Sermon

The Baptism of Jesus

Christ the King Church Sermons

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  1. June 2nd, 1953, London, England, Westminster Abbey.

  2. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned.

  3. Crowned Queen of England.

  4. She had already was the queen by birthright,

  5. but on that day, she was inaugurated as Queen of England.

  6. And it came to a climax when the Archbishop of Canterbury

  7. brought the four-pound crown of St. Edwards

  8. and placed that upon her brow.

  9. And everybody in Westminster Abbey said,

  10. God save the queen!

  11. Matthew 3, 13-17, the baptism of Jesus

  12. is the inauguration of His kingly reign on earth.

  13. Let's read this together.

  14. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John.

  15. John the Baptist.

  16. To be baptized by Him.

  17. John would have prevented Him saying,

  18. I need to be baptized by you, and you come to Me?

  19. But Jesus answered him,

  20. Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us

  21. to fulfill all righteousness.

  22. Then John consented.

  23. And when Jesus was baptized,

  24. immediately He went up from the water,

  25. and behold, the heavens were opened to Him.

  26. And He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove

  27. and coming to rest on Him.

  28. And behold, a voice from heaven said,

  29. This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.

  30. This baptism of Jesus is a big event.

  31. And what we see in this little passage,

  32. really the focus is on what happens

  33. leading up to the baptism,

  34. and then what happens immediately after the baptism.

  35. There's really not much ink on the baptism itself.

  36. And so this morning what we're going to do is

  37. we're going to focus on what happens beforehand

  38. and what immediately follows afterwards.

  39. But in both, there's some identifying going on.

  40. In the first, verses 3-15,

  41. Jesus, the sinless one, identifies

  42. with the sinners He came to save.

  43. And then in the second section,

  44. verses 16-17,

  45. Jesus is revealed.

  46. He's identified for who He is.

  47. So let's walk through Matthew's account

  48. of the baptism of Jesus.

  49. Two major sections.

  50. What happens before, 13-15.

  51. What happens afterwards,

  52. verses 16-17.

  53. Let's take a look.

  54. Verse 13.

  55. The first thing we notice

  56. is that Jesus came from Galilee

  57. to be baptized by John in the Jordan.

  58. Now all four Gospels record the baptism of Jesus.

  59. And it's actually Mark's Gospel

  60. that states specifically

  61. that Jesus was coming from Nazareth in Galilee.

  62. And we've looked at that a little bit before

  63. a couple weeks ago.

  64. Nazareth.

  65. He will be called a Nazarene, 223.

  66. It's a despised place.

  67. A despicable place.

  68. You don't want to be known

  69. for being from Nazareth.

  70. Remember Nathaniel?

  71. John chapter 1.

    John 1 chapter mention

  72. Does anything good come out of Nazareth?

  73. Jesus came out of Nazareth.

  74. So Jesus comes from Galilee,

  75. from Nazareth,

  76. and He is on a mission

  77. to see this John by the Jordan.

  78. Now it was a 60-mile walk

  79. as the crow flies.

  80. And Jesus was purposed

  81. to find John.

  82. You see that little phrase

  83. in verse 13,

  84. then Jesus came from Galilee

  85. to the Jordan,

  86. to John,

  87. to be baptized by Him.

  88. And the original kind of language

  89. of the New Testament,

  90. it's full of purpose.

  91. He is purposefully going

  92. to the Jordan

  93. to be baptized by John.

  94. So it would be like this.

  95. I mean, let's say that you're outside

  96. splitting one in your house

  97. and you see Jesus walking by

  98. on His way down

  99. to be baptized by John.

  100. You're like,

  101. hey Jesus,

  102. you want to split some wood with me?

  103. And Jesus would be like,

  104. you know what?

  105. I've got a place to be.

  106. I'm sorry.

  107. I'm on my way down

  108. to the Jordan right now.

  109. Maybe I'm on the flip trip.

  110. I'll stop by.

  111. But the point is,

  112. Jesus is purposefully

  113. heading to the Jordan

  114. to be baptized by John.

  115. It's very purposeful.

  116. He is going to John

  117. to be baptized by John

  118. in order to fulfill

  119. the will of His Father,

  120. in order to fulfill

  121. all righteousness.

  122. Now, I just want to remind you

  123. of something.

  124. John the Baptist.

  125. The whole point of John's ministry

  126. is to prepare the way

  127. of the Lord.

  128. Look back at Matthew 3,

    Matthew 3:3

  129. verse 3.

  130. For this is He

  131. who is spoken of by the prophet,

  132. speaking of John the Baptist,

  133. the voice of the one

  134. crying in the wilderness,

  135. prepare the way of the Lord.

  136. And what Matthew is doing

  137. for us there is saying,

  138. hey, Isaiah 40, verse 3,

    Isaiah 40:3

  139. the voice crying out

  140. in the wilderness,

  141. that's John the Baptist.

  142. And what he's also saying is,

  143. John the Baptist

  144. is preparing the way

  145. for God, Yahweh.

