0:03 we open the word of God now to Matthew chapter
0:10 3 in the first 12 verses you have John the
0:11 the Baptist
0:17 ministering John the Baptist came and
0:19 then the scribes and Pharisees came and
0:25 then Jesus came verse 13 of Matthew
0:29 3 then cometh Jesus From Galilee to the
0:33 Jordan un John to be baptized by
0:36 him but John forbad him saying I have
0:39 need to be baptized of thee and comest
0:40 thou to
0:43 me and Jesus answering said unto him
0:45 permit it to be so
0:49 now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all
0:50 all
0:53 righteousness then he consented to
0:58 him and Jesus when he was baptized went
1:00 up straight way out of the water
1:03 and lo the heavens were opened unto him
1:06 and he saw the spirit of God descending
1:10 like a dove and liting upon him and low
1:12 a voice from Heaven
1:15 saying this is my beloved
1:20 Son in whom I am well
1:23 pleased we're considering these Sunday
1:26 evenings the important events in the
1:28 Earthly Life of Christ we've considered
1:30 his birth
1:32 and now his
1:35 baptism many people are perplexed about
1:38 the baptism of our Lord Jesus and this I
1:40 think is because they don't take it in
1:43 the full context of the
1:47 Bible the word baptize has two
1:49 meanings there is a literal meaning
1:54 which is to immerse to dip to
1:57 plunge and there is a figurative meaning
2:04 now it's not my purpose this evening to discuss
2:06 discuss
2:08 denominations my own particular
2:11 conviction is that the scriptural mode
2:13 of baptism is immersion however we don't
2:17 make that a test of fellowship or
2:20 spirituality when I was pastoring
2:23 Calvary Baptist Church in Covington my
2:25 people often heard me say from the
2:28 pulpit I would not go across the street
2:31 to try to make anybody a Baptist but I
2:33 would go to the end of the Earth if God
2:35 called me to try to make him into a
2:38 Christian because my purpose as a
2:41 preacher of the word of God is to share
2:43 the word of God and win people to Christ
2:45 and build people up in Christ people
2:48 have different denominational
2:50 convictions and so my purpose tonight is
2:53 not to try to make a Baptist out of
2:55 anybody if that were the case I wouldn't
2:57 be in this Pulpit or be the pastor of
3:00 this church but my own conviction is
3:02 that's pretty well backed up by New
3:03 Testament Scholars that the New
3:06 Testament mode of baptism was
3:09 immersion the Advent of other forms of
3:12 baptism is for a different
3:15 reason when our lord Jesus came to the
3:17 Jordan River to be baptized it is then
3:19 my conviction that he entered into the
3:22 water he went under the water he came up
3:25 from the water and then he emerged out
3:28 of the water it was a baptism by
3:30 immersion there are the those who say
3:32 that Jesus was baptized because this was
3:36 the entrance into his Priestly Ministry
3:38 you people know from your Bible study
3:40 that when they ordained the priests back
3:42 in the Old Testament they washed them
3:45 completely then they robed them in their
3:47 Priestly garments that's a beautiful
3:49 Theory except that Jesus was not
3:52 entering into his Priestly Ministry he
3:54 did not enter into his Priestly Ministry
3:57 until he ascended to heaven where he is
3:59 now interceding for us at the right hand of
4:00 of
4:03 God I think it's important for us to
4:05 understand why Jesus was baptized
4:09 because it involves us as his followers
4:12 and as Christians may I suggest to you
4:14 tonight that there are three reasons why
4:15 the Lord Jesus was
4:18 baptized and if you understand these
4:20 reasons I think it'll help you in
4:22 understanding your own spiritual
4:24 relationship and perhaps your own
4:27 baptism reason number one he was
4:30 baptized that it might be revealed who he
4:31 he
4:33 is this was his
4:36 introduction his presentation to the
4:40 people of Israel turn to John chap 1
4:43 where John the Baptist explains this to
4:48 us John chapter 1 beginning at verse 25
4:51 a committee came from the Jewish Council
4:54 and said to John why baptize us thou
4:57 then if thou be not the Christ nor
