Matthew 3:1-17

Please have a seat and turn back to Matthew chapter 3, that's on page 808.

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

If you're needing a Bible, they're just out the door as you came in.

We're beginning a short two-part series in Matthew over this week and next week,

so we're in Matthew 3 today and we'll be in Matthew 4 next week.

If you're anything like me or if you're anything like John the Baptist,

Jesus' baptism is a bit of a surprising and confusing moment, isn't it?

Just before Jesus begins his ministry, his three years of public ministry,

before any preaching or miracles, he's first baptized.

Why? Why do we have this passage?

And why the Spirit? Why a voice from heaven?

Why did Jesus need to be baptized?

Well, to answer this, I want us to look at three key persons in this passage.

Three persons who are revealed in this baptism.

The Son, the Spirit, and the Father.

We're going to look at these three persons in this story,

and when we do, we will see why this baptism happens

and why it's so significant for us today.

But first, let's look at Jesus.

Let's look at the Son, and this is my first point.

The first thing to see, the Son.

So just look at the scene in front of us.

John the Baptist is in the wilderness of Judea,

out in the sticks, middle of nowhere,

probably central Israel to the east,

because John's at the River Jordan.

The River Jordan is this big river that runs north to south

to the east of Israel.

And so John is out in the middle of nowhere,

and what's he been doing there?

Well, it's the best job description in the world.

He's been preaching and baptising.

It's the dream job.

And look what he's been preaching.

Verse 2.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And all sorts of folks are coming to him to be baptised.

But what's this baptism all about?

Well, look at verse 11.

It's a baptism for repentance.

And what were people doing when they were baptised?

Verse 6.

They were confessing their sins.

This baptism is about being made right with God.

Now, we don't need to think that this is a magical baptism

that suddenly makes you sinless.

No, just like our baptism,

this is an outward sign of what needs to happen to the heart.

Our sins need to be washed,

and we need to be made right with God.

And that's because all of John's ministry here,

all that John is doing in this wilderness,

is to get people ready for something.

For something big.

Verse 3.

It's to prepare the way of the Lord.

John knows that the Lord is coming.

God Almighty is coming here to earth.

And so the heart of his message is,

repent and be baptised.

Your sins need to be dealt with.

You need to be washed.

Because God is coming.

And when he comes, he's going to do something.

Verse 11.

He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

He's talking about salvation and judgment here.

John washed with water,

but when the Lord comes,

he will bring true washing with the Spirit.

Salvation.

But he will also bring fire upon the earth.

Judgment.

And so John has been saying,

be prepared.

And look who has been coming to him.

Verse 5.

Then Jerusalem and all Judea

and all the region about the Jordan

were going out to him.

And they were baptised by him in the river Jordan,

confessing their sins.

Crowds have been flooding out to him in the east.

Jerusalem, the capital,

and then all the surrounding region.

It's like people flocking from London

and all the home counties

and then all the southeast.

And they're all getting in their cars

and they're all heading off

to the wilderness on the east coast.

What would that be?

Essex, let's say.

And this shows,

this shows the spiritual state of Israel.

The spiritual state of humanity.

God is coming

and we can't sit back.

We can't ignore it.

No, we need to be prepared.

And that goes for all of us.

God is coming

and we need to be right with him.

And so you have the crowds

all queuing up

along the bank of the River Jordan,

eager to be baptised,

confessing their sin,

knowing the mess of their lives,

cues of sinner

after sinner

after sinner.

And you can imagine

them all lined up.

And imagine if you could ask them

their stories.

They'd say,

you'd find out

he hasn't thought about God

since he was a teenager.

She's been cheating

on her husband.

No one knows it,

but he committed murder

three years ago.

He's full of lies.

She's full of anger.

He's been worshipping

another God.

She's been living for herself.

All of us

could be in that queue.

All these sinners

preparing themselves

for the Lord to come,

bringing their sins,

looking for God

to wash them.

And as you look along

and you reach

the end of the queue,

who joins

to be baptised?

You see

Jesus Christ.

Look at verse 13.

Then Jesus came

from Galilee

to the Jordan

to John

to be baptised

by him.

The sinless

son of God,

the saviour

of the world,

the spotless lamb,

he joins the queue

to be baptised

for repentance.

But how can that be?

Jesus is sinless.

Hebrews tells us

that that man

at the end of the queue

is without sin.

That man

has no uncleanness,

no spot

or blemish

or impurity.

He has never

and will never

do any single thing wrong.

So why is he there?

What's going on here?

Well,

John is as shocked

as we are,

isn't he?

