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Understanding Baptism (Luke 3:21-23)
15 Plays3 months ago
Sunday Message recorded 22 September 2024
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Daily Walk with the Lord
00:00:06
Speaker
Wow, thank you so much, Janet. That was really nice. I love just a closer walk with D. And I hope you're enjoying your walk with the Lord each day. I think that it should be that way. It should be a daily walk. And I enjoy meeting with him in his word and praying and surrendering my life each day. And I hope that you do as well.
Significance of Baptism
00:00:27
Speaker
If you would open up God's word to Luke, we're going to look at just a very few verses today. I think it's three verses or two and a half, but it's found in Luke chapter three, beginning in verse 21, going down through part of verse 23. Do you understand the meaning and the importance of baptism? I think that this passage is going to give us some talking points on that topic.
Transition to Jesus' Ministry
00:00:55
Speaker
You know, John MacArthur said this, he said, these verses mark the final transition from the story of John the Baptist to Jesus. Everything up to this point has set the stage for the ministry of Jesus Christ.
00:01:10
Speaker
That ministry launched here at His baptism will be the theme and focus of the remainder of Luke's gospel. That's what's ahead. We're going to be watching Jesus closely, seeing the way He ministered so that we would know how can we serve, how can we honor You, Father.
00:01:29
Speaker
You know, I believe that baptism is an outward testimony of the inward change that's taken place already in a believer's life. It doesn't happen in the baptistry. It started before they got in the baptistry. But when they got in there, what they're doing is they're giving an outward testimony of something that's been taking place inwardly in their life.
00:01:54
Speaker
See, before someone is baptized, they personally turn from sin and turn by faith. Faith in Christ, where they're trusting Christ, where they're surrendering their life to Christ.
Personal Baptism Stories
00:02:08
Speaker
You know, as a matter of fact, in my life, I was baptized two times.
00:02:13
Speaker
Normally in scripture, they're only baptized once after they trust Christ, after they surrender to Him. When I was 10 years old, I'd gone to what's called an RA camp, stood for royal ambassadors. And so at the RA camp, I did make a decision. I was walking toward Christ, but I don't believe that my life changed. I didn't quite surrender to Him.
00:02:37
Speaker
But when I turned 18 and I was a student at the University of Memphis studying pre-law, I guarantee you my life changed. Everything changed from that one day, that one encounter with Jesus Christ. And that's why I said to my uncle at that time, I said, Uncle Wayne,
00:02:55
Speaker
I need to be baptized again. And he said, I thought you were already baptized. And I said, yes, but I wasn't actually born again. I did not surrender to Christ. My life never changed. If you only knew what I was like in high school, you would know it wasn't real, but it's real now. And I said, I need to follow him in believers baptism. So in Memphis, Tennessee, right there in February of 1979, I was baptized. And I'll never forget it because the baptistry heater was broke. And so it was cold outside and it was cold inside. And so anyway, when I came out, when I came up out of the water, it was a glorious experience. And people were wondering because they heard me snort. really loud. You know, it was like, man, that was cold water. But anyway, it happened and I'm so glad that I was able to do that.
Differences in Baptism Types
00:03:47
Speaker
But you know, the baptism of John the Baptist that we're about to look at here in Luke three, this is really a unique baptism compared to ours.
00:03:58
Speaker
His was called a baptism of repentance. And we're also gonna look at another unique baptism whenever Jesus, the sinless one who had lived a perfect life, whenever he says to John the Baptist, I need you to baptize me. And later in the message, we're gonna go to a cross reference where John the Baptist says, I need to be baptized by you what do you. I don't understand, you coming to me. But anyway, Jesus baptism was not a baptism of repentance. His was a baptism, I believe, of obedience. He wanted to fulfill all righteousness. He was in complete submission to the Father's will the whole time. He never disobeyed the Father. He never sinned. And so I want us to stand to see what can we learn. Would you stand with me as we read Luke 3 verse 21 through about half of verse 23? Luke 3, 21, and we're gonna see what is it we can learn from Jesus' baptism. It says, now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven.
