Introduction
I. Over the next few months we are going to embark on a journey.
A. For me this journey began as I was considering the next sermon series.
1. I thought about asking you to write down what your favorite verse of scripture was, and preaching on those.
a. But I decided that would be too dangerous.
b. If I taught something you disagreed with concerning your favorite scripture, you would just get mad at me.
2. Then I considered what some of the more well known passages of scripture were, and considered preaching on them.
B. That brought me to John 3:16,
1. The gospel in a nutshell; some call it.
2. At least a few years ago, almost everyone knew at least a portion of John 3:16.
3. Ask someone what their favorite verse from the Bible was, and even if they had never cracked a page, they would say, John 3:16.
C. That verse caused me to wonder what the other 3:16’s of the Bible taught.
II. As I looked at the gospels, I thought it was pretty cool how God had taken the four gospels, and at least with the 3:16’s, they kind of outline the earthly ministry of Christ.
A. Check it out
1. Matthew 3:16, which we will look at this morning speaks of the Baptism of Christ, or the “Beginning of” Christ official “Ministry.”
2. Mark 3:16, relates Jesus appointing the 12 apostles to live and learn from, and eventually begin the ministry of the church.
3. Luke 3:16 speaks to John the Baptist, baptizing multitudes of people that were drawn to a message of repentance, and then
4. John 3:16 is the “gospel in a nutshell.”
B. A few more
1. Acts 3:16 - Forgiveness of for sin is offered to all.
2. Rom. 3:16 - We all need that forgiveness
3. 1 Cor. 3:16 - You are a temple of God.
4. 2 Cor. 3:16 - Be proud of who you are.
III. On and on through the New Testament, it seems like the 3:16’s build on one another to offer hope for forgiveness from sin; the power for Godly living, and the expectation of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
IV. I can’t wait to delve into these passages deeper.
Baptism Marks The Time Has Come
13 Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.
I. “Then” when?
A. John the Baptist, the one who was to prepare the way for the coming Lord was at work doing that which God had charged him to do.
B. Up to this point in the life of Christ, the scriptures are basically silent,
1. We know of his birth,
2. We know Joseph was forced to take his family to Egypt, in order to spare Jesus’ life from Herod
3. We know that they returned and lived,
4. But this event of the baptism of Christ essentially marks His entry into public ministry.
II. “Then”
A. When the ordained time of God the Father arrived,
B. Then, when there was a new openness to the things of God.
III. All four gospels speak of the ministry of John the Baptist,
A. John the Baptist,
1. He looked funny
2. He dressed funny
3. He ate funny,
4. He seemed odd and out of place, YET
5. But the message of John the Baptist was clear.
B. John the Baptist proclaimed that man needed to confess his sins, stop sinning, and be baptized as a demonstration of his commitment to God.
C. And lo and behold, there must have thousands of people that responded.
1. The Bible states that “all Judea” and “all Jerusalem” came to confess and be baptized.
2. Then, while people were open to a fresh movement of God, Jesus came to be baptized.
IV. People coming to be baptized were marking a change of life,
A. They were recognizing that they were not in a right relationship with God.
B. Confessing, repenting (stopping of sin) and Marking a new beginning in life with baptism.
V. Jesus was marking a change as well.
A. A change from basically a private life,
B. To a change to public ministry.
VI. People will ask, “Why should I be baptized?” to which one answer is, has your relationship; your commitment to God undergone a change.
A. The act of baptism does not in itself make you right with God.
B. Baptism does not bring about any kind of salvation.
C. However, if you have come to faith in Jesus Christ as your personal savior, Baptism is the next step.
1. Baptism is a public profession of your confidence in Jesus Christ.
2. Baptism is a point in time, where we can look to and say, “I belong to God, only because of my faith in Jesus Christ.”
Baptism Marks Our Need For Christ
14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”Then he *permitted Him.
I. This is the only time in scripture where water baptism precedes faith in the risen Christ.
A. Every instance of baptism in scripture follows the same pattern, Belief in Christ, Salvation, Baptism.
B. Belief or faith in Christ, brings about salvation, and salvation then brings a desire for baptism.
C. John the Baptist is calling for repentance concerning one’s sin, but faith in the risen Christ could not happen yet, because Christ has not been crucified yet.
II. Acts 18 relates that when Paul went to a certain city, he discovered believers who had been baptized by John the Baptist, and though they were living and teaching following Christ, they had never heard about a baptism based on faith in Christ.
