Anchor of Baptism
Notes
Transcript
For the past several weeks, we’ve walked through various TOPICS...
various ANCHORS of Christianity
And being something that we do every year...
VISITING these topics in this way...
SO FAR…we’ve covered...
The Anchor of Prayer
Anchor of Faith
Anchor of Giving (last week)
And now - this week - we come to the Anchor of Baptism
My approach today - is to look at John the Baptist...
known as John the Baptizer...
And to use him as our foundation today...
…and from THERE - see how HIS work - impacts us today.
If you know anything ABOUT John the Baptist - MAYBE you know that he was called - by God - to PREPARE the WAY for Christ!
3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
As we’ll see - this prophecy was pointing at John the Baptist - and so in PREPARING the WAY of the Lord - John was also preparing something FOR US…!
Let’s go to our text...
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)
25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,
27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
SO if we just look at the story and what’s going on here...
We see that John the Baptist comes on the scene…and starts Baptizing people.
Now - this sparks the interest of a certain group of people...
WHO?
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
So when John began baptizing people, it sparked interest from - as it says - The Jews.
SO much so, that they end up sending priests and Levites from Jerusalem to inquire about who John the Baptist was.
Why were the Jews interested?
Why were the Jewish leaders interested?
Because - Ritual Water Cleansing had a place in Jewish history...
The use of water as a religious and physical cleansing instrument is prevalent throughout the Pentateuch (first 5 books).
Those who had committed certain unclean offenses were required to immerse themselves in water in order to ritually purify the body.
Examples of such offenses include:
• Touching a corpse (Num 19:10–13; 31:23–24; Lev 11, 22:4–6)
• Eating or picking up a dead animal (Lev 17:15)
• Contagious skin infections (Lev 14:8–9)
Beyond these cleansing rituals, several other cleansing practices were required in order to partake of eating sacrificed animals (Lev 8:19–21) and temple worship (Lev 15:31). Certain impurities could be only removed by using running water (Lev 14:5–6, 50–52; 15:13; Deut 21:4).
NOW - Do we know FOR CERTAIN when these things began, probably not…but we also see this in Leviticus...
4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.
So (he) - the LEVITE priest was commanded to perform a symbolic cleansing in water before and after performing his priestly duties
We also see in the same chapter verses 23-24
23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there.
24 And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.
SO - seeing how the Levite Priests were to conduct themselves in the OT, the Old Covenant, it makes sense then...
That when in verse 19 of John 1, that the Levites were sent to see who John really was...
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
Now - this ritual cleansing was not ONLY reserved for the priests...
It ended up becoming a CUSTOM for Gentile converts to Judaism...
And so if a gentile wanted to join Judaism…he would:
1 Become circumcised
2 Get water baptized
3 He would also offer a sacrifice
And so - this water cleansing had a history in Jewish Tradition...
And as such - The priests and Levites come and ask John - WHO ARE YOU?
And John replies:
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
They ask - who ARE you...
And He responds by telling them - WHO HE’s NOT!
And so what I think we can infer from this is:
SLIDE: John Distinguishes Who He Is: From the Greater One to Come
John Distinguishes Who He Is
John Distinguishes Who He Is
REMEMBER - 400 years of silence since a prophet last spoke to the people from God...
The OT ends - and there was - silence...
THEN - this guy comes on the scene - and starts baptizing people - calling them to repentance...
And so - The priests come and ask him - WHO ARE YOU?
John’s thought??
I must distinguish WHO I AM - with the GREATER ONE COMING...
These people - THE WORLD - MUST NOT THINK that I am - the Christ!
the Savior
the Messiah
And so trying to get to the bottom of all of this, the priests continue to dig...
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
And so here you have this one man John, and this other GROUP of priests, and each side here...
HAVING been sent by someone...
One the one side - you have PRIESTS who are WITHOUT knowledge…trying to figure this thing out.
They don’t know who John is, where he came from…by what authority he’s baptizing people...