00:05:20
Speaker
you are my beloved son. With you I am well pleased. Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about 30 years of age.
00:05:34
Speaker
Let's bow and ask God to speak to us during this service. Lord, I thank you so much for how worthy you are. We've already sang about that. Because you're worthy, we want to walk with you. Not just today. We want to walk with you on a Monday and a Tuesday and a Wednesday and every day of the week. Lord, I pray that we would learn how to just walk in fellowship with you.
00:05:58
Speaker
Lord, we desire that You would open up heaven over our lives, that You would pour out blessings, and You would speak to us each and every day when we open Your word. We need Your Holy Spirit to make it come alive with application and relevance to where we're living and what we're facing in our lives. And so speak to us today.
00:06:20
Speaker
Lord, but I realize that in a group this size, it's very likely that someone in this group does not know Christ personally. So I pray that today could be a turning point for them. Lord, I pray for those who maybe they know Christ, but they've never publicly identified with Christ by saying, I need to submit to baptism because Jesus is changing me on the inside.
Prayer and Baptism
00:06:44
Speaker
He's been working, and I've not been giving him glory on the outside.
00:06:49
Speaker
And so help us, O Lord, to see the meaning, the significance, the importance of baptism as we look at this passage. In Jesus' name and for His glory, we pray. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated.
00:07:02
Speaker
You know that the word baptized, you know what that word means? It's a Greek word, babtizo. Babtizo means to submerge. It means to immerse. It means to plunge. This is why John the Baptist, when he was baptizing, he was at the Jordan River and people were coming to him by the droves.
00:07:26
Speaker
But later in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 12, it's also found in Romans 6. But whenever Paul talked about baptism, you know what he compared it to? Being buried. Colossians 2, 12 says, buried with him in baptism, raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead. There's something really significant whenever we're in the baptistry, and a person says, Jesus has been changing my life. And here's what's happened. He's put me to death, and He's raised me to be someone brand new in Christ. Not only that, when someone is baptized, what they're doing is they're giving testimony to the gospel message. They're saying, Jesus came, He died, He was buried, and He rose again. And He can change your life as well.
00:08:22
Speaker
So, I want us to look at five things that we can learn from Jesus' baptism. The first one is baptism was administered publicly. You see, Jesus was not alone. It wasn't just Jesus and John the Baptist whenever we see that Jesus also, it says, had been baptized. How did that happen?
00:08:45
Speaker
If you look at all of the Gospels, you look at Matthew and Mark, you look at John as well as Luke, then what you're going to see is that they were in a long line. Jesus was actually standing and waiting in a long line. If you look back at chapter 3, look at chapter 3, but not where we just read. Look before that in verse 7.
00:09:07
Speaker
It says in verse 7, John the Baptist said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him. Multitudes of people were coming out to be baptized by him. If you look in verse 10 of Luke chapter 3, and the crowds ask him,
00:09:26
Speaker
So there were large groups of people who were being baptized whenever they were baptized. And so I thought that was interesting because in Matthew, not in Luke, but in Matthew chapter three, verses five and six, listen to the way it says this, then Jerusalem.
00:09:47
Speaker
and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, this is John the Baptist, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan confessing their sins. You know Mark chapter one and verse fifth five is very similar.
00:10:07
Speaker
So what you have here is you have just one thing that is an example of how we practice baptism here at First Baptist. Jesus gave us the example of public baptism. Jesus also gave us the command. If you were to read Matthew 28, 19, and 20, he says, go therefore, make disciples of all the nations. And what's the first thing he says you do to a disciple?
00:10:35
Speaker
Go therefore make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." So not only did Jesus give us an example to be baptized, He also gave us a command to be baptized.
00:10:50
Speaker
Do you know that if you were to read Acts chapter 2 and verse 41, this is whenever the the early church first got started. So all of those first Christians, just beyond the layer of the disciples and so forth, the early Christians were baptized publicly.
