The Baptism Of Jesus | Matthew 3:13-17

• Sermon Transcript

  Good morning. Sometimes when I walk up here, when the children are leaving, I feel like those basketball players who are avoiding the court storming from the fans. Anyway. What a bad joke that was, okay. Lighten up, guys, come on. Matthew, chapter three is where we are today. As we continue to trace the life of Jesus, and 2024, we've been talking about his preparation. And next week we turn the corners to talk about his ministry begins, and he starts calling disciples. Today we're talking about the baptism of Jesus. Matthew chapter three. I remember the day that I was baptized. I was seven years old. And baptism there at Shannon Baptist Church in Colombia, when I was seven, in the old building, when it was actually in the Shandon area of Colombia. It's no longer there anymore. But they kept the name. But anyhow, back then, I guess it was trendy to do baptisms at the night service. So I don't know why, but it did. So I'm gonna be getting baptized at the night service. And I knew what I was doing. I knew that I needed Jesus to save me my sins, and maybe right with God, I had but had a very basic understanding of why I was being baptized. I knew that I was being baptized, because that's what a person did, who placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I knew that Jesus was the only way to salvation. But it's a very basic, understanding what I was doing. Once I got older, grew in my faith, study the Bible more, went to college, got called into ministry, went to seminary continued my education, even now, with every passing year, I understand more and more clearly just what it means to follow Jesus, I began to realize more clearly what exactly it was that I expressed to everyone. The day I was baptized, my baptism expressed that I had died to myself was born again, a new life in Jesus Christ, maybe you can relate to that story in some way. You may remember the day you were baptized, if you've been baptized as someone who can make a conscious decision, an older child or an adult. Maybe you knew what you were doing. Maybe sadly, you did not know that does happen from time to time. Maybe you've never been baptized as an adult. Well, we call believers baptism by immersion. And maybe you're curious about it. Today, we're going to look at a very unique passage of Scripture, where the only man who didn't need to be baptized was in fact baptized Jesus Christ. So that when you read this passage, you might think to yourself, Well, why was Jesus baptized? Why did he need to be baptized? What did his baptism signify? And what can we learn about our own faith? Through the baptism of Jesus? So we're Matthew third, Matthew three, verse 13. Matthew records, then Jesus came from Galilee, to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately, he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and coming to rest on Him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day you've given us We thank you that we can worship here today we can celebrate what our church has done we thank you for OCC being here and and the Samaritan's Purse organization and honoring us this way. Lord, we pray Vitiate that a little we know, it's just part of our calling. We thank you that we can be faithful in our calling to make disciples, to lead people to baptism, to show that they have been changed by you. When I pray that my words today reflect your heart, you filming with your spirit and preaching, and that those in here today respond to your message and it touches their hearts. We ask these things in Jesus name, amen. The baptism of Jesus is the event that marked the beginning of His earthly ministry. And this passage is special, because it shows the father, it shows the son, it shows the Holy Spirit, the three persons of the Holy Trinity all in together at one place, interacting together, in one place, communicating together in one place. And the baptism of Jesus reveals how He's different from the rest of humanity, well, giving us some insights into how we can understand our own faith. First, let me make clear that as a Southern Baptist Church, we do not believe that the act of baptism saves you. We believe it's a sign a display a visual picture of what has happened to you, Romans six forces this. We were buried therefore with him, by baptism into death and order that Justice Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too, might walk in newness of life. So our baptism is a visual picture a display of the burial. Metaphorically speaking of our earthly life, we have died to the old self we put to death or old life, when we are raised out of the water, we're showing that we have been born again. We've been raised with Jesus in to a new life. So baptism doesn't save us. It demonstrates to others that we've been saved. We've died to ourselves. And we live now a new life in Christ. When Jesus was baptized, it was unlike any baptism that has or will ever happen. And it was special in many ways, including that he did not need it. But he did it because he said it was appropriate. So we can learn three things today about our new life, in Christ, through the baptism of Jesus three things that we can learn first, baptism shows that we're forgiven through the Son. We're forgiven through Jesus the Son. First verse 13, says that Jesus came from Galilee, to the Jordan, which was a river to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent him and said, I don't need to be baptized by you. Or I need to be baptized by you, not you, me. But Jesus in verse 15, said, Let it be so for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. John the Baptist had been ministering in this region for around a year. And his nickname was was was a good nickname, because that's exactly what he was doing. He was baptizing people, for the repentance of sins. Jesus then wanders down to the river. And John sees him and says, Now wait a second, you have nothing to repent of. If anyone needs to