A. Acts 19:1-5 reads - 1 And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found some disciples, 2 and he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
III. Understand that baptism, does not convey any magic.
A. Paul called the followers of Christ in Ephesus “disciples” that is believers.
1. These believers had received eternal life through FAITH in Christ.
2. They understood and were following what they knew about Christ, and His desire for their lives.
3. They were learning, and teaching, and evidently making other disciples.
B. And when they found out they needed to be baptized because of their faith in Christ, they were baptized.
IV. Why did John the Baptist try to keep Jesus from being baptized.
A. If this were the only text we had, we might say because John knew that Jesus was the savior, and therefore did not need baptism,
B. In the gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 33, John the Baptist is said to have remarked, “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.”
1. According to this verse, John the Baptist did not know Jesus was God, until after He was baptized.
2. So Why?
V. Jesus himself states why He must be baptized.
A. Verse 15 states - “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
B. The word “righteousness” means to live in accordance to God’s requirements.
VI. Christ had no need to be baptized; there was no sinful life that he had turned from.
VII. There were no sins for Christ to repent of, BUT
A. However Christ had been sent to earth, to die for man’s sin.
B. The writer of Isaiah said it this way, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”
C. By his death, Jesus would make it possible for all who believe to be righteous before God,
VIII. John did not fully understand who Christ was, until following the baptism, BUT
A. He did recognize that somehow he needed Christ.
B. He needed the forgiveness of sin that only Christ could offer.
IX. Christ had no sin of His own to repent of, for He was and is in fact God,
A. He consent to baptism was His identification and acceptance with the will of God for His life.
B. In His baptism, Christ was identifying as well with the taking on of our sins.
X. Baptism for us is a public “marking” of our understanding of our need for the forgiveness of sin that only Christ can offer.
XI. Baptism is a “marking” of time when we understand that only through obedience to God in accepting Jesus can we fulfill righteousness.
Baptism Marks Our Readiness to Serve
16 And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him,
17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
I. Understand that in His baptism, Christ’ relationship to God the Father did not change.
A. Jesus Christ always had been the Son of God.
B. In fact in verse 17, “I am well pleased” is in what is called the aorist tense.
1. Aorist means action that occurs without regard to time.
2. A better translation of “I am well pleased” which sounds like the present tense, would be, “I have always been well-pleased.”
II. In His baptism, Christ is saying,
A. Yes Father God, I am ready; I understand the time has come;
B. Yes Father God, I am ready to undertake the public ministry, which will ultimately include my death.
C. Christ is putting a “Mark” on the time that His ministry is beginning.
III. If you were to read ahead in Matthew Chapter four, you find that immediately following the baptism, Jesus is led into a desert to be tempted by Satan.
A. Baptism then publically marked Christ’ acceptance of the will of God for His life.
B. It also marked His preparation to confront Satan in the battle to win men’s souls. Conclusion
I. Baptism is a direct translation of the Greek word “baptizo”
A. Baptizo means
1. To immerse,
2. To dip repeatedly or
3. To submerge.
B. It can also mean
1. To wash, or
2. To make clean by washing
C. Baptizo can even mean to overwhelm.
II. In the context of Matthew chapter 3, “baptism” is referring to the act of “going into the water and coming back up” as a mark of a changed life brought about my repenting of sin, and following God.
III. In the New Testament, baptism always follows belief in Jesus Christ as savior.
IV. Therefore I have two questions for us to consider this morning,
A. If you have accepted the fact that Jesus Christ is your savior, have you marked that decision by baptism?
1. Maybe you underwent a baptism as an infant,
2. Maybe you underwent a baptism, but you hadn’t understood that your relationship with God, comes through Christ.
3. If that is the case, I ask you to consider whether you need to follow the example of Christ in being baptized.
B. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, what is keeping you from doing so today?
1. Concerning baptism Jesus said, “It is fitting that we do so at this time, today.”
2. I say, “If you have never said yes to Jesus as savior, ‘It is fitting that you do so at this time; today” for there may not be a tomorrow.
a. It is really quite simple
V. I also would like us to baptize this new ministry today.
A. I want to immerse this ministry in prayer
B. I want to submerge it in prayer.
C. I want us to overwhelm the forces of Satan on those that will come to these concerts, and ask God to prepare the hearts of the workers and the hearts of those that will come to the work.
D. I want to us to place a Mark on this ministry for God.
