The Unveiling of God in Christ (Matt. 3:13-17) (1/11/26)

Let us now ask the Lord to bless the preaching

of his word. Oh Lord our God, we give thanks

unto you that by your sovereign grace you have

made us your people. You have surrounded us with

your mercies and your protecting care. Make us

grateful this morning and this evening, joyful

in your providential care and in your grace.

Take our eyes from our burdens and griefs and

grant that they may always be fixed on your goodness.

and Your grace. Teach us this day and always

the things we need to know so that we may serve

You with all our heart, mind, and being. And

so make the words of my mouth and the meditations

of all our hearts pleasing in Your sight for

the sake of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen. So as a reminder, We are studying the gospel

readings and we do that from Advent That's the

usually the first Sunday in December sometimes

occasionally the last Sunday of November all

the way to Pentecost So what we're doing is for

half the year We are focused completely on studying

Christ and having Christ revealed to us by looking

at his life Today we are starting again with

our gospel reading Matthew chapter 3 beginning

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

in verse 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John

at the Jordan to be baptized by him and John

Tried to prevent him saying I need to be baptized

by you and you are coming to me But Jesus answered

and said Permit it to be so now for thus it is

fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness Then

he allowed him and when he had been baptized

Jesus came up immediately from the water and

behold the heavens were opened to him and he

saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove

and the lighting upon him and Suddenly a voice

came from heaven saying this is my beloved son

in whom I am well pleased These are the words

of Almighty God receive them in your hearts As

we look at this passage, there are three things

that I want you to see today And that is number

one God is revealed more clearly as the triune

God in Jesus baptism God is revealed more clearly

as the triune God Secondly Jesus baptism is his

anointing as the high priest for us. Jesus baptism

is his anointing as the high priest for us. And

finally, Jesus baptism makes him an instrument

of righteousness. Now here's the key though,

so does our baptism. Jesus baptism makes him

an instrument of righteousness and so does our

baptism as Christians particularly reformed Christians.

We are often not adequately surprised by God

We think that we have a lot of intellectual knowledge

about God in our heads They're just so full and

we think that we know God We think that we know

Jesus and the gospel And you see we live in a

world That is constantly striving for surprises

And I think in a way we try to not be surprised

by God by saying I already know that yep And

yes, it is true. It is good for us to be reminded

about the things of Jesus, the things of God.

But it is particularly important that we just

don't sit there and say, I'm settled. There's

nothing else for me to know. You know, we live

in a pop culture that is always looking for the

new and shiny. And so that's one of the reasons

that we step back. It's always talking about

discarding things. Right? Why? You need the new

fashion. Right? So what do you do? You got to

discard the old. There's this new music or entertainment.

I have to go pursue that. There's this new app.

Haven't you heard? And so what do we do? We discard

the old. We go running after the shiny and new.

You know what we see though? That in a pop Culture

full of searching always for the new That we

learn to dispose of our relationships That's

what the normal dating world is right you get

out there And you just got to test the field

test the field so no relationship You're not

thinking about the fact young people listen up

You're not thinking about the fact that that

young lady or that young man someone's future

husband or wife And so that I might get to know

them But I pursue them in such a manner that

I make them think that they're important. And

then I drop them to go pursue the next one. And

you know what we do? We seem to do that with

our theology. Now, in some ways, God does reveal

and make manifest to us these things that we

didn't understand before. And sometimes, it's

so startling that we even wonder if we were saved

before. That's a wonderful thing. That's a wonderful

grace. But we don't want to do that and walk

away from God's very deep and revealing truth

about Himself. But even in the practice of our

Christian life, we settle in and are not surprised

by God at all. We frequently do a mental check.

And we check all the boxes. We already know something

about that Bible story. How many guys have ever

learned about Jesus' baptism before? Raise your

hand. Children, you should put both hands up,

right? You've heard this before. And so what

do we do? We say, as I preach, or you're sitting

in a Sunday school lesson, we check out. I know

that. I know that. I know that. But do you understand

the beauty of God's love, the great way in which

He has revealed in these things? Dearly beloved

we need God to reveal who he is and what this

means for us Our God is so great. He's so mighty.

