Thursday, January 05, 2012
The Baptism of Jesus
Matthew 3:13-17
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.”
Only
Matthew recorded John the Baptist’s opposition to the baptism of Jesus. John, humbled by Jesus, felt like he needed
Jesus to baptize him. John recognized
that Jesus did not fit the requirements for his baptism. Jesus did not need to repent of sin because
he knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). The
words of Jesus to John are important, “it’s proper, to fulfill all righteousness.” This is an
interesting statement because the Law included no requirements for
baptism. John’s message was a message of
repentance and those experiencing it were looking forward to the coming Messiah
who would be righteous and who would bring in righteousness. So Jesus, the provider of righteousness, was
identifying himself with sinners.
But there is another important reason for the
baptism of Jesus. He was pre-enacting
his own baptism. Jesus was proclaiming
something in graphic detail that day.
Jesus was actually preaching without saying anything. Jesus said this in Luke 12:50, “But I have a
baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed.” Jesus had already been baptized by John in
the Jordan so he couldn’t have been referring to that baptism. He was making
reference to his death, burial and resurrection. Jesus is saying that He’s going to be immersed
or plunged into a vat of anguish and suffering.
He’s saying I’m about to undergo a baptism on the cross and in the tomb
and at the resurrection. Baptism is
synonymous with the work of Christ on the cross – a submerging of Himself into
the joy of His passion and mission of redeeming us from sin. The heart and soul of the Bible and the
pivotal point of all human history was the death, burial and resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
The baptism of Jesus was a prophecy at the
beginning of His ministry of what would take place at the end of His ministry.
For example: He stood upright in the water (just as later He would hang upright
on a cross for the sins of the world). He was lowered in the water (just as
later He would be buried in a borrowed tomb).
He was raised out of the water (just as later He would rise from the dead). Think of it – the very first thing Jesus did at the initiation of His
earthly ministry was to give a vivid symbol of what would take place at the
climax of His earthly ministry. He was previewing His passion. He was telling
the world in advance what He was going to do for us on the cross.
There are two very
practical points from this story for all of us.
1) We should thank Jesus everyday for giving us the right to be
righteous. His passion is now my
purpose! 2) If you haven’t been baptized in water you should be. Water baptism is a sermon without saying any
words. What does it say? It says I have identified my life with the
life of Jesus. It says I have been washed from my sins –
baptism is certainly analogous to bathing, to purifying. Baptism pictures the act of cleansing.
It says I have been united with Christ’s body by an act of the Holy
Spirit. “For we were all baptized by One Spirit into one body – whether Jews or
Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given one Spirit to drink” (1
Cor. 12:13). It says I have been set
free. I’ve passed from bondage to freedom, from death to life. Baptism is not necessary for salvation but the Bible doesn’t present it as an option either. For example, Acts 2:38 doesn’t say, “Repent and then if you want to be baptized”. It says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you.”
A great way to start the New Year would be to follow the words and example of Jesus,
Finally, the baptism of Jesus was authenticated by heaven. The voice of God was heard saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” All three persons of the Godhead were present at this event: the Father who spoke, the Son who was baptized and the Holy Spirit who descended upon Jesus like a dove.
When we follow Jesus
we walk in the Spirit’s power and it pleases the Father!
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