Naylor Community
Christian Church
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 3:1-17
Matthew 3:1 In
those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and
saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was
spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one
calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way
for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
4 John’s clothes
were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food
was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all
Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were
baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw
many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said
to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can
raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees,
and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown
into the fire.
11 “I baptize you
with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I,
whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his
threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff
with unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of
Jesus
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 alighting on him. 17
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased.”
-- if you’ve been outside lately, you’ve probably noticed
the smell of smoke in the air -- when Brooke was taking her dog out for a walk
the other night, she opened the door and said, “I smell smoke” -- and of
course, she did -- because this is the time of the year that we burn in south
Georgia -- when we begin to burn our forests and our fields
-- we do this for a variety of reasons -- it helps the
ecosystem -- it opens up the forest to promote new growth of plants for our
wildlife and livestock as we’re heading into spring -- but one of the main
reasons we burn is to get rid of dead limbs and trees and other vegetation --
to reduce the amount of fuel on the ground in an effort to prevent catastrophic
wildfires
-- we saw this played out in our area following Hurricane
Michael -- Hurricane Michael was devastating and took down a lot of timber and
put a lot of trees on the ground -- and shortly
after the storm passed, we had some major wildfires raging in south
Georgia and north Florida not far from us as the wildfires consumed all of that
extra fuel that was on the ground
-- and so, in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, a lot of
people are burning more than normal to try to reduce the fuel in our area to
prevent catastrophic wildfires from hitting us
-- I was reading about a wildfire that happened several
years ago, not far from us -- it was a major wildfire and firefighters had been
brought in from around the country to help put it out -- they finally got it
stopped and they were walking through the area putting out all the hot spots
that were left -- all the stumps and the logs that were still burning and smoldering
and that might ignite the fire again
-- as they were walking through the burned-out area, one
of the men noticed a large lump on the trail -- it was kind of unusual so he
walked over to it to see what it was -- and as he got closer, he noticed it was
the charred remains of a large bird that had burned nearly half way through in
the fire
-- he stood there looking at that bird and he wondered
why this bird had died -- birds can easily fly away from the approaching flames
-- I’ve been on lots of burns and lots of wildfires and I’ve never found a bird
that died from the fire -- they always just fly away -- and so this guy stood
there looking at that bird and trying to figure this out -- and he wondered if maybe
it had been sick or injured and just couldn’t get away from the flames
-- after a moment, he decided to just kick the remains of
the bird off the trail and go on -- and as soon as he did, he jumped and was
scared half to death because there was all kinds of activity right by his feet
-- as he scrambled back from the remains of the dead bird, he saw four little
birds run out from underneath the remains and scurry down the hillside
-- and then he realized what had happened -- the mother’s
body had covered them from the searing flames -- and though the heat was enough
to consume her -- her body protected her babies and allowed them to find safety
underneath her wings -- even though the flames came near -- even though the
heat became unbearable -- she had stayed with her young
-- she was their only hope for safety -- and she was
willing to risk her own life to save them -- even when the pain reached its
most unbearable moment -- when she could have flown away to start another
family on another day, she made herself stay through the raging flames
-- this mother made the ultimate sacrifice to save her
young -- she gave her very life for them -- and that is an apt picture of what
we are going to be discussing this morning1
II. The Baptism of Christ
-- this morning, we’re continuing our survey of the life
of Jesus -- following His time on earth from the announcement of the
incarnation through His birth and ministry and up to His death and resurrection
-- last week, we looked at the story of the boy Jesus
being left behind by Mary and Joseph in Jerusalem after the celebration of the
Passover Feast -- and a lot of time has gone by since that story -- if you want
to hold your place here with me and turn over to Luke 3, or just listen as I
read a couple verses from that chapter, you’ll see what I’m talking about
-- Luke 3:1-2 -- Luke gives us the moment in time that the
next phase in Jesus’ life on earth is taking place -- this is a historical date
-- we can look it up -- it comes 18 years after Jesus getting left behind in
Jerusalem
Luke 3:1 In the
fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor
of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and
Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of
Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the
wilderness.
-- that’s the historical
date for the start of Jesus’ ministry
-- and if you look down at verse 23, we see how old Jesus
was when He began His earthly ministry
Luke 3:23a Now
Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.