And so they are WITHOUT knowledge...
On top of that - they were SENT by the Pharisees, who ALSO, obviously are without KNOWLEDGE...
I find it interesting that the Pharisees didn’t initially come themselves...
Either way - The Pharisees demonstrate they too are WITHOUT knowledge...
But then you look at the other side.
John the Baptist - sent by - God!
And being SENT by God - has KNOWLEDGE...
Enough to say this… in response…to - What do you say about yourself?
23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
So John here - takes this OT prophecy from Isaiah, and applies it to himself…!
He says - No, I’m NOT the Christ - but let me tell you WHO I ACTUALLY AM...
I’m here - to MAKE STRAIGHT the way of the LORD!
I AM the one spoken of in the book of ISAIAH!
Can you imagine that?
You waking up tomorrow, and God REVEALING to you - that you are indeed the one/voice spoken of in...
3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Uhh..honey, soooo I’m not going to work today...
Why?
Oh....uhhmmm, I found out that I’m supposed to head down to lake Erie and baptize people for the remission of their sins...
But this is what happened.
John - when asked who he was - responds to the priests by quoting this verse: I am the VOICE of one crying....
SO John here - does what he can to make sure he distinguishes WHO HE IS - from the Christ that is coming...
He needs the world to KNOW they are NOT THE SAME person...
And he does so - but He also makes it clear that he IS THERE - to make straight the way of the LORD...
REMEMBER...
400 years of silence...
400 years of waiting for the MESSIAH!
What would have happened?
People would have fallen into their routines...
Let’s go to the synagogue on this day...
circumcisions would have been happening...
Ritual washings would have been taking place....
All of these RITUALS....these routines....would have been taking place...
AND THEN - seemingly out of nowhere - JOHN the BAPTIST shows up…talking about the COMING of the LORD...
John the Baptist would have ROCKED their WORLDS...
NOW - How does this IMPACT us TODAY!?
Where John the Baptist came to prepare the WAY of the Lord
His PREPARATION will end up...
SLIDE:
John the Baptist’s preparation of the way of the Lord laid a foundation for our proclamation of the way of the Lord.
This is what we’ll see today...
And if - John’s baptism Distinguished who HE WAS - from the Greater One to come…JESUS…the Christ
Then that means...
SLIDE: Our Water Baptism: Proclaims the Christ, Not Ourselves
Our Water Baptism
Our Water Baptism
If we wanna say it this way....we can...
SLIDE:
John the Baptist indirectly prepared the way of our proclamation of the Lord
What did Paul say in Acts 19?
1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”
So Paul - during the time of the EARLY church - KNEW that John’s baptism was meant to - PROCLAIM - JESUS.
And that’s what our water baptism does today!
When we enter the waters of baptism - we ALIGN ourselves with the person of Jesus!...
THAT’S WHY - John the Baptist - when asked WHO HE WAS...
ANSWERED by saying - I am NOT the Christ!
I am NOT the Messiah to come!
I PREPARE the WAY for HIM...
but I’m NOT Him!
NOW - we ONLY proclaim Christ - in our water baptism - when we enter the waters - IN FAITH!
If we enter the waters - WITHOUT faith - IN JESUS - then we proclaim ourselves!
But what was John’s baptism FOR?
3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
So John’s baptism was a baptism of - REPENTANCE…for the remission of sins....
Well - sin IS sin - in light of - - GOD!
And so - OUR water baptism - TODAY - LIKE John’s baptism - is meant to be a declaration that we HAVE REPENTED…UNDER God…!
And in DOING SO - we PROCLAIM - Jesus Christ!!
The ONE who’s BLOOD covers us...
28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
for the “remission” of sins.
Our water baptism - PROCLAIMS - Jesus Christ...
BUT this isn’t AWLAYS understood within Christian circles - OR in the world...
And this is nothing NEW...
LISTEN to the priests response to John when he tells them that “he is the voice of the one crying in the wilderness”
He attributes this quote to himself - and he’s talking to priests...
