Sermon Tone Analysis

Gospel according to Matthew or “The Book of the generation of Jesus Christ”.

Hopewell Primitive Baptist Church

May 29, 2022

Matthew 3:13–17

Lord willing, I hope to continue on in the Gospel According to Matthew.

So, if you would, please turn to chapter 3, verse 13.

“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14 But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.

Then he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Mt 3:13–17.

In the previous messages we hadbeen looking at John the Baptist.

His ministry issummed up by Matthew inverses 1-12.

John was sent in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies to pave the way for the Messiah.

He came preaching repentance and upon fruits justifying a true conversion, hebaptized converts by full immersion into water.

His preaching was the beginning of the full revelation of the Good News about the Christ coming to pardon sins and secure God’s grace for the elect.

Jesus said in Matthew11:13, “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.”

Again, it is written in Luke 24:27, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Remember, the original audience of Matthew’s Gospel, and the two men that Jesus addressed in Luke 24:27, were Hebrew Christians, former Jews.

Prior to Jesus Christ, their lives were saturated in things of the Old Covenant-- that was their understanding of the things of God, that was their world-view, that was their religion-- although prior to Jesus it was much misunderstood and the view of the Covenant of Grace was seen dimly.

The Old Covenant was first given as a fuller revelation of the Covenant of Grace.

Before the Old Covenant was given to Moses there was not much doctrine given explaining the entire redemptive plan of God.

From Adam till Moses, sin was exposed and righteousness was preached with more and more about the covenant being revealed.

To those whom God revealed himself to, like Adam,Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and others, it was toldthat sinners need a Savior-- and God promised to send a Savior to redeem people from their sins.

The hope of the Old Testament Saints was that salvation would be secured by that promised Savior, the Messiah.

John’spreaching began to explainthe Covenant of Grace, proclaiming to the physical descendants of Abraham that true descendants, the ones who would receive the promises of redemptionof sins and reconciliation with God, are the true, spiritual, heirsof Abraham.

John preached the doctrines of the Covenant of Grace, which is the Gospel.

With John’s preparatory preaching, the Gospel was being made clearer to the elect of God.

The New Covenant, the full revelation of the Covenant of Grace, was know being ushered in, and the Old Covenant-- full of types and shadows pointing to Christ, would now begin to fade away.

As the writer of Hebrews says, with “A new covenant, he hath made the first old.

Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

Hebrews 8:13

In theological terms, this ever increasing revelation from God about the Covenant of Grace and the surety of it-- Jesus Christ-- from Genesis 3:15 to John the Baptist is called “progressive revelation”.

In Matthew chapter 3 we have been reading about John paving the way for the incarnate Son of God, the long anticipated Messiah, and he proclaimedthat one mightier than he was coming, and Matthew writes, in verse 13, “Then cometh Jesus…”

If you recall from Matthew 1:21, Jesus means Savior.

The Angel Gabriel declared, “thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

All that has been anticipated since Genesis 3:15, the promise of a savior for sinners, has come.

Matthew further writes, that Jesus came, “… from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.”

“from Galilee”, more specifically as Mark puts it, “from Nazareth of Galilee”.

If you recall, the last time we read from Matthew anything specifically mentioning Jesus, it was at the end of Chapter 2. In chapter 2 Joseph was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt to escape King Herod’s murderous reign.

Joseph was then instructed by an angel of the Lord in a dream to return to the land of Israel.

Once there Joseph was again warned in a dream to turn into parts of Galilee, where he, Mary, and Jesus dwelt in the city of Nazareth-- which was a despised town among the Jews.

From that time recorded in Matthew chapter 2 until Jesus coming forth in chapter 3, we are only told about one other time in his life and that is in Luke 2 when the12 year old Jesus was found “… in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.”

Luke 2:46.

John Gill said that Jesus had lived for many years, “… in great obscurity, in all obedience to God, in subjection to his parents, exercising a conscience void of offence towards God and man, and employing his time in devotion and business..” (John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament, vol. 1, The Baptist Commentary Series (London: Mathews and Leigh, 1809), 26.).