He's so deep. He is so faithful. He is so gracious

He is so loving and We will spend eternity learning

of his love and his person We need for God to

reveal himself to us So let us be surprised by

God You know Jesus baptism can easily fall into

the category of passing over the passage a lot

like a plate full of stale crackers moldy cheese

and a glass of oxidized wine You know what oxidized

wine is? Okay, that's wine that was left out

in the air too long, and it goes acidic it kind

of like vinegar right Who wants to sit down and

enjoy that? That is not what God's Word is. That's

not what we'll see today. We're gonna go and

we're gonna feast and be surprised that the great

things of God has revealed and made manifest

to us. Let us stay a while and enjoy the gifts

of understanding Jesus baptism. As you know,

we've talked about before, John the Baptizer

was preaching repentance and baptizing folks

who came out to the Jordan River. We're told

that people came from all over, all over the

area, all parts of Judea, right? Those people

that were interested in the things of God. There's

a prophet out there at the Jordan and he's preaching.

Man, I need to go see it. I mean, look, they

didn't have radio or apps or cell phones, TV.

They didn't have newspapers. Everything was word

of mouth. You guys realize it's been 400 years

since there's been a prophet 400 years awaiting

and there's this prophet and he's dressed like

Elijah and he's out at the Jordan River and he's

preaching And we're under oppression The Romans

are ruling over us We've got we've got religious

leaders that are laying heavy burdens on us and

we need God's deliverance Well, let's go out

there And so We see that John declares that there's

a baptism to be had, a baptism of repentance.

And it was all done for the preparation of the

coming of the Lord Jesus, the coming of the Messiah,

the coming day of the Lord. Now it's important

that we see that in the Old Testament is full

of ritual cleansing by the pouring or sprinkling

of water. It is all over the place. We find this

beginning in Leviticus where God instructs his

people and We see it all through the Old Testament

a pouring or sprinkling of water to be cleansed

John's baptism was not a foreign idea to God's

people and Jesus shows up to be baptized by John

And of course, we're told that John tried to

prevent him saying, I need to be baptized by

you. Can you imagine this? He knows who Jesus

is. You know Jesus is the Messiah. And he's even

said, hey, you know what? There's one coming

after me in whose sandals I am not able to carry

or touch who's going to baptize you and really

you being all of us with the spirit and fire.

That's who we need to look for and so Jesus shows

up and John says I I can't baptize you Do you

realize by the way why? John says He wasn't worthy

to carry his Lord's sandals Now I know some of

you out there have funky feet Right and so your

parents say don't take your shoes off in the

car Don't do that to everybody else. That's not

at all what we're talking about what what you

have to understand is is that feet and sandals

were considered very unclean because your feet

walked along the road your sandals walked along

the road and you were encountering all the dust

on the road and Symbolically in the scriptures

the dust of the earth is part of the curse of

sin And that's why the Jews had this obsession

about washing the feet. That's what was symbolically

happening when Jesus stooped down and washed

the feet of his disciples. He was saying, I'm

going to take away your sin. I'm going to cleanse

it. And the curse of sin will no longer stick

to your feet. And so here Jesus says, no. Permit

it to be so now for thus it is fitting to fulfill

all righteousness Now we've talked about this

before and we keep making all these contacts

back to the Old Testament and Sometimes it's

super clear right because it quotes the Old Testament

passage other times. We're not so certain But

here we see and understand what God is saying

if you listen to the readings. If you read the

readings ahead of time, perhaps you saw some

associations. All of the songs that we sang today

are all in reference to what's happening at Christ's

baptism and what is being revealed. And it says

that John allowed him. So what is Jesus talking

about? Fulfillment of what? Jesus certainly did

not need to be baptized for the repentance of

his sins. He was holy. He had never sinned. Jesus

is consciously and obediently conforming to the

will of the Father. Jesus comes to fulfill the

plans of the prophets. Consider Isaiah 11. The

Spirit of Yahweh shall rest upon Him, the Spirit

of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel

and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the

fear of Yahweh. What did the Spirit do? When

the heavens were ripped open and the Spirit descended,

it rested upon Jesus. The Spirit came and He

rested upon Jesus. And then it says, because

of these things, in Isaiah 11, his delight is

in the fear of Yahweh. And he shall not judge

by the sight of his eyes. In other words, he's

not going to look at people and say, oh, they're

dressed right. They have the important position.

No. What did you see Jesus do over and over again?

Says he knew their hearts. He didn't look at

the outside. He knew their thoughts. Jesus it

says in Isaiah 11 nor shall he decide by the

hearing of his ears But with righteousness he

shall judge the poor that is not just poor financially

but poor in heart the humble the contract those

who confess their sins and It goes on in Isaiah

11 and said and decide with equity the meek of

the earth those who have the power They have

some kind of power and they restrain their power.

That's what meekness is in the Bible It says

in Isaiah 11, he shall strike the earth with

the rod of his mouth. He's going to give them

truth, and it's either going to break you or

it's going to destroy you. It says, with the

breath of his lips, he shall slay the wicked.

