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His Baptism - Milestones with the Master - Matthew 3:1-17 | Warren Wiersbe Sermons | Warren Wiersbe | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: His Baptism - Milestones with the Master - Matthew 3:1-17 | Warren Wiersbe Sermons
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Core Theme
The baptism of Jesus Christ, as described in Matthew 3, is presented not merely as a ritual but as a pivotal event with profound theological significance, serving as a public presentation, an endorsement of John the Baptist's ministry, and a symbolic foreshadowing of Christ's own death, burial, and resurrection.
we open the word of God now to Matthew chapter
3 in the first 12 verses you have John the
the Baptist
ministering John the Baptist came and
then the scribes and Pharisees came and
then Jesus came verse 13 of Matthew
3 then cometh Jesus From Galilee to the
Jordan un John to be baptized by
him but John forbad him saying I have
need to be baptized of thee and comest
thou to
me and Jesus answering said unto him
permit it to be so
now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all
all
righteousness then he consented to
him and Jesus when he was baptized went
up straight way out of the water
and lo the heavens were opened unto him
and he saw the spirit of God descending
like a dove and liting upon him and low
a voice from Heaven
saying this is my beloved
Son in whom I am well
pleased we're considering these Sunday
evenings the important events in the
Earthly Life of Christ we've considered
his birth
and now his
baptism many people are perplexed about
the baptism of our Lord Jesus and this I
think is because they don't take it in
the full context of the
Bible the word baptize has two
meanings there is a literal meaning
which is to immerse to dip to
plunge and there is a figurative meaning
now it's not my purpose this evening to discuss
discuss
denominations my own particular
conviction is that the scriptural mode
of baptism is immersion however we don't
make that a test of fellowship or
spirituality when I was pastoring
Calvary Baptist Church in Covington my
people often heard me say from the
pulpit I would not go across the street
to try to make anybody a Baptist but I
would go to the end of the Earth if God
called me to try to make him into a
Christian because my purpose as a
preacher of the word of God is to share
the word of God and win people to Christ
and build people up in Christ people
have different denominational
convictions and so my purpose tonight is
not to try to make a Baptist out of
anybody if that were the case I wouldn't
be in this Pulpit or be the pastor of
this church but my own conviction is
that's pretty well backed up by New
Testament Scholars that the New
Testament mode of baptism was
immersion the Advent of other forms of
baptism is for a different
reason when our lord Jesus came to the
Jordan River to be baptized it is then
my conviction that he entered into the
water he went under the water he came up
from the water and then he emerged out
of the water it was a baptism by
immersion there are the those who say
that Jesus was baptized because this was
the entrance into his Priestly Ministry
you people know from your Bible study
that when they ordained the priests back
in the Old Testament they washed them
completely then they robed them in their
Priestly garments that's a beautiful
Theory except that Jesus was not
entering into his Priestly Ministry he
did not enter into his Priestly Ministry
until he ascended to heaven where he is
now interceding for us at the right hand of
of
God I think it's important for us to
understand why Jesus was baptized
because it involves us as his followers
and as Christians may I suggest to you
tonight that there are three reasons why
the Lord Jesus was
baptized and if you understand these
reasons I think it'll help you in
understanding your own spiritual
relationship and perhaps your own
baptism reason number one he was
baptized that it might be revealed who he
he
is this was his
introduction his presentation to the
people of Israel turn to John chap 1
where John the Baptist explains this to
us John chapter 1 beginning at verse 25
a committee came from the Jewish Council
and said to John why baptize us thou
then if thou be not the Christ nor
Elijah nor that prophet John answered
them saying I baptize with water but
there standeth one among you whom ye
know not he it is Who coming after me is
preferred before me whose shoes latch it
I am not worthy to lose the next day
John seeth Jesus coming unto him and
saith Behold the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world this is
he of whom I said after me cometh a man
who is preferred before me me for he was
before me and I knew him not but that he
should be made manifest to
Israel therefore am I come baptizing
with water and John bore witness saying
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven
like a dove and it Abode upon him 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 who baptizeth with the
Holy Spirit and I saw and bore witness
that this is the Son of God John the
Baptist came to prepare the nation for
the Messiah and to present the Messiah
to the nation now he prepared the nation
for the Messiah by his baptism of
repentance this may come as a new
thought to some of you but I believe
it's biblical John's baptism
being a baptism of
repentance being a baptism that prepared
the way for the coming of
Christ is different from the baptism we
practice today I'm not talking about
mode I'm talking about meaning for
