How many of you remember when you were baptized? Those of you who were baptized when you were babies probably don’t remember it (unless you have the greatest memory in the world). Those of you who were baptized as adolescents, teenagers, or adults probably remember not only when, but also where, how, and by whom you were baptized. Some of you have been baptized three or four times, so you have a lot of memories—that is, if you can keep them all straight. Baptism is a significant life event that we should always remember.
I remember my baptism well. I was 21 years old and was in my second year of Bible College. I had been a Christian for a few years, but for some reason I had never gotten baptized at my home church. When I was going to become a member of the church I was attending in college, the pastor asked me when I was baptized. When I told him that I had never been baptized, a strange look came over his face. It may seem a little backward that I had been studying for the ministry for two years before I was baptized, but most things throughout my life have been a little backward—so why should my baptism be any different? Therefore, I was baptized at a Presbyterian church in Chicago in preparation for a life in ministry.
Likewise, when Jesus was 30 years old, he went to the Jordan River and was baptized by his cousin John the Baptist in preparation for his public ministry. Matthew fast-forwards from Jesus as a 12 year old boy in chapter 2 to Jesus undergoing the waters of baptism as a full grown man in chapter 3. We don’t know anything about Jesus’ teenage or young adult life, but this 18 year gap of silence is ended with the significant event of Jesus’ baptism.
John the Baptist Prepares the Way (1-12)
When Jesus showed up on the banks of the Jordan, John the Baptist had already been engaged in the ministry of preaching and baptizing for some time. Even though John conducted his ministry in the remote wilderness regions of Judea, he had gained considerable popularity. The nation of Israel hadn’t had a bona fide prophet in their midst for 400 years, and John raised curiosity because he lived and spoke like a true prophet from God. With the peculiar garments of camel’s hair and an all natural organic diet of locusts and wild honey, he reminded people of the prophet Elijah from Old Testament times. (It is a good thing that PETA didn’t exist in John’s time, or they would have taken him to task for his camel’s hair clothing.)
John’s message was simple and straightforward: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repentance means sorrow for and a turning away from sin. John’s baptism was a symbolic gesture of repentance in preparation for the coming Messiah. After people confessed their sins, he immersed them in the river as a symbol of their souls being cleansed.
John’s message of repentance is important for us to consider today. For some reason, the necessity of repentance has gotten lost in the modern theological shuffle. Some people have said, “All you have to do is believe to be saved.” Is repentance necessary for salvation? Do I have to repent to go to heaven? The answer is unequivocally “Yes!” Here is why: if someone does not take their sin seriously, they completely miss the point of Jesus’ death on the cross. If we are not genuinely sorrowful for the things we have said and done that have broken our relationship with God, then Jesus died in vain. If we are unwilling to confess and turn away from our sin, we do not understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.
How about you? Have you repented from your sin? Do you feel sorrowful for your sinful thoughts, words, and deeds? Have you made a decision to turn the other way? Only then will you be ready to receive God’s forgiveness through Jesus’ death and the promise of eternal life through his resurrection! Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand!
John was an intriguing figure and his ministry became so popular that even the religious leaders (the Pharisees and Sadducees) came to the wilderness to hear his preaching and to the Jordan to see his baptism. But when they showed up, they were not greeted with terms of endearment; he lambastes them for their hypocrisy. In an instance of divine and sarcastic name calling, John accuses them of being a “brood of vipers”—a slew of spineless serpents who took pride in their spiritual heritage rather than a personal commitment to God. John tells them that if they don’t take their spiritual lives seriously that their souls are in jeopardy of judgment. Jesus will chop them down and burn the trees that don’t bear spiritual fruit. He will use his winnowing fork to separate the spiritual wheat from the spiritual chaff, and the chaff will burn in hell.
There are many people today who make the same mistake as these religious leaders. They base their spiritual security on their religious heritage rather than their own relationship with God. People say things like, “Well, my grandfather helped build that church! My grandmother attended church her whole life! My father gave a lot of money to that church! My mother reads the Bible all the time! I used to go to church when I was a kid! My family is Catholic—or Methodist, or Baptist, or some other denomination.”