00:11:07
Speaker
You know, it says on that day, the Day of Pentecost, 3,000 were baptized. I would say that's pretty public. You know, Acts 2, verse 41. But then if you were to go to Acts chapter 8, one of the deacons, a man named Philip, he was deployed over to a place called Samaria. And when he went to Samaria, he just began to share the gospel message. And you know what it says? He says, men and women were professing faith in Christ and men and women were being baptized. And so I thought, well, there's another example. There was a treasure who was the treasure of Ethiopia.
00:11:43
Speaker
I always love my Ethiopian brothers and sisters that are there, but they they'd get excited whenever I would preach about the Ethiopian eunuch. But he was the treasurer of all of Ethiopia. Do you think that the treasurer of Ethiopia, when he's gone to visit some kind of convention or whatever to Israel and to Jerusalem, do you think he was traveling alone, or would you think the treasurer probably had somebody with him?
00:12:12
Speaker
I would say he had somebody with him. If nobody else, he had the chariot driver, but I think he probably had some guards that were there protecting him. But when that Ethiopian eunuch was baptized, they were in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't have to be in a church. It doesn't have to be in a temple.
00:12:28
Speaker
But it has to be in front of somebody, even if it's those you work with, even if it's with your family. It needs to be public so that other people can be blessed, so that those who don't know Christ can be inspired and drawn to Christ. Do you know that Paul and Lydia, the Philippian jailer? And on and on it goes.
00:12:47
Speaker
But baptisms were public, and they were public so they would give this testimony, this witness, so that those who don't know Christ could hear about him, could see how Christ has changed someone's life that they know very well.
00:13:05
Speaker
But I'll tell you another dimension. Every time we have a baptism here, as the pastor, of people talk to me. And so I hear about it. You know what everybody always says? That was so beautiful. That was such a blessing. That was so inspiring. I couldn't believe today, you know, it gets God's people charged up whenever we see people willing to be baptized. And so that's those of us who know Him. But there's something in here that I think we can also learn that is easy to overlook because it's only written in Luke's gospel. Matthew doesn't mention it. Mark doesn't mention it. John doesn't mention it. Let's see what Luke says. Would you look with me once again at verse 21? Now, when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened.
00:13:59
Speaker
Here's a second thing I think we can learn. I believe that baptism, at least in Jesus' case, baptism was received prayerfully.
Jesus' Prayer Life
00:14:07
Speaker
Did you pray before it was your time to be baptized? Did you say, God, would you use my baptism today? Lord, would you be glorified in my baptism today? Would you help me be a consistent with witness for you after this day?
00:14:22
Speaker
You know, it's easy to overlook this, but Luke did not want us, you and I, right now, 2024, Columbus, Texas, he did not want us to overlook Jesus' prayer life. And so here he is, first time he's praying in his baptism, but that's not the last time. Do you know that Luke has Jesus, he captures him, it's almost like he was following him around with with an iPhone or with a camera and he was taking pictures. snapshots of every time Jesus was praying. You know how many pictures he took of Jesus praying? 12. This is the first. He took a picture of him praying in Luke 5 verses 15 and 16 whenever his popularity began to grow.
00:15:07
Speaker
You know what can happen? It's really strange that it happens this way, but what can happen is if you become a popular, successful person, sometimes we downplay God, we downplay who the Lord is, and yet Jesus, He didn't downplay anything about the Father.
00:15:24
Speaker
Whenever the popularity of Jesus went up in Luke five, verses 15 and 16, it says he would often, the crowds were gathering, but it says he would often go over there into a quiet place and meet with the father in prayer. Do you do that?
00:15:39
Speaker
I mean, if God were to bless your business and really help it to be successful, would you say, I'm not going to pray less. I'm going to pray more. I'm going to give you more time, God, if you'll just use me for your honor and for your glory. Have you ever seen anybody, maybe a football player or somebody, that when God gives them a platform, every single time they win, they say, you know what? I give glory and honor to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I believe it's because they that's the way they want to live.
