Fulfilling all Righteousness

Matthew 3:13-17

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BODY

a. Jesus’s humility in Baptism (3:13-15)

i. Verse 13 begins with Jesus as the main character of our narrative. This verse comes to help us understand what John meant by 3:11-12. John the Baptist introduced Jesus by telling us that there is someone who is mightier than him. John stated that he baptized with water but the one who is mightier will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Remember Holy Spirit and fire is dealing with true repentance.

ii. We have to understand that John’s point is that judgment is coming and only those in Christ, those who are baptized by the Holy Spirit will endure past through the judgment. All others who are outside of Christ will succumb to the fire of judgment that is imminent.

iii. So with the introduction of Jesus, Jesus finally arrives. This is similar to 3:1 and 2:1. In 3:1 we saw John the Baptist arrive and preach. In 2:1 we saw that Jesus was born and the wise men arrived to worship the newborn Messiah. Similarly, Jesus now has arrived.

iv. It’s interesting that Matthew tells us from where Jesus was coming from. Matthew 3:5-6 tells us that those around Judea came to visit Jesus but here, it tells us that Jesus arrived from Galilee.

v. So Jesus arrives at the Jordan River the same as 3:6, and he is wanting to be baptized from John. Interesting that the Pharisees and Sadducees were also wanting to be baptized and we saw how John calls them a brood of vipers.

vi. John’s response is similar but also totally different to Jesus than the Pharisees and Sadducees. It is similar because John tries to deny baptism to Jesus just as he had done to the Pharisees and Sadducees. What is different? The attitude of why John is trying to deny baptism.

vii. John responds in verse 14 by saying to Jesus, you don’t need to be baptized from me. You are greater than me. Instead, I need to be baptized by you. Why would you come to me to be baptized from me when you are greater than I?

viii. This makes sense because John had just stated in 3:11-12 that Jesus is greater than John. Therefore it makes sense that the greater person would baptize the lesser person. This was John’s thought process. But Jesus had something different in mind.

ix. What was different about Jesus? Verse 15 tells us let me get baptized this one time. For it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then John permitted Jesus Him and was baptized by him.

x. The difficulty here is Jesus asks John for permission and says to him, let me get baptized by you this one time. Why Jesus? You are greater than I. But the greater question is, why would Jesus need to be baptized? Did it mean that by receiving the baptism of repentance that Christ was repenting for us? No. How could Christ have repented? He never sinned. Throughout the Gospels, the Lord Jesus Christ goes about saying, I forgive you, and your sins are forgiven, and never once does He intimate that He has sins that need to be forgiven. He will pray for the forgiveness of your sins. He will forgive your sins by divine power, but He does not ask forgiveness Himself, He is perfect. He is not repenting in His baptism of repentance. No He is doing something else.

xi. So what was He doing? The hint here is it is fitting for us. He doesn’t just say, it is appropriate for Me to fulfill all righteousness by being baptized. This would sound like he needs baptism because He needs forgiveness and by being baptized, He has fulfilled all righteousness. Rather, He recognizes that there is something that both He and John must do in order to fulfill the plan of God and part of that is going to be done in receiving John’s baptism. It seems to be that the baptism is an example of Jesus fulfilling righteousness. Notice as well, that He gives an explanation to John. John, I am not being baptized because I need repentance. I am being baptized in order to fulfill all righteousness.

xii. So the first thing we want to understand is what is baptism? Baptism as you know, was used in the Old Testament. It was a form of consecration. When a priest reached the age at which he was entering into his public ministry, we are told in Numbers chapter 8, that he was baptized. He was consecrated, set apart, showing that God had called him into service and that he was to serve in God’s kingdom.

xiii. So when Jesus is baptized by John, He is consecrated for service in His baptism. He is set apart to do the work of God. This is why Jesus was fulfilling all righteousness.

xiv. So what does this mean? First, Jesus’ baptism was an affirmation of John’s ministry. Remember John’s preaching in Matthew 3:2.John was preaching repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This resulted in verse 6 where all the people were being baptized and confessed their sins. This shows that these people admitted their sins by confessing it and repenting is the admitting of bankruptcy. It is to turn from one thing to another. It is to admit I can’t forgive myself and that I must be forgiven. By being baptized, Jesus was saying, John I want you to baptize Me, because that will show that your message was true, your ministry was true, and it will link Me, the Messiah, with your ministry, which was to pronounce the coming of the Messiah, and it will link My ministry with your ministry as building upon it.

xv. Jesus’s identification with John’s message is that you must repent of your sins daily and bear fruit (Matthew 3:8). There must be evidence in your life. It’s not just saying something, but rather, your life changes because of your trusting and faith in God.

xvi. Second, The baptism also serves, and this is clear from verses 16 and 17, that God has anointed and appointed and equipped Christ for ministry. So what does this mean? This means as Jesus is appointed and equipped for ministry, He is taking on the role as our Mediator. He is willing to lower Himself and willing to take the sins of the world on behalf of His people. Through this, Jesus is identifying Himself with His people, as the one who would bear their sins.

b. God’s approval of Jesus (3:16-17)

i. As Jesus receives John’s baptism, after He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water and the Heavens opened. This idea of the Heavens opening tells us the forthcoming revelation of God. The heavens opening shows us how God will respond to this baptism. We see the result. As the Heavens opened, John saw the spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him.

ii. The phrase the Spirit of God descending as a dove reminds us of Genesis 1:2. In Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God was hovering over the water, we see how the Spirit of God here is descending upon the Son. What does the Spirit of God descending upon the Son actually mean? It was through this act that God Himself equipped the Lord Jesus in His humanity to be our Redeemer. This is an awesome truth to be reminded how Jesus in His humanity, was without sin, yet dependent on God and the Father displays to Him how in verse 17, tells the Son that He is well pleased with His son.

iii. It is important to note that when the Spirit Himself was sent, the significance is that God Himself equips the Lord Jesus. What I mean by this is that He wasn’t becoming the Messiah then. Jesus was always the Son of God. He was always the second person in the Trinity. But here in the baptism, the Son of God is set apart by God Himself to fulfill His will.

iv. This is extremely helpful for us on a practical level. It tells us that as believers, because the Holy Spirit is with us, God is constantly ministering to us. The Holy Spirit is ever around us, and ministering to us and because of this, we are continually dependent upon Him.

v. This is important to us, but the last phrase, what God says to Christ is the most comforting. The fact that God Himself says that He is pleased with Christ has massive practical implications to us. Just as God is pleased in Christ, if we have also embraced the Lord Jesus Christ, then the heavenly Father delights in us just like He delights in His Son. This means that if we are in the family of God, God delights in us.

vi. This is one of the hardest truths to accept because when we look at our lives and we are honest about our sins, our shame tells us how can God be proud of us? How can God look upon me and delight in me? But the key is here. When He looked at Jesus and said in whom I am well pleased, all those who are in Christ bring delight to the Father because the Son has covered the sins of those who are in Christ. This is what we mean when we say, when we were saved, when Christ covered our sins, when God the Father looks at Jesus the Son, He sees me and when He looks at me, He sees Christ. Our identity is no longer apart from Christ, but in Christ. This is why God delights in us. This is our comfort. It is Christ and Christ alone.

3. CONCLUSION