example you'll open the word of God to
19 Acts chapter 19 the Apostle Paul
comes to Ephesus and he finds certain
disciples and he says to them did you
receive the Holy Spirit when you
believed and they said we have not so
much as heard whether there is any Holy
Spirit or whether there any Holy Spirit
given he said unto them unto what then
were you
baptized and they said unto John's
baptism then said Paul John verily
baptized with the baptism of repentance
saying unto the people that they should
believe on him who should come after him
that is on Christ Jesus now when we
baptize here at the Moody Church we're
not asking people to look for one yet to
come nor are we baptizing unto
repentance preparing them for one who's
to come the baptism that we practice
looks back to a finished work of one who
already has
come so John's baptism was a peculiar
baptism for that period he was preparing
the people with repentant Hearts Pro
their repentance by their baptism for
the coming of the Messiah and then when
the Messiah came he
presented the Messiah to the
nation you can imagine what a what a
tremendous event this was here comes
from Nazareth all the way down to the
Jordan a
carpenter he enters into the water he is
baptized the heavens open a voice is
heard this is my beloved Son in whom I'm
well pleased a dove comes and settles
upon him in distinction he is singled
out and then John the Baptist can point
to him and say Behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world
the first reason for his baptism was
that he might be presented to the
nation the second reason for his baptism
was that he might endorse the ministry
of John the
Baptist now John's Ministry was a
Ministry of repentance not a Ministry of
reconciliation John was so unlike our lord
lord
Jesus John was a rough man of the
Wilderness and Jesus was a a very tender
loving patient man of the
city John was a
Nazarite he did not cut his hair he did
not drink strong drink Jesus Christ was
not a Nazarite he was a
Nazarene but not a Nazarite he did drink
strong drink so much that they said of
him he's a drunkard and a wine Biber
John the Baptist would never accept an
invitation to a party Jesus mingled with
the people including the publicans and
the sinners now John's Ministry came
from Heaven I think it's important that
we um that we note over in Matthew chap
21 that John's Ministry was not
something he invented himself John
23 and when he was come into the temple
the chief priests and the
Elders of the people came unto him as he
was teaching and they said you see Jesus
had cleansed the temple by what
Authority doest thou these things who
gave thee this
Authority and Jesus answered and said to
them I also will ask you one thing which
if you tell me I likewise will tell you
by what Authority I do these things and
he goes back three years the baptism of
John from where was it was it from
heaven or of men now there are those who
teach us that John's baptism was the
natural development of Jewish proelite
baptism doesn't say that in the Bible
they say it was something that other
sects had practiced and he sort of
picked it up it doesn't say that in the
Bible notice was it from heaven or was
it of man and they reasoned with
themselves saying if we shall say from
Heaven he will say unto us why did ye
then not believe him but if we shall say
from man we fear the people for all
whole John as a prophet and they
answered Jesus and said we cannot tell
they should have said we will not tell we're
we're
cowards and he said unto them neither
tell I you by what Authority I do these
things our Lord is saying here John's
baptism was from Heaven the ministry
that John had was given to him from
heaven when the Lord Jesus Christ came
and was baptized he was endorsing John's
Ministry he was saying to the people
this is the man sent from God I am the
word but he's the voice he is a burning
and a shining lamp but I'm the the light
he points to the Lamb of God I am the
Lamb of God but I want you to know I am
Ministry now it's rather obvious here
that the spiritual leaders of the day
did not endorse John's Ministry they
avoided it and of course John ultimately
was arrested put into prison and his
head was cut off because he dared to
stand up for the truth of the word of
God now I'm going to linger a little
while in Matthew 21 if I may because the
Lord follows this with three Parables
first the parable of the two sons a
certain man had two sons he came to the
first and said son go to work today in
my Vineyard he answered and said I will
not but afterward he repented and went
he came to the second and said the same
and he answered and said I go sir and
went not which of the two did the will
of his father they say unto him the
first Jesus sath unto them verily I say
unto you that the tax collectors and the
harlots go into the kingdom of God
before you for John came unto you in the
way of righteousness and ye believed him
not but the tax collectors and the
harlots believed him and ye when ye had
seen it repented not afterward that you
might believe him he's endorsing John's
Ministry he is saying God the Father sent
sent
John now the next Parable is the parable
of the Vineyard you remember that story
where the man let out his Vineyard and
they beat up all of his servants finally
he said I'm going to send my son they
said aha here comes the son let's um
kill him and take the
inheritance Jesus said to them what's he
going to do to those people and they say
in verse 41 he will misera miserably
destroy those wicked men he'll lease his
Vineyard to other farmers who shall