5:00 Elijah nor that prophet John answered
5:04 them saying I baptize with water but
5:06 there standeth one among you whom ye
5:10 know not he it is Who coming after me is
5:13 preferred before me whose shoes latch it
5:17 I am not worthy to lose the next day
5:19 John seeth Jesus coming unto him and
5:22 saith Behold the Lamb of God which
5:25 taketh away the sin of the world this is
5:28 he of whom I said after me cometh a man
5:30 who is preferred before me me for he was
5:35 before me and I knew him not but that he
5:38 should be made manifest to
5:42 Israel therefore am I come baptizing
5:44 with water and John bore witness saying
5:47 I saw the Spirit descending from heaven
5:50 like a dove and it Abode upon him and I
5:52 knew him not but he that sent me to
5:55 baptize with water the same said unto me
5:57 upon whom Thou shalt see the spirit
6:00 descending and remaining on him
6:02 the same is he who baptizeth with the
6:06 Holy Spirit and I saw and bore witness
6:10 that this is the Son of God John the
6:13 Baptist came to prepare the nation for
6:16 the Messiah and to present the Messiah
6:19 to the nation now he prepared the nation
6:23 for the Messiah by his baptism of
6:25 repentance this may come as a new
6:27 thought to some of you but I believe
6:30 it's biblical John's baptism
6:32 being a baptism of
6:35 repentance being a baptism that prepared
6:37 the way for the coming of
6:40 Christ is different from the baptism we
6:43 practice today I'm not talking about
6:46 mode I'm talking about meaning for
6:48 example you'll open the word of God to
6:55 19 Acts chapter 19 the Apostle Paul
6:58 comes to Ephesus and he finds certain
7:00 disciples and he says to them did you
7:02 receive the Holy Spirit when you
7:04 believed and they said we have not so
7:06 much as heard whether there is any Holy
7:08 Spirit or whether there any Holy Spirit
7:11 given he said unto them unto what then
7:12 were you
7:15 baptized and they said unto John's
7:19 baptism then said Paul John verily
7:22 baptized with the baptism of repentance
7:24 saying unto the people that they should
7:28 believe on him who should come after him
7:30 that is on Christ Jesus now when we
7:32 baptize here at the Moody Church we're
7:35 not asking people to look for one yet to
7:38 come nor are we baptizing unto
7:40 repentance preparing them for one who's
7:43 to come the baptism that we practice
7:46 looks back to a finished work of one who
7:49 already has
7:52 come so John's baptism was a peculiar
7:55 baptism for that period he was preparing
7:59 the people with repentant Hearts Pro
8:02 their repentance by their baptism for
8:04 the coming of the Messiah and then when
8:06 the Messiah came he
8:09 presented the Messiah to the
8:11 nation you can imagine what a what a
8:14 tremendous event this was here comes
8:18 from Nazareth all the way down to the
8:19 Jordan a
8:24 carpenter he enters into the water he is
8:28 baptized the heavens open a voice is
8:31 heard this is my beloved Son in whom I'm
8:34 well pleased a dove comes and settles
8:38 upon him in distinction he is singled
8:41 out and then John the Baptist can point
8:44 to him and say Behold the Lamb of God
8:48 that taketh away the sin of the world
8:51 the first reason for his baptism was
8:56 that he might be presented to the
9:00 nation the second reason for his baptism
9:02 was that he might endorse the ministry
9:04 of John the
9:06 Baptist now John's Ministry was a
9:10 Ministry of repentance not a Ministry of
9:14 reconciliation John was so unlike our lord
9:14 lord
9:18 Jesus John was a rough man of the
9:24 Wilderness and Jesus was a a very tender
9:27 loving patient man of the
9:31 city John was a
9:33 Nazarite he did not cut his hair he did
9:37 not drink strong drink Jesus Christ was
9:39 not a Nazarite he was a
9:43 Nazarene but not a Nazarite he did drink
9:45 strong drink so much that they said of
9:48 him he's a drunkard and a wine Biber
9:50 John the Baptist would never accept an
9:53 invitation to a party Jesus mingled with
9:55 the people including the publicans and
9:59 the sinners now John's Ministry came
10:01 from Heaven I think it's important that
10:05 we um that we note over in Matthew chap