Verse 14.

John would have

prevented him saying,

I need to be baptised

by you

and do you

come to me?

Hold on,

Jesus.

I'm preparing

the way for you.

We're all getting

ready for you.

You're the Lord

and you've come

to be baptised

by me.

No,

no,

no.

I need to be

baptised by you.

I need you

to clean me.

And look at

Jesus' answer,

verse 15.

But Jesus

answered him,

let it be so now

for thus

it is fitting

for us

to fulfil

all righteousness.

For John

to baptise Jesus

and for Jesus

to join this queue

and be baptised

by John,

this needs

to happen

because

it fulfils

all righteousness.

it's God's

will

that this

should happen

and to do

God's will

that is

righteousness.

This

baptism

fulfils

God's

big plan

of salvation,

his will.

John,

if we are

to be obedient

to God

right now,

you need

to baptise me

and I need

to receive

that baptism.

It's the

righteous thing

to do

because

this is

God's plan

that I should

do this.

but why

is being

baptised,

why is

this

God's

plan

of salvation?

Well,

it's because

in this

baptism,

in joining

this crowd,

Jesus

is publicly

identifying

with you.

He is

joining

this

queue

of

sinners

numbered

among

them,

washed

in the

same

water

as

them

to

show

he

is

identifying

with

you.

Jesus

is

identifying

himself

with the

sinner

here.

He's

saying,

I'm

with

them.

These

sinners,

I'm

with

them.

I'm

walking

the same

footsteps

as

them,

the same

water

as

them.

What

they need

to do,

I will

do as

well.

And not

because he's

a sinner,

but because

this is how

he's going

to save

them.

This is

Jesus being

numbered with

the

transgressors.

He's going

to save

them,

he's going

to bring

the spirit

of salvation

to sinners

by first

identifying

with them.

walking

among us,

knowing

us,

joining

us,

carrying

our

burdens.

This

is

Jesus'

first

step

on the

road

to the

cross.

The

cross

where he

bore

our sins,

carried

them,

where he

was

identified

with

them.

For

our

sake,

God

made

him

to be

sin.

Jesus

said,

your

sin

will be

put to

my

name.

And

your

payment,

I will

pay.

All that

you need

to do,

I will

do it

for you.

If you

need to

die,

I will

die for

you.

If you

need to

suffer,

I will

suffer

for you.

And so

if you

need to

be

baptized,

I will

be

baptized

for

you.

And so

this

baptism

is the

first

step

to

the

cross.

The

first

step

in

identifying

with

you.

As the

water

goes over

him in

the

Jordan,

we are

publicly

seeing and

God is

declaring,

this is

the sin

bearer,

the one

who will

carry the

sins of

his people.

And it

is through

this,

this is

how he

will bring

the baptism

of the

Spirit.

This is

how he

will bring

salvation.

He will

be identified

with sinners.

can you

see the

sheer

humility

of Christ

in this

moment?

Christ

didn't

stay up

in heaven.

He didn't

stay up

there just

to keep

his hands

clean the

whole time.

He didn't

stand on

the edge

of earth

avoiding

the muck,

staying

ten feet

away,

saving us

with a

barge

pole.

No,

he came

down into

the dirt,

down into

the water

water

to be

numbered

among

sinners

and to

join

this

queue.

When

we're

making

Christ

known,

maybe it's

to our

neighbours,

our

friends,

maybe even

family,

when we're

making

Christ

known,

we don't

run away

from the

sinner,

do we?

We don't

avoid those

who need

Christ.

No,

we go

to them.

We share

our lives

with them,

don't we?

We spend

time with

them,

we identify

with them.

And why?

Because that's

what Christ

did for

us.

If you

think no

one knows

you,

if you

think no

one cares

about you

or wants

to be

with you,

think

again.

Jesus

came to

identify

with you,

to be

numbered

with you,

to walk

alongside

you and

carry your

burdens.

the Lord

cares.

And if

you don't

know him,

he wants

to know

you.

This was

God's

will,

his big

plan of

salvation,

and Christ

in all

his humility,

he came

to be

obedient to

this task,

to fulfill

all righteousness.

So as we

look at this

scene,

at the sun,

in this river,

why did

Jesus need

to be

baptized,

to be

identified

with you?

But there's

more going

on here,

isn't there?

A lot

more.

Jesus is

not only

baptized,

but the

spirit appears

in this

scene too.

And so to

appreciate what's

going on here,

we need to

look at the

next person

in this

scene,

the spirit,

the spirit.

