THE BAPTISM THAT WAS FOR US

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 30, 2019 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: October 30, 2019 from Luke 3:21-22

Theme: The baptism of Jesus shows us that our salvation is a work of the whole Godhead for us.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Today, we consider one of the most holy events ever to have occurred on planet earth. It’s a story that is described for us Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11 and here in Luke 3:21-22; and that is reported by John the Baptist in John 1:29-34. It’s a remarkable story in that it involves every member of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—all together in one place for one event—all in the seeing and hearing of human witnesses. And it shows forth to us the majesty of God’s love for us and His gracious willingness to save us completely from our sins. It’s the story of our Lord’s baptism.

After describing the ministry of John the Baptist, Luke tells us;

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22).

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Before we consider this story, let’s first remember some theology taught to us by the apostle Paul. At the very beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, he wrote that all three Persons of the Triune Godhead are intimately involved in the work of our salvation. Each Person has a role to play in it.

With regard to the Father’s part, we’re told;

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).

Our salvation is something that has its beginning in the heart of God the Father. He was the one who chose us for salvation and who predestined us to adoption as His sons and daughters. This wasn’t because we were, in any way, worthy of such love. Rather, it was according to His goodwill that He did this for us—and all to the praise of the glory of His grace.

And this great initiative of the Father, in love for us, was brought to full accomplishment by His beloved Son. Speaking of Jesus, Paul then goes on to tell us;

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory (vv. 7-12).

What the Father purposed for us, the Son has fully brought about for us through His own blood. He came into this world as one of us. He has made known to us the Father’s will—that the Father chose to redeem us from our sins by His Son’s blood; and to then gather together all things in Christ. The Father has given to us a rich eternal inheritance in Him. This is all so that we will forever be to the praise of the glory of His grace.

And to ensure that what the Father has eternally purposed for us, and that what the Son has brought about for us in history, would be fully accomplished in us throughout eternity, the Holy Spirit secures us for all of it. Paul adds;

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory (vv. 13-14).

The Holy Spirit comes to take permanent residence in us. He seals us for the complete fulfillment of all that Jesus has done for us; and He even remains in us as the guarantee of our inheritance. And this is all to the praise of the glory of God the Father.

This was not a plan that was crafted for us in a hurry. It was a plan for our redemption that the Persons of the Godhead had agreed to fulfill—in full council of love—from before the world ever was. This is the theology that stands behind the story of our Lord’s baptism. In it—at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry—we are given a divine picture of the fullness of this eternal agreement put on display for us on earth; so that we can know the greatness of the Father’s, the Son’s, and the Spirit’s love for us.

In other words, Jesus’ baptism gives us a picture of how our salvation is a work—in love—of the whole Triune Godhead.

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So then; with that in mind, let’s look again at the story told to us in Luke 3:20-21. Notice first …

1. THE PARTICIPATION OF THE LORD JESUS.

Verse 21 says; “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized …”

John had been baptizing in the wilderness of Judea. In Matthew 3:5-6, we’re told that “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan” went out to John “and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” People were coming from all around, confessing their sins and being baptized by John with “a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3). They were coming for this baptism in anticipation of the promised Messiah.

John had made it clear that no one was to come to this baptism without repentance. Coming to John for baptism was a humble admission of the guilt of sin and the need for salvation. But what a remarkable thing it was, then, that Jesus also came to be baptized. This was such a shocking thing to John that, when Jesus came, John tried to prevent Him from doing so. “I need to be baptized by You,” John said; “and are You coming to me?” (Matthew 3:14). Jesus bore no sin of His own. He was perfect before God in all His ways. Even John recognized that he himself was a sinner. How then could it be that Jesus—the sinless Lamb of God—would come for the baptism of repentance?

Do you remember what Jesus said at this time? He told John, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15). Jesus’ action of coming to John to be baptized in a baptism of repentance was “fitting”—that is, a thing suitable to the need. It was as if Jesus was saying, “I know that I am sinless, John. And I know that it seems inappropriate for Me to enter into the waters of baptism for repentance—as if I were a sinner like all the others. But if I do not enter into the waters of the baptism and identify Myself with those who truly need to be delivered of their sin—then we cannot bring about a full completion of righteousness.” In identifying with us in this way, the sinless Son of God could fully atone for our sin and make us righteous in the sight of His Father. In stepping into the water with sinners, He was testifying that He would do what it says of Him in Isaiah 53; “By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities”; because, “He was numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:11-12).