10:08 21 that John's Ministry was not
10:11 something he invented himself John
10:20 23 and when he was come into the temple
10:22 the chief priests and the
10:25 Elders of the people came unto him as he
10:27 was teaching and they said you see Jesus
10:30 had cleansed the temple by what
10:32 Authority doest thou these things who
10:33 gave thee this
10:36 Authority and Jesus answered and said to
10:38 them I also will ask you one thing which
10:41 if you tell me I likewise will tell you
10:43 by what Authority I do these things and
10:46 he goes back three years the baptism of
10:50 John from where was it was it from
10:53 heaven or of men now there are those who
10:55 teach us that John's baptism was the
10:58 natural development of Jewish proelite
11:01 baptism doesn't say that in the Bible
11:02 they say it was something that other
11:04 sects had practiced and he sort of
11:06 picked it up it doesn't say that in the
11:09 Bible notice was it from heaven or was
11:11 it of man and they reasoned with
11:13 themselves saying if we shall say from
11:16 Heaven he will say unto us why did ye
11:19 then not believe him but if we shall say
11:22 from man we fear the people for all
11:24 whole John as a prophet and they
11:27 answered Jesus and said we cannot tell
11:28 they should have said we will not tell we're
11:29 we're
11:32 cowards and he said unto them neither
11:35 tell I you by what Authority I do these
11:37 things our Lord is saying here John's
11:40 baptism was from Heaven the ministry
11:42 that John had was given to him from
11:44 heaven when the Lord Jesus Christ came
11:48 and was baptized he was endorsing John's
11:50 Ministry he was saying to the people
11:54 this is the man sent from God I am the
11:57 word but he's the voice he is a burning
12:00 and a shining lamp but I'm the the light
12:03 he points to the Lamb of God I am the
12:05 Lamb of God but I want you to know I am
12:11 Ministry now it's rather obvious here
12:13 that the spiritual leaders of the day
12:16 did not endorse John's Ministry they
12:19 avoided it and of course John ultimately
12:21 was arrested put into prison and his
12:24 head was cut off because he dared to
12:27 stand up for the truth of the word of
12:29 God now I'm going to linger a little
12:32 while in Matthew 21 if I may because the
12:35 Lord follows this with three Parables
12:38 first the parable of the two sons a
12:40 certain man had two sons he came to the
12:42 first and said son go to work today in
12:44 my Vineyard he answered and said I will
12:48 not but afterward he repented and went
12:49 he came to the second and said the same
12:51 and he answered and said I go sir and
12:54 went not which of the two did the will
12:57 of his father they say unto him the
13:00 first Jesus sath unto them verily I say
13:03 unto you that the tax collectors and the
13:05 harlots go into the kingdom of God
13:09 before you for John came unto you in the
13:11 way of righteousness and ye believed him
13:14 not but the tax collectors and the
13:16 harlots believed him and ye when ye had
13:19 seen it repented not afterward that you
13:22 might believe him he's endorsing John's
13:25 Ministry he is saying God the Father sent
13:26 sent
13:28 John now the next Parable is the parable
13:31 of the Vineyard you remember that story
13:33 where the man let out his Vineyard and
13:34 they beat up all of his servants finally
13:36 he said I'm going to send my son they
13:40 said aha here comes the son let's um
13:43 kill him and take the
13:46 inheritance Jesus said to them what's he
13:48 going to do to those people and they say
13:51 in verse 41 he will misera miserably
13:54 destroy those wicked men he'll lease his
13:56 Vineyard to other farmers who shall
13:59 render him the fruits in their seasons
14:01 then Jesus says the kingdom of God is
14:04 going to be taken from you and given to
14:06 a nation bringing forth the fruits
14:09 Parable number one God the Father sent
14:11 John the Baptist Parable number two God
14:14 the Father sent his son now in Parable
14:17 number three in Matthew 22 you have the
14:19 parable the marriage Feast where the
14:22 king sends his
14:24 servants and they won't listen to him