00:16:08
Speaker
They're praying. You know that in 612, Luke 6, verse 12, he prayed before the selection of his disciples. He prayed just before Peter's public profession of faith in Luke 9, 18. I wonder what would happen Have you ever longed for the day that we would see more people in Columbus and Colorado County make a public profession of faith in Christ? Have you ever longed to see more people across Texas make a public profession of faith in Christ? Maybe we're missing a step. Maybe if we spent more time asking God in prayer, God, please let someone trust you as their Lord and Savior today. Because it says that Jesus was praying just before
00:16:53
Speaker
One of his disciples, Peter, made a public profession of his faith and he said, you're the Christ. I know you are. And Jesus looked over him and he said, you know what? Flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you. I know that.
00:17:06
Speaker
You know, he was praying whenever his appearance began to shine on that ah mountain of transfiguration. Is your light shining for the Lord? I believe what helps us when we spend time hanging out with the Lord in prayer. God, help my light to shine for you. I believe he also prayed with thanksgiving after the return from a mission trip in Luke 10 21.
00:17:30
Speaker
We've had at least two mission trips that I'm aware of planned, and yet we had to cancel both of them. But I'm wondering what would happen if we were to say, Lord, we're going to pray before we go, and we're going to pray and give thanks when we get home. You know, Luke also says in Luke 11, 1, that it was when Jesus was praying that his disciples, when he got done, it says they waited till he was finished. But in Luke 11, 1, you know what they said? They said, Lord,
00:17:57
Speaker
Would you teach us to pray like that? Have you ever longed to grow in your prayer life? Just study Jesus' prayer life. Go through Luke. There's at least 12 different snapshots of Him spending time with the Father. How much time are we spending with the Father?
00:18:14
Speaker
Well, we could go on and mention praying that Peter's faith would not fail in Luke 22, 32, praying for the Father's will in Gethsemane. He prayed twice from the cross. He was praying over the food after his resurrection when he was walking down the road to Emmaus with two disciples and they invited him over for a meal. All I'm saying is,
00:18:36
Speaker
Would you spend time praying just like Jesus? He was praying before he got baptized. And what that was like his action, right? Well, whenever we have that kind of behavior, that kind of act, that kind of conduct, that kind of discipline in our life, what's heaven's reaction? That was his action, but what was heaven's reaction?
00:18:59
Speaker
Heaven's reaction was heaven's opened up. Heaven's opened up. I wonder what would happen if all of us in this room began to knock on heaven's door, knock on heaven's door. Lord, we want to see your glory. We want to see your glory in Columbus. We want to see you do something in Colorado County that could not be explained by man. You know what I think? I think the heavens would open. I think God would move in powerful ways.
00:19:23
Speaker
You know, I believe that the heavens opened because he was the Messiah. He was special. This is the Savior. This is the Son of God. And so that's why heaven opened whenever whenever he prayed, heaven opened.
00:19:37
Speaker
You know what? Do you know that He intercedes for us is what the Bible says right now. He's at the right hand of the Father, and He's interceding for you and me. And that's why it's not just a tagline. Whenever we finish a prayer, we say, in Jesus' name.
00:19:54
Speaker
When you say in Jesus' name, heaven starts going, what'd you just say? Did you say something in Jesus' name? Are you praying in your name? Are you praying in Baptist's name? Are you praying in something else? Or are you saying, Lord, we ask you do this humbly in Jesus' name? And heaven says, OK, now we're talking. We're going to arrange a little something here. And the reason is because Matthew 28, 18 says Jesus was telling his disciples to go and make make disciples of all the nations.
00:20:23
Speaker
And he said, the reason I want you to do this, the basis for you doing this is because all authority is given to me in heaven and on earth. So whenever earth says to heaven, we want to exalt the Son of God, heaven says, let's do it, and opens up the windows of heaven. Do you know that the first martyr, Stephen, when he when he took those rocks and those stones, even to the point of death, you know what it says happened?
00:20:52
Speaker
heaven Heaven opened because he was standing up for Jesus on this earth. And so you know what? It says that when he opened up and those rocks were flying, the last thing he remembered seeing was Jesus. Normally, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, but not that day.
