OPEN: A little girl wanted to get baptized but her mother wanted her to attend some classes to make sure she knew what she was committing herself to. After one of the classes, her mother asked, "Honey, what does baptism mean?"
Thinking hard, the little girl the finally said, "Well, it isn’t the water that makes you clean ..." she began.
The mother thought, “Yes, she understands.”
Then smiling brightly, her daughter quickly added, "...It’s the soap."
(Verna Chambers, Willcox, Ariz. "Kids of the Kingdom," Christian Reader)
APPLY: Obviously, that little girl didn’t understand what baptism meant.
Does anybody here know what baptism means?
(I asked the audience for what they knew of baptism. They cited salvation, forgiveness, gift of the Holy Spirit, clothing ourselves with Christ, death/burial and resurrection)
Now, all those things are true.
And all those things are wonderful things that God does for us when we accept His gift of love by our Faith, Repentance, Confession of Jesus as Lord and Baptism.
But here in Matthew 3, we have this odd story about baptism.
Now John the Baptist had been down at the Jordan river baptizing people for the forgiveness of sins. He was his mission for God.
Isaiah had declared that John was to be "A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’" (Isaiah 40:3)
John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus.
He was to prepare people’s hearts for Christ’s ministry.
And how did he do that?
Well… he was telling people: “Ya’ll sinners.”
He told people they’d all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
In Matthew 3:5-10 we’re told that “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. CONFESSING THEIR SINS, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee FROM THE COMING WRATH? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
THE AX IS ALREADY AT THE ROOT OF THE TREES, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be CUT DOWN AND THROWN INTO THE FIRE.”
John told people a time of judgment was coming.
There was a coming wrath from God.
“The ax had been sharpened” and God was gonna cut down some trees.
John was preparing the way for Jesus.
And the goal in preparing the way was to prepare the people to be ready for Him. They needed to realize they were sinners. They needed to realize they were in need of what Jesus had come to offer. They needed to realize they needed Jesus to be their substitute – they needed Him to die for them.
And so, John preached a fairly bald and straightforward.
He basically told people:
There’s a place called Hell... and you don’t want to go there. But that’s where you’re gonna end up if you don’t realize you’ve sinned and need to change.
And so people came to be baptized by John by the hundreds.
Tax Collectors.
Soldiers.
Even the Sadducees and the Pharisees came to be baptized by John.
It seems like everybody showed up.
Then along came Jesus.
Along came “the Lord” John was to prepare the way for - and suddenly John seems confused. Jesus requests to be baptized by John, “But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’” Matthew 3:14
This wasn’t what John had expected. This wasn’t in accordance with the instructions he thought he’d been given. He’s almost incredulous.
“What do you MEAN baptize you? YOU should be baptizing me!”
But Jesus responds
"Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Matthew 3:15
In other words, Jesus is telling John:
“This is what you were sent to do.
This is the fulfillment of your mission.”
You see, there was something inherent in John baptizing Jesus that “prepared the way for Jesus.” But John was confused. His baptism was for the “forgiveness of sins.”
Why wouldn’t John think Jesus needed baptized?
That’s right. Jesus was the Son of God. He had no sin to be repented of!
II. So, why would Jesus need to be baptized by John????
Well… Jesus’ baptism by John was the beginning of Jesus’ ministry
Mark 1:1 starts out: “The BEGINNING of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” and then Mark starts telling us about Jesus’ baptism by John.
In Luke 3:23 we’re told of Jesus’ baptism by John and then we read: “Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he BEGAN HIS MINISTRY…”
Obviously, for some reason, Jesus’ ministry began with His baptism.
Now, at this point in Jewish history, water baptism served one of 3 purposes.
1st, there was the Baptism Of Repentance.
This was what John the Baptist’s was preaching.
But of course Jesus didn’t need to repent because He hadn’t sinned.
The 2nd kind of baptism was for people who desired to convert to Judaism.
It was a Baptism Of Conversion.