14:26 and so he destroys their city now these
14:28 three Parables hang together God the
14:30 Father sent John the Baptist and the
14:34 Jews permitted John to be killed God
14:37 sent his son and the Jews asked to have
14:40 him killed God sent his servants indued
14:43 by the Holy Spirit and they killed them
14:45 their sin kept getting
14:48 worse they permitted John to be killed
14:51 they asked for Jesus to be killed they
14:57 James and the whole trouble began when
14:59 they refused to listen listen to John
15:02 the Baptist had the nation listened to
15:04 John the
15:06 Baptist they would have been spared all
15:09 the trouble that they went
15:11 through and so the second reason why our
15:14 Lord was baptized was because he
15:16 endorsed the ministry of John the
15:18 Baptist now what's that mean to us today
15:19 it means
15:23 this until a person acknowledges he's a
15:26 sinner and is willing to take the place
15:27 of a
15:29 sinner he can't be
15:32 saved when the scribes and Pharisees
15:35 came to John's baptism taking notes they
15:37 had their little tape recorders and they
15:38 were putting notes in their tape
15:40 recorder and they were taking pictures
15:43 of John's baptism getting all a big file
15:45 on John the Baptist instead of coming
15:47 and saying we're sinners like everybody
15:50 else we need to be saved we want to be
15:52 prepared for the Messiah that's why John
15:54 looked at them and said oh you
16:00 Vipers of Viper is a snake Satan in the
16:03 Bible is the serpent what he's saying is
16:06 oh you generation of snakes you children
16:08 of the devil who warned you to flee from
16:14 come until we
16:17 repent we really can't be saved now the
16:20 third reason why our Lord was baptized
16:22 and I think the most important
16:24 reason it was a
16:27 picture of the way he was going to save us
16:29 us
16:32 a picture of the way he was going to
16:35 save us would you go back to Matthew
16:39 chapter 3 please and look at verse 15 I
16:41 can understand why John the Baptist
16:44 would say look you ought to baptize me
16:47 Jesus answering said permit it to be so
16:50 now it'll never be done
16:54 again permit it to be so now for thus it
16:58 becometh us to fulfill all righteousness
16:59 now that word thus
17:03 is translated in other places in this
17:05 manner Jesus is saying to John the
17:08 Baptist in this
17:11 manner it becometh us to fulfill all
17:15 righteousness now the question is who is
17:16 meant by
17:19 us does it mean Jesus and John the
17:21 Baptist can you conceive of John the
17:24 Baptist helping God fulfill all
17:27 righteousness I don't think so I don't
17:29 think that Jesus is saying John by your
17:32 baptizing me you and I are going to
17:34 fulfill all righteousness that doesn't make
17:35 make
17:39 sense who is meant by us the whole
17:42 Trinity is here in this passage you have
17:46 God the son in verse 15 you have God the
17:50 holy spirit in verse 16 you have God the
17:54 father in verse 17 so what is Jesus
17:57 saying he stands there in the Jordan and
17:59 that that itself is significant
18:01 he stands there in the Jordan and he
18:04 says to John the Baptist I want you to
18:07 baptize me for in this
18:11 manner through death burial and
18:15 Resurrection God the father and God the
18:18 son and God the Holy Spirit are going to
18:21 fulfill all righteousness how did Jesus
18:24 Christ fulfill all righteousness by
18:27 being baptized no that was only a
18:33 picture of his baptism on the cross you
18:37 will look with me please at Matthew chap
18:46 22 zebedee's CH the mother of zeb's
18:48 children came asking for some Thrones
18:49 for her
18:52 sons and Jesus answered and said ye know
18:55 not what you ask are you able to drink
18:58 of the cup that I shall drink of and to
19:02 be baptized with the baptism that I am
19:05 baptized with and very foolishly they
19:07 answer and say we are
19:10 able he sath unto them ye shall drink
19:12 indeed of my cup and be baptized with
19:15 the baptism that I am baptized with now
19:18 he has a a similar expression in the
19:20 Gospel of Luke and you ought to notice
19:31 verse
19:35 50 our Lord says I have a