-- okay, so a lot of time has passed between our passage
from last week and the baptism of Jesus, that we are going to be looking at
this week -- we know nothing about what happened in the life of Jesus during
this period -- we can assume that He lived in Nazareth with His parents -- that
He probably worked with His earthly father, Joseph, in the carpentry shop --
and that He lived in Nazareth as a good and godly Jew -- following the law and
the traditions of Judaism -- worshiping in the synagogue and going up to
Jerusalem for the required feasts
-- it’s like Jesus was waiting for something to happen --
it’s like Jesus was waiting for a signal -- a signal to begin -- and we see
that signal here in Luke 3:1-2
-- in
the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar -- when Pontius Pilate was
the governor of Judea -- when Jesus was 30 years old -- the word of God came to
John, son of Zechariah, in the desert
-- Matthew tells us the same thing -- go back to Matthew
3:1-3
Matthew 3:1 In
those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and
saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was
spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one
calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way
for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
-- that was the signal -- that was the moment -- things
were happening -- the Holy Spirit was moving -- God’s word was being proclaimed
through the unlikely character of John the Baptist, and he began to preach and
to prophesy that the Kingdom of Heaven was near -- and in response to his
preaching, people came to him there at the Jordan River and confessed and
repented of their sins and were baptized as a sign of their repentance
-- God’s hand was moving -- the people’s hearts were
beginning to stir -- a revival was breaking out among the frozen chosen -- and,
in the midst of this scene, Jesus appeared
-- look down at verse 13
Matthew 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.
-- out of everything that Jesus said and did while He was
here on earth, this moment is one that has led to more confusion than any other
-- John, in response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, is calling sinners to
be baptized in response to their confession of sins
-- and then one day, in the midst of all these sinners
confessing and repenting of their sins, Jesus comes and joins the line to be
baptized by John in the Jordan River -- why?
-- that is the question of the ages
-- John looked up and saw his cousin coming -- and, as
John well knows, Jesus is literally the only human being who ever lived that
committed no sins -- He has no sins to confess -- He has no need of repentance
-- so, why is He coming to be baptized to symbolize His repentance and the
washing away of His sins?
-- why did Jesus come to be baptized?
-- we see the answer in Jesus’ response to John -- “Let
it be so now -- it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness”
-- you see, baptism is not just about symbolizing
repentance and the washing away of our sins -- it also symbolizes God’s
judgment and wrath -- the righteous anger of God against sin and disobedience
-- look up at verse 11
Matthew 3:11 “I
baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more
powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire.
-- it says the Messiah
will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit -- the fire John speaks of is the
fire of judgment and wrath -- the fire of judgment and wrath against sinners
and against the evil in this world
-- and so, when John tells Jesus that there is no need
for Him to be baptized, Jesus replies, “It is proper for us to do this to
fulfill all righteousness” -- in other words, the sinless one is being
identified with the sinners -- He is placing Himself between them and God to
take the wrath and punishment of God on Himself in their place
-- Jesus submits to baptism by John -- not as a
confession of any sin on His part -- but on behalf of the world -- symbolizing
with this act His atoning death on the cross as our propitiation -- the One who
propitiates or appeases the wrath of God because of sin -- the One who takes
the wrath of God on Himself in our place
-- this act of baptism by Jesus is a foreshadowing of His
ministry and the reason He was sent by the Father to earth to live among us as
one of us -- it points to the greater baptism of the cross
-- turn with me to Luke 12:49-50 or listen as I read
those verses for you
Luke 12:49 “I have
come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But
I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is
completed!
-- Jesus says He has come to bring fire on the earth --
referring to the wrath and judgment of God that is due us -- and He says that
He will bear that fire through His baptism, referring to the punishment of the
cross
-- He
came to pay the price that we could not pay -- He came to receive the wrath and
judgment of God that we so rightly deserve -- and through His sinless life and
His atoning death on the cross, all righteousness will be fulfilled, just as He
tells John in verse 15
-- that
is the reason Jesus was baptized -- not as some say, to be an example to us of
what we should do -- but as a picture of why He came -- to symbolize the
effects of His death on the cross for us, as He took on the wrath and judgment of
God in our place
-- He
stood in the fire and wrapped His arms around us and protected our bodies from
the flames by His own body on the cross, just as the mother bird did with her
young in the wildfire I spoke of earlier
III. Our Baptism as Believers
-- so, quickly, let’s move on to the other question this
passage raises -- why should we get baptized?