Look what

happens at

his baptism,

something

remarkable,

verse 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 rest

on him.

The heavens

opened up,

the sky

parts,

and something,

someone comes

down.

The spirit

of God

descends on

Christ,

and he

comes

floating

down like

a dove.

Now we

don't need

to think

that this

is an

actual dove

with feathers.

No,

the spirit

descends

like a

dove.

He's in

some visible

form but

descends in

a dove-like

way.

But that

isn't what

should catch

our attention.

No,

pay attention

to where

he lands.

The spirit

of God

descends and

comes to

rest on

Jesus.

Now hearing

this,

it should

make our

ears tingle.

It should

make us

remember

a very

special

promise by

God.

That God

is going

to send

a saviour,

the Messiah,

the coming

king,

his chosen

servant,

and that

servant

will have

the spirit

of God

upon him.

Just listen

to Isaiah

11 for a

moment.

Just listen

to this.

This is the

promise of

the Messiah

written centuries

before.

There shall

come forth

a shoot

from the

stump of

Jesse,

and a

branch

from his

root

shall

bear

fruit,

and the

spirit

of the

Lord

shall

rest

upon

him,

the

spirit

of

wisdom

and

understanding,

the spirit

of counsel

and might,

the spirit

of knowledge

and the

fear of

the

Lord.

In this

moment,

in this

water,

God is

showing the

world,

this is

the Messiah.

This is

the one

who will

save the

world,

to carry

the sins

of his

people and

be identified

with them.

Now,

we don't need

to think that

this is the

first time

Jesus had

the spirit.

Remember,

he's conceived

by the Holy

Spirit in

Matthew 1.

The spirit

is with him

as soon as

he's conceived,

but this

baptism is

showing in

public for

all the world

to see,

and before

Jesus enters

his ministry,

God is

showing that

this is

the Messiah,

and my

spirit is

with him.

All that

he's about

to do

from now

on,

you need

to realize

he's doing

this as

the Messiah,

and so

all that

he will

do,

his life,

his ministry,

his journey

to the cross,

his obedience,

even to

death,

it will be

done in

the power

of the

spirit.

Jesus

is truly

God,

he is

the almighty

God,

but he's

also truly

man,

and as

man,

he didn't

rely on

his own

strength,

he didn't

live a

godless

existence

just relying

on his

own human

abilities,

no,

as a

man,

he relied

on God,

he relied

on the

Holy Spirit,

and that

doesn't make

him any

less of a

human,

that makes

him the

true

human,

we are

designed to

rely on

God,

we are

made to

have his

spirit,

and we

see here

Jesus is

being the

true man,

one theologian

helpfully said

that the

Holy Spirit

was Christ's

inseparable

companion,

and so

all that

he did,

all that

he did

fulfilling

all righteousness,

bearing our

sin,

achieving

forgiveness,

securing

salvation,

he does

all that

with the

spirit,

that's why

in the

next chapter

we'll see

it next

week,

Jesus was

led up

by the

spirit

into the

wilderness,

the spirit

is with

Jesus

every step

of the

way,

and so

you can

imagine,

as Christ

is walking

this earth,

achieving

all his

work,

the spirit

is with

him,

gathering

all the

blessings

of salvation

as he

goes,

as Christ

achieves

forgiveness

for his

people,

the spirit

gathers that

blessing in,

as Christ

is perfectly

obedient,

the spirit

gathers in

that righteousness,

Christ

achieves

atonement,

the spirit

gathers that

in,

the resurrection,

the spirit

gathers that

in,

all of that

now attached

to the

spirit,

spirit,

which means

when Christ

pours out

that same

spirit,

when you

get the

Holy Spirit,

what do

you get?

You get

all that

Christ has

achieved.

When Christ

baptizes you

with his

spirit,

pours out

his spirit

on you,

you get

all the

blessings

of Christ,

you get

Christ.

This same

spirit,

the spirit

who rested

on Christ

in the

river

Jordan,

he,

this spirit

is given

to you,

which is

why you

need the

Holy Spirit.

You need

this Holy

Spirit.

Jesus had

him,

Jesus needed

him,

and this

Holy Spirit

has everything

Christ has

achieved,

and so you

need him.

If you've

ever heard

Presbyterians

don't think

the Holy

Spirit is

important,

that is

utter

nonsense,

okay?

We are

nothing

without him.

We are

entirely

lost without

him.

There is

no salvation

without the

Holy Spirit.

Kids,

when you

open up the

suitcase of

salvation,

what does

the letter

H stand

for?

Holy Spirit.