19:40 baptism to be baptized with and how I am
19:43 constrained till it be accomplished what
19:45 baptism is he talking about his baptism
19:49 on the cross when all of the waves and
19:54 the Billows of God's Wrath went over him
19:56 he himself
20:00 said what happened to Jonah
20:03 is going to happen to me you want a sign
20:05 I'll give you a sign the sign of the
20:08 prophet Jonah what happened to Jonah
20:12 death burial
20:15 Resurrection what happened to Jesus
20:19 death burial Resurrection in the New
20:24 Testament baptism is not identified with
20:30 birth nobody is saved by being baptized
20:33 baptism is identified with death
20:37 therefore we are buried with him by
20:40 baptism into death that like as Christ
20:43 was raised up from the dead by the glory
20:46 of the father even so we also should
20:49 walk in newness of life when our Lord
20:52 went into the Waters of the Jordan and
20:55 when he was immersed and brought up it
21:00 was death burial Resurrection it was a
21:05 picture of his baptism on the
21:12 righteousness that I think is the third
21:14 reason why our Lord was
21:18 baptized he was telling people through
21:21 this record there's only one way anybody
21:25 can ever be saved through my death
21:27 burial and
21:29 Resurrection I Terry but a moment or two
21:32 to think of something rather interesting
21:35 he was baptized in the
21:38 Jordan not in the pool of
21:40 silom in the
21:43 Jordan Bible students are not too clear
21:46 they're not in agreement as to the exact place
21:48 place
21:51 today where John baptized we have the
21:52 names of the places we aren't sure where
21:55 they were makes no difference he was in the
21:56 the
21:59 Jordan do you remember when
22:01 Joshua took the children of Israel
22:04 across the Jordan remember that the
22:06 waters opened up do you remember what
22:08 they did they took 12 Stones and put
22:10 them right in the middle of the Jordan
22:13 River they crossed over and they took 12
22:16 more stones and put them on the shore
22:18 and then the waters came back what do
22:22 you have death burial Resurrection the
22:25 crossing of the Jordan River was for
22:29 Israel a picture of death burial
22:31 burial
22:33 Resurrection now here comes the Lord
22:36 Jesus who is
22:40 josua jehos youa Jehovah is our
22:44 Salvation just as josua led the children
22:47 of Israel into their inheritance so
22:49 Jesus Christ through death burial
22:53 Resurrection leads us into our
22:56 inheritance Moses didn't do it John
22:59 writes and says the law was given by
23:01 Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus
23:04 Christ book of Hebrews says Moses didn't
23:07 lead the people in it was Joshua who led
23:09 them in it's a picture of our Lord Jesus
23:12 now think of something else this is
23:14 interesting when my Lord was
23:18 baptized as he came up from the waters a dove
23:20 dove
23:23 lighted upon
23:26 Him doves are interesting it's a picture
23:29 of the Holy Spirit the peace
23:31 of the Holy Spirit the purity of the
23:36 Holy Spirit the Fidelity of the Holy
23:38 Spirit you know where the first baptism
23:41 is in the
23:43 Bible the
23:47 flood a global baptism Peter tells us
23:50 that in 1 Peter chapter
23:53 3 God sent the flood and the flood completely
23:55 completely
23:59 immersed and buried the Earth death
24:02 burial but that same water raised up an
24:06 ark and placed it on a Mountaintop death burial
24:09 burial
24:11 resurrection and you remember that Noah
24:13 let a raven go and the Raven found all
24:16 sorts of crummy things to feed on and
24:18 stayed out there let the dove go the
24:21 Dove came back and brought a an olive
24:22 branch which is a picture of peace and
24:24 then he let the dove go again Dove
24:27 didn't come back and you can read all
24:28 the way through the old test you won't
24:35 Dove he turned that Dove loose that Dove
24:37 kept looking for some place to land
24:40 couldn't land on Abraham he was a
24:43 liar couldn't land on Jacob he was a
24:45 schemer couldn't land on David he was an
24:50 murderer kept flying around looking for
24:53 some place to
24:56 land and then the Lord Jesus Christ