If you were a Gentile who wanted to convert to Judaism, they baptized you in water.
ILLUS: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explained that: “The Jews were accustomed to say of a heathen proselyte, on his public admission into the Jewish faith BY BAPTISM, that he was a new-born child.”
So, baptism was used when someone wanted to convert to Judaism. But Jesus had no need to convert to Judaism. He already was one. He’d been born a Jew.
So baptism in those days could be for repentance or conversion… and Jesus did not need to be baptized for those reasons. So, for what OTHER reason would a person be baptized in water back then???
Well, the only other people who experienced baptism - in the Jewish faith in that day were priests. The Law dictated that especially the High Priest was to “washed with water.” And the Temple had pools set aside for just that purpose.
In Leviticus 8:6 we’re told that - by the instruction of God – “Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.”
Then, later, during that ceremony Moses “poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.” Leviticus 8:12
This act INITIATED Aaron’s ministry as High Priest. When Aaron and his sons were washed with water and anointed with oil, they BEGAN their priesthood and were empowered to make sacrifices and to handle holy things as God’s representatives.
At that point (their baptism) God put His mark of approval on the ministry of Aaron and his sons.
The Bible tells us that Jesus’ ministry began with His baptism by John.
After His baptism, the Father anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit as it descended on Him in form of a dove. And the Father put His mark of approval on Jesus by loudly declaring:
"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17
This was the beginning of Jesus’ ministry as our High Priest.
Did you realize Jesus was our High Priest?
Indeed He is!
Hebrews 4:14: “…we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God...”
From the day of His baptism by John at the Jordan until His death on the Cross, Jesus (as our High Priest) prepared the ultimate sacrifice for our sins… His own body.
III. So, what difference should that make to us?
Why should we care whether or not Jesus went thru this ritual at the Jordan River?
Well, it should matter to us… because it mattered to God.
Jesus could easily have “skipped” this formality.
After all… it was just a “ritual.”
(…pause) Actually – no. This more than a ritual.
This was a sacred ceremony.
This was why John the Baptist had been sent.
This was ultimately why John was baptizing down at the Jordan.
Jesus came specifically to John for purpose of being baptized by him.
And this event was so important to God, that the Holy Spirit descended in from the sky and the voice of God thundered down from heaven.
And this sacred ceremony was not to be put off.
Jesus said: "Let it be so NOW…” Matthew 3:15
At once.
Immediately.
Without delay.
This ritual was so important to Jesus that it was NOT to be delayed.
IV. You know, there are people who regard OUR being baptized in water as a mere ritual. They don’t think of it as all that important.
But the importance of baptism for the Christian is hard to miss.
In fact, it is so obvious in its implications that most cultures rebel when their people are baptized.
ILLUS: Watchman Nee once wrote about his observations on this matter:
“Any Jew who embraces the Christian faith in secret will not be persecuted. Many Jews believe in the historical record concerning the Lord Jesus. Their greatest hurdle is not in believing in Him - but in baptism. Once they are baptized, they are cast out.”
“In India, no one will do anything to a believer if he is not baptized. But once he is baptized, they will cast him out. It is all right for one to believe in the Lord, but he cannot be baptized.”
“The reaction of the Muslims is more violent. Someone once said that it is difficult for a Muslim believer to remain alive. As soon as he believes, he will die. Dr. Swema was one of the first persons to have succeeded in working among the Muslims. He said, ‘My work will never grow, because once a person believes in the Lord, he has to be sent away immediately. Otherwise, he (a converted Muslim) will die within two or three days after his baptism.’”
Our Hispanic church planter (Rafael Tirado) runs into the same problem. He has taught Mexicans and Dominicans and other Spanish speaking people. And these people will come to Bible Studies, Church Services, Revival meetings. But when it comes to being baptized… they balk. For they know that the minute they are buried in the waters of baptism, they are considered “dead” by their friends and families. They will be ostracized by those who have always been there for them.
So even non-Christian cultures people understand the sacred nature of Christian baptism.