25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
They still don’t get it do they?
John had just told them that he was there - ON BEHALF of the LORD - that the MESSIAH is coming....
PREPARE YOURSELF…John said…!
And they say - Well then if you’re not the Messiah, if you’re not the prophet - then WHY ARE YOU BAPTIZING?
Remember - in Jewish tradition, the water ritual cleansing was for Gentile converts to Judaism..
And they say - Well why are you water baptizing?
They failed to KNOW or they at least ignored the reality of what John’s baptism was for...
3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
This baptism of John the Baptist was not the same baptism that the Jews adhered to regarding Gentile converts...
John’s baptism was a baptism of REPENTANCE - FOR the forgiveness of sins...
It was a Baptism that was calling into question ANY thought that the Jews had right standing with GOD - based on their LINEAGE!
But even with this said - John knew these priests were HUNG up on the WATER baptism..
They were HUNG up on the ritual itself!
That’s why they responded to John the way they did - when he told them that he was NOT the Christ, but there on His behalf!
They responded with - Well then WHY ARE YOU BAPTIZING!?
They were HUNG up on the ritual…they were hung up on the PHYSICAL side of LIFE...
And we see this play out in Matthew 3:
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
JOHN is looking at these men - these religious elites…and saying
YOU NEED TO REPENT of your sins...
You need to CONSIDER your SINS...
John is saying -
SLIDE:
TAKE YOUR EYES OFF of that which you THINK saves you, and instead GAZE upon that which DAMNS you!
John KNEW what these priests were thinking!!
What does he say in v9?
9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
They were HUNG up on the PHYSICAL side of life:
they were resting in their LINEAGE
they were resting in their Ethnicity
they were resting in their circumcision
they were resting in their sacrifices
THINKING that THOSE THINGS - MADE them right with God
And John knows this...
He KNOWS that he needs to make another distinction!
Where before we saw that- In preparing the Way for the Lord, John distinguishes WHO HE IS - from who Christ is...
We’re going to see John NOW make another distinguishing point…and it’s huge!
SLIDE: John Distinguishes ‘His Baptism’: From the Greater One Coming
JOHN DISTINGUISHES ‘His Baptism’
JOHN DISTINGUISHES ‘His Baptism’
25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,
27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Ok, now - John here briefly sheds light on this DISTINGUISHING point about John’s baptism...
And so we’re going to jump to Matthew to see this in more detail...
BUT BEFORE we do that…I have a question for you:
Let’s read this...
SLIDE: FORK
I make calls with an Android, but he makes calls with an iPhone.
*If I say to you - “I make calls with an Android, but he makes calls with an iPhone”...
What are the VARIABLES in this sentence? Yes - the Android and the iPhone
Also - with this statement stated THIS WAY…what am i trying to ELEVATE for you?
Answer - the DIFFERENT VARIABLES!
11 “I baptize you with water for 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.
Do you hear the EMPHASIS John is placing on the DIFFERENT - type of baptism that is coming!!??
YES - but how is it different?
John says - I USE WATER
But Jesus will USE - the Holy Spirit and fire
John is saying - MY baptism pails in comparison to the different kind of baptism that is coming!
There is a GREATER man coming...
And He is bringing with Himself a GREATER Baptism!
NOW - that’s NOT to say that John’s baptism was pointless!
It wasn’t pointless...
there was a purpose…and John himself tells us what that purpose was...
Let’s jump down to v31
31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
John here let’s us know - the GAME PLAN!
See - this whole plan here WASN’T John’s idea...
It was God’s idea…His plan!
See, before John the Baptist showed up and started baptizing people...
The Word of God came to John and INSTRUCTED him…as to what he would do and WHY He would be doing it!
And John, tells us here - What God had told him...
That the reason he came ‘baptizing with WATER’ (with this physical element)...
…was so that Jesus would be revealed (PHYSICALLY) to Israel.
The water Baptism of John the Baptist, is a part of history, because it REVEALED the Son of God to Israel…and
…to us...