25:00 came as he came up on out of the water
25:03 the dove landed on him here was one who
25:07 was holy harmless undefiled here was one
25:10 on whom the spirit of God could come and
25:12 the voice of the father speaks and says
25:13 this is my beloved
25:16 Son in whom I'm well
25:19 pleased and he's still well pleased with
25:21 his son he's not well pleased with us
25:23 but if we're in his son he's well
25:26 pleased with us and so our Lord was
25:29 baptized as a picture
25:33 of his baptism on the cross when all of
25:37 the waves and Billows of the Judgment of
25:41 God Came Upon him for
25:53 today what's it mean to us today well
25:55 you saw seven people baptized this
25:59 evening what did we say in that baptism
26:02 we said that you have been identified
26:06 with Jesus Christ in his death burial
26:10 and Resurrection how through water no
26:12 through the Holy
26:16 Spirit John said I baptize with water
26:19 one is coming after me he shall baptize
26:21 with the Holy Spirit and when you trust
26:24 Jesus Christ as your savior the Holy
26:27 Spirit comes into your life and baptizes
26:30 you that is the figurative meaning he
26:33 identifies you with Jesus Christ you
26:39 him and so our baptism in water is
26:41 simply an outward expression of that
26:44 wonderful inward
26:46 experience strictly speaking we should
26:51 never say baptized as Jesus was baptized
26:53 because we aren't John the Baptist and
26:55 we aren't using John's baptism which was
26:59 a temporary baptism pointing forward to
27:01 the coming of the Savior a baptism of
27:03 repentance strictly speaking we should
27:06 never say baptized as Jesus was if we
27:07 mean by mode and you agree with
27:11 immersion yes but if you mean by meaning
27:15 no when my Lord entered the Jordan I
27:18 wonder what his heart was saying to him
27:21 he knew that down at the end of that
27:25 road lay a Roman cross it was a
27:28 relatively simple thing to submit to the
27:32 arms of John the Baptist and be immersed
27:35 in death burial and Resurrection but oh
27:42 day when he would pray father if it be
27:46 possible let this cup pass from me
27:49 nevertheless not my will but thine be
27:52 done and he submitted himself to his
27:59 cross thank God that it ends with
28:02 Resurrection not just death
28:05 burial death could not hold her prey
28:09 Jesus my Savior he tore the bars away
28:15 Jesus my Lord and today he's a living
28:17 Savior and when you trust him a
28:20 beautiful thing happens oh if some
28:22 sinner here tonight says I want to
28:24 believe in Jesus Christ my friend when
28:26 you believe in him a beautiful thing
28:28 happens the Holy Spirit comes in your
28:31 old life is
28:35 buried your old life is
28:39 buried all of the sin and the filth and
28:42 the dirt and the rot and the disease and
28:48 buried and you rise up to walk in
28:50 newness of
28:53 life therefore If any man be in Christ
28:55 he's a new creation old things are
28:59 passed away behold all things are become
29:01 new that's why he was
29:04 baptized saying to you and
29:07 me this is what'll happened to me on the
29:11 cross so I am persuaded to say to you
29:13 you can be
29:16 baptized if you will trust Jesus Christ
29:19 as your savior you will be identified
29:22 with him in his victory with the old
29:24 life buried and raised again to walk in
29:27 newness of life you can follow your
29:30 Joshua into your inheritance you can
29:34 claim your Promised Land through death burial
29:43 resurrection that is why Jesus was
29:51 together gracious
29:56 father how much our savior endured for
29:59 us oh we have heard through the music
30:02 tonight we've heard from your word
30:06 preached how much he has done for
30:10 us and I pray Lord for that one those
30:12 two or three here tonight who have never
30:15 been saved never been born again oh that
30:18 tonight they might come and Trust
30:20 Christ thank you for the beautiful
30:24 ordinance we have that pictures this to
30:27 us may each of us be able to have the
30:30 answer of a good conscience toward God
30:31 in this
30:35 matter abundantly bless as we extend
30:37 your invitation
30:39 tonight I pray in Jesus
