Christ’s Baptism (Matthew 3:13-17)
Text:
As with many Old Testament prophecies, Isaiah 42:1 has been and will be fulfilled in two stages. The second part of the prophecy, “he will bring justice to the nations” will be accomplished when Christ returns. The first part of the prophecy, “I will put my Spirit upon him,” was fulfilled very clearly Christ was baptized. This is not to say that Jesus did not have the Spirit of God within Him before His baptism. But at His baptism we see it happen visually and unforgettably.
“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.’ ” (Matthew 3:13-17)
Jesus knew what it was He wanted to do, and set out to do it without getting distracted (v. 13). When it was time for Jesus to be baptized, He went straight to John. People were known, in those days, by their occupation. John baptized so many people that he was known as John the Baptist. Everyone knew that if you wanted to get baptized, you went to John. People today have impressions about us and our church. What do you want to be known for? What you’re known for starts with you. Be and do what God wants you to be and do.
Jesus didn’t let sound reasoning get in the way of Him being baptized (v. 14). John was right! Jesus is perfect. He didn’t need to be baptized, because that’s a symbol of getting cleansed from your sins, and Jesus had no sins. Do you ever think you know better than God?
But Jesus responded, “Yeah, I know you’re right. But go ahead and do this so that nobody can find any fault in me whatsoever.” So John consented. “I don’t know what you’re up to, Jesus, but you’re the Lord…” We often have to do the same thing. We need to trust the Lord even when His plan doesn’t make sense to us.
When we consent to God’s will, we get the privilege of witnessing God do amazing things. Picture the scene with me (v. 16-17). I’d venture to say none of them had ever seen anything like this before. This is one of the most beautiful pictures of the Trinity that we see in all of the Bible. We see God the Son get baptized to fulfill all righteousness. We see God the Spirit resting on Him. And we hear God the Father from Heaven declaring His approval of His Son. Think of the great blessing John would have missed had he refused to baptize Jesus. He got to see the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus! Amazing! He got to hear God’s voice speak audibly! Amazing!
As amazing as it was to hear God say those things to Jesus at His baptism, we’ll get to hear something similar because of what our baptism represents. God will say to us, “Welcome home, my good and faithful servant.” Will God say this to us because we’ve been good and faithful servants? No! It’s because Christ has been a good and faithful servant. Since Jesus is God’s Son, with whom God the Father is well pleased, and since Jesus died for our sins, taking our punishment, then God looks at us as if He were looking at His Son.
Pastor Chris Huff has been with us since July 2009. He and his wife, Abby, have four children. Chris is originally from St. Louis, MO and even though he was raised as a city boy, he has a small town heart. Chris is all over the internet, so you can find him on Facebook, Twitter,… (read more)