-- in Acts 2, when we read about the coming of the Holy
Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and the witness of the disciples to the crowds
there in Jerusalem, the Bible says the people were cut to the heart by the
message of Peter -- they cried out to him, “What do we do?” -- and Peter
responded in Acts 2:38-39, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. -- The promise is for you and your children and for
all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
-- what is required for salvation? -- faith in Christ and
in His atoning sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the dead for
the forgiveness of our sins -- confession and repentance of our sins and asking
Jesus to take them from us, believing in faith that the penalty has been paid
-- that the wrath and judgment of God has been satisfied -- and then baptism as
a sign of our faith and our identification with Christ
-- I read a story from Bob Beasley, who is a pastor in
-- later that night, they tried to help her understand
what was going on -- they talked about it and told her that when people decide
to live for Jesus and "do good" they want everyone to know and so
they get baptized -- they explained to her that the water symbolizes Jesus'
washing people from sin -- and that when they come out "clean," they
are going to try to be "good."
-- but it was obvious that his daughter still didn’t
quite get it -- she responded, “Well, if he has been bad, why didn’t the
preacher just spank him?”2
-- that’s the great thing about grace -- we don’t have to
be spanked because Jesus was spanked for us -- we don’t have to suffer the
punishment for our sins because Jesus was punished for us
-- so, when we humble ourselves and ask Jesus to forgive
us for all we have done wrong and we repent of our wicked ways and turn to
follow Him -- Jesus gives us eternal life and tells us to offer ourselves to
Him through the act of baptism as Peter tells us here
-- baptism is an outward expression of an inward grace --
it is a symbolic act that proclaims to the world the inward change that has
occurred in our hearts and in our spirits
-- it signifies our new life in Christ that began with
the forgiveness of our sins -- it makes us a part of the body of Christ -- and
makes us one with Christ and one with the church
-- baptism is what we call a sacrament -- the word
sacrament literally means “sacred moment” -- what this means is that when we
are baptized, not only are we present in the act -- but God Himself is
present and is pouring out His grace upon us
--
that is what makes this act of baptism so special and so meaningful in our
lives -- it’s not just us -- it’s God with us
--
and while we use water to represent the waters of creation and the cleansing of
sin in our lives -- we have to keep in mind that we are being baptized with
both water and the Spirit -- when we are baptized, the presence of God through
the Holy Spirit is made alive in us to raise us up from the old life to a new
life in Christ and to empower us to live that new life in victory
IV. Closing
-- one Sunday morning after the worship service, a little
boy came up to Rick Warren, the pastor of
--
He meant "baptized" but he made the right point -- baptism is
advertising that you're a Christian -- it is advertising what Jesus did for us
-- how Jesus stood in our place and died on the cross for our sins and took
upon Himself the fire and wrath and punishment of the Father so that we would
not have to suffer that way but have eternal life through Him
-- in the church we are baptized -- not only because we
are commanded to do so in Scripture -- but because we want to proclaim to the
world that we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and have received
forgiveness for our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus -- and
because we want to proclaim to the world what Jesus has done for us
-- so, that’s why Jesus began His ministry with the act
of baptism -- as a symbol of the purpose for the incarnation and His ministry
on earth, to be culminated in the cross and the empty tomb
-- and
that’s why Christ calls for us to be baptized as an act of obedience -- as a
proclamation of who we are in Him -- and as a witness to the inward change that
has come through our salvation and faith in Jesus
-- so,
as we close this morning, let me encourage you to respond to God’s word by
remembering your baptism -- by reflecting on what your baptism stands for --
and by committing to live out your new life with Christ as the person He has
called you to be -- as the person He has created through His own death and
resurrection and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
-- let’s
pray
1 illustration adapted
from Wayne Jacobson, The Hen and Her Chicks -- http://www.lifestream.org/bodylife.php?blid=23
2 [Source: Preaching Today Illustration from Bob
Beasley, pastor of
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