God

we need

him.

And it's

when you

follow the

Lord Jesus,

that's when

he gives

you his

spirit.

This

same

spirit,

trust in

him,

and you

get

everything.

But there's

one final

person to

see in this

scene,

or in fact

one person

we need

to hear.

It's the

Father.

And it's

my third

and final

point,

the Father.

the Spirit

comes down

from heaven,

but there's

something else,

isn't there?

A voice,

verse 17.

And behold,

a voice from

heaven said,

this is my

beloved Son,

with whom I

am well

pleased.

This is the

voice of the

Father.

Do you see

that?

He's saying,

this is my

beloved Son.

I am the

Father and

this is my

Son.

You can

open up

textbooks about

Jesus to

hear what

academics have

to say about

him.

You can

read history

books to

see what

history has

to say about

Jesus.

You can

listen to

the news

or politicians

to see what

they think

about Jesus,

or you

can hear

straight from

heaven to

hear what

God thinks

of Jesus.

And it

needs to

stop us

in our

tracks.

What does

God think

of this

person in

the River

Jordan?

This is

my

beloved

Son,

with whom

I am

well

pleased.

One of

the most

important

questions that

you can

be asked,

maybe the

most important

question,

is who

do you

think

Jesus is?

And we

can have

all sorts

of thoughts

about that,

all sorts

of ideas

about Jesus,

but if you

want the

right answer

about him,

we need

to ask,

what does

the Father

think of

Jesus?

us?

And there's

no mistake

here,

God is

tearing open

heaven and

booming down

with crystal

clear voice

to tell us

without doubt,

this is the

Son of God

and the

Father delights

in him.

Now,

the Son of

God,

this is a

really big

full title.

It's three

words,

but it means

so much.

It's kind

of like

saying,

you know,

saying Rafa

Nadal is

a good

tennis

player.

Three

words,

yeah,

sure,

yeah,

he is a

good

tennis

player,

but there's

so much

more that

those three

words mean,

doesn't

it?

Well,

the Son

of God

means a

lot in

the Bible.

Adam

was called

the Son

of God.

Israel,

as a

nation,

was God's

son.

David,

King David

was called

God's son.

The second

person of

the Trinity

is the

eternal

son of

God.

The future

king of

Israel,

who will

rule over

all the

nations,

he was

promised to

be the

son of

God.

The future

Messiah would

be called

the son of

God.

And so,

ever since

the fall,

there has

been this

agonizing

weight.

Who will

this true

son of

God be?

When is

he coming?

Well,

when God

tears open

the heavens

and that

voice comes

down,

God is

saying,

finally,

this is

him.

This is

the second

Adam.

This is

the beginning

of a new

creation.

This is

the true

Israel.

This is

my king

to rule

over the

whole world

and he

is perfect.

I delight

in him.

And so,

let me ask

you,

is this

the Jesus

you know?

this is

this is

why Jesus'

baptism is

so important.

As Jesus

enters into

his ministry

before he

walks the

road to

the cross,

God declares

to the

world who

this man

really is.

This is

my son

who has

come to

save the

world.

God

will

saved.

And we

must never

forget what

the father

thinks of

Jesus.

Whenever we

get embarrassed

or ashamed

of how other

people see

Jesus,

you know in

that moment,

when you know

that moment is

coming,

in that

conversation,

and you know

you're going to

have to say,

yes,

I am a

Christian.

or you

know you're

about to

say,

yeah,

I really

do believe

in Jesus.

And in

that moment,

we can be

embarrassed to

attach our

name,

ourselves to

his name,

can't we?

We know

how awkward

we can feel,

especially when

people look down

on us and

hate us because

of who Jesus

is.

In those

moments,

and this is

important,

in those

moments,

do not care

what they

think about

Jesus.

Care about

what the

Father thinks

about Jesus.

The

Father loves

his Son.

He is

never anything

to be ashamed

of.

He is

worthy.

And when

you have the

Spirit,

when Christ

pours all

that is

his onto

you,

this is

how the

Father thinks

of you.

When you

are in

Christ and

God looks

at you,

he delights

in you

because of

his Son.

You are

his child

in whom

he is

well-pleased.

And so

Christ has

come to

identify with

us so

that we can

identify with

him,

so that the

Father would

love us

along with

him.

And so

will you

come and

follow him?

will you

come and

know him?

Because

he's come

down to

know us.

He's

come down

into these

waters to

know us,

to be

one of

us.

So

praise God.

Jesus

has come to

identify with

you.

Let's

pray.

pray.

Thank you.