The Baptism of Jesus Christ:

Introduction:

Last we we talk about who John the Baptist was, and a little about his message, and about how he was to preach on repentance, and how he was to prepare the people for the Messiah. this week we are going to be looking at the Baptism of Jesus Christ, why it was important, what does it mean for us as Christians.

The Baptism of Jesus Christ:

Now as we study the life of Christ, we are looking at the four Gospels which are four account of witness towards the life of Jesus Christ. one of the most important events in his life was his baptism by John. for staters we know that John was to preach on repentance and to prepare the way for the messiah. the next thing is that this marks the beginning of Christ ministry. Lets turn in our Bibles to Mt 3:13-17

Matthew 3:13–17 NASB95

13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

then we can also turn to Mk 1:9-11

Mark 1:9–11 NASB95

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

then lets us turn to Lk 3:21-22

Luke 3:21–22 NASB95

21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Then finally lets turn in our Bibles to Jn 1:31-34

John 1:31–34 NASB95

31 “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

from what we just read we have four different accounts on Jesus baptism. some things that we should notice is that Jesus did not come until he was about 30 years old. about this point in John’s ministry he was at the point high popularity and at the high of anticipation regarding to coming of the Messiah. if we look at Lk 3:23

Luke 3:23 NASB95

23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,

from this verse here verifies the age of Jesus Christ. on the other we do not know if John had seen Jesus before. we do know though that Both of their mothers were relative and friends. Now if we continue with the Baptism of Christ, we know that Christ was someone without sin yet, he came to the Jordan to be baptized by John. we know that John was preaching about baptism of forgiveness of sin, and that the people need to change their hearts by coming to repentance. what is most interesting about this that we should notice that John refuses to baptized Jesus at first. lets turn in Bibles to Mt 3:14

Matthew 3:14 NASB95

14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”

the reasoning behind this again comes down to the fact that Jesus has no sin in him. so why does Christ himself need to be Baptized? well lets turn in Bibles to Mt 3:15

Matthew 3:15 NASB95

15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.

we come to understand that all commandments that come from God are righteous. we can see that in book of Ps 119:172

Psalm 119:172 NASB95

172 Let my tongue sing of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness.

we should also notice that the baptism John was preaching came by the authority of Heaven also. lets turn in our Bibles to Mt 21:25

Matthew 21:25 NASB95

25 “The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

and that those who refused the baptism John preach about refused God purpose for themselves. Let us turn in our Bible to Lk 7:30

Luke 7:30 NASB95

30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

Throughout the scripture within the gospels we see that Jesus dedicated himself to the center of doing the will of God. Jesus understood that John’s Baptism of repentance was part of God plan. we come to understand when comes to God’s plan/will Jesus never second guessed or questioned it. Jesus just when and did exactly what God want to be done. Jesus understood that he needed to be baptized. we finally see that John agree to baptized Jesus Christ, as John was baptizing, we see that Christ was praying lets turn in our Bibles to Lk 3:21

Luke 3:21 NASB95

21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,

During his life Jesus would usually pray during his most crucial moments in his life. Lk 6:12

Luke 6:12–13 NASB95

12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:

then let us turn to Lk 9:28-29

Luke 9:28–29 NASB95

28 Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.

also let us look at Lk 22:44-45

Luke 22:44–45 NASB95

44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. 45 When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,

Just from these verse here we see that Jesus was praying or was talking to the father. probably asking for guidance. now if we go back to the Baptism of Christ we can see that John had heard something amazing, and wonderful lets turn in our Bibles to Mt 3:16-17

Matthew 3:16–17 NASB95

16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

we understand that as the writers were writing this they were not saying that the Holy Spirit was a dove but it was descending as a dove. this would come down as Christ came up from being immersed. we can also see that God puts his own stamp of approval on this if we look at verse 17 in Mt 3:17

Matthew 3:17 NASB95

17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

we come to understand that for the first thirty years of Jesus life we were to prepare him for his ministry. lets turn in our Bibles to Lk 4:18

Luke 4:18 NASB95

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,

and then we can also turn to Acts 10:38

Acts 10:38 NASB95

38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

another interesting thing to think about is that this probably the only time when the trinity was all together at this moment. think about we had God who was approving his son action, then we have Jesus who is being Baptized according to the will of God, and finally we have the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. we can see the three person working differently. usually we this is a very hard subject to talk about because of how little of it we understand it. as Christians we come accept through faith by what the Bible teach on this. at this point we can see that John on the other might have suspected that Jesus was the Messiah but truly did not realize it until God told him how he would recognized it. Let us turn in our Bibles to Jn 1:33

John 1:33 NASB95

33 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’

From this we can safely assume that John was very joyous about this, because this is the promise one from God who bring people to God. the one who will bring salvation to all.

Conclusion:

When we think about these two lessons here about John’s message, and Jesus being baptized. we come to understand that Jesus was our example, and that these four account bear witness to what God had plan for mankind. one of the hardest things to do is taking that first step. when it comes to baptism because it comes back to denying our very self. as people we become very comfortable in habits of sin. we have to come to realize that its not about us once were are Baptized, its about living for Christ. through Baptism we receive Forgiveness of sins, mercy, grace, and we also receive the Holy Spirit to guide us in this life as part of Gods Children. Acts 2:38-40

Acts 2:38–40 NKJV

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”

we can also see this in the great commission in Mt 28:17-20

Matthew 28:17–20 NASB95

17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

we come to realize that Baptism is part of God’s plan and that it is commanded. Baptism is something that represents Christ time on the Cross. it represents the death burial, and Resurrection. it also show commitment to God the father that we are his children. As we grow in faith, our faith leads us to Baptism. Baptism saves us from sin 1st Peter 3:21-22

1 Peter 3:21–22 NASB95

21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

There many people who lost in this world, and they seek out many things rather be pleasure or help. nothing fills that hole more than God who heals the broken, who seeks out the lost. I may not know what you all are struggle in this life. all i do know is that there going to come a day when we wont be able to make the choice anymore. so all i can say is if there is anything that we can do please come forth as we stand and sing.