  146. That's Jesus.

  147. Emmanuel.

  148. God in the flesh.

  149. And so,

  150. what we see happening here,

  151. even this baptism

  152. is part of John's

  153. preparing the way

  154. for the Lord

  155. in order to fulfill

  156. all righteousness.

  157. So,

  158. Jesus arrives on the scene.

  159. It's the first time

  160. we see the grown Jesus

  161. in the Gospel of Matthew.

  162. I know I've been waiting

  163. for this.

  164. Jesus arrives.

  165. And in verses 14 and 15,

  166. we see a little bit

  167. of a disagreement

  168. between John the Baptist

  169. and Jesus,

  170. God in the flesh.

  171. It's really interesting.

  172. Guess who wins?

  173. John objects to something,

  174. but Jesus prevails.

  175. Now,

  176. just a little background.

  177. There are four Gospels.

  178. Another one of the Gospels

  179. is written by John.

  180. Not John the Baptist.

  181. Another John.

  182. And in the Gospel

  183. according to John,

  184. in John 1.29,

  185. where the baptism of Jesus

  186. is recorded,

  187. Jesus shows up

  188. and when John the Baptist

  189. first sees Jesus

  190. coming to Him,

  191. John the Baptist says,

  192. Behold,

  193. the Lamb of God

  194. who takes away

  195. the sins of the world.

  196. That's how He announced Him.

  197. So,

  198. according to John,

  199. the Gospel writer,

  200. even at this point,

  201. John the Baptist

  202. knew that the mission

  203. of Jesus was to take away

  204. the sins of the world.

  205. And He was going to

  206. take away the sins

  207. of the world

  208. by being a sacrificial Lamb.

  209. Behold,

  210. the Lamb of God.

  211. That plays upon

  212. a rich Old Testament

  213. ritual tradition

  214. of blemishless,

  215. spotless lambs

  216. being offered

  217. for sinful people.

  218. And so,

  219. in John 1,

  220. John the Baptist says,

  221. Hey,

  222. there's the one

  223. who's going to be sacrificed

  224. through the sins

  225. of the world.

  226. Well,

  227. and back in

  228. chapter 3 of Matthew,

  229. verse 11,

  230. remember what

  231. John the Baptist

  232. said of Jesus?

  233. He said,

  234. He who's coming after me

  235. is mightier than I,

  236. whose sandals

  237. I'm not worthy to carry.

  238. John knows

  239. whose presence

  240. he's in.

  241. He might not know

  242. it fully,

  243. but he knows.

  244. He knows

  245. that the one

  246. who's come to him,

  247. the one who's just

  248. arrived from Galilee,

  249. is the one

  250. mightier than he.

  251. This is Emmanuel.

  252. God with us.

  253. This is the one,

  254. the spotless Lamb of God

  255. who will take away

  256. the sins of the world.

  257. Now,

  258. why I tell you this

  259. is to help you understand

  260. why John the Baptist

  261. has a little bit of issue

  262. with baptizing Jesus.

  263. Look at verse 14.

  264. John would have

  265. prevented him.

  266. And the language there

  267. is,

  268. it wasn't just kind of

  269. one like,

  270. no,

  271. I can't do this,

  272. Jesus.

  273. It was like multiple.

  274. Like,

  275. I don't think so.

  276. No,

  277. I don't think this is right.

  278. No,

  279. I don't think so,

  280. Jesus.

  281. And he says,

  282. I need to be baptized.

  283. I need to be baptized

  284. by you,

  285. and you come to me.

  286. John is very aware

  287. of his own sinfulness,

  288. and he's also aware

  289. that the one who

  290. mightier than him

  291. who just came to him

  292. is the sinless one.

  293. I need to be baptized

  294. by you,

  295. and you come to me.

  296. In other words,

  297. it's like John saying,

  298. Jesus,

  299. why are you coming

  300. to be baptized

  301. with my baptism?

  302. John's baptism

  303. was a baptism

  304. of repentance

  305. for sin.

  306. People confessing

  307. their sins

  308. going down

  309. in the water

  310. saying,

  311. no,

  312. I'm not going

  313. to do this.

  314. It's like I'm dead

  315. to this

  316. and being brought up

  317. out of the water

  318. saying,

  319. I'm living for God now.

  320. It's like John

  321. is saying,

  322. Jesus,

  323. you don't have any sin.

  324. You don't need

  325. to be baptized

  326. with my baptism.

  327. It's like John was,

  328. did Jesus forget

  329. that he was sinless?

  330. Throughout the New Testament,

  331. we learn that Jesus

  332. lived a life

  333. without ever sinning.

  334. Not once.

  335. Ever.

  336. He's 30 years old

  337. right here

  338. at the Jordan.

  339. 30 years

  340. never sinning.

  341. Not once.

  342. It's just not

  343. not sinning.

  344. It's always pleasing.

  345. Everything he did,

  346. he was pleasing

  347. to God,

  348. his Father.

  349. He lived a perfect life.

  350. A perfect life

  351. of obedience

  352. to God.

  353. A life we could

  354. never live ourselves.

  355. It's like Jesus

  356. is the gold standard.

  357. I'm seriously,

  358. think about it this way.