00:21:10
Speaker
when When Jesus saw that Stephen the Deacon was saying, I'll stand up for you no matter what, you know what it says that Jesus did? He stood. It says that Stephen looked up, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of the Father.
00:21:28
Speaker
telling you anytime that somebody's willing to lay down their life, heaven will open. Also missions. Do you remember when Peter was on top of a roof and it says that heaven opened and a sheet came down?
00:21:41
Speaker
You know what that was all about? It was all about evangelism and missions, reaching beyond your own people group. Peter was stuck and he needed to be unstuck because there was a soldier named Cornelius and he and his family, his relatives, his friends, they were so open. But somebody needed to tell them the gospel. You know that whenever you and me, when we move out in missions, heaven's gonna open.
00:22:07
Speaker
You know, one day there's also coming a day, and I love this one, Revelation 19 11, when Jesus comes back, when he comes back it says heaven's going to open, and there he's going to be, and he's going to bring with him all those that have gone before.
00:22:22
Speaker
Listen, our baptism is an opportunity to publicly profess our faith in Christ before others. So it's a great idea, since that's true, to ask God before you get baptized. Lord, use it to the maximum. Bless this baptism. Use it to draw others. Use it to bless others.
00:22:46
Speaker
Do you know that the central theme of Old Testament prophecy, the central theme of New Testament preaching is the Lord Jesus Christ. It's all about Him. Do you know that all of humanity is moving toward one destiny? Sometimes people are like, I gotta find my destiny. you know I'll tell you what all of humanity's destiny is. Someday every knee's gonna bow and every tongue's gonna confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That's our destiny. That's where we're headed. So why don't we talk to him now and say, Lord, I bow my knees today to ask your blessing on this baptism. Well, let's go to a third thing we can learn from verse 22. It says, and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in bodily form like a
Empowerment through the Holy Spirit
00:23:33
Speaker
dove. I believe that baptism was blessed powerfully.
00:23:37
Speaker
You know, as Jesus had surrendered and submitted in perfect obedience to the Father's will, I mean perfect obedience, he was blessed with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Now, I know that we receive the Holy Spirit whenever we trust Christ. So the day you trust Christ, the Holy Spirit begins to live with you. But we may not be living in the fullness of God's Spirit, the blessing of the Lord. He's wanting to do more.
00:24:07
Speaker
But if we're not living for Him, if we're not praying to Him, if we're not surrendering to Him, if we're not obeying Him, then the Lord says, you know what? We're going to wait. I'm going to wait until I see you lining up with me. You know, because Jesus was so so perfectly in line with the Father's will,
00:24:26
Speaker
When the Holy Spirit came down, if you were to kind of take, don't spend a lot of time, because next week we're going to look at Luke 4, because we're going to skip the genealogy. I'm sorry, those names. It's hard for a Tennessee boy to pronounce all those names. But anyway, we're going to skip the genealogy that's coming up. We're going to go to chapter 4, and we're going to see how in the world can we overcome temptation. There's a way we can overcome temptation. Jesus modeled it in Luke 4.
00:24:53
Speaker
It all has to do with the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you know it says that he was filled with the Spirit in Luke chapter four verse one? Do you know because he was filled and surrendered to the Father and to the Holy Spirit and saying, Lord, i just I want Father to do your will. Because he was like that, he was also led. by the Holy Spirit. It says in Luke four one, it says in Luke four verses 14 and 15, when he came out of the wilderness, he came out teaching. So now we're in the ministry of Jesus. He goes out teaching, but you know what he taught in? He taught in the power of the Holy Spirit.
00:25:32
Speaker
You know, if you're a Sunday school teacher, or if you want to teach your kids as a parent, or you're saying, Lord, please empower my witness, that power you're looking for is found in God's Spirit. He's the one. But then in Luke 4 verses 18 and 19, Jesus was anointed by the Spirit for his ministry.