What love Jesus has shown for us in this! He didn’t stand far off from us in all our fallenness and sin. Instead, though He lived sinlessly in the human family, He condescended to step into our need with us in order to take our sins upon Himself. As the writer of Hebrews said,

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17).

And then, notice …

2. THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Our Lord’s baptism was an occasion of prayer. And it was an occasion for another remarkable event. Luke tells us in verse 21, “and while He prayed, the heaven was opened …” Perhaps this occurred in a very visual way—with the clouds opening up above Him and the sunlight shining down upon Him. We could say that this was the second time that the heavens opened up with regard to Jesus—the first time being when the angels came down and announced His birth to the shepherds.

But then, Luke tells us in verse 22, “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him …” This would also have been very visible. I had a friend who owned doves. He told me that when a dove flies, it doesn’t drift and glide along gently. Instead, it flutters and flaps and makes a great commotion. The descent of the Holy Spirit would be impossible not to have noticed! And it was also filled with great significance. When John pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God, he said;

“This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:30-34).

Now; why would the Holy Spirit come “like a dove”? We’re not told; but we can speculate. In the Scriptures, it was a dove that demonstrated that the waters of the great flood had receded and that God’s wrath for sin upon the world was over (Genesis 8:11). Doves were also symbols in the Scripture for innocence and harmlessness. Jesus once sent His disciples out to be His witnesses in a very hostile world; and He commanded them to be as “harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). In the Song of Solomon, doves are used as a metaphor for something beautiful and precious and lovely; as when Solomon spoke of his bride and said, “My dove, my perfect one, is the only one, the only one of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her” (Song of Solomon 6:9). Doves were also referred to in the Scripture as offerings—the most humble offering someone could make. If someone had a child, and they were too poor to offer the usual offering, they were commanded to offer “two turtledoves or two young pigeons” (Leviticus 12:8; see also Luke 2:24). Could it be that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove in order to clearly mark Jesus out in all these ways?—that is, as approved by God as our “dove-like” sin bearer?—and as innocent and harmless in that He had no sin of His own?—and as beautiful and precious in the sight of His Father?—and as a sign that peace has come and that God’s wrath for sin was satisfied?—and as the humblest and most available of all the sacrifices for sin that could be made?

There was yet one more remarkable thing in this already remarkable event. Finally, notice …

3. THE WITNESS OF THE FATHER.

After the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus, we’re told in verse 22, “and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Here, God the Father gives public approval—before the whole world—of Jesus the Son. Some Bible teachers have pointed out that the Jewish people would have immediately recognized the significance of those words. They reflect what God had said in Isaiah 42 about the promised Messiah:

Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles,
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And a smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Til He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law” (Isaiah 42:1-4).

There was another occasion when the Father spoke in this way about His Son. When Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration with a few of His disciples—when His glory was put on display before them—they heard the voice of the Father say, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5). And there was another occasion. When Jesus had made His triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem—to shortly thereafter lay down His life for us—Jesus prayed and asked that the Father’s name be glorified in Him. And we’re told that the voice of the Father again spoke and said, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again” (John 12:28). And so; there were three times the Father spoke audibly from heaven to earth about His Son—first at His baptism, second at His glory on the mountain, and third at His entry to the city to die for us. A three-fold witness!

And in this first occasion, the Father makes it clear to the world that Jesus is His Son in human flesh; and that He is pleasing in His sight. He is perfectly suited to identify with us in our sin in order to be our atoning Substitute.

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What a picture it is that all of this gives us!—All three members of the Triune Godhead together in one scene—the Father approving the Son, the Son obediently stepping into the water to identify Himself with us in our sin, the Holy Spirit marking Him out for us. The whole Trinity joins together to, in love, bring about our salvation!

No wonder the apostle Paul would offer a blessing to His fellow believers in these words:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (2 Corinthians 13:14).

EA