  359. Could you imagine

  360. being a brother,

  361. half-brother,

  362. or half-sister

  363. of Jesus growing up?

  364. Do you know

  365. what you would hear

  366. daily

  367. from Mary and Joseph?

  368. Mike,

  369. Mike,

  370. why can't you

  371. be more like Jesus?

  372. Mike,

  373. can you just pick up

  374. your room like Jesus?

  375. Mike,

  376. we do the dishes

  377. like Jesus does

  378. the dishes.

  379. Mike,

  380. sinless.

  381. Perfect sin.

  382. Could you imagine

  383. growing up with Jesus

  384. as your brother?

  385. Man.

  386. Jesus is the gold standard.

  387. He never sinned once.

  388. Let me give you

  389. a couple passages

  390. that talk about

  391. Jesus' sinlessness.

  392. 2 Corinthians 5.21,

  393. it's one of my favorite.

  394. The Apostle Paul says,

  395. for our sake,

  396. God made Jesus

  397. to be sin

  398. who knew no sin.

  399. Who knew no sin.

  400. Why?

  401. So that in Him,

  402. Jesus,

  403. we might become

  404. the righteousness of God.

  405. You know what's amazing

  406. about the Gospel

  407. of Jesus Christ?

  408. Let me tell you.

  409. It's not just

  410. you're forgiven

  411. of your sin.

  412. When a sinner realizes

  413. what God has done

  414. for them in Jesus

  415. and that God offers

  416. them salvation,

  417. and that a sinner

  418. comes to God by faith

  419. repenting of their sin,

  420. here's what happens.

  421. God takes your sin

  422. and puts it on Jesus.

  423. He considers it on Christ.

  424. His wrath poured out

  425. on Jesus.

  426. And your sin is forgiven.

  427. All of it.

  428. All of it in full.

  429. It's amazing.

  430. But that's not all of it.

  431. In the same moment

  432. that you believe,

  433. not only is your sin

  434. imputed on Jesus,

  435. Christ's righteousness,

  436. His gold standard of living,

  437. is imputed to you.

  438. You're made perfect

  439. in God's eyes

  440. with the righteousness

  441. of Jesus.

  442. That's stinking awesome.

  443. And so not only am I

  444. forgiven of all my sin,

  445. I'm made pleasing

  446. in God's sight

  447. with a righteousness

  448. not my own.

  449. And I can't shake it.

  450. God's declared me

  451. righteous in His sight.

  452. It's a work of God.

  453. And it's because of Him

  454. who knew no sin.

  455. But there's another passage.

  456. Hebrews 14, 15.

  457. For we do not have

  458. a high priest

  459. who is unable

  460. to sympathize

  461. with our weaknesses.

  462. Jesus knows

  463. Jesus knows

  464. our weaknesses.

  465. But one who

  466. in every respect

  467. has been tempted

  468. as we are

  469. yet without sin.

  470. Not only does He

  471. identify with our weaknesses,

  472. He's been tempted

  473. as we've been tempted.

  474. He knows

  475. what it's like

  476. to be tempted.

  477. Yet He's never sinned.

  478. Who knew no sin

  479. yet without sin.

  480. Our Bibles are clear

  481. that Jesus was

  482. the sinless one.

  483. And John knew

  484. that this 30-year-old man,

  485. his cousin,

  486. was the sinless

  487. Lamb of God.

  488. And he didn't need

  489. to be baptized.

  490. He didn't need

  491. to repent.

  492. There was no sin

  493. to confess.

  494. He didn't need

  495. to confess.

  496. So you kind of

  497. get the question.

  498. You kind of get

  499. the reason why

  500. John the Baptist

  501. is like,

  502. I think we've got

  503. the Rolls chair

  504. turned around here.

  505. You should be

  506. baptizing me.

  507. Why are you coming

  508. for me to baptize you?

  509. You get John's point?

  510. So what is Jesus saying?

  511. Look at verse 15.

  512. Jesus answered him,

  513. let it be so now

  514. for thus it is fitting

  515. for us to fulfill

  516. all righteousness.

  517. righteousness.

  518. Then John the Baptist

  519. consented.

  520. Okay.

  521. So John was right.

  522. Jesus didn't need

  523. to be baptized

  524. because of his own

  525. sinfulness.

  526. That's not why

  527. Jesus was being baptized.

  528. Jesus was being baptized

  529. in order to fulfill

  530. all righteousness.

  531. So what is that

  532. all about?

  533. Here's what Jesus

  534. is doing in his baptism.

  535. Remember,

  536. he's the king.

  537. Remember,

  538. he came to represent

  539. a people

  540. whom he would save.

  541. So here's what

  542. he's doing at the baptism.

  543. He is identifying

  544. with the sinners

  545. he came to save.

  546. He's being numbered

  547. with the transgressors.

  548. Though he himself

  549. never transgressed.

  550. He's becoming

  551. our representative.

  552. He's becoming

  553. our representative.

  554. This is why

  555. Jesus was baptized.

  556. In order to fill

  557. all righteousness,

  558. Jesus had to

  559. represent a people.