be baptized as it's me by you, not me baptizing you. Jesus says, No, we need to do this. Now. Interestingly enough, the word baptize when he says this word baptize, It's the Greek word that T zu. So literally, baptize is the Greek word we've just transliterated and it's there's really no translation, it's baptize and it means to be fully immersed into water. So that's why we are baptized. So Christians, First Baptist Church amongst corner. Now, interestingly enough, immersion was the standard practice of the Christian church well into the Middle Ages, there was no sprinkling or anything until 1311 When the Catholic Church started for whatever we don't know why they're scarce on water are what sprinkling people and children. In fact, the Church of England did not start to do this to sprinkle children and people until 1645 and the eastern adoxa has never permitted any other mode by baptism, but immersion. So somewhere down the line other denominations, some even that are Protestant, which doesn't make a lot of sense either have gone away from immersion. But as we've seen that it is biblically something that was done. It is historically something that has been practice. So that's why we do it at a Baptist church. It is a main distinguishing mark for who we are as believers here. Now, Jesus answered John's protest by saying Let it be so Jesus said that it was appropriate what why was it appropriate for him to be baptized? Well, there's at least four reasons quickly. To give credence of John's practice of baptism, for Jesus to be baptized was showing that, that what John was doing was appropriate, it legitimized it in a way. Secondly, Jesus's baptism gives us an example of obedience to His followers. Jesus will never asked you to do something he wouldn't do. He was baptized, even though he didn't have to be. So yes, we should obey Him and be baptized as well. Third, through his baptism, it's another way that Jesus identified with people and their sin. He identifies with us a main reason that God chose to send Jesus to the earth in the form of a man so that he could identify completely with you and me. Have you ever been hungry? Hungry to the point where you were kind of will be called hangry? Or you were just or worse where you were considered starving? Jesus has been hungry. He can identify with that. Have you ever been stressed? I know no one in engineers ever not has ever been stressed. stressed over things in life, Jesus says had more stress than you. Have you ever suffered in any way Jesus has suffered. In fact, he has suffered more so than anyone. Jesus can identify with us he he humbled himself in this way. Look at Philippians two chapter, or Philippians two verse five. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God the thing to be grasped. The made himself nothing, taking the form of the servant being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him, and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. So the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father, Jesus humbled Himself, partly to identify with us. The final finally, Jesus's immersion was also a picture of his death, a picture of his future death, future resurrection, just as he went in the water and came out, he would go into the grave, and he would come out. And it's also a picture of our own death to our own life, to that we are raised in a new life. But your baptism is is different than Jesus's. When you're baptized, you're showing that you've received His forgiveness for your sin, that you're dead to your own life that you've been raised to walk in the new new life, and only through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and through His resurrection, which is what we celebrate on Easter Sunday. Only then May we receive forgiveness of our sins is through Jesus that the Father for gives us and when were baptized, we are showing the world and we've received that forgiveness. We're forgiven of our sins through the Son. Secondly, baptism shows that we are empowered by the Spirit. We are empowered by Spirit for 16. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove. And coming to restaurant. Bible says that after Jesus was baptized, that the heavens opened, and we get a picture of the father, being near to the sun. And the Spirit of God coming over him now doesn't say the spirit was a dove, but it resembled it, it looked like it something like a dove that was hovering above him. Why did this happen? Well, first, the spirit was given to Jesus, to empower him, but also to show others that he was the Messiah, it was both an anointing and a sign. Now, we're saved. Certainly when we're baptized, we do not receive an anointing the way Jesus was. We do, however, upon salvation, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We receive this filling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. When we accept Jesus into our life, we receive this spirit, we have the Spirit of Christ living in us. This is the Holy Spirit. And he empowers us to now live, the Christian life, the life we are called to live. Look at Romans 811. