‘THUS IT IS FITTING’

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on July 31, 2022 under 2022 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message; July 31, 2022 from Matthew 3:13-17

Theme: Jesus showed His love for us by becoming totally identified with us so that He could fully save us.

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

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This morning, it is our great joy to celebrate a baptism.

Now; every time a genuine believer is baptized—and publicly declares his or her faith in Jesus Christ—it is a very sacred thing. It deserves to be celebrated and treated by us as a very important event. Even though most people in this world wouldn’t see it this way, I believe that it’s more important—and more worthy of celebration—than any other milestone event in life that any human being could celebrate.

You see; all other milestones that people typically celebrate in life—birthdays, graduation, wedding, anniversaries, promotions, retirement—all have to do with things that will, for all practical purposes, come to an end on their last day on earth. It’s good and right to celebrate such things. But those milestones only deal with temporal realities in life. A baptism, however, celebrates something that is eternal. It celebrates the public declaration that someone has placed their faith in Jesus Christ, and has trusted Him for eternal life, and is now saved. And that’s a reality that will endure throughout eternity.

And so, this morning, I ask that we open the Bible to see what it teaches us about this important milestone called baptism. But rather than focusing on the baptism that we will be celebrating later this morning, let’s open the Bible and learn about Someone else’s baptism. It’s the most remarkable baptism of all. Let’s learn together from the story of the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We find the story of His baptism told to us in Matthew 3:13-17;

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13-17).

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Now; it’s a remarkable thing to think that our Lord Jesus—who commanded His church to baptize—was Himself also baptized. He set the example for us. But it’s important to understand why His baptism is different from any other—including the one we celebrate today.

It helps if we understand what the word ‘baptism’ itself means. The New Testament Greek word from which we get our word “baptize” basically means “to wash” or “to “dip” something. It was used in ancient times to describe washing something in water. But it was also used to describe the act of dipping a piece of cloth into a pot of dye in order to change its color. When you dipped a cloth into a pot of purple dye, for example, you would pull that cloth out and it would forever be identified with that purple dye. And so, the word eventually came to have the special meaning of “becoming identified” with something in such a way as to—from then on—have a permanent relationship with that thing. And I believe that that’s the best way to understand the biblical idea of baptism.

When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit performs a work of spiritual “baptism”—a spiritual act of “identification” by which He, once and for all, places us in Christ and unites us completely to Him. The Spirit places us in Jesus Christ in such a way that we become permanently identified with Jesus and all that He did for us. By the work of the Holy Spirit through our faith, Jesus’ righteousness from then on becomes our righteousness. His death on the cross for our sins becomes our death. His resurrection to eternal life becomes our resurrection to eternal life. And His relationship with the heavenly Father becomes our relationship with the heavenly Father.

The Bible tells us about this wonderful work of “identification” in some remarkable ways. Think, for example, of Roman 6:3-6. It says;

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin (Romans 6:3-6).

Or think of Galatians 3:27-28. The apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian believers and told them about how—through this work of the Holy Spirit—they now had a completely new identity of being “in Christ” began. He said;

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-28).

Or think of what Paul wrote in Colossians 2:11-13. This wonderful work of the Holy Spirit even wipes us clean of our sins, and results in our complete forgiveness. Paul wrote;

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses … (Colossians 2:11-13).

It’s not that the physical act of being baptized in a church makes any of those things happen. They only happen by a gracious work of the Holy Spirit. When we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit performs that spiritual work and “baptizes” us into Jesus Christ—causing us to be forever identified with the work of Jesus, and bound together with one another through the Spirit. As it says in 1 Corinthians 12:13;

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).

When we are publicly baptized in a church, that baptism is an outward act of obedience that symbolizes our faith in an inward spiritual reality. It’s how we declare to everyone, “I am now—once and for all—identified with the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ … along with all others who have placed their faith in Him as Savior and Lord.”

