Then Cometh Jesus
Gospel of Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 44:26
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· 9 viewsJohn the Baptist passed the baton to Jesus after he correctly identifies him as the Messiah, God With Us. We finished up Matthew Chapter 3 in our Series on The Gospel of Matthew.
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Matthew 3:13–17 (KJV 1900)
13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
The Baptism of Jesus
The Baptism of Jesus
The Baton
The Baton
Last week we discussed John the Baptist and his simple message of:
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
John was the forerunner of Jesus, and the baptism of Jesus was the “passing of the baton moment” in Matthew’s Gospel account.
John was not the Messiah, as he quickly denies whenever asked, and now the Messiah has come, and He needs to be properly introduced.
The Baptism of Jesus is the introduction to His earthly ministry.
Setting
Setting
13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
As we can see in verse 13, the setting is in the Jordan River.
This is where John spent his days baptizing hundreds, and possibly thousands of Jews.
The setting of the Jordan is probably more significant than we realize. This is where Moses sent over 12 spies and 10 of them returned with an evil report that convinced the whole congregation to doubt the word of God. It sent them in circles for the next 40 years.
It is also where Joshua returned 40 years later, and finally crossed over into the promised land after the waters were parted by God.
When you study the history of this natural eastern barrier, you might find like I did, that it seems to represent a line where you are either for God or against Him.
It was on the East side of Jordan that Lot moved to and Abraham stayed on the west side.
It was to the East side of Jordan that the tribe of Dan moved to after abandoning the land given to them by God because they were afraid to fight the Philistines without some hero like Sampson doing all the work.
It was the East side of Jordan that the 2.5 tribes of Isreal decided to settle down in a field that was “good for their cattle”.
Lot ended up in Sodom.
The tribe of Dan ended up not being mentioned in the book of Revelation.
Some of those 2.5 tribes ended up as pig farmers, and a some were even demon possessed according to the Gospels.
So much for cattle land. What were Jews doing raising swine?
So, the Jordan river is not just a natural barrier in my opinion. It seems to represent a line of demarcation in the Spiritual realm too. And this is the place where John decides to baptize his followers.
The Reason
The Reason
The baptism of Jesus is recorded in 3 of the 4 Gospels, and is alluded to in the Gospel of John. Many people wonder why Jesus was baptized at all. It can be a confusing thing considering that we know…
Baptism is for repentance according to John the Baptist in our last lesson, and it is also for the washing away our sins according to the Apostle Paul. And repentance is for turning away from sins to God. So, why would Jesus, who is without sin, need to be baptized?
He has no sins to turn from, and none to wash away.
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
At first, John is reluctant to baptize Jesus, as I’m sure we all would be. John was not the Messiah. John was not perfect. John was not sinless. The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
We’ve all come short of the Glory of God, including John, and Jesus is the manifest Glory of God. He is the only one that has not sinned. He claimed to fulfill the Law. Meaning, He actually obeyed all 600 and something laws of Moses perfectly. And because of this perfection, He was able to legally pay the penalty for our sins with His death.
Matthew 3:15 (KJV 1900)
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
John didn’t have the level of perfection that Jesus had, so, you can see why he was reluctant to baptize his cousin. However, Jesus told him to do it NOW. And when the Lord asks you do something, you better obey Him. The Bible says that obedience is better than sacrifice.
After Jesus told John to do it “now” in verse 15, He tells us the reason for it.
Thus it becometh US to fulfil all righteousness.
The word “us” here is key. The baptism of Jesus was just as much for John as it was for Jesus, and I’ll show you why in a minute. The AMP version says it this way:
15 But Jesus replied to him, Permit it just now; for this is the fitting way for [both of] us to fulfill all righteousness [that is, to perform completely whatever is right]. Then he permitted Him.
The Amplified version highlights “us” a little better and says “both of us”. Jesus said, this baptism is so that both of us can fulfill all righteousness, not just “me”, but “both of us”.