  560. In order to represent

  561. a sinful people,

  562. he had to identify

  563. with their sinfulness.

  564. And so he's baptized

  565. with the baptism of John.

  566. This is all about

  567. the messianic mission

  568. to save a people

  569. for himself.

  570. To establish

  571. his active reign

  572. on earth

  573. to save sinners.

  574. sinners.

  575. It's why he came.

  576. If baptism

  577. symbolized

  578. dying to one's sin,

  579. Jesus

  580. being baptized

  581. is him saying,

  582. I'm going to die

  583. for your sins.

  584. This is about

  585. his saving work

  586. that he came to do.

  587. I'm your representative

  588. king.

  589. The sinless one

  590. and I'm identifying

  591. you with you,

  592. my sinners.

  593. You know what's

  594. really ironic

  595. about all this?

  596. That the supposed

  597. leaders of

  598. the Jews,

  599. the Pharisees

  600. and Sadducees

  601. in verse 7,

  602. they came to

  603. the water too.

  604. And they were

  605. sinners.

  606. Yet they were

  607. unwilling to be

  608. baptized.

  609. And the irony is

  610. Jesus,

  611. the sinless one,

  612. was more than

  613. willing to be

  614. baptized.

  615. In fact,

  616. he had to convince

  617. the baptizer

  618. to baptize him.

  619. It points to

  620. Jesus being the

  621. rightful leader

  622. of his people.

  623. So as part of

  624. John's role in

  625. preparing the way

  626. of the Lord,

  627. he had to

  628. baptize Jesus

  629. so that the

  630. sinless one

  631. could publicly

  632. identify with the

  633. sinful people

  634. he came to save

  635. in order to

  636. fulfill all

  637. righteousness.

  638. And he

  639. consented.

  640. He baptized

  641. him.

  642. You know,

  643. there's a couple

  644. things we can

  645. walk away from

  646. this section

  647. realizing that

  648. Jesus is the

  649. sinless one.

  650. And his

  651. sinlessness did

  652. not keep him

  653. from identifying

  654. with us sinners.

  655. Isn't that good

  656. news?

  657. He's not surprised

  658. by your sin.

  659. And he's the

  660. representative one.

  661. In his

  662. sinlessness,

  663. he came to

  664. identify with

  665. us in order

  666. to save us.

  667. He would

  668. eventually identify

  669. with our sin

  670. to the point of

  671. taking our sin

  672. onto himself.

  673. So this first

  674. section,

  675. before the

  676. baptism,

  677. Jesus

  678. identifies

  679. himself

  680. with

  681. sinners.

  682. sinners,

  683. the baptism

  684. points to

  685. him saying,

  686. I'm the

  687. sinless one

  688. who have

  689. come to

  690. identify with

  691. you,

  692. sinners.

  693. So now we

  694. move to

  695. after his

  696. baptism,

  697. verses 16

  698. and 17.

  699. I mean,

  700. I just want to

  701. remind you,

  702. we're told like

  703. next to nothing

  704. about the

  705. baptism itself.

  706. In verse 16,

  707. we read this,

  708. and when Jesus

  709. was baptized,

  710. immediately he

  711. went up from

  712. the water.

  713. he was

  714. immersed in

  715. the water,

  716. and he came

  717. out of the

  718. Jordan.

  719. Just on a

  720. side note,

  721. we practice

  722. baptism by

  723. immersion here

  724. at Christ

  725. the King

  726. Church.

  727. And what it

  728. points to is

  729. being placed

  730. into Jesus,

  731. his death,

  732. and being

  733. raised with

  734. Christ to

  735. newness of

  736. life.

  737. What occupies

  738. Matthew's

  739. attention,

  740. and therefore

  741. ours though,

  742. is what

  743. immediately

  744. follows Jesus

  745. coming up

  746. out of the

  747. water.

  748. And there's

  749. some really

  750. interesting

  751. phrases.

  752. So Jesus

  753. comes up

  754. out of the

  755. water,

  756. he's dripping

  757. wet with

  758. the water

  759. of the

  760. Jordan,

  761. and then

  762. there's some

  763. really interesting

  764. things happen.

  765. The heavens

  766. open up,

  767. the Spirit

  768. of God

  769. descends and

  770. rests upon

  771. him,

  772. and then

  773. there's this

  774. voice from

  775. heaven that

  776. says the

  777. most interesting

  778. things.

  779. This is my

  780. beloved son,

  781. with whom

  782. I'm well

  783. pleased.

  784. And so

  785. immediately

  786. following his

  787. baptism,

  788. Jesus is still

  789. dripping wet,

  790. and something

  791. happens on

  792. this kind

  793. of God

  794. scale.

  795. We have a

  796. triune event

  797. going on.

  798. We've got the

  799. Son, the second

  800. person of the

  801. Trinity, we've

  802. got the Spirit,

  803. the third person

  804. of the Trinity,

  805. the Spirit

  806. descending upon

  807. him, and of

  808. course we've

  809. got the first

  810. person of the

  811. Trinity, the

  812. Father.

  813. It's him who's

  814. speaking.

  815. Jesus'

  816. baptism in this

  817. inauguration of

  818. his kingship is

  819. a triune event.

