Just Do It – Matthew 3: 13 - 17
Intro: Timmy had a loose tooth. He asked his dad to help him get rid of the lose tooth. His father tied a 3-foot length of waxed dental floss to the tooth and then tied the other end to a 5-pound weight from his exercise equipment. Then, he told Timmy to stand on the ottoman in front of the sofa in the living room. Once Timmy was standing on the ottoman, his dad handed him the 5-pound weight and told him to just let go of the weight which would fall to the carpeted floor and pull out the tooth. Timmy stood on the ottoman for several seconds shaking and trembling. Finally, his dad shouted, “Just do it!” Frightened by his father’s loud voice, Timmy dropped the weight and voila! The tooth came out.
I We read this dialogue between Jesus and John only in Matthew. There are several interesting points here in these four short verses.
A The first thing to notice is the fact that John protests about baptizing Jesus. VS. 14 “But John tried to deter him (Jesus) The word used here for deter is diakoluo / d?a????? and can be translated as FORBID / PROHIBIT / HINDER.
B John didn’t want to do the baptism. He felt Jesus should be the one baptizing him. “I need to be baptized by you,” John recognizes who Jesus was and tries to acknowledge that fact.
C VS. 15 – Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” JUST DO IT!
II There are many who struggle with this situation. Why would Jesus submit to the baptism of John? John baptized as a call for people to repent from their sins.
A Let’s look at the practice of baptism at the time of Jesus and John. Although there is no mention of baptism in the Old Testament that does not mean that it didn’t take place.
B For the Jew, all Gentiles were viewed as “Unclean”. Therefore, for a Gentile to become a Jew they had to undergo a period of study of the Torah and then be “ritually cleansed” of their uncleanliness.
C Gentiles who were ritually cleansed could begin new lives as a devout Jew. Jesus reminds John that even He, as the “chosen one of God,” the “Messiah,” and the “Son of God” needed to demonstrate to everyone that he was beginning a new life.
III VSS. 16 & 17 “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 alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’”
A Jesus is no longer the carpenter’s son; but, is now a messenger from God. From this point forward, Jesus began calling his disciples and preaching a new way of living close to God.
B Jesus tells John that what is accomplished through his baptism is in accord with God’s will for Jesus and all humanity who confess his name and wish to live according to the teachings from God.
C In the Presbyterian Church, we baptize infants and adults with two things in mind. First, in baptism we acknowledge that the one being baptized now belongs to God. Second, we acknowledge from that point forward the person being baptized begins a new life-long commitment of service.
Concl: We should be reminded that sometimes God’s plan is not ours and God’s time is not always ours. In this situation, both John and Jesus are expressing their willingness to accomplish God’s purposes and commission. In his gospel, Matthew portrays Jesus as a humble, obedient Son of God who fulfills God’s will. If we are following the exemplary example of Jesus, we must remember to be humbly obedient to God in fulfilling the will of God. To this end we have been baptized through water and spirit into this relationship with God. Therefore, when called upon by God we must, “Just do it!”
