It had been 30 years since Jesus had been born in a stable and laid in a manger. 28 years since the family had returned from exile in Egypt to their home in Nazareth. 18 years since the boy Jesus had gone missing only to be found in the Temple in Jerusalem – His Father’s house. Jesus had spent 30 years preparing for the day when God’s salvation would be revealed. Also in anticipation of that day, God had sent John the Baptist to prepare the way
Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” ’
John the Baptist had begun his revival meetings on the bank of the Jordan.
Matthew 3 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the River Jordan.
So Jesus also came to be baptised by John because the time had come for Jesus to begin His ministry. It was the beginning of three momentous years – the beginning of the road to the cross of Calvary. Jesus’s baptism was unique, But at the same time Jesus’s baptism was the pattern for all baptisms of all Christians. So as we look at Matthew’s account of how Jesus was baptised by John we can also understand what baptism as believers means for us. And the first thing to say is:
Baptism is A NEW BEGINNING
A new beginning for Jesus:
A few weeks ago we thought about the way Jesus grew from being a baby.
Luke 2 40 … The child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
We saw Jesus at the age of 12 remaining in Jerusalem after his family had left, listening to the teachers and asking them questions in the Temple, which he called “my Father’s house”. After that incident we read,
Luke 2 52 … Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
So Jesus grew until the age of 30 when John the Baptist began his “get right with God” campaign. The time had come for Jesus to leave his trade as the carpenter’s apprentice in Nazareth. That was the right time for Jesus to take up his destiny and begin his own ministry of preaching and healing and driving out demons. When Jesus was baptized by John in the river Jordan that marked a new beginning in Jesus’s life.
For us too – baptism is a new beginning
Believer’s baptism marks the beginning of the Christian life. It is a declaration that a believer has been saved. Some people think that a person has to achieve a certain level of holiness or Christian maturity before they can be baptised as believers. That view is mistaken. Christian baptism is the mark of the BEGINNING of the life of faith and discipleship. As soon as a person puts their faith in Christ they are ready to be baptised. This was the case for the first Christians on day of Pentecost and the pattern for the Ethiopian Official who met Philip the evangelist in the desert. Jesus himself defined baptism as the sign that people were becoming his disciples.
Matthew 28: 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Make disciples and baptise them. Being baptized is the outward sign which Jesus himself has commanded which shows that a person has become a disciple of Jesus.
Baptism is confirmation of God’s love
For Jesus
16 As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’
Luke’s recording of the voice from heaven is even more glorious. “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
We talked a few weeks ago about how Jesus grew up to know more and more that he was actually the Son of God, Immanuel, God with us. The words God spoke when Jesus was baptized confirmed to Jesus and to those who were watching that he was truly the Son of God. “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
For all Christians
Baptism is the confirmation of God’s love as well. As they are baptized as believers some Christians experience a new depth of God’s love, or discover more of God’s joy, or receive a new sense of God’s peace.
Baptism is EMPOWERING FOR SERVICE
Empowering for Jesus
16 As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’
The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the image of a dove and landed on him. This was a visible sign that God was empowering Jesus for his ministry. John the Baptist had said this about the ministry of Jesus.
Matthew 3 11 ‘I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Jesus the Messiah came to bring cleansing to Israel, in the power of the Holy Spirit and of fire. Jesus himself explained that he did not work all his amazing miracles of healing and deliverance in his own strength but by the the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism it was to equip him for his ministry.
Empowering for service for all Christians
Someone has said, “baptism is ordination to the principal order of ministry”. In other words, baptism commissions and empowers every Christian to serve God in the church and the world. And that is for EVERY Christian! Many Christians find that when they are baptized God fills them with the Holy Spirit in all kinds of ways equipping them to serve God in the church and the world. It is the Holy Spirit who transforms us to be like Jesus and Who gives us power to be witnesses for Jesus.
Baptism is also identification with God’s people
In Jesus’s baptism He identified himself with the nation of Israel as their Messiah.