The righteous shall be the belt of his loins

and the faithfulness the belt of his waist. And

so here, as one commentator puts it, in Jesus'

baptism, Jesus becomes The spirit -filled instrument

for the establishing of God's righteousness In

Jesus Baptism it makes him an instrument of righteousness

And of course we see here that there's this big

manifestation this big reveal First there's the

manifestation of the three persons of the Godhead

the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit In the

Gospel of Mark, in his account, we're told that

the heavens were torn open. What divided heaven

and earth? The firmament was torn asunder, it

says. And this big revelation came down. The

Spirit fell and came down, and God spoke the

Father. And what did the Father say? This is

my son in whom I am well pleased. And we see

throughout the gospels that God the Father declares

that Jesus is his son. Here the Father says that

he is well pleased with Jesus. And later on at

the Mount of Transfiguration, he will say, this

is my son. Listen to what he says. The spirit

descends in the form of the dove. Once again,

we see this creation imagery what the spirit

hovering over the waters? Jesus is going to bring

in the new heavens and earth through his words

and his actions and He will become the high priest

who will make a permanent atonement for our sins

in Jesus baptism the Trinity has made manifest

for us We receive an epiphany an illumination

a light an understanding of who the Trinity is

God illuminates to us the great trinitarian society

of love The father glorifying the son and the

spirit the son glorifying the father in the spirit

and the spirit glorifying the father and the

son So we see this We also see that in Jesus

baptism it is his ordination as the ancient and

rightful high priest as we've previously Previously

discussed Jesus is the son of David from the

tribe of Judah Jesus is the rightful king and

he is supplanting Herod the false king Remember

Herod is an Edomite He is descended from Esau

He's not from Judah He is the false brother and

false king. The high priests of Jesus' day are

not the sons of Zadok. You say, well, what does

that matter? In Ezekiel, God declares that following

the exile that the sons of Zadok would leave

priesthood. Since the second century BC, several

hundred years after the exile, we find That certain

Levites began to pay the ruling empires first

the Greeks and then the Romans So that they would

be able to be and have the right to be the high

priestly family Annas and Caiaphas those high

priests of Jesus day were false high priests

and We find that they don't as we look through

the Gospels They don't even believe in the Living

God and they don't even believe in the resurrection

All they're concerned about is they want to pay

off the Romans so they can stay in power and

influence. And so Jesus comes and in his baptism

he receives his priestly ordination. Now according

to the Old Testament there are three things that

are required to ordain a priest. Number one,

you have to have a call. We see in Exodus 28

that God calls Aaron. And you see, what does

Jesus do? I mean, what does God the Father do

at his baptism? He speaks. He makes the call.

He says, Jesus is the Son of God in whom he's

well pleased. And the Spirit descends, fulfilling

Isaiah 11. And we find out later in Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 5 · chapter mention

5 it says this and no man takes this honor to

himself But he who was called by God just as

Aaron was so also Christ did not glorify himself

to become high priest But it was said He who

said to him you are my son and of course that

echoes Psalm 2 where it says you're my son today.

I've begotten you And so Hebrews confirms to

us what we were already seeing. If it was a little

fuzzy, Hebrews is clarifying it. God made the

call that he has set his son on the throne and

that he is the priest called like Aaron. But

he's not just like Aaron, no. Hebrews four goes

on or excuse me five goes on and says to us as

he also says in another place You are a priest

forever speaking of Jesus according to the order

of Micah's a deck Which is a quote of Psalm 110

which we sung today And why is that important

well Micah's a deck was a priest before Aaron

We also understand when you translate the Hebrew

for Micah's a deck it is king of righteousness.

He is a priest who is a king of righteousness.

The second thing that we need to understand is

you need to be 30 years old. In Luke's account

of Jesus' baptism, we learn that Jesus was 30

years old. In Numbers chapter 4 in two places,

Numbers 4 · chapter mention

it speaks to the fact that a priest must be 30

years old. Finally, The last thing that has to

happen for a priestly ordination is to be washed.

Numbers 8 tells us this, take the Levites from

among the children of Israel and cleanse them

ceremonially. Thus you shall do to them to cleanse

them. Sprinkle water of purification on them.

Now, you had to do this, that's part of it, but

you know who had to do it? A priest. A priest

had to perform that washing. Guess what? If you

didn't know this already, John the Baptizer is

a son of Zacharias, a Levite who served in the

temple in the division of Abijah. That is to

say, he wasn't a high priest, but there was a

division of priests that took rotation turns

and going into the temple and serving in the

temple. If John's father is a priest, what is

John? He's a priest. Hebrews 7 tells us this.

By so much more, Jesus has become a surety of

a better covenant. Also, there were many priests

because they were prevented by death from continuing.