Now; when we look at the story of our Lord’s baptism, we’re also looking at a story of “identification”. But it’s of a completely different nature than our story of identification with Him. We are baptized in a church in order to declare that we are dependent and needy sinners who have been identified with His work on our behalf—that we have experienced the spiritual baptism. But when Jesus was baptized, it was to declare that He is the sinless Son of God who identifies Himself with us, and unites Himself with our need, in order to save us.

Jesus’ baptism is a deeply marvelous and wondrous expression of His love for us. By it, He made it clear to the whole world that He was committed to being our Savior to the fullest possible degree. In the story of His baptism, we see that Jesus showed His love for us by becoming totally identified with us so that He could fully save us.

So; before we celebrate this morning’s baptism, let’s take the time to delight in the love that our Lord has shown to us. That way, we’ll really be celebrating!

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Now; notice how our passage begins. It begins with the word “then”. Verse 13 says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.” That word “then” is very important. It sends us back in our thinking to the whole ministry of John the Baptist that we read about in earlier verses of Matthew 3—and tells us about the context of Jesus’ baptism.

Matthew 3 tells us that, at a certain point in history, John the Baptist was led by God to preach in the wilderness of Judea. His message to his people was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (v. 2). He warned them of the coming judgment of God. People heard that call from John; and they came to him from the surrounding regions, in great numbers, in order to be baptized by him and to confess their sins.

His ministry of baptism was basically a call for people to repent and get ready for the coming of the Messiah. At one point, he told the people;

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (vv. 11-12).

that “coming” One that he was speaking of was Jesus; and John’s call was for people to repent of their sins and make their hearts ready to receive Jesus at His coming. That’s what baptism meant in John’s time. And it was “then”—at a time when John was being led by God to proclaim and preach that unique message—that Jesus came.

Do you notice that we’re told that “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him”? The place in Galilee where Jesus had lived was in Nazareth. He had grown up in that city, and had worked there as a carpenter. But when the time came, He left Nazareth, left his hometown, left His carpentry career, and took the 70- to 80-mile trip—by foot—to go to where John was. He went specifically to be baptized by Him. It was the act that officially began our Lord’s earthly ministry. And just think of that. He took that trip—not for Himself—but for you and me. He went that long distance to where John the Baptist was so that He could become permanently identified with you and me in order to be our Savior. It was love for us that caused Him to take that journey.

You know; there are many things that the Lord calls us to do for Him. And so often, we complain and fuss. We don’t show very much love for Him; do we? But He didn’t just take that long trip across the land for you and me. He did much more. As the eternal Son of God, He left the glory of heaven, submitted Himself to being conceived in the womb of Mary, and was born into the human family for you and me. He traveled the longest journey imaginable in order to become united to us and to meet our need. What a great love it is that He has for us!

Oh that we would love Him more in return!

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So; it was then—in the midst of John’s baptism ministry—that Jesus came. He came specifically to be baptized by him. But it was then that we see a remarkable thing. We’re told “And John tried to prevent Him …” In fact, the wording of the original language tells us that John was in the process of trying to prevent Him. It was as if John was repeatedly saying, “No”; and yet Jesus was insisting.

Why would John have tried to prevent such a thing? It goes on to tell us in verse 14 that John said, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” John knew that Jesus was a righteous Man. He knew that Jesus was mightier than he, and that John was not even worthy to carry our Lord’s sandals. How—John insisted—could it ever be appropriate that Jesus would come, step into the waters of repentance, and be baptized by John? John felt that, if anyone needed to be baptized by anyone, it would be he who needed to be baptized by Jesus!

In a way, this reminds me of another story. Do you remember how—just before He went to the cross for us—Jesus had a final meal with His disciples? Do you remember how—during that dinner—Jesus took off His garments, wrapped a towel around Himself, and washed the disciples’ feet … wiping their feet with the towel? What a thing that was! Jesus was behaving as their servant! And do you remember how—when He came to Peter—Peter at first refused? “You shall never wash my feet!” Peter said. And Jesus said to Him;

“If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me” (John 13:8).