And this is important. It shows us the reason for this baptism to occur. We have to leave Matthew and read John’s version of this event to fully understand what I mean. In John’s Gospel, even though it doesn’t specifically say Jesus was baptized, it is strongly alluded to during John the Baptist’s recorded testimony to the priests and Levites which starts in chapter 1 verse 19.
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
So, here we see that John the Baptist is testifying, or bearing record, before the priests. He goes on to confess that he is not the Messiah, but then he tells them who is the Messiah starting down in verse 29.
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
So, John points out Jesus to them, and says, He is the Lamb of God. It is as if John is having to pick Jesus out of a lineup for the priests who were questioning him.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
God With Us
God With Us
John is 6 months older than his cousin Jesus, but in John 1:30, John says that Jesus came before me. This indicates that John was fully aware of who Jesus was after the baptism, but not before.
As we will read shortly, John says he didn’t know who the Messiah was prior to baptizing Jesus.
However, John knew that the Messiah was not only a heroic war hero that some Jews expected Him to be upon His first arrival. Jesus is God with us. Remember in lesson 1…
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Then in lesson 2, we heard it said of John, and John even said it of himself that he was the one Isaiah was talking about in Isaiah 40.3
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
In Hebrew, “Prepare ye the way of the LORD” is not referring to simply the “Messiah” as it is said in Hebrew, or the anointed one as it is said in English, or the “Christ” as it is said in Greek. LORD is in all caps, so it is “YHWH” in the original Hebrew text. That is God the Father.
And John said, I’m that guy… I’m the one that is preparing the way for YHWH…
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
If John knows that he is preparing the way for YHWH, then he also knows that the Messiah is YHWH himself. Emmanuel. God with us.
That’s why he said, he was before me. John had a full revelation before anyone else really did, who the Messiah was. And this is why he was chosen to prepare the way for Him. It would take everyone else years to catch up. Even Jesus’ own disciples didn’t fully grasp who Jesus really was at first. There is scene later in Matthew where we will cover when Peter finally realizes who Jesus is after following him a for long time.
Manifest to Isreal
Manifest to Isreal
John 1:31 (KJV 1900)
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
In verse 31, John says, I didn’t know who the Messiah was, I just knew that He would soon be revealed to Isreal. Then he says, that is why I came to baptize. I’m getting the people ready for the Messiah’s arrival.
They asked John earlier in this dialog why he was baptizing…
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
Why are you baptizing people John? His answer was in verse 31.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
And so, John says, I’ll tell you why I am baptizing with water: Because the Messiah is coming, and we need to get ready by turning our hearts back to God.
John’s Record
John’s Record
John 1:32 (KJV 1900)
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
In verse 32, John continues to witness what happened to him. He said, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
It doesn’t say that John baptized Jesus here, but we know from the other 3 Gospels that this scene occured at the baptism of Jesus, and John left off saying in the previous verse saying “I come baptizing with water”, and then says here, I saw a dove… So, for those that say the baptism of Jesus is not recorded in the Apostle John’s Gospel, I disagree. It was recorded as part of John the Baptist’s testimony. The only part John leaves out is the voice from Heaven, and we will talk about that later.
The Dove
The Dove
However, the bigger point made here is that this symbol of a dove is explained directly from the testimony of John the Baptist in John the Apostle’s Gospel account.
The other 3 Gospel accounts just tell us THAT it happened, but John’s Gospel tells us WHY it happened.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Before John even went out and began to preach repentance and baptism in the Jordan river, he had a word from God that told him to be on the lookout for the one that you see the Spirit descending on. This is the whole reason for the Dove.
Now, we can’t see God’s Spirit, so it had to be manifested into something that we can see. In this case, it was the body of a dove.
Luke’s Gospel puts that part best in my opinion because he uses the words “bodily shape”, which further illustrates the nature of this manifestation of God’s Spirit.
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
After John saw the dove, he said:
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
John the baptist didn’t say anything about the voice from heaven. He only mentions the dove. This is important to me, because it shows us that the dove was a really only a symbol for John. He didn’t hear and bare record, he SAW and bore record.