For all Christians our baptism is identification with the church. Every Christian is a member of the church – part of God’s family, a member of the body of Christ. It is good to express that by being identified with a local expression of the church and having your name on the membership list of the church. But whether we choose to join the church in that way or not, every Christian IS a part of the body of Christ and being baptized marks that joining of the church.
Baptism is a witness to the world
For Jesus
We read this about John the Baptist in John’s Gospel.
John 1 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
God had sent John to prepare the way for Jesus and he had told John what to expect.
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”
God had told John in advance about the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in the form of a dove. And God had declared that this person would indeed be the Son of God and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This was how John the Baptist would know who Jesus was, and this was the message John declared to his followers. In this way, Jesus’s baptism demonstrated who Jesus was.
Bapsism is a witness to the world for all Christians
When a person is baptized as a believer they confess their faith in Jesus as saviour and Lord. These words of testimony, and the act of being baptized, are their witness to the world of the saving power of Jesus.
Jesus’s baptism was the pattern for all baptisms of all Christians. Believer’s baptism marks a new beginning. It is a sign of God’s love and at the same time an empowering for service. Baptism is identifying with God’s people and it is a powerful witness to the world. Jesus’s baptism was the pattern for all baptisms. And at the same time the baptism of Jesus was unique.
Baptism marks the forgiveness of sins – for everybody except Jesus
The baptism John the Baptist brought marked forgiveness of sins for the people of Israel.
Matthew 3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
luke3:5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River.
The act of baptism symbolised washing and cleansing and forgiveness. In the same way
Believer’s baptism marks forgiveness of sins for all Christians
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, 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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Believer’s baptism is God’s appointed outward sign of the inward reality that a person’s sins have been forgiven and they have been born again to eternal life.
Baptism signifies FORGIVENESS OF SINS – FOR EVERYBODY ELSE BUT NOT FOR JESUS
Jesus was without sin. He never once did anything wrong or said anything wrong or even thought anything wrong. The apostle Peter said about Jesus “He committed no sin.”
Hebrews 4: 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
Jesus was not baptized for the forgiveness of his own sins – he had no sin. Instead Jesus identified himself with the sins of every other human being. Three years later, on the cross Jesus took all the sins of the whole world on his shoulders. By being baptized, Jesus was identifying with all the lost sinners he came to save.
So Jesus did not need to be baptized as a mark of forgiveness of sins, why then was Jesus baptized?
“To fulfil all righteousness”
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.
Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. In other words. Jesus was baptised because it was the right thing to do. Because God had commanded it. Baptism for Jesus was supremely an act of obedience to his Father. In the same way, Christians are baptized as believers because it is the right thing to do.
May I share my own experience of believer’s baptism. Growing up with no contact with any church, I became a Christian when I was 16. The first church I became involved with was a United Reformed Church and there I became a church member but they didn’t offer believer’s baptism. Soon after I became a teacher and moved to Watford I became a member of Bushey Baptist Church who again welcomed me into church membership without raising the question of being baptized because I had been a church member with the URC. After a couple of years, I had become a Home Group leader and also a lay-preacher around Baptist churches in Hertfordshire, and I first began to consider the possibility of training to become a minister. At that point the minister asked me whether I would like to be baptized as a believer. I had been a Christian for 8 years. But then that was the time when it seemed right for me to be baptized. For me, my baptism was not so much to show that I had become a Christian, but more as a preparation for the next stage of Christian service. Being baptised as a believer just seemed to be the right thing to do at that time. That is my story.
So what could Believer’s Baptism mean for you?
A new beginning – start of Christian life
Confirmation of God’s love
Empowering for Service
Identification with God’s people
A witness to the world.
A mark of the forgiveness of sins
Jesus didn’t need to be baptized. If anybody ever did not need to be baptized it was Jesus! But
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.”
Jesus was baptized as an act of obedience to God. Should not we who are his followers, his disciples, do the same!