Do you know what John the Baptist would say to any of these things? He would say a big sarcastic “Whipp-di-dooo!” He would say that God is not impressed by any of these things! He would say that none of these things matter! He would ask, “What about you? How is your relationship with God? How is your spiritual life? Have you taken Jesus Christ seriously?” Your salvation does not depend on your spiritual heritage or going through religious motions; it depends upon what you do with Jesus Christ!
Before we move on, I would like to notice one more thing about John: his humility. He never let his own abilities or popularity go to his head. He was comfortable with his call to be the forerunner to the Messiah. He knew that he was just a voice calling in the wilderness to prepare the way for the Lord. He knew that the one coming after him was mightier than him and he wasn’t even worthy to carry his sandals. He knew that his baptism was only a physical baptism for repentance but that the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit. He knew that he should be baptized by Jesus; not the other way around. He understood his position under Christ.
This is a good reminder for us today. American’s especially need to be reminded that we are not the Messiah. We need to be reminded of our humble position before God. God doesn’t owe us anything! The world does not revolve around us! We need to be reminded that life is not about our dreams, our desires, our goals, our aspirations, our preferences, or our possessions—our lives are about God’s call and plan. John understood that; do you?
Jesus’ Baptism (13-17)
Well, Jesus eventually came to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John immediately recognized Jesus for who he was; that is why he was reluctant to baptize him. But Jesus must have been a big disappointment for the people standing there. Matthew makes a point to say that Jesus “came from Galilee.” Galilee was the insignificant rural northern area of Israel. Judeans looked down upon Galileans as being backwoods, uneducated, and unsophisticated. To be from Galilee was to be from the wrong side of the tracks. Jesus, as an average sized Galilean who wanted to be baptized by John like everyone else, would not have met the people’s Messianic expectations. They wanted a strong, powerful, outspoken, take the bull by the horns type leader who would overthrow the Romans and reestablish Jewish glory. At first glance, Jesus didn’t fit the bill. He was royal disappointment (pun intended).
Have you ever been disappointed with Jesus? If we are truly honest, I suspect most of us have. There has probably been a time in your life when you wanted Jesus to be something that he is not? You have probably had the experience where you wanted him to answer one of your prayers in a certain way and he didn’t? Maybe things didn’t turn out the way you thought they were going to, and you doubted God? This is exactly what the people by the Jordon were feeling, but let’s see what happens!
In spite of John’s reluctance, Jesus insists upon being baptized for the purpose of “fulfilling all righteousness.” Jesus did not need a baptism of repentance because he never committed a sin, but he wanted to be baptized to fulfill God’s saving activity that had been prophesied in the Old Testament. Instead of being the one standing up with John and calling on sinners to repent, he wanted to be down in the water, making himself one with the very sinners he came to save. Jesus’ baptism affirmed his humanity and inaugurated his ministry of salvation.
As Jesus walked into the water and John immersed his body, his baptism was complete. When he came up from the water two miracles took place. God opened the heavens and the Holy Spirit takes on the appearance of a dove and lighting and descends upon Jesus. A dove was a common symbol of peace and lightning was a symbol of judgment. Here stood the one who was destined to bring both peace and judgment to the world. Then everyone heard God’s voice from heaven say, “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” These words confirmed Jesus’ divine identity as the Son of God and the promised Messiah as was prophesied in Isaiah 42:1. The crowd that witnessed this vision and heard these words from heaven must have been dumbfounded. Jesus did not meet their expectations, but this little family reunion between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit left no doubt about Jesus’ identity.
Likewise, Jesus did not come to meet our little religious expectations; he did not come to advance our political agendas; he certainly did not come to affirm our self-esteem. He is God’s divine Son, the promised Messiah who came to fulfill his Father’s will of bringing salvation to lost sinners like you and me. His ministry was inaugurated at his baptism, it was accomplished through his death and resurrection, and it will be consummated at his second coming. Have you repented from your sins? Have you put your faith in God’s son? Have you received his gift of salvation? Are you ready for his return?