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who is raised Christ, Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies, through His Spirit, who dwells in you. The moment we're born again, the moment of saving faith, of salvation, we become raised to life by the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit enables us to live like the father, we start to act like we start to look like him in our lives. There is a noticeable change the story of a father and son who went cross country to meet an uncle, the father had never known. And they arrive in a small western town. And the father all of a sudden sees this man walking across the town square. And he and his son are there and the father says, there is there's my uncle. And his son said, well, well, how do you know that honey on the truck was just because he walks exactly like my father. That's him. He walks like my father this weekend. My son and I were at a competition I was a chaperone. Which a high schoolers stuff. It's interesting. They know me as Jackson's dad, most of them don't know who I am, what I do. And all they told us the whole first day was Jackson's Dad, you look just like Jackson. Y'all walk the same. How many people tell us we look alive? So we were kind of excited that. So you'll have the same walk. The same mannerisms? We walked the same because related walks like his father, or maybe a walk like him, I don't know. But when the Spirit empowers us, just like that man who saw his uncle, he walks like my father, we walk like the father. People should know you are a Christian by how you live your life by how you walk. One of my many high school reunions I've been to which one I went through that several. Some people were stunned that I'm a pastor. And I'm like me too. Right? I get it. Because praise the Lord. I've been changed since then. And we all should be different than where we were just a few years ago. Or certainly when we were younger. We start looking like our Heavenly Father. Look at Matthew 1024. It is not who you are you who speak with the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Acts one eight, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, the end of the earth. Second Timothy one seven, for God gave us a spirit not a fear but of power in love and self control. So you should be seen as someone who doesn't live in fear, but you live in the power of Christ. You live in the love of Christ. You live in the self control of Christ, not through your willpower. But through the Holy Spirit that empowers you. He empowers us in our baptism is a reminder that we now have the Holy Spirit, giving us that power. And finally, number three, baptism shows that we are approved by the father, forgiven by the son, empowered by the Spirit, approved by the Father. Deep down in all of this, we have a need for approval by our fathers or father figures. And it stems from the fact that ultimately, we have a need for approval from our God. And Jesus Christ, we have that. Look at verse 17. The whole voice from heaven said, This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Jesus is quoting scripture, a quote Psalm two, seven, and the quotes Isaiah 42. One, when he says, Behold, my servant, who I hold my chosen, and whom I sold the lights, I have put my spirit upon him. It should be evident to all the Jews that God is clearly saying that Jesus is his Messiah, God is giving his approval of Jesus at that point. So everyone knows that Jesus is the Messiah. Now, in a similar fashion, God approves of us, because of Jesus, not because we're the Messiah, but because of Jesus and his work on the cross. We've all sinned, we've all broken God's moral law, we've all fallen short of his standards and his glory, He is holy, and His Holiness can't allow us to enter into His eternal presence. But if we have our sin dealt with forgiven by Jesus than we can exist with God, how God imputes this righteousness to us. So when God sees us, he sees Jesus, our debt has been paid. This time last year, my dog had four inches of her intestines removed. It was expensive. It's the most expensive sock I've ever bought. Thankfully, they allowed us to do one of these credit deals where you pay it off in a year, as long as you get paid off in a year, no deferred interest. So I said, Oh, don't worry. It'll be paid off in a year. Yesterday, was it yesterday, the day before yesterday, looked at my app that tracks it. And it said, Congratulations. Your debt has been paid even gave me a little celebration emoji on their debt has been paid. So Wow. One year to the day. So all right, all right, kids, we can go out to eat again. Amen. Your debt has been paid. I'm approved. Once again. How silly would it be? If I kept showing you all this app and said, You think this is true? This is right. Yeah, it says you've been you says your debts been paid or approved? Are you okay? If I just went around and showing it to you all the time? You say yes, it's fine. That that's the approval we have from the Father. Our debt has been paid. But we don't have to keep asking for approval from other people doing. We don't need anyone's approval about our debt being paid other than the Heavenly Father and through Jesus Christ. Our debt is paid congratulations. But we seek approval from all sorts of people. Yes, you need to honor your parents. Yes, need to love your spouse. The only approval you need. Is Jesus saying gratulations your debt is paid. Psalm 103. To 12 says this, as far as the east is from the rest so far to see remove our transgressions from us. God is reckoned it to our account. He no longer holds us accountable for our sin, judiciously speaking, our sins are gone forever. God has deemed us innocent. Hallelujah. Let's go out to eat. That is the gospel. In our baptism is reminder of the approval of the Father in our lives, did the work of Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your approval. We thank you that our debt is cleared. And every time we see baptism we we get a reminder of this. So Lord, if there's one in here today that's never been baptized immersed, believers baptism, Lord that today they are believers today that they we understand that they've put their faith in you but now they need to be baptized for all these reasons that they would make that decision for baptism today. Or maybe there's one here that's never placed their faith you that today, they would place their faith in you they would receive your salvation, receive your forgiveness. Today they would do so. For those of us, Lord that were saved for baptized, let's not forget as we leave here today, the incredible gifts that we have, and we've been given because of your son, that's why we're here. That's why we're here to worship. Or let us not look for that approval anywhere else but you. Thank you for clearing our debt. No, we love you. We ask these things in Jesus. Amen.