And so - if John prepared the WAY - by distinguishing between HIS baptism (with water) and the Baptism that WAS to come (Spiritual Baptism)...
THEN - for US today- we see this...
SLIDE: Our Water Baptism: Proclaims the Righteousness of Christ, Not Our Own
Our Water Baptism
Our Water Baptism
When John the Baptist distinguishes his baptism from Christ’s that was coming...
He says this...
11 “I baptize you with water for 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.
What is John saying?
John’s saying - LISTEN - I baptize with WATER -
And it’s a SHADOW of the GREATER thing to COME!
He’s saying...
SLIDE:
Water baptism proclaims, but the Spiritual baptism to come reveals
What’s the difference?
Water baptism is our proclamation that we’ve repented...
In a sense - it’s no different than us - SAYING we’ve repented.
It’s ONLY as deep as the truth behind it.
And in some water baptisms - there’s no truth in it at all.
BUT - the Spiritual Baptism that was to come...
It will - REVEAL the reality of the HEART!
It will REVEAL if the repentance - WAS REAL...
And so - for the 1st century Jew - who ENTERED the water with John....
This was the Jew proclaiming that ALL of their RITUALS...
Their LINEAGE...
ALL of their SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS - could NOT get them to God!
And so - THAT MEANS that our water baptism today - PROCLAIMS the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ - and NOT our own!
It’s US - DENOUNCING our own self-righteousness - just like it meant back in the 1st century!!
We need to TRULY REPENT -
to TRULY LAY DOWN - ALL of ourselves - not JUST what we consider to be our BAD side...
But ALL of ourselves - even OUR BEST DEEDS...
KNOWING we need - a RIGHTEOUSNESS outside of ourselves!
A Goodness outside of ourselves!
And so our water baptism - PROCLAIMS - the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ!
But that’s NOT ALL...
To close out today, as we think about John the Baptist being sent by God to...
Prepare the Way....to make straight the way of the Lord...
John makes another distinction...
SLIDE: John Distinguishes His Message: From Judaism
JOHN DISTINGUISHES ‘His Message’
JOHN DISTINGUISHES ‘His Message’
In CONTEXT - this is what happened…specifically - so...
Let’s FIRST look at the message that John brought with him...
And so if John had walked down the road toward the Jordan river...
carrying a banner...
That banner would have had this message on it...
JOHN’S MESSAGE:
The Lord is Coming (John 1:23)
Sin of all men (Luke 3:3)
Worthlessness of flesh/works for salvation (Matt 3:9)
Judgment (Luke 3:9)
Wrath of God Upon mankind due to sin (Luke 3:7)
Hell (Matt 3:12 - Mark 9:43)
Repentance (Luke 3:3)
Salvation (Luke 3:6)
Forgiveness of Sins (Luke 3:3)
Spiritual Baptism of Christ (Luke 3:16)
Bear Fruit (Luke 3:8)
Humility, Truthfulness, Contentment (Luke, 3;11-14)
And so if we were to break UP this message into - GOOD NEWS and BAD NEWS - we start with the Bad...
BAD NEWS:
The Lord is Coming (John 1:23)
Sin of all men (Luke 3:3)
Worthlessness of flesh/works for salvation (Matt 3:9)
Judgment (Luke 3:9)
Wrath of God Upon mankind due to sin (Luke 3:7)
Hell (Matt 3:12 - Mark 9:43)
GOOD NEWS:
Repentance (Luke 3:3)
Salvation (Luke 3:6)
Forgiveness of Sins (Luke 3:3)
Spiritual Baptism of Christ (Luke 3:16)
Bear Fruit (Luke 3:8), Humility, Truthfulness, Contentment (Luke, 3;11-14)
This is the message that PREPARED the way for Jesus Christ...
And so - as Christ entered His earthly ministry, this is what was laid out before Him.
And all of this above is classified as GOOD NEWS.
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.
For John the Baptist - Good news was coming...