00:25:53
Speaker
But I just find it so interesting that the Holy Spirit came as though it he were a dove, as though a dove, it's like gentleness, and it's like peacefully he came upon Christ. Even Peter included the Spirit's anointing at Jesus' baptism in his words in Acts 10, 37 to 38. How did Jesus move in such power, doing all those good works, and how was the Lord able to do things through him? Well, it says he was anointed by the Spirit after his baptism. That's what it says in Acts 10, 37 through 38. But I want to get to a fourth one. I think this is important as well. I believe that baptism was also recognized personally,
00:26:41
Speaker
personally personally. It says, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove and a voice came from heaven. Listen how personalized this is. You are my beloved son and with you I am well pleased.
00:26:58
Speaker
You know thus far, here at this one little passage, we've had two visual confirmations of who Jesus is. You know, we've had the the Holy Spirit coming down upon Him, and we've had heaven opening up over Him, but now the voice, we've got one verbal confirmation, the voice of the Father.
00:27:23
Speaker
You know, John MacArthur says he knows the Greek structure of words and sentences and so forth. Being from Tennessee, I have struggle even in English. But anyway, John MacArthur says, grammatically, this last part that I just read where the father speaks, he said grammatically, this is the main clause.
00:27:44
Speaker
All the other clauses, they are all subordinate to this clause. It's the main thing. When the Father speaks, it's like everything stops and gets sealed. What did the Father say? You know, at His baptism, the Father affirms Christ's sonship. And He says, this is my son. He says, this is my son. I think that's so significant, but not only did he say, this is my son affirming Jesus' sonship, he also said, this Jesus, this son of mine, this Messiah, he is so sufficient. So he affirms Christ's sufficiency.
00:28:33
Speaker
And don't you find that interesting? That at the moment that the father says to him, you're my beloved son with you, I'm well pleased. I'm well pleased. He has not preached a sermon. He has not talked. He has not performed a miracle. He hasn't done anything else on that line. He's not trained the 12. He's not had a public ministry. Those 30 years were basically silent. And the father says to his son, you know what, your character, and your behavior, your attitudes, the way you've spoken, everything you've said, all of it, it's well-placing to me. That is why the father said when he died on the cross,
00:29:23
Speaker
is sufficient. Nothing more is needed. So don't even think that you could add something or I could add something to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. When he died in our place, it's all that was necessary because he had perfectly obeyed the Father's will.
00:29:44
Speaker
You know, it's interesting how the father spoke audibly. I believe if God spoke audibly today, it'd probably scare us to death. We'd probably all hit the ground in here if he were to speak audibly. But he spoke at the transfiguration. You remember when Jesus was transformed and Peter says, You know, I think this is really good. Maybe we should make an altar to Jesus, to Moses, to Elijah. And about that time, the the father comes over in a big cloud, and the father says, this is my son. Why don't you listen to him, Peter? Yes, sir. I will. I'll do that. You know, it's like, OK, he's outranked. So anyway, Peter hits the dust. He said, yes, sir. But you know what? The last week before he goes to the cross, John 12, 28,
00:30:31
Speaker
Jesus says something very simple to the Father. He says, Father, glorify your name. And I mean the Father breaks, He breaks silence again. And audibly He says, I have glorified it and I'm going to glorify it again. So I just think it's so significant when the Father speaks Don't miss this, John MacArthur says of Luke 3, 21 and 22 that this passage is also one of the most significant Trinitarian texts in the New Testament. As the Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends and the Son is baptized. All three are manifested simultaneously.
00:31:15
Speaker
And it refutes something called modalism, where they say, well, you know there's really only one God, so he can't do this and he can't do that. you know No, it's it's all three right there, one little package. And I think that's so amazing. But the thing that I wanted you not to miss that I think connects with us in our baptism is this. Did you notice the personal nature of what he says? He says, you are my beloved son.
00:31:44
Speaker
with you. I'm well pleased." So that was personal recognition by the Father. But you know what? We have the opportunity when we're standing up here and we're receiving baptism, we're saying, you know what Jesus has done in my life? He's totally changed my life. I'm not perfect, but I'm on a new journey than what I used to be on. And here's what I think we're saying. We're saying to him,
00:32:10
Speaker
You are my beloved Savior. You're my beloved Savior. And with you, I'm well pleased. Are you pleased with Jesus Christ? That He would lay down His life for your sins and my sins. I couldn't be more proud. I couldn't be more pleased. There's such joy in my soul whenever I praise Him. That's why I praise Him with everything I've got and I encourage you to do that. But let me close with one last one.
