The Gospel According to Matthew
Week 6
THE BAPTISM
Who am I? We answer the question by better knowing who He is. Who is He? This week we get to look at one of my favorite stories. It is short but such an important one. So much is made about the first miracle that Jesus performed. Yet here in Matthew we hear about the beginning of His ministry, it wasn't the miracle at the wedding feast but it was out in the desert where He was baptised. In this story there are three things we are going to look at.
1. What Jesus did.
2. What John did.
3. What God did.
READ:
Matthew 3: 13-17
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Let's break it down.
First Jesus
In verse thirteen it says Jesus __________________.
to be _____________________ by John.
Jesus said, "______________________________________________________"
Jesus was __________________________
he went ___________________ of the water.
Now there is one part to this story that we find in Luke that I want us to include...
Luke 3: 21-22
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Here it says he was baptized and then as he was _____________________....
So to recap.
Jesus came
Jesus spoke
Jesus was baptized
Jesus came out of the water
Jesus prayed
In Desire of Ages Ellen White so beautifully writes about what our Savior did for us. Here was our Savior, sinless, joining the sinful, who were coming to John to confess and be baptized. He joined us. See ultimately His first adult act was to once again, COME. He came to be one of us. Then spoke to John letting him know he was fulfilling the prophesy. Then he did not what He needed but what we needed to do. Then coming out of the water he spoke with His father and His father spoke to His son, and ultimately to us as well.
Jesus going to the Jordan on that day started His ministry with an act that in a moment told the entire story of what his life would be. It told of why he was here and what he would do.
Jesus did not receive baptism as a confession of guilt on His own account. He identified Himself with sinners, taking the steps that we are to take, and doing the work that we must do. His life of suffering and patient endurance after His baptism was also an example to us. {DA 111.2}
Now lets look at John.
Right away knew who Christ was.
He tried to _________________.
He ________________________
Ultimately he was part of the fulfillment of the prophesy.
Here again in Desire of Ages Ellen White so beautifully writes about John.
When Jesus came to be
baptized, John recognized in Him a purity of character that he had never before
perceived in any man. The very atmosphere of His presence was holy and
awe-inspiring. Among the multitudes that had gathered about him at the Jordan,
John had heard dark tales of crime, and had met souls bowed down with the
burden of myriad sins; but never had he come in contact with a human being from
whom there breathed an influence so divine. All this was in harmony with what
had been revealed to John regarding the Messiah. Yet he shrank from granting
the request of Jesus. How could he, a sinner, baptize the Sinless One? And why
should He who needed no repentance submit to a rite that was a confession of
guilt to be washed away? {DA 110.1}
111
As Jesus asked for baptism, John drew back, exclaiming, "€œI have need
to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?"€ With firm yet gentle
authority, Jesus answered, "€œSuffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us
to fulfill all righteousness."€ And John, yielding, led the Saviour down into
the Jordan, and buried Him beneath the water.
John the baptist was bold, John the baptist knew his calling, yet when he saw the Savior he was struck with his own great need, and when ask by the Savior, he was willing. His first reaction was as it should be. His first reaction was to ask for the Savior to baptize him, because after all it was the He who was the sinner not Jesus. Just as we are the ones who need to die for our sins, and yet instead it was Jesus who would die for our sins. Just the same by the Jordan Jesus was buried in the waters, when he had no reason to confess. John, heard Jesus and did as he was asked. As Ellen White says, John yielded.
Now God.
So Jesus comes out of the water and prays to His Father, and His Father, God answers him with a dove, light, and these words.. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
What beautiful words for a parent to tell his child. What beautiful words for our heavenly father to say to us. Ellen White again beautifully writes...
And the word that was spoken to
Jesus at the Jordan, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,"€
embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins
and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. "€œHe hath made us accepted
in the Beloved."€ Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge
of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer, €”how the human
voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts
of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, and alienated from its
communion; but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love
has encircled man, and reached the highest heaven. The light which fell from
the open portals upon the head of our Saviour will fall upon us as we pray for
help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every
believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased. {DA 113.1}
The baptism of Jesus was the beginning of his ministry and just like a good sermon, He started it all by partaking in an act, in a scene that would be a quick look at what He would do for us.
He is our redeemer so we...
We are redeemed!!!
He came....
So we can GO with him some day soon!!!!
Because of Him being our advocate, our heavenly father says to us, "you are my beloved Child, in whom I am well pleased."
For just a moment, remember how little you deserve to hear that!
I remember once my beloved husband coming home and wrapping me up in his arms and telling me how much he loved me and how pleased he was to be married to me. A beautiful picture right. Yes, but now imagine that we are standing in our living room with toys and laundry everywhere. The kitchen counter is full of dirty dishes, and then kids are running around with smudges all over their faces and I'm a stay at home mom. I remember feeling like I wasn't sure if I wanted to just fall through the floor, because I knew I hadn't done anything to deserve his words, or if I wanted to just fall into his arms and soak up his acceptance of me.
Because of who Jesus Christ is, we can fall into the arms of our heavenly Father. We can commune with him, and he will say to us that He is well pleased with us. Not because your house is all in order, or your heart, but because of what Jesus Christ has done.
You are redeemed!
You are loved!
You are pleasing to the God of all!
This week, fall in His arms. Surrender to his great love for you! Jesus redeemed you! The Holy Spirit is always with you! God the Father is so pleased with you!
If you would like to read the entire chapter you can find it here.
The link to read it is. http://www.whiteestate.org/books/da/da11.html
I encourage you to read it.
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