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:7-8, about Jesus, that he“… made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Now about 30 years of age, having lived a perfect and sinless life, Jesus has humbly come to begin his earthly ministry.

Hewent to the Jordan river, where John was, to be baptized of him.

Something that has been covered in previous sermonswas the humility of Christ.

We saw this in many regards, even from his living inNazareth ofGalilee.

This action by Jesus in hisgoing to John is also an act of humility.

There is no royal treatment here.

There is no fanfare for the Kingly Messiah.

His subjects aren’t coming to him.

Jesus leaves his hometown, for about a three days journey,to go into the wilderness where John is-- a bearded man who, “… had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.”

Mt 3:4.

We are told by Matthew that all of Judea had gone out to John, and here is our Lord, before men, going in this humble act as a public proclamation that the ministry of the Messiah has officiallybegun-- salvation has come.

Matthew also records in verse 13 that Jesus came to John for a specific purpose, “to be baptized of him”.

John said in verse 11, “… he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear …” Jesus, the Lord and Master, does not call the servant, but rather, goes to the servantto submit to the ordinance of Baptism.

His first act in his ministry is one of humble submission.

That is also the first act of a believer after conversion, they humbly submit themselves to the command to be baptized.

John was baptizing people after theyshowed true repentance.

So why was our Lord Jesus, a sinless man who had nothing to repent of, coming to be baptized?

Verse 14, “But John forbadehim, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” John recognized that the Christ has come before him.

Hedid not know for certain that Jesuswas the Christ until by divine revelation he was able to identify himwith certainty.

Knowing this, John appears shocked that the man whom he claimed would bring a greater baptism than his, has come to be baptized.

He evens tries to prevent, or hinder, what the Lord is requesting of him because he doesn’t understand what is being asked of him.

John tries to reason with Jesus, saying he is the one that needs to be baptized of Christ.

John knows what his baptism is in comparison to the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

John desires all of the benefits, blessings, and gifts of the Holy Spirit that come from the Lord’s baptism.

What could the Lord Jesus need of John in the way of spiritual acts for himself?

John recognizes this when he says “… and comest thou to me?” What could John give to Jesus that he did not already have as the Christ, the Son of God?

Certainly, John could not baptize the Lord based upon repentance of sin as

Jesus was born with out a sin nature, there was no original sin inherited from Adam.

That sin nature is passed down through men, but Jesus had no earthly father-- for he was conceived of the Holy Spirit.

He knew no sin.

He did not commit sin, nor did he have acts of omission-- meaning he did not omit any thing that God had commanded.

He was absolutely perfect.

He was sinless, pure, righteous, and holy.

He was God incarnate.

And John, recognizing that Jesus is the Christ, cannot imagine baptizing him.

So why did the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Son of God, the Christ who is, “… the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29)go to John to be baptized.

Verse 15, “And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.

Then he suffered him.”

“Suffer it to be so now.”

Suffer means to consent to, to give permission.

The sense behind it is for a superior to give consent to an inferior.

The Master is commanding the servant to permit this action, which is the desire of his will, without objection, and let it be done now.

Now as in this present moment.

With the command and the immediacy to do the baptism, Jesus said, “… it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.”

His explanation for John as to why this is happening is that it is his will, and it satisfies and makes completeall righteousness.

It is now time to begin fulfillingthe ministry that the Father has ordained for the Son.

And in that ministry, as with his entire life,Christ lives righteouslyand fulfills all of the moral and ceremonial lawsthat the Father has instituted.

Thebaptism of John pointedtoward the forgiveness of sins and all of the work that Christ will do in securing redemption.

When a believer partakes of the ordinance of Baptism, and as Paul wrote in Romans 6:3-10, we are baptized into Jesus Christ’s death.

We are buried with him in baptism, and like Christ we are raised up from the dead.

Baptism is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

That is the essential part of the Gospel.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

And here, in Matthew, we read that Jesus is going to be Baptized of John.