  820. The heavens

  821. open.

  822. This phrase

  823. shows up in

  824. different spots

  825. in your Bible.

  826. Ezekiel 1.1,

  827. Acts 7.56,

  828. that's where

  829. Stephen is being

  830. stoned, and the

  831. heavens open to

  832. him, and he

  833. sees Jesus at

  834. the right hand

  835. of God the

  836. Father.

  837. Revelation 4.1,

  838. Revelation 19.11,

  839. the heavens open.

  840. There's a

  841. revelation that

  842. takes place.

  843. A revealing that

  844. happens, initiated

  845. by God, revealing

  846. something to

  847. others.

  848. What is he

  849. revealing?

  850. What is he

  851. showing?

  852. He's revealing who

  853. this Jesus is.

  854. He's going to

  855. show us, the

  856. triune God's

  857. going to show

  858. us who this

  859. Jesus is.

  860. This is his

  861. inauguration day.

  862. The day that he

  863. publicly begins

  864. his ministry, his

  865. reign on earth.

  866. This one, just

  867. baptized, is the

  868. messianic king.

  869. And he's going to

  870. take the throne of

  871. his descendant

  872. David.

  873. David.

  874. So what we're

  875. going to see

  876. here is this

  877. public announcement

  878. that Jesus is

  879. the king.

  880. His baptism is the

  881. inauguration of his

  882. reign on earth.

  883. It's the start of

  884. his ministry.

  885. So the heavens

  886. open up,

  887. and the Spirit of

  888. God descends like a

  889. dove and rests

  890. upon him.

  891. Like I said, the

  892. Spirit is the second

  893. person of the

  894. Trinity.

  895. He's described

  896. throughout our Bibles,

  897. not as an it, but

  898. as a who.

  899. The Spirit of God

  900. is a he.

  901. He's a person, and

  902. he's fully God.

  903. And he is here

  904. shown as a dove

  905. coming to rest upon

  906. Jesus.

  907. Jesus, it was just

  908. spoken of him, John

  909. the Baptist, as the

  910. one who will baptize

  911. with the Holy Spirit

  912. and with fire.

  913. Same spirit.

  914. And so you read

  915. this, and you see

  916. that the Spirit

  917. descends upon Jesus,

  918. and you may be

  919. thinking, well, this

  920. is the empowering of

  921. Jesus in his humanity

  922. for the work of

  923. ministries about to

  924. undertake.

  925. And you would be

  926. right.

  927. Look at 4.1.

  928. The Spirit leads

  929. him into the

  930. wilderness to be

  931. tempted by the

  932. devil, to

  933. strengthen him.

  934. But that's not all

  935. that's going on here.

  936. Remember, this is

  937. Inauguration Day.

  938. Jesus is Emmanuel,

  939. God with us.

  940. Matthew has taken a

  941. lot of pains to show

  942. us up to this point

  943. that he is

  944. descendant from

  945. David.

  946. He's in the

  947. Messianic line.

  948. It's his right to be

  949. king over the throne

  950. of David.

  951. And this is his

  952. inauguration day.

  953. Remember back in 1

  954. Samuel 16, I

  955. mentioned this a few

  956. weeks ago.

  957. Saul, King Saul, has

  958. proven to be a

  959. doofus.

  960. And God has told him,

  961. I'm taking this

  962. kingdom away from you

  963. and I'm going to give

  964. it to another.

  965. And so he sends

  966. Samuel, the prophet,

  967. to Bethlehem, to

  968. Jesse's house.

  969. It turns out that

  970. Jesse has some stud

  971. boys.

  972. Samuel walks in.

  973. He looks at this one

  974. guy and says, surely

  975. this is the king.

  976. Look at him.

  977. He's good looking.

  978. Look at his veins

  979. popping out of his

  980. arms.

  981. Surely that's the

  982. king.

  983. God says, no.

  984. And so the other

  985. brothers are rolled

  986. by Samuel.

  987. And God every time

  988. is like, no, no,

  989. not that one.

  990. No, no, no.

  991. Nope, not that one.

  992. Nope, nope, nope,

  993. nope, nope.

  994. Eventually there's no

  995. more brothers in the

  996. house.

  997. So Samuel says, are

  998. there any other

  999. brothers?

  1000. And Jesse responds

  1001. by saying, well,

  1002. there's this one

  1003. other one out

  1004. shepherding the sheep

  1005. right now.

  1006. Samuel says, go get

  1007. them.

  1008. David walks in.

  1009. God says to Samuel,

  1010. this is the one.

  1011. Anoint him.

  1012. And he anoints them

  1013. with oil.

  1014. And then in 1633,

  1015. we read this.

  1016. And the spirit of the

  1017. Lord rushed upon David

  1018. from that day forward.

  1019. The spirit of God

  1020. came upon David from

  1021. that day forward.

  1022. What we see happening

  1023. in Matthew chapter 3

    Matthew 3 chapter mention

  1024. is the spirit of God

  1025. coming upon the

  1026. newly inaugurated

  1027. king.