render him the fruits in their seasons
then Jesus says the kingdom of God is
going to be taken from you and given to
a nation bringing forth the fruits
Parable number one God the Father sent
John the Baptist Parable number two God
the Father sent his son now in Parable
number three in Matthew 22 you have the
parable the marriage Feast where the
king sends his
servants and they won't listen to him
and so he destroys their city now these
three Parables hang together God the
Father sent John the Baptist and the
Jews permitted John to be killed God
sent his son and the Jews asked to have
him killed God sent his servants indued
by the Holy Spirit and they killed them
their sin kept getting
worse they permitted John to be killed
they asked for Jesus to be killed they
James and the whole trouble began when
they refused to listen listen to John
the Baptist had the nation listened to
John the
Baptist they would have been spared all
the trouble that they went
through and so the second reason why our
Lord was baptized was because he
endorsed the ministry of John the
Baptist now what's that mean to us today
it means
this until a person acknowledges he's a
sinner and is willing to take the place
of a
sinner he can't be
saved when the scribes and Pharisees
came to John's baptism taking notes they
had their little tape recorders and they
were putting notes in their tape
recorder and they were taking pictures
of John's baptism getting all a big file
on John the Baptist instead of coming
and saying we're sinners like everybody
else we need to be saved we want to be
prepared for the Messiah that's why John
looked at them and said oh you
Vipers of Viper is a snake Satan in the
Bible is the serpent what he's saying is
oh you generation of snakes you children
of the devil who warned you to flee from
come until we
repent we really can't be saved now the
third reason why our Lord was baptized
and I think the most important
reason it was a
picture of the way he was going to save us
us
a picture of the way he was going to
save us would you go back to Matthew
chapter 3 please and look at verse 15 I
can understand why John the Baptist
would say look you ought to baptize me
Jesus answering said permit it to be so
now it'll never be done
again permit it to be so now for thus it
becometh us to fulfill all righteousness
now that word thus
is translated in other places in this
manner Jesus is saying to John the
Baptist in this
manner it becometh us to fulfill all
righteousness now the question is who is
meant by
us does it mean Jesus and John the
Baptist can you conceive of John the
Baptist helping God fulfill all
righteousness I don't think so I don't
think that Jesus is saying John by your
baptizing me you and I are going to
fulfill all righteousness that doesn't make
make
sense who is meant by us the whole
Trinity is here in this passage you have
God the son in verse 15 you have God the
holy spirit in verse 16 you have God the
father in verse 17 so what is Jesus
saying he stands there in the Jordan and
that that itself is significant
he stands there in the Jordan and he
says to John the Baptist I want you to
baptize me for in this
manner through death burial and
Resurrection God the father and God the
son and God the Holy Spirit are going to
fulfill all righteousness how did Jesus
Christ fulfill all righteousness by
being baptized no that was only a
picture of his baptism on the cross you
will look with me please at Matthew chap
22 zebedee's CH the mother of zeb's
children came asking for some Thrones
for her
sons and Jesus answered and said ye know
not what you ask are you able to drink
of the cup that I shall drink of and to
be baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with and very foolishly they
answer and say we are
able he sath unto them ye shall drink
indeed of my cup and be baptized with
the baptism that I am baptized with now
he has a a similar expression in the
Gospel of Luke and you ought to notice
verse
50 our Lord says I have a
baptism to be baptized with and how I am
constrained till it be accomplished what
baptism is he talking about his baptism
on the cross when all of the waves and
the Billows of God's Wrath went over him
he himself
said what happened to Jonah
is going to happen to me you want a sign
I'll give you a sign the sign of the
prophet Jonah what happened to Jonah
death burial
Resurrection what happened to Jesus
death burial Resurrection in the New
Testament baptism is not identified with
birth nobody is saved by being baptized
baptism is identified with death
therefore we are buried with him by
baptism into death that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory
of the father even so we also should
walk in newness of life when our Lord
went into the Waters of the Jordan and
when he was immersed and brought up it
was death burial Resurrection it was a
picture of his baptism on the
righteousness that I think is the third
reason why our Lord was
baptized he was telling people through
this record there's only one way anybody
can ever be saved through my death
burial and
Resurrection I Terry but a moment or two
to think of something rather interesting
he was baptized in the
Jordan not in the pool of
silom in the
Jordan Bible students are not too clear
they're not in agreement as to the exact place
place
today where John baptized we have the
names of the places we aren't sure where
they were makes no difference he was in the
the
Jordan do you remember when
Joshua took the children of Israel
across the Jordan remember that the
waters opened up do you remember what
they did they took 12 Stones and put
