The Baptism of Jesus
Matthew 3:13-17
February 1, 2004
Introduction
Last week I told you that I was having a hard time with coming up with a message for the passage in Matthew describing the baptism of Jesus.
I said that it was tough because I wanted to make sure I wasn¡¦t just trying to throw something together for the sake of having a message, which was sure to be shallow and unapplicable.
So we scrapped it for another message.
Well, we¡¦re going to do the same thing today. Just kidding!
I think we¡¦re ready to dive into this passage, and I think you¡¦ll find something you can take home and make a part of your life, okay?
So please turn with me in your Bible to Matthew 3:13-17. If you¡¦re using the Bibles in the seats, this is on page 682.
Please follow along as I read.
MT 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16 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. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
This baptism of Jesus accomplished a couple things, and it also teaches us a couple lessons and even gives us some direction for our lives today.
My intention today is to go through these things, and by the time we leave, I¡¦m convinced that most, if not all of us will find something we can make a part of our own individual lives.
So in anticipation of that, let¡¦s pray.
(Pray)
Let¡¦s take a look at this very important episode of Jesus¡¦ life and what we can learn, okay?
First¡K
1. The baptism validates the ministry of John.
When Jesus came to John for baptism, he was basically saying, ¡§John, you have been faithful to the task given you and the message that was given you to preach.
¡§Now I want to show everyone here that I appreciate you and your ministry.¡¨
And so, even when John tries to reverse the roles, Jesus insisted.
I wonder what went through John¡¦s mind as he consented to baptize Jesus.
I don¡¦t know. But my guess is that even John couldn¡¦t grasp the significance of what was happening here.
And when the Spirit came, and the Father spoke, it must have blown him away.
Jesus¡¦ baptism served to validate the ministry of John.
Next¡K
2. The baptism validates the ministry of Jesus.
Many people were baptized by John.
But John knew who Jesus was, and he proclaimed his need to be baptized by Jesus.
In the other gospels, we see John proclaiming loudly, ¡§Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!¡¨
For the people who took John seriously, this might have been enough.
But for some reason, the Father thought it would be good if He put His own stamp of approval on Jesus.
Look back at verses 16-17:
16 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. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Now how¡¦s that for an endorsement?
You know, we¡¦re in an election year, obviously, and one of the tasks of politicians is to seek the endorsements of large groups of people, like certain unions, or civic groups, or business people, or celebrities.
I can think of a few celebrities that I would rather NOT have their endorsement, but that¡¦s beside the point!
And as much as some of them would like it, none of them have the endorsement of God, in my opinion.
Jesus, the Son of God, had the endorsement of God the Father. And we need to take that seriously.
God is well pleased with Jesus. Are you? Do you love Jesus? Do you live a life that reflects a mindset that says, ¡§With Jesus I am well pleased?¡¨
Now don¡¦t get me wrong. Jesus doesn¡¦t need OUR endorsement, okay?
He¡¦s the Savior, whether we think He is or not. And one day He¡¦ll be crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords whether we think He should be or not.
He will triumph over evil and save His people, whether we agree with Him or not.
He doesn¡¦t need our endorsement. He had the Father¡¦s. And that was good enough for Jesus. It should be good enough for you.
The Baptism validates the ministry of Jesus.
Let¡¦s turn our attention now to the fact that¡K
3. The baptism teaches us some lessons:
„Y Baptism is important.
In our desire to reach contemporary society, the church is oftentimes quick to shy away from anything that might come across as legalistic.
For many, baptism is seen in that light.
But let me ask you something. If Jesus thought enough about it, doesn¡¦t that say something?
Obviously, Jesus did not need to be baptized as a sign of repentance, because He was sinless. There was nothing for Him to repent of!
In His final instructions to His followers in Matthew, he instructs them to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything He commanded.
He tells us that baptism is important.
What makes it important? It¡¦s not that it does anything magical ¡V it does not cleanse us from sin, nor make us a better Christian.
Baptism is a testimony.
When John baptized a person, it was to show the world that this person had repented.
When Jesus was baptized it was a testimony to the ministry of John, and to testify to the task the Father had given to Jesus.
When we are baptized, it is a testimony to the rest of the world that we have become a follower of Jesus, a person who has decided to trust in Christ for salvation, and who desires to live for Him.
It is a public testimony, and it¡¦s very important.
I¡¦ve said before that while a person¡¦s faith may be personal, we are not allowed to keep it private.
God expects us in His word to make our faith public, and baptism is the first and primary way to do that.
Even in countries where Christians are persecuted, they baptize. Many times its in a hidden place, but there are witnesses to the baptism.
Folks, baptism is important, if only from an obedience standpoint. But I think it should be so much more.
It should be looked at as an opportunity to proclaim your desire to live for Christ.
The second lesson we can learn from this is that¡K
„Y John the Baptist is not merely a footnote in gospel history.
This is also based in idea that Jesus¡¦ baptism validated the ministry of John.
Jesus could have by-passed John¡¦s activity, and still be the Messiah.
But I think He was determined to ¡§give John his due,¡¨ if you will. To support John in his ministry and mission.