  1028. God setting apart

  1029. Jesus as the

  1030. messianic king.

  1031. The king who's got

  1032. rightful claim to the

  1033. throne of David.

  1034. Whose kingdom will

  1035. expand through the

  1036. nations.

  1037. So this spirit

  1038. descending is not

  1039. just an empowering.

  1040. It is a declaring.

  1041. It is a setting

  1042. apart.

  1043. This is the king.

  1044. He is the

  1045. messianic king.

  1046. The long awaited

  1047. one.

  1048. And his rule,

  1049. act of reign,

  1050. is starting

  1051. right now.

  1052. The heavens open.

  1053. The spirit of God

  1054. descends.

  1055. Jesus is anointed

  1056. as king.

  1057. And then there's a

  1058. voice from heaven.

  1059. In verse 17.

  1060. This is my beloved

  1061. son with whom I'm

  1062. well pleased.

  1063. Those are some

  1064. really interesting

  1065. words.

  1066. You might think

  1067. that God made

  1068. those words up

  1069. on the spot

  1070. when he spoke

  1071. those words.

  1072. But did you know

  1073. they're actually

  1074. alluding to two

  1075. passages in the

  1076. Old Testament?

  1077. That God the

  1078. Father chose those

  1079. words very

  1080. specifically to

  1081. speak over this

  1082. one on

  1083. inauguration day?

  1084. this is my

  1085. beloved son.

  1086. Would sound

  1087. familiar to a

  1088. Jewish mind

  1089. well acquainted

  1090. with Psalm 2.

  1091. Psalm 2

    Psalms 2:7

  1092. verse 7 says

  1093. you are my

  1094. son.

  1095. Ask of me

  1096. and I'll make

  1097. the nations

  1098. your heritage

  1099. and the ends

  1100. of the earth

  1101. your possession.

  1102. Psalm 2 is a

  1103. messianic psalm.

  1104. It's about the

  1105. coming Messiah

  1106. king.

  1107. And it's about

  1108. the one that

  1109. God will entrust

  1110. the nations to

  1111. for his

  1112. rule.

  1113. what's interesting

  1114. about this is

  1115. that God the

  1116. Father includes

  1117. the word beloved.

  1118. This is my

  1119. beloved son.

  1120. And that word

  1121. beloved is so

  1122. rich.

  1123. It has such

  1124. depth.

  1125. It's about

  1126. affection.

  1127. God the

  1128. Father is

  1129. loving of

  1130. his son.

  1131. Brother and

  1132. sister in

  1133. Christ,

  1134. because we're

  1135. in Christ,

  1136. do you know

  1137. that we're

  1138. beloved the

  1139. same way?

  1140. This is my

  1141. beloved son.

  1142. You can't

  1143. miss the fact

  1144. that the

  1145. explicit statement

  1146. being made

  1147. here.

  1148. This one

  1149. dripping wet

  1150. with the

  1151. waters of

  1152. the Jordan.

  1153. This is

  1154. my son.

  1155. He's fully

  1156. God.

  1157. He's my

  1158. son.

  1159. Colossians,

  1160. for in him

  1161. all the

  1162. fullness of

  1163. God was

  1164. pleased to

  1165. dwell.

  1166. Hebrews 1,

  1167. he is the

  1168. radiance of

  1169. the glory of

  1170. God, the

  1171. exact imprint

  1172. of his

  1173. nature.

  1174. This man

  1175. dripping wet

  1176. with the

  1177. waters of

  1178. the Jordan

  1179. just come up

  1180. from being

  1181. baptized,

  1182. is being

  1183. revealed as

  1184. the psalm to

  1185. Messiah,

  1186. God's

  1187. son.

  1188. Fully

  1189. God,

  1190. fully man.

  1191. He's

  1192. Emmanuel.

  1193. Emmanuel.

  1194. But the

  1195. voice continues,

  1196. this is my

  1197. beloved son

  1198. with whom

  1199. I am

  1200. well pleased.

  1201. It's an

  1202. allusion to

  1203. Isaiah 42,

  1204. 1,

  1205. speaking of

  1206. the suffering

  1207. servant.

  1208. There are

  1209. passages in

  1210. Isaiah about

  1211. the suffering

  1212. servant,

  1213. about the

  1214. one who

  1215. would come

  1216. and suffer

  1217. for his

  1218. people to

  1219. liberate

  1220. them.

  1221. Behold,

  1222. my servant

  1223. whom I

  1224. uphold,

  1225. my chosen

  1226. one,

  1227. in whom my

  1228. soul delights.

  1229. That's Isaiah

  1230. 42, 1.

  1231. In whom my

  1232. soul delights,

  1233. with whom I'm

  1234. well pleased.

  1235. See the

  1236. linkage?

  1237. God delights

  1238. in the

  1239. obedience of

  1240. his son.

  1241. God the

  1242. father delights

  1243. in this one

  1244. who's the

  1245. messianic king,

  1246. his son.

  1247. And he's

  1248. saying this is

  1249. not just my

  1250. son.

  1251. This is not

  1252. just the

  1253. king.

