need to deal with the age of Jesus. I just mentioned His human age – about 30 years have passed since that night in Bethlehem and the rest of Luke 3 is a genealogy of Jesus back to King David and the first man, Adam. Jesus, as the Son of God and one person of the Trinity, existed before there was anything else. Before the heavens and the earth. Before there was angels and demons. Before there was humanity and governments. Jesus – was there at the beginning as we read in John 1 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
“14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Jesus – fully divine – was existing before there was time and space. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – are together – and separate. They are the One in Three and the Three in One. How does that work? I DON’T KNOW – NOBODY DOES! We accept it on faith when we accept God’s Word as the Truth revealed to men and women so we would know it today.
Jesus would go on to show His divine nature
Jesus would offer them miracle after miracle as proof that He is God’s only begotten Son:
• Jesus changed water into wine
• Jesus cured the lame, the blind, the lepers and many others
• Jesus cast out unclean spirits
• Jesus raised a son and a daughter and His friend, Lazarus, from the dead
• Jesus stilled the storm and walked on the water
• Jesus fed at least five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish
In His trial before the Jewish religious leaders, He told them who He is – Luke 22 “66 As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, 67 “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will by no means believe. 68 And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go. 69 Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”
70 Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?” So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.”
71 And they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”
Then, three days after His burial, the tomb is empty – Jesus was resurrected. It was proof that He is who He claimed to be – the Son of God – the Divine Son of the Holy Trinity.
Jesus came to John. Jesus came to the start of His three-year ministry at the Jordan River. It was there we witness God the Father and God the Spirit present with God the Son. Jesus has been revealed to a world waiting and wanting a Savior.
Do we proclaim that same Savior today? Do we tell folks that our Jesus is God Himself – in the flesh? Do we tell folks that the same Jesus that will come back on the clouds was there in the beginning of the planets and people and puppies?
That’s our Jesus – fully divine and fully human. Amen.