V. In addition, there are significantly wonderful things that take place at our baptism.
Now, we’re going to do a quick review.
This is a test.
What began for Jesus when He was baptized by John?
(It began His ministry as our High Priest).
In the same way, our baptism begins our ministry as priests of God.
Did you know that you became a Christian, you became a priest?
It’s TRUE.
1 Peter 2:9 declares that “you are a chosen people, a royal PRIESTHOOD, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
And Revelation 1:5 and 6 says: “…Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and PRIESTS to serve his God and Father— to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
You see, our baptism initiated us into our ministry as priests in the same way it initiated Aaron and his sons into their ministry. You are now priests of God. You are empowered to handle the “holy things” of God.
You can partake of communion; baptize other people into Christ; read from His Holy Word; all without a priest doing those things for you. You can even go directly into the presence of God and present your prayers and petitions to Him without a priest to serve as an intermediary for you.
You are priests who serve alongside the Elders, and the Sunday School teachers, and the youth ministers, and the preaching ministers. The only difference between you and me in God’s eyes are the functions we perform as His priests
Did you realize that you weren’t saved to go to church building and sit in a padded chair! It’s true! Now, granted, I greatly appreciate you sitting in those padded chairs, because then I have someone to preach to. But God did NOT save you so you could just sit there.
He saved you so that you could serve Him as His priests. So you could DO something.
That’s one of the wonderful things that God has always promised us:
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that once we become Christians “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
You were saved to be a priest for God and serve Him.
You have a reason to exist, a purpose for your life, a destiny to fulfill!!!
Now, the Bible does say there are other things to be known about baptism. Jesus said: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:16
And when the crowd at Pentecost asked what they should do, “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Acts 2:38
God promises that when you believe in Jesus, repent or your sins, and are baptized – He saves you. That’s His promise.
Then there are other unique things take place when we’re baptized.
Paul wrote: “…all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Galatians 3:27
When you’re baptized into Christ you put Him “on” like a garment. So that when you stand before God at judgment day… He’s not looking at you, He’s looking that image of His Son who died for you. He is your covering of righteousness before God’s throne.
And in Romans 6:3-4 he declared: “… all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
In baptism we are buried with Jesus into death. Your past is buried and forgotten. Your past sins will never rise from that grave again. But more than that, you rise up from that watery grave to a new life. You’re reborn in Christ. But more than that… just as you didn’t stay in that watery grave, baptism is God’s promise that when we die, the earthly grave will NOT hold us. We will rise from the grave to live for eternity!!!
This is not JUST a ritual… it is a SACRED ceremony.
And just as God honored Jesus by having the Holy Spirit descend upon Him at the Jordan – when we’re baptized into Christ, we receive His Holy Spirit as well.
Peter told the crowd at Pentecost: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
When we’re baptized into Christ – God gives us His Spirit as a sign that He has accepted us.
On the day of Pentecost 3000 people felt compelled to be buried with Christ. There was a sense of urgency that could not be delayed or postponed. In fact, if you read through Acts, you’ll find that there’s always a sense of urgency with baptism.
In another story from Acts 8 we’re told:
“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road— the desert road— that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.
The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.
‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked.
‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’
So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.’
The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’
Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’
And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
Why this sense of urgency?
Because this was not just a ritual… it was a sacred ceremony.
It was an acceptance of God’s free gift of salvation.
It was something that had to be done NOW… at once… immediately… without delay!
CLOSE: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” II Corinthians 6:2
ILLUS: The story is told of a man who rushed into a suburban railroad station one morning and, almost breathlessly, asked the ticket agent: “When does the 8:01 train leave?”
“At 8:01,” was the agent answered.
“Well,” the man replied, “it is 7:59 by my watch, 7:57 by the town clock, and 8:04 by the station clock. Which am I to go by?”
“You can go by any clock you wish… but you cannot go by the 8:01 train. It’s already left.”
GIVE INVITATION