  1254. This is the

  1255. suffering servant

  1256. of Isaiah

  1257. who would come

  1258. for a

  1259. people and

  1260. shed his

  1261. blood for

  1262. them.

  1263. This is

  1264. inauguration

  1265. day.

  1266. This is

  1267. going public

  1268. with who

  1269. this man

  1270. is.

  1271. Anointed

  1272. by the

  1273. spirit of

  1274. God.

  1275. He's the

  1276. messianic

  1277. king.

  1278. He's the

  1279. beloved son.

  1280. He's the

  1281. suffering

  1282. servant

  1283. of Isaiah

  1284. 53.

  1285. by his

  1286. stripes.

  1287. We are

  1288. healed.

  1289. He'll be

  1290. crushed for

  1291. our

  1292. iniquities.

  1293. So what we

  1294. see going on

  1295. in verses

  1296. 16 and

  1297. 17 is that

  1298. Jesus is

  1299. revealed for

  1300. who he is.

  1301. Not only is he

  1302. identified with

  1303. us through his

  1304. baptism, he's

  1305. been identified

  1306. through the

  1307. baptism of who

  1308. he is.

  1309. He's the

  1310. king, the

  1311. anointed one,

  1312. son of God,

  1313. fully God,

  1314. fully man,

  1315. the suffering

  1316. servant of

  1317. Isaiah.

  1318. And he

  1319. identifies with

  1320. us.

  1321. Let's try to

  1322. apply this.

  1323. All right.

  1324. Get it in

  1325. your mind.

  1326. This one who's

  1327. just come up from

  1328. the waters of

  1329. the Jordan,

  1330. who didn't need

  1331. to be baptized

  1332. for sin.

  1333. He's the

  1334. sinless one.

  1335. He's the

  1336. anointed king,

  1337. the son of

  1338. God, the

  1339. suffering servant.

  1340. He's the one

  1341. in whom God

  1342. the Father

  1343. delights.

  1344. This is like

  1345. no one else.

  1346. And he came

  1347. to identify

  1348. with us

  1349. sinners.

  1350. He's not

  1351. ashamed to

  1352. call you

  1353. his own.

  1354. His kingdom

  1355. is made up

  1356. of sinners

  1357. made righteous.

  1358. sinners.

  1359. We have an

  1360. amazing king.

  1361. We have a

  1362. king who

  1363. chose even

  1364. holy and

  1365. sinless to

  1366. identify with

  1367. us sinners.

  1368. He didn't

  1369. keep himself

  1370. separate from

  1371. us.

  1372. But he made

  1373. us righteous

  1374. so that we

  1375. can be

  1376. reconciled to

  1377. him.

  1378. You see,

  1379. this king

  1380. came to

  1381. deal with

  1382. our sin

  1383. so that we

  1384. can be

  1385. welcomed into

  1386. his kingdom.

  1387. He's the

  1388. suffering servant.

  1389. He welcomes

  1390. us in by

  1391. his blood.

  1392. Though sinless,

  1393. he is our

  1394. representative king

  1395. and it's all

  1396. by his grace.

  1397. We did

  1398. nothing to

  1399. earn this.

  1400. Nothing.

  1401. Nothing.

  1402. Would you

  1403. savor that

  1404. today?

  1405. this week?

  1406. Would you

  1407. savor the

  1408. fact that

  1409. your king,

  1410. your sinless

  1411. king came to

  1412. identify with

  1413. you?

  1414. He came for

  1415. you.

  1416. Could it be

  1417. that when Jesus

  1418. went down in the

  1419. waters,

  1420. he had you in

  1421. mind,

  1422. identifying with

  1423. you and your

  1424. sinfulness?

  1425. the second

  1426. point I want

  1427. to make this

  1428. morning is

  1429. this.

  1430. Back to

  1431. Queen Elizabeth,

  1432. 1953.

  1433. Crown on

  1434. her head.

  1435. Westminster

  1436. Abbey's

  1437. packed and

  1438. in unison

  1439. you hear,

  1440. blah, blah,

  1441. blah,

  1442. blah, blah.

  1443. Blah, blah, blah,

  1444. blah.

  1445. You don't

  1446. quite know what

  1447. they're saying

  1448. until you kind

  1449. of dial in.

  1450. It finally

  1451. dials in.

  1452. God save

  1453. the queen.

  1454. Right when

  1455. the crown

  1456. hit her brow.

  1457. God save

  1458. the queen.

  1459. Everyone in

  1460. Westminster Abbey's

  1461. rejoicing.

  1462. God save

  1463. the queen.

  1464. God save

  1465. the queen.

  1466. They are

  1467. coming under

  1468. her reign.

  1469. Could you

  1470. imagine what

  1471. was happening

  1472. in heaven

  1473. the moment

  1474. God said,

  1475. this is my

  1476. beloved son

  1477. with whom I'm

  1478. well pleased.

  1479. Imagine.

  1480. Imagine with me.

  1481. Play with me.

  1482. Let's say

  1483. the angels

  1484. are in heaven

  1485. and they're

  1486. playing ping

  1487. ball in

  1488. heaven.