00:32:41
Speaker
Sometimes, I get the feeling that people think baptism is the ultimate. Baptism is like the summit. If you can ever get there, then man, you can just coast the rest of the way.
00:32:53
Speaker
Is that right? Now, here's what I see in this passage. I see where it says after he was baptized, verse 23, Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about 30 years of age. That's what I see. I believe that baptism was followed through purposefully, purposefully. You see, his baptism was not the end. His baptism, many Bible scholars say it was like an inauguration of his ministry.
00:33:22
Speaker
And that's why it says when he began his ministry, he's just been baptized.
Inauguration of Jesus' Ministry
00:33:28
Speaker
Do you know that several times in the New Testament, Jesus gives a purpose statement and he says, you know, like, for example, in Mark 10 45, he says, I didn't come to be served. He said, I came to serve. That's why he took a towel and washed the feet of his own disciples. Most of the masters, most of the teachers, most of the rabbis wouldn't have done anything like that.
00:33:52
Speaker
He said, I didn't come to be served, I came to serve, and I came to give my life a ransom for many. That's our Lord. You know, in Luke chapter 19 verse 10, he said, I came to seek and to save that which was lost. In Matthew 5, 17, he said, I didn't come to abolish the law in the Old Testament. Some people say, well, we're done with the Old Testament. Oh, no, we're not. He said, I didn't come to do away with the Old Testament. He said, I came to fulfill it.
00:34:22
Speaker
I'm gonna fill it full of new meaning. But then in John chapter six and verse 38, Jesus said, why did I come down from heaven? He said, I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
00:34:38
Speaker
Have you found your purpose? Some people struggle all their life and they're saying, I don't know what my purpose is. Your purpose is found in your maker. Your purpose is found in your Savior. He so we ought to say, oh Lord,
00:34:59
Speaker
when i When I walked up there and told those people, you're working um ah in my life, that wasn't the end. That's the beginning. From now on until my last breath, I will serve you. I will honor you. I will do everything that I do, every gift that you placed in my hands, I will use it for your honor and for your glory. And it's just interesting how it was 30 for him.
00:35:23
Speaker
I know we have many in our church who are in their 30s, some in their 20s about to be there. But i I think it's interesting that Jesus began when he was 30. Joseph in the Old Testament became the Prime Minister when he was 30. The priests began to serve when they were 30. David became king when he was 30. Ezekiel became a prophet when he was 30.
00:35:45
Speaker
All I'm saying is I think sometimes that maturity, it's in place there. And so if you're 30 or over, come on, step up to the plate, say, God, use me. I want to put what you placed in my hands. I want to put it in operation for to serve you. And so let your baptism be a launching pad for how you're going to serve the Lord the rest of your life.
00:36:09
Speaker
I want to close with two verses that seem to really clarify, really clarify why Jesus accepted baptism even though he hadn't sinned.
Jesus and the Believers
00:36:20
Speaker
There's a ah powerful quote that is found from Matthew where Jesus says to ah John the Baptist, he's he's kind of resistant and hesitant. John the Baptist saying, look, I need to be baptized by you. I'm not worthy to do this. And Jesus answered him and said, let it be so now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
00:36:46
Speaker
You see, Jesus came to identify with us, but he doesn't identify with everybody on this planet. See, he doesn't identify with the resistant and the wicked. He identifies with the repentant and he stands there and he says, you know what? I've got a gift for you.
00:37:02
Speaker
Not only will I bear your sin, I'm going to take my righteousness and I'm going to credit it to your account. Sometimes you should read the end of 2 Corinthians chapter 5 because it says that all of our sins were placed on him and all of his righteousness was placed on us. Can you believe that? That's how the Father sees you today. No wonder he says there's now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
00:37:29
Speaker
Listen to what is written in Christ-centered exposition commentary about this. It says, here Jesus stands in our place, not just as our sin-bearer, but also as our righteousness. All the active and positive obedience we owe God as his creatures, the Lord Jesus provides perfectly.