them right in the middle of the Jordan
River they crossed over and they took 12
more stones and put them on the shore
and then the waters came back what do
you have death burial Resurrection the
crossing of the Jordan River was for
Israel a picture of death burial
burial
Resurrection now here comes the Lord
Jesus who is
josua jehos youa Jehovah is our
Salvation just as josua led the children
of Israel into their inheritance so
Jesus Christ through death burial
Resurrection leads us into our
inheritance Moses didn't do it John
writes and says the law was given by
Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus
Christ book of Hebrews says Moses didn't
lead the people in it was Joshua who led
them in it's a picture of our Lord Jesus
now think of something else this is
interesting when my Lord was
baptized as he came up from the waters a dove
dove
lighted upon
Him doves are interesting it's a picture
of the Holy Spirit the peace
of the Holy Spirit the purity of the
Holy Spirit the Fidelity of the Holy
Spirit you know where the first baptism
is in the
Bible the
flood a global baptism Peter tells us
that in 1 Peter chapter
3 God sent the flood and the flood completely
completely
immersed and buried the Earth death
burial but that same water raised up an
ark and placed it on a Mountaintop death burial
burial
resurrection and you remember that Noah
let a raven go and the Raven found all
sorts of crummy things to feed on and
stayed out there let the dove go the
Dove came back and brought a an olive
branch which is a picture of peace and
then he let the dove go again Dove
didn't come back and you can read all
the way through the old test you won't
Dove he turned that Dove loose that Dove
kept looking for some place to land
couldn't land on Abraham he was a
liar couldn't land on Jacob he was a
schemer couldn't land on David he was an
murderer kept flying around looking for
some place to
land and then the Lord Jesus Christ
came as he came up on out of the water
the dove landed on him here was one who
was holy harmless undefiled here was one
on whom the spirit of God could come and
the voice of the father speaks and says
this is my beloved
Son in whom I'm well
pleased and he's still well pleased with
his son he's not well pleased with us
but if we're in his son he's well
pleased with us and so our Lord was
baptized as a picture
of his baptism on the cross when all of
the waves and Billows of the Judgment of
God Came Upon him for
today what's it mean to us today well
you saw seven people baptized this
evening what did we say in that baptism
we said that you have been identified
with Jesus Christ in his death burial
and Resurrection how through water no
through the Holy
Spirit John said I baptize with water
one is coming after me he shall baptize
with the Holy Spirit and when you trust
Jesus Christ as your savior the Holy
Spirit comes into your life and baptizes
you that is the figurative meaning he
identifies you with Jesus Christ you
him and so our baptism in water is
simply an outward expression of that
wonderful inward
experience strictly speaking we should
never say baptized as Jesus was baptized
because we aren't John the Baptist and
we aren't using John's baptism which was
a temporary baptism pointing forward to
the coming of the Savior a baptism of
repentance strictly speaking we should
never say baptized as Jesus was if we
mean by mode and you agree with
immersion yes but if you mean by meaning
no when my Lord entered the Jordan I
wonder what his heart was saying to him
he knew that down at the end of that
road lay a Roman cross it was a
relatively simple thing to submit to the
arms of John the Baptist and be immersed
in death burial and Resurrection but oh
day when he would pray father if it be
possible let this cup pass from me
nevertheless not my will but thine be
done and he submitted himself to his
cross thank God that it ends with
Resurrection not just death
burial death could not hold her prey
Jesus my Savior he tore the bars away
Jesus my Lord and today he's a living
Savior and when you trust him a
beautiful thing happens oh if some
sinner here tonight says I want to
believe in Jesus Christ my friend when
you believe in him a beautiful thing
happens the Holy Spirit comes in your
old life is
buried your old life is
buried all of the sin and the filth and
the dirt and the rot and the disease and
buried and you rise up to walk in
newness of
life therefore If any man be in Christ
he's a new creation old things are
passed away behold all things are become
new that's why he was
baptized saying to you and
me this is what'll happened to me on the
cross so I am persuaded to say to you
you can be
baptized if you will trust Jesus Christ
as your savior you will be identified
with him in his victory with the old
life buried and raised again to walk in
newness of life you can follow your
Joshua into your inheritance you can
claim your Promised Land through death burial
resurrection that is why Jesus was
together gracious
father how much our savior endured for
us oh we have heard through the music
tonight we've heard from your word
preached how much he has done for
us and I pray Lord for that one those
two or three here tonight who have never
been saved never been born again oh that
tonight they might come and Trust
Christ thank you for the beautiful
ordinance we have that pictures this to
us may each of us be able to have the
answer of a good conscience toward God
in this
matter abundantly bless as we extend
your invitation
tonight I pray in Jesus
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