  1489. Bing,

  1490. bing,

  1491. bing,

  1492. bing,

  1493. bing,

  1494. bing,

  1495. bing,

  1496. bing,

  1497. bing,

  1498. bing,

  1499. bing.

  1500. And they

  1501. hear on

  1502. the speaker,

  1503. this is my

  1504. beloved son.

  1505. They're like,

  1506. oh yeah,

  1507. today's

  1508. inauguration day.

  1509. That's great.

  1510. Bing,

  1511. bing,

  1512. bing,

  1513. bing,

  1514. bing,

  1515. bing.

  1516. Or just

  1517. imagine,

  1518. you know,

  1519. angels in

  1520. heaven playing

  1521. cribbage.

  1522. While God

  1523. the Father

  1524. is saying,

  1525. with him

  1526. I'm well

  1527. pleased.

  1528. And they're

  1529. kind of like,

  1530. oh that's

  1531. great,

  1532. we'll play

  1533. cribbage.

  1534. Or they're

  1535. waiting in line

  1536. for the

  1537. heavenly

  1538. latte and

  1539. up on the

  1540. chalkboard is

  1541. it's

  1542. inauguration day

  1543. and they're

  1544. just getting

  1545. their lattes

  1546. and like,

  1547. oh yeah,

  1548. that's cool.

  1549. What was

  1550. going on

  1551. with the

  1552. myriad of

  1553. angels in

  1554. heaven on

  1555. inauguration day?

  1556. They were

  1557. rejoicing.

  1558. They were

  1559. on pins and

  1560. needles.

  1561. The King,

  1562. God's chosen

  1563. one,

  1564. has begun

  1565. His salvific

  1566. reign on

  1567. earth.

  1568. A light

  1569. has dawned

  1570. this day.

  1571. They have

  1572. been waiting

  1573. for this

  1574. day.

  1575. where King

  1576. Jesus takes

  1577. up His reign

  1578. publicly.

  1579. And do you

  1580. know what?

  1581. What started

  1582. nearly 2,000

  1583. years ago

  1584. is going

  1585. on today.

  1586. Jesus reigns

  1587. today.

  1588. He's the

  1589. King today.

  1590. And so the

  1591. way that we

  1592. respond is,

  1593. long live our

  1594. King.

  1595. We come under

  1596. His reign.

  1597. We gladly

  1598. submit to who

  1599. He is and

  1600. what He's

  1601. called us to.

  1602. We know

  1603. who He is

  1604. and we

  1605. know He

  1606. has identified

  1607. with us so

  1608. that we can

  1609. be saved.

  1610. And so this

  1611. morning,

  1612. can I just

  1613. ask you to

  1614. renew your

  1615. allegiance to

  1616. Him,

  1617. your King?

  1618. To freshly

  1619. come under

  1620. His reign?

  1621. To say

  1622. today,

  1623. oh Jesus,

  1624. yes,

  1625. You are my

  1626. King.

  1627. I will

  1628. obey You

  1629. in everything

  1630. because You

  1631. reign over

  1632. everything.

  1633. You have

  1634. claim over

  1635. everything.

  1636. And I

  1637. gladly submit

  1638. my everything

  1639. to You.

  1640. That's going

  1641. to mean

  1642. turning from

  1643. your own

  1644. rule,

  1645. and turning

  1646. to His.

  1647. Here's one

  1648. question you

  1649. can be asking

  1650. yourself.

  1651. When you're

  1652. faced with a

  1653. decision of

  1654. any sort,

  1655. what does

  1656. King Jesus

  1657. say about

  1658. this?

  1659. What does

  1660. He say I

  1661. should do?

  1662. Long live

  1663. the King.

  1664. This morning

  1665. we've looked

  1666. at the

  1667. baptism of

  1668. Jesus.

  1669. It's His

  1670. inauguration day.

  1671. He's identified

  1672. to us in

  1673. our sinfulness

  1674. and we

  1675. get to see

  1676. God identify

  1677. Him as

  1678. the King,

  1679. the beloved

  1680. Son,

  1681. the suffering

  1682. servant.

  1683. He is our

  1684. King.

  1685. And we

  1686. gladly submit

  1687. to His

  1688. reign.

  1689. Let's pray.

  1690. Jesus,

  1691. You are the

  1692. King.

  1693. We ask that

  1694. God,

  1695. if today's the

  1696. day where

  1697. You have

  1698. opened eyes

  1699. to people

  1700. in this

  1701. room,

  1702. maybe it's

  1703. just one

  1704. or two

  1705. or seven,

  1706. that You

  1707. are their

  1708. King,

  1709. God,

  1710. would You

  1711. move in

  1712. them to

  1713. bow their

  1714. knee and

  1715. give themselves

  1716. fully to

  1717. You.

  1718. You are

  1719. worthy

  1720. because of

  1721. who You

  1722. are.

  1723. You are

  1724. our King.

  1725. You are

  1726. Emmanuel.

  1727. You're the

  1728. anointed

  1729. one.

  1730. You're the

  1731. suffering

  1732. servant and

  1733. you reign

  1734. today.

  1735. In Jesus'

  1736. name,

  1737. Amen.