From the Water to the Work

Matthew 3:13-17

I want to begin this morning by asking a simple yet deeply perplexing question: Why was Jesus baptized? In the beginning of Matthew chapter 3, we read about John the Baptist, who Matthew says came proclaiming a message of repentance, of turning from sin, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew tells us that people came from all over Judea to be baptized by John and they would confess their sins. This practice of baptism was nothing new. In the Old Testament, God prescribed all kinds of washings, which purified worshippers, and made them ritually clean. Archaeologists have uncovered ritual pools across Judea and Jerusalem, called Mikveh, where people would wash in order to purify themselves. What John is doing isn’t anything strange, although John is a bit of a peculiar character, wearing a garment made of camel’s skin and eating only honey and locusts.

John’s baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins attracted so much attention that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to the Jordan to see what he was up to. John had a very harsh message for them, and he even calls them a brood of vipers. John, being a prophet of God, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells the Pharisees and the Sadducees, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” John is not the Messiah, and John knows this. John tells the crowds that there is one coming who is greater than himself who will Baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Jesus comes to John to be baptized. This is rather puzzling, because John baptized folks for repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Does Jesus have sins to confess? The answer is a resounding, NO! When Jesus approaches John to receive baptism, John tries to stop him, and he says, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Through the Holy Spirit John knows that Jesus is the one who is coming—the Messiah. John knows that Jesus is the one who is greater. John knows that Jesus is the one who can baptize him with the Holy Spirit. What does Jesus do? Does he say, “You know what, John, you’re right. Let’s switch places, and I’ll baptize you?” No! Jesus tells him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus comes to John, not because he has sin to confess, not because he needs to repent. Instead, Jesus comes to John to fulfill all of God’s righteousness—to keep ALL of God’s commandments.

This is the pivotal moment in the Lord Jesus’ life. If you read the four gospels, you’ll discover that Jesus did no miracles, no healing, no preaching until after his baptism. We know that the Lord Jesus was both God and Man from his very conception. Was he any less capable prior to his baptism? We must confess, no. Jesus, by virtue of his divine nature, had the power and authority from his very birth to perform great works of powers , healing, and miracles. Why did Jesus wait till he was thirty years old to begin his ministry? Why did he wait till after his baptism to launch his ministry? Because it is at his baptism, that God the Father validates Jesus’ divine identity. We read: “And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

John knows there is something special about Jesus. At this moment, when Jesus comes up out the river, there can be no doubt. Jesus does not receive merely John the Baptist’s testimony of recommendation, but God the Father himself proclaims, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” John prophesied that One was coming who would Baptize with the Holy Spirit. As Jesus comes up out of the water, he sees the Holy Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and rest on him. It is at this moment that Jesus’ purpose and ministry are confirmed. Jesus is God’s Son, and not only God’s Son, but God’s beloved Son. He has the Father’s explicit approval. Jesus is the One with whom God is well pleased, because he is the one who fulfills all righteous. From this moment forward, Jesus takes up his own message: Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. From this moment forward, Jesus does great works of power, giving sight to the blind, causing the lame to walk, and even raising the dead. Having his Father’s love and approval and having received the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus goes forth from the water to the work.

I have a second question, why was it important for Jesus to fulfill all righteousness? We know He is already the Son of God—it’s not as if his personal righteousness was lacking. Why does he need to fulfill all righteousness? Because Jesus’ baptism is our baptism. You may have noticed that I’m dressed down this morning. Normally, I wear a suit and tie or a collar. But this is Henry Volk. Blue Jeans, listens to rock music, has tattoos. This is who I am. I ain’t saying all that is bad. It’s just who I am. Henry Volk has a problem. Henry Volk has not fulfilled all righteousness. In fact, Henry Volk has been unrighteous—he has broken God’s Law. Henry Volk is a sinner, and under God’s just judgement. When the Father makes his declaration, He says, “This is a son of disobedience, a rebel, who has fallen short of my glory.” What must Henry Volk do, he must heed John the Baptist’s call, because the Kingdom of God has come near. He must confess his sins, repent, and be baptized.

Here is the great promise of God’s Word. The Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 3:26-27, “for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Through His Baptism Jesus fulfilled all righteousness, through your baptism, you put on His righteousness. Look at me now. Where are the tattoos? Where is the Death Cab for Cutie t-shirt? They’re still there, but they’ve been covered over. The baptized person receives Christ’s righteousness as a robe which covers their sins. This is why historically when someone is baptized, they receive a white robe, which symbolizes them being clothed in Christ’s righteousness. This is why ministers and pastors, historically, have worn white robes, because it is a symbol, not of their own goodness or righteous, but it is a symbol of Jesus’ righteousness which covers imperfect men.

Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. We are baptized because we need righteousness. Jesus, who fulfills all righteousness, gives that righteousness to you at your baptism. You put on the Lord Jesus Christ like a garment. No longer is your sin visible. No longer are your failures apparent. All that can be seen is the Lord Jesus and his perfect work. When you come up from the water, the skies part and the Holy Spirit descends upon you—because Jesus is the Spirit Baptizer. God himself speaks from heaven and says, “This is my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased.” Is because of anything good you did? No! Is it because of your righteousness. No! Your righteousness is no good. Your righteousness is as filthy rags, scripture declares. It is only because in baptism, you clothe yourself with Christ. Because Christ is God’s beloved, you are now God’s beloved. Because the Father is delighted in Him, He is now delighted in You. Because the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ, Christ now gives that same Holy Spirit to you.

When we come to baptism, we not only reject and turn from our sins, but we also repudiate our own righteousness. Baptism is not get a clean slate so you can try harder next time. No! At Baptism, we not only turn from our sins, but we turn from any misguided notion that we can save ourselves. God could give you a million clean slates, and you would dirty and muddy each and every one of them. You need a righteousness which is not your own. In his book, Directions for Renewing Our Covenant with God, (It’s from this little book, we get our Covenant Renew Service, which we shall partake in shortly), John Wesley says this: “Christ will have no sharer with him in the work of saving souls. [...] Let not only your Sins go, but let your Righteousness go, all the refuges of lies wherein you have trusted.” Church it is all Jesus this morning. It’s not Jesus, and you meet him halfway. It’s not Jesus, plus your 10%. It’s either all Jesus, or nothing. You either robed in his righteous or you’re lost in your sins, because your good works cannot save you. Full stop.

In a few moments we will renew our covenant with God as a congregation. Wesley writes that our covenant with God is twofold. There is a visible element, which he calls the profession, and the inner reality. Wesley writes that baptism is the profession (the visible element) of our covenant with God. At baptism we profess our faith in God. Wesley says that in baptism we receive the Seal of the Covenant (a seal bear’s God’s image, his mark—a seal preserves what is sealed from being tampered with). We receive that covenant sealing by the visible act and profession of baptism. That is how we enter the covenant. He also talks about the inner reality of the covenant. We are only baptized once, but we go one living in the reality of the covenant. We express that reality throughout our lives—in our hearts, as we trust in Christ’s promises, we confess it with our lips and our actions throughout our lives, especially when we renew the covenant.

That brings me to my third question of this sermon, why do we need to renew our covenant? The robe of righteousness that Christ gives us can never never sullied. His righteousness is perfect. Christ’s righteousness will never be defective; however, we are still sinners. Our Baptist brothers and sisters mean well, but the truth is, there is no once said always saved. It is possible to reject God’s Grace and forfeit salvation. I said earlier that Christ was sent from the water to the work. The first thing Christ did after his baptism was to be tempted by the devil. This is significant, because if the devil tempted Christ after his baptism, you better believe he’s going to tempt you. In fact, it’s not uncommon for folks to experience great trial and temptation after getting saved and being baptized. Why is that? The devil didn’t fight you when you were his. Now you are baptized. You are clothed with Christ and you possess perfect righteous. The devil comes to attack you, and his goal to get you to remove the robe. He tempts you with sin, and after tempting you with sin, he comes with discouragement. After discouragement, he comes with despair. He wants to destroy your faith and your trust in God’s promises. As we heard from Saint Paul, we are the children of God by faith. The devil comes with sin, doubt, and discouragement to entice you to remove the robe of righteousness and extinguish your faith. He wants you to abandon your covenant with God. So, what do we do? What we to do often, and in fact we do it here every Sunday, is confess our sins, repent, and renew the covenant. When we sin, we need to repent, but then we need to cling to the righteousness that was given us. We need to do this not only as individual believers, every time we sin, but we need to do it together as the local church.

In baptism, Jesus give us his righteousness, he gives us the Holy Spirit, he gives us His Father’s love and approval. But the disciple is not greater than the teacher, Jesus tells us. Like the Lord Jesus, we too are called from the water to the work. Jesus began his ministry at his baptism, and our ministry begins at baptism. Jesus commands us, “Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey whatsoever I have commanded you.” Jesus has given us his righteousness, he has given us his heavenly treasures of salvation. He also called us to the work—to put our hands to the plow for the kingdom. He has given us the Holy Spirit to accomplish this work. Church as we renew our covenant with God today, we reaffirm our repentance and our rejection of sin, we accept afresh and anew God’s free gift of salvation, but we also come together to prepare ourselves for the work of the Kingdom—the work of sharing the gospel, inviting the lost and wayward into God’s house, the work of preparing children and grandchildren to receive God’s promises in baptism, the work sharing God’s love with all those around us. Because God has called us from the water to the work. Amen.