John was expecting to see a sign that identified the Messiah, and the dove fulfilled that sign. The voice was not expected by John, and wasn’t even mentioned by him.
It was only the Dove that was important to his testimony.
And when you put the 4 Gospels together, you see that the baptism of Jesus was an event that had to happen for John the Baptist to accurately identify the Messiah. That is what he was called to do, and he was waiting for a sign, and the dove provided that sign. So, Jesus said, yes John, you’ve got to baptize me. This is part of the plan. It wasn’t because Jesus needed cleansing or repentance, it was a planned event for God to identify who Jesus was.
If we read it again in Matthew’s Gospel, we just go from Jesus saying this needs to happen in verse 15, to the dove descending on Him in verse 16 without any context.
…which is why we need the Gospel of John to add the context required to understand the meaning of the dove.
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
The context of John’s Gospel tells us that the dove was what John needed to see in order to correctly identify the One he was preparing the way for…Jesus. Emmanuel. God With Us.
Baptizo
Baptizo
I want to take a side step from the main point of this story, to point out that the word Baptize here in the Greek is “Baptizo”.
A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (907. βαπτίζω)
907. βαπτίζω baptizō, bap-tid´-zo; from a der. of 911; to make whelmed (i.e. fully wet)…
As you can see here, it means to make whelmed, which means “engulf, submerged, or buried”, and the example given is: fully wet, and is a verb derived from its noun Bapto:
A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (911. βάπτω)
911. βάπτω baptō, bap´-to; a prim. verb; to whelm, i.e. cover wholly with a fluid…
In our text is says:
Matthew 3:16 (KJV 1900)
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Notice the word “OUT”. Jesus went UP and OUT of the water. It wasn’t sprinkled on Him, or poured on Him. He was covered “wholly” by the water, because that is what the word Baptize literally means.
Another great example of this is found in:
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
In this account of the conversion of the Ethiopian, Philip and the Ethiopian both went “INTO” the water, and came “UP OUT” of the water.
You will not find any example of baptism by sprinkling or pouring in the Bible. That was a tradition invented hundreds of years later. You say, well what does it really matter? I’ll tell you why it matters. Because obedience is greater than sacrifice. And because Paul said there is only:
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Paul said there is only one baptism. If you baptize another way, then you’ve created a second baptism. People, how you baptize matters. If we can change it to sprinkling, why not change it to just waving your hand over them, and why not get rid of it altogether? And that is what many people have done today.
Baptism is Essential!
Baptism is Essential!
You can follow a path in Church History and wherever the mode of baptism was changed, eventually the essentiality of baptism was brought into question. If you question whether baptism is essential or not, here is your answer.
Number 1, Jesus was perfect and still got baptized, so follow His example.
Number 2, If you don’t want to follow His example, follow His words:
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
When you study it out, baptism is for:
The Remission or Washing away of Sins
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
2. Baptism is for salvation
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
3. Baptism is how you enter the New Covenant
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
4. Baptism is for all Believers!
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
A great example of this is found in Acts 19. There were disciples of John the Baptist that Paul re-baptized because they needed to beleive on the one that came after John.
1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
“that they should believe on him which should come after him”
When they Heard THIS, they were baptized in Jesus Name.
Paul used the words of John the Baptist to preach Jesus to them, why?
Because they said, we were baptized by John. That means, they believed John’s words. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been baptized by him. Baptism signifies to that you believe the baptizer. So, Paul knew they believed John’s words. Therefore, Paul used John’s words to preach Jesus to them, and when they heard it, they were baptized in Jesus Name.
The Voice
The Voice
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Aside from the Dove, which was a signal to John that Jesus was the Messiah, we also have a voice from Heaven. I believe this voice was for Isreal, namely the followers of John who were standing there in a crowd.
Jesus was being revealed to them as the Messiah. This voice would surely be strong evidence that Jesus was in fact the Messiah they had been waiting for.
Jewish law required two or three witnesses. The voice, the dove, the crowd, and John the Baptist himself provided more than enough evidence that Jesus was the Messiah or The Christ, and Emmanuel, or God With Us.
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.