Jesus was making it clear to Peter that, in order to be fully united with Jesus, Peter had to let Jesus do this thing for him. And I think that a very similar thing was happening here. John the Baptist was thinking, “Oh no, Lord! You have no need of repentance! You are completely righteous! I could never baptize You! I need for You to baptize me!” But unless John did as Jesus was asking—unless he baptized Him—Jesus could not be fully united with those that He came to save.

Look at what Jesus told John. In verse 15, He said, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” When Jesus was stepping into the waters of the baptism of repentance with all those other sinners—and symbolically, with all of sinful humanity—He was uniting Himself with us in our need in order to be able to save us. It was only in that way that He would be able to take the full guilt of our sin upon Himself, pay the death penalty on our behalf, and make us righteous in the sight of His heavenly Father.

Do you remember what it says in Isaiah 53 about the Lord Jesus? It says, in verses 11-12;

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:11-12).

Just think of how much love Jesus showed to us when He insisted that John baptize Him! Just think of how much love He demonstrated by stepping into the waters of repentance with us and for us! He completely identified Himself with us in our need—and became numbered with all of us transgressors—so that He could pay the debt for our sins and make us holy in the sight of His Father.

If He loved us that much, how could He ever stop loving us?

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So; when John heard Jesus say that it was necessary to fulfill ‘all righteousness’, we’re told that John permitted it. He baptized the Lord Jesus.

And then—as if to show us how qualified Jesus was to step into those waters for us—we’re told of one of the most remarkable events to ever had occurred on the face of planet earth. We’re told—in verses 16 and 17—that Jesus was baptized; and that as soon as He came out of the water, the heavens were opened to Him, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove; and the voice of the Father spoke and said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

At this sacred moment in time—at the remarkable event of our Lord’s baptism—all three Persons of the divine Trinity made their presence known upon earth. The Holy Spirit was there to visibly place His seal of anointing upon Jesus. The heavenly Father was there to audibly declare that He was pleased with Him. And the Son was there—in human flesh—to receive this testimony before the watching world. And we’re told that this happened “immediately” after Jesus came out of the water. This was so that there could be no mistake at all that the events that were occurring right then had their focus upon Jesus Himself.

John the Baptist witnessed this event. And he testified of it later. We’re told in John 1 that—after this happened—John saw Jesus walking by the next day and declared to everyone;

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 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 1:29-34).

John certainly would have known who Jesus was before this event. Jesus was John’s relative in the flesh. And John knew enough to know that he was not worthy to baptize Him. But it wasn’t until he saw the heavens open, and beheld the Holy Spirit descending upon Him, and heard the voice of God the Father declare Him, that John really ‘knew’ Him. And now—after he baptized Jesus—John could then declare fully that Jesus truly is the Son of God—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And why do you suppose that the heavens opened, and the Spirit descended, and the Father spoke after Jesus’ baptism rather than before? I see God’s perfect timing in this. If these things had happened before, John would never have dared to baptize our Lord. But they happened after Jesus was baptized; so that the sinless Son of God could first become completely identified with our need as our Savior, and then could be attested from heaven itself that He was completely qualified to pay the price for our sins.

What love the Father has shown us in declaring Him! What love the Holy Spirit has shown us in anointing Him! And what love He has shown us in becoming completely identified with our need!

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So then; the time has now come for us to celebrate the baptism of someone who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ. This baptism that we witness today is how a redeemed sinner declares that—by faith—they have become united to Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection. What a great thing to celebrate!

But let’s remember that the celebration of this baptism is only made possible by the baptism of Another. It’s made possible by the baptism of the Lord Jesus—Who willingly left heavenly glory, came to this world, became one of us, stepped into our need with us, and became so united to us that He can save us.

Jesus showed His love for us by becoming totally identified with us so that He could fully save us. As He Himself said, “Thus it is fitting”.

AE