Later in Matthew says that among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.
Jesus did not want John to just be a footnote in the annals of biblical history.
Let¡¦s turn from these two lessons about Jesus¡¦ baptism and take a look at how¡K
4. The baptism gives us some directions:
Directions? What do you mean, PB? Well, just that there is more to this passage than just the description of an event, important as that description is.
We can learn some things to apply to our own life through this episode, and I want to point out three things in particular.
First¡K
„Y Recognize the sinlessness of Jesus.
Remember John¡¦s words?
"I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
Jesus didn¡¦t need to baptized, as I mentioned earlier. He was perfect. Sinless.
He never sinned. Ever.
This is critical for us to recognize and believe. Why? Because if Jesus wasn¡¦t sinless, He could not pay the price for our sins. He would have been just like every other sinner in creation, and we would have no hope.
Recognize the sinlessness of Jesus.
Second¡K
„Y Come to Christ for ¡§baptism.¡¨
I don¡¦t mean in the water sense.
What I mean is that we come to Christ for cleansing of our sin.
Water doesn¡¦t do that. Only the blood of Christ does that.
When we put our trust in Him, we¡¦re trusting that the blood Christ shed for us on the cross was sufficient to pay for our sins.
And I say ¡§our¡¨ sins, because we have all sinned. Everybody needs the forgiveness of God for their sins.
If you think you¡¦re perfect, I¡¦ve got a surprise for you: you¡¦re the only one who thinks so!
If you¡¦re married, I can guarantee that your spouse doesn¡¦t think you¡¦re perfect. And even in the off-chance you spouse does think you¡¦re perfect, then just ask your mother-in-law.
If you have teenagers, believe me ¡V they don¡¦t think you¡¦re perfect. I¡¦m just starting to learn how true that is!
But more importantly, God doesn¡¦t think you¡¦re perfect, and that¡¦s the opinion that counts for eternity.
If you have not put your trust in Christ before today, then let¡¦s get it done, man!
Leave here today knowing you¡¦re forgiven, and a have a home in heaven. At the end of the message I¡¦ll give you an opportunity to do just that, okay?
The third application we can find from this episode of Jesus¡¦ baptism is this:
„Y If you haven¡¦t already, be baptized.
We¡¦ve already discussed the fact that Jesus felt it was important, and even He was baptized.
He commanded those who follow Him to be baptized. If you have received Christ as your Savior, and want to testify publicly about your faith in Him, then you need to be baptized.
On April 4, we are having a baptism service as part of our Celebration Sunday, following our 40 Days of Purpose Campaign.
And if you would like to be baptized, that would be a great time to do it. Before then, we will probably be having a baptism class, in which we go into much more depth as to what baptism means and signifies.
I¡¦ll keep you posted about that so you can take advantage of it when the time comes.
Conclusion
I mentioned a couple weeks ago that John¡¦s job was more than to just get people wet.
And Jesus came to John for a bigger reason than to just get wet.
Jesus came to endorse John, and to show everyone else that Jesus had the endorsement of the Father.
He came to validate the ministry of John, and to validate His own. Not to the Father, but to those who would listen.
It was God¡¦s way of say, ¡§Take Jesus seriously. He¡¦s doing what I want Him to.¡¨
So let me ask you: are you taking Him seriously? Not just in this issue of baptism, but in general.
When you see the words and actions of Jesus, do you ponder them, consider them, look to them for guidance for your own life?
Or do you just give them the same importance the rest of the world gives them?
Nice platitudes for others, but not for me.
Jesus doesn¡¦t give us that option. He insists that His words be taken seriously. And the Father insists the same things.
If you are not a follower of Christ, Jesus¡¦ words to you are that He is the only way to God. You have to come through Him.
You do that by admitting your need for His forgiveness, believing that He paid the penalty for your sins on the cross and rising from the dead, so you can have a home in heaven, and calling on Him.
He also said to count the cost before doing that. He doesn¡¦t want blind followers. He wants disciples that are willing to follow Him even when it gets tough.
But you know what I¡¦ve found? I¡¦ve found that I¡¦d rather go through the tough times with Christ than without Him.
I¡¦ve done it both ways, and I prefer to go through life with Christ.
In a moment, I¡¦m going to pray, and if you want to trust in Christ as your Savior, calling on Him to save you from the penalty you deserve and giving you a home in heaven, you will be able to pray along with me.
For the rest of us, Jesus¡¦ words to us are to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him.
Not at our convenience, but all the time. 24/7/366. Sunday through Saturday, not just Sunday morning. During tax time and outside tax time.
Even during the Super Bowl and baseball season.
Does Jesus have your all? If not, what¡¦s in the way? Are you willing to lay it all out for Him? He deserves it, you know.
Maybe you don¡¦t know what¡¦s in the way. Are you willing to ask Him to show you what it is? That takes guts, but believe me, it¡¦s worth it.
So my invitation is two-fold. First, to those who want the eternal life Jesus offers. Second, to those who want to give their lives totally over to Christ.
And if either of these two descriptions fit you, I invite you to pray with me, in your hearts.
Let¡¦s pray.