BUT - for the Jews at the time - FOR the WORLD - this message punched them in the face!
It took ALL THEY KNEW...
ALL they relied on…FOR ETERNITY
And smashed it to pieces...
It turned them - on their heads
John’s MESSAGE - the message of repentance and sin -
Gave the Jew and the world - a new perspective on...
THEMSELVES...
AND GOD!
The Jewish people BELIEVED that THEY themselves - held the ABILITY to make themselves RIGHT with God...
They believed that THEY themselves had the POWER to HOLD themselves TO GOD...
By way of BEHAVIOR!
And so - John’s MESSAGE of REPENTANCE - warred against this idea of SIN MANAGEMENT -
- This idea that the Jews lived out - day in and day out!
AND SO - if John prepared the WAY FOR - the message of Christ - this message of REPENTANCE...
… PRE-cross
THEN - FOR US TODAY -
SLIDE: Our Water Baptism: Proclaims the Work of Christ, Not Our Own
Our Water Baptism
Our Water Baptism
When John the Baptist - came on the scene...
He PREPARED the way of the Lord...
And his preparation ALSO prepared our PROCLAMATION of the way of the Lord.
What is the WAY that we proclaim?
All mankind is under judgment - the judgment of God...
WHY?
SIN - we’re all sinners.
GOD - is HOLY
He must DEAL with sin.
IN LOVE - God provided a WAY for us - AS SINNERS - to be RECONCILED TO Him...
HOW?
God took ON HIMSELF - the punishment - DUE US - for our SIN!
JESUS - God in the flesh - comes and lives the perfect life...
That’s the RIGHTEOUSNESS required to get to God.
Jesus did it.
He then dies the death we deserve
Takes God’s WRATH upon Himself...
And then RISES from the dead...
But He ONLY DID THAT - for those that BELIEVE!
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
BELIEVES what? In who?
11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
See ONLY Jesus SAVES -
Only HIS WORK - on the cross - SAVES!
And so - our water baptism...
PROCLAIMS the work of Jesus!
It puts on display - a VISUAL - of Christ’s work - ON THE CROSS.
His death
Burial
And resurrection
And in choosing water baptism for yourself - you are TESTIFYING - to the world - that you yourself - have REPENTED of your sins…That you have LAID DOWN ALL of you…(Good and Bad) - and are trusting in Christ’s WORK - and His work ALONE - to save you!
WHICH MEANS - water baptism CAN’T be a piece of the SALVATION puzzle!
It CANNOT be something that HELPS SAVE US...
NO - it TESTIFIES of Christ’s WORK -
To BE SOMETHING that helps save us - would be water baptism SAYING - LOOK AT THIS WORK!
LOOK AT ME!!
No - our water baptism points to Christ’s WORK - and it’s HIS WORK alone that saves us!
And so...
SLIDE:
Our water baptism proclaims what John the Baptist prepared the way for.
FOR US...
Good News has come...
And therefore - we testify OF IT.
That’s the call...
Water Baptism is simply an Outward proclamation of an INNER reality...
IF - it’s done in faith.
What have we seen today?
SUMMARY
The Baptism of John the Baptist:
John Distinguishes ‘Who He Is’: From the Greater One Coming
Our Water Baptism:
Proclaims the Christ, Not Ourselves
The Baptism of John the Baptist:
John Distinguishes ‘His Baptism’: From the Greater One Coming
Our Water Baptism:
Proclaims the Righteousness of Christ, Not Our Own
The Baptism of John the Baptist:
John Distinguishes ‘His Message’: From Judaism
Our Water Baptism:
Proclaims the Work of Christ, Not Our Own
AFBC - Water Baptism
Service - held every August...
will baptize anytime if needed.
See elders if this is something that you’d like to partake in.
If you’d like to TESTIFY to the Message of Christ - to PROCLAIM the WORK of Christ...
And do it by way of water baptism...
Then see one of the elders and we can discuss it.
Let’s Pray...