00:37:53
Speaker
even down to his willingness to be baptized by John for the remission of sins. Get this, he had not committed. He hadn't even committed any sins. And yet he says those who follow after me, they will have committed sins. So I'm going to show them what I'm going to do. I'm going to perfectly obey the Father.
00:38:15
Speaker
You see, Jesus kept the law perfectly through our baptism. We profess his work publicly. We're saying, you know what? I'm one with him. I'm on his team. That's what I've said to some people. Baptism is like putting on the jersey. I'm on the Jesus team. Put me on there.
00:38:34
Speaker
I'm going to say I'm following Him. That's what Romans 6 3 through 5. Let me give you one more. The historical context into which Jesus entered into was 400 years. The people of Israel, the Jewish people had been waiting on a Messiah.
00:38:52
Speaker
So how are they going to know when he's there? 700 years before Isaiah said when the Messiah is about to come, he's going to send a forerunner. And that forerunner is going to say he's a voice. And he's going to say, you better get ready. You better do some repenting. You better change the whole landscape of your life if you want the Messiah to be a part of your life.
00:39:15
Speaker
That was John the Baptist. And now here's the Messiah. And listen to what John says in John chapter 1, verse 31. But for this purpose, I came baptizing with water. So these are the words of John the Baptist that he might be revealed to Israel. In other words, how are they going to know which one he is? He said they're going to know through his baptism. Because from that point on, everything was different.
00:39:44
Speaker
I wonder, I just wonder, what would happen if you've never been baptized? What would happen if you submitted to baptism? I wonder if you would be revealing Christ to somebody, if you would be pointing in the direction of Jesus Christ to somebody who's never trusted him, somebody who doesn't even know about him.
00:40:05
Speaker
That's what I think baptism is. It's like a testimony. He's changed my life. I've trusted him. So would you would you say, yes, Lord, whenever he leads you to follow him and believers baptism?
00:40:19
Speaker
Let me review it real quick.
Baptism as Public Testimony
00:40:21
Speaker
Baptism was administered publicly. We saw that. Baptism was received prayerfully. We also saw that. Baptism was blessed powerfully when the Holy Spirit came down. Baptism was recognized personally, and baptism was followed through purposefully.
00:40:41
Speaker
We're going to sing this incredible song. It's one of the old songs that I really like. It's called Pass Me Not, O Genosaker. You know, the Lord is wanting to make a difference in your life.
00:40:54
Speaker
But he'll just keep going if you're not interested. We have to say, Lord, I want to open up my life. I want to trust you. I want to surrender to you. So as we have this closing song, O Past Me Not, O General Savior, I pray that you could see him spiritually, not physically, not visually, but spiritually see him walking up and down the aisles, coming to you and reaching out that nail-scarred hand, saying, will you follow me? Will you trust me? Oh, listen, he loves you so much. He laid down his life for you. That's why he was baptized, just so he could say, if you're repentant, then you're on my team. We're together. Would you stand? Let's pray together. Lord, thank you for this time to look at this passage. I know it's kind of an unusual message to preach about baptism. We don't do that very often.
00:41:49
Speaker
But I pray that today you would take this passage and really accomplish great things because we have talked about prayer. We've talked about power. We've talked about a public witness. There's so many different things that we have discussed here about Christianity. It's not a religion. It's something very personal.
00:42:08
Speaker
Lord, we were set up so perfectly with that song, just a closer walk with thee. That's what it's all about. I believe that as we walk with you, we'll find the purpose that you have for our lives. There's something special you want to do through each of our lives. It may not be a full-time ministry, but whatever you called us to, you can really work in a powerful way through us in the marketplace. And so use us, O God.
00:42:34
Speaker
For your honor and your glory, you're worthy. So bless this time of invitation for those who have never trusted Christ. I pray today that we turn in repentance and turn to Christ in faith. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:42:52
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.