But he because he continues forever. That's Jesus

has an unchangeable priesthood Therefore he is

also able to save to the uttermost Those who

come to God through him since he always lives

to make intercession for them Hebrews 7 goes

on and says for such a high priest was fitting

for us who was holy harmless undefiled separate

from sinners and has become higher than the heavens."

And he says this, who he does not need daily

as those high priests to offer up sacrifices

for his own sins and then for the people's. For

this he did once for all when he offered up himself.

For the law appoints his high priest men who

have weaknesses. But the word of the oath, which

came after the law, appoints the son who has

been perfected forever. Dearly beloved, this

is such great news. Jesus' baptism makes Him

an eternal high priest. And it makes Him an instrument

of righteousness. And so does our baptism in

Him. Remember Romans chapter 6 and about the

Romans 6 · chapter mention

question, what shall we say then? Shall we continue

in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not.

How shall we who died to sin live any longer

in it? Here it is. Listen to this. Or do you

not know that as many of us were baptized into

Christ Jesus, were baptized unto his death, therefore

we were buried with him through baptism into

death, and that just as Christ was raised from

the dead by the glory of the Father, even so

also we should walk in the newness of life. For

if we have been united together in the likeness

of his death, certainly we also shall be in the

likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that

our old man was crucified with him, that the

body of sin might be done away with, that we

should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who

has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died

with Christ, we believe that we shall also live

with him, knowing that Christ hath been raised

from the dead. Dies no more Death no longer has

dominion over him For the death he died he died

to sin once for all but the life that he lives

he lives to God Likewise you this is a plural

you this is all y 'all who are baptized and part

of the church Likewise, you all also reckon yourselves

to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in

Christ our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign

in your mortal body, that you should obey it

in its lusts. And do not present your members

as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but

present yourselves to God as being alive from

the dead. and your members, here it is, and your

members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Just as Jesus at his baptism is ordained as a

priest and he is ordained to be an instrument

of righteousness in the world, so too are you.

You can't simply say, I go to church, I'm baptized,

I can live any way I like, we live in grace.

I can sin any way that I want. No, you cannot.

Because in your baptism, you become an instrument

of righteousness, not just theoretically or inside

your head, but you become an instrument of righteousness

in this world. Husbands, if you love your wives,

if you say you love your wife, then you are to

be an instrument of righteousness in her life

and in your children's lives. So too, wives and

mothers, be an instrument of righteousness, building

them up. You're an instrument in your jobs to

righteousness. In your relationships, you're

an instrument of righteousness. Why? Because

you've been ordained. You've been called by God.

The work of the high priest is finished in Christ

Jesus. Dearly beloved you are no longer in bondage

to sin Reigning sin is canceled by Christ on

the cross You were united to Christ in your baptism

So be conformed to Christ and put off remaining

sin for you are an instrument of righteousness

in this world You know that part of the prayer

of our Lord that we sang today thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven That is your call.

It's a petition to God to be sure, but it is

also your call to take all that you've been given.

Kids, look up here. Children, look up here. Are

you looking? Are you listening? God has put you

in charge of certain things. It might be your

bedroom. It might be setting the table. It might

be picking up sticks in the yard, whatever it

is that God has placed you an authority over.

You are to do it in a way That pleases God in

a way that reflects the God of heaven So when

you clean your room you do it with a smile and

joy because you have a room Because you have

a mom and dad you have a shelter over you you

have Christ's great Forgiveness in your life

and you've been baptized and you belong to him

So to you adults everything God has put you in

charge of, no matter how small. Do it in a way

that God's will is done here on earth as it is

in heaven. Finally, Titus 3 tells us that we

are baptized to be ready for every good work.

We are saved to serve. Paul goes on to say that

we were once rebels, slaves to our appetites,

given to hatred. Now we are to speak evil of

no man, but be courteous, to be honest, to be

faithful workers, and careful to maintain every

good work. That is to say, in Christ Jesus, in

our baptisms, we are called to be instruments

of righteousness in the world. The triune God

revealed himself to us at Jesus baptism. Jesus

became a more perfect and eternal high priest

for us and so his baptism made him an instrument

of righteousness in this world and so too our

baptisms make us instruments of righteousness

in this world to the glory of God. Let us pray.

Lord we thank you for your word that your word

is truth. that your word is joy and peace to

our hearts. We thank you that your word promises

us victory in Jesus Christ. Help us as we pray

to remember our Lord's baptism and to live with

the surprise of your grace to us in our baptisms.

Make us ever mindful of how rich we are in Christ

our Lord. In his name we pray, amen.