It's Coronation Day!: The King Gets Wet

Hopson Boutot

Poquoson Baptist Church

Matthew: The King and His Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Matthew 3:13–17

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Good and Gracious King

WELCOME

Psalm 24:3-5—Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Clean hands? Pure heart? Honest lips? Not good news!

Unless someone is clean, pure, and honest in our place

Jesus, the King of glory! We hope to introduce you to Him today.

In just a moment we’ll hear a reading from the text for today’s sermon in Matthew 3:13. Turn there now.

While you’re turning, 3 quick announcements:

1) A word about PBC. We are servants.

Following Jesus is hard! Serve by encouraging one another!

2) TableTalk tonight—When a Woman Shouldn’t Be a Deacon

Two instances when a woman shouldn’t be a deacon that every PBC member should agree on

Also, we’re going to end our teaching time by celebrating communion at our tables

3) Today it is our joy to install Bubba Jones as our newest elder

God’s church has overwhelmingly recognized his gifts and calling to this ministry, so today we officially install him as one of Jesus’ under-shepherds for this flock

Invite Bubba and the other elders to come forward

ELDER APPOINTMENT CEREMONY

Now look in your Bibles at Matthew 3:13 as Elizabeth Wells comes to read for us.

Scripture Reading (Matthew 3:13-17)

Prayer of Praise (God is Savior), Elizabeth Wells

Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

Prayer of Confession (Fear), Todd Holdren

Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near

New City Catechism #40

Pastoral Prayer (Mike Klaassen)

SERMON

Why was Jesus baptized?

An ancient heresy called adoptionism taught that when Jesus was baptized he either became the Son of God or became the Messiah.

An ancient document called “The Gospel of the Hebrews” taught that Jesus was baptized just in case he had committed a sin of ignorance

In the musical Godspell, Jesus simply says “I wanna get washed up!”

Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus was baptized so he could remember his pre-human existence and begin showing people how to follow Jehovah.

Muslims teach that Jesus was baptized to purify himself and begin teaching Allah’s message.

Mormons teach that Jesus’ baptism simply sets an example for us that we should get baptized too

Queer theologians teach Jesus’ baptism as nothing but a lesson in how rituals help us in our transitions towards self-discovery.

Some Christians are hardly any better. For many, Jesus’ baptism is nothing but a good example about how we need symbols to launch new chapters in our journeys with God.

Baptist preacher special—Jesus was baptized so you should be too! . . . I see that hand

Jesus’ baptism is a preview of what He came to do.

Turn to Matthew 3:13

Last week introduced to John, a prophet in the spirit of Elijah, who is baptizing people in the Jordan River.

As John’s popularity reaches its peak, a thirty-year-old carpenter’s son from Galilee gets in the baptismal line

And in what happens next we see that...

Jesus’ baptism is a preview of what He came to do.

Let’s unpack that big idea with three staggering truths:

1) Jesus Identifies With SINNERS.

3:13-14—“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”

John’s objection is not like you trying to prevent your parents or grandparents from paying for your dinner. You try once then you’re like “okay, fine! Can I get dessert?”

The original language indicates a continued effort by John to avoid baptizing Jesus.

Translation: “John kept trying to prevent Him.”

Why does John object?

Matthew 3:11—“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.”

John’s baptism is for repentance. Those getting baptized were turning away from their sin and self-righteousness. They were admitting they could not be included in the people of God except by the grace of God.

Jesus didn’t need to repent.

He’s not a rebellious sinner or a self-righteous hypocrite.

John 1:29—“The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Russell Moore—"To hear Jesus' request to be baptized would have felt to John the way it might feel to you to hear your spouse announce an interest in being listed on a registry of child molesters." [1]

To see someone so pure identify with something so heinous is shocking!

So how is Jesus going to respond to John’s objections?

3:15—But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Jesus doesn’t rebuke John.

Jesus is greater than John.

He isn’t sinful.

He doesn’t have any need to repent.

But...

3:15—“...Let it be so now...”

“You’re right John. This feels upside-down, because it is. But it won’t always be this way. Permit it for now.”

But why?!?

3:15—“thus it is fitting for us to fulfill”

There’s that word “fulfill” again

Patrick Schreiner—“‘Fulfill’ has a variety of meanings, and in different contexts certain aspects might be highlighted. Yet largely, we can say that it means that Jesus fills up Jewish history.... all things are brought to fruition in and through Jesus.” [2]

What needs to be filled up by Jesus?

3:15—“to fulfill all righteousness.”

Whose righteousness?

Certainly not Jesus! He is already sinless, His righteousness is already full!

Colossians 1:19—For in [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

Same word group Matthew uses for “fulfilled”

If God is fully righteous, and Jesus is fully God, then Jesus is already fully righteous

Whose righteousness needs to be fulfilled? His people.

Think about it: have you ever repented and then gone back to the same sin? Why do we keep confessing the same sins over and over again?

We keep sinning! Yes we must repent, but if the effectiveness of our repentance is what saves us we’re all going to hell!

Few are better examples of this than a monk named Martin Luther. He used to spend upwards of six hours in confession with his priest, trying to make sure he confessed every single wicked thought, motivation, emotion or deed. Finally, his priest would say, “Go do something really bad then come back and confess that!”

But Luther was right! There’s always more to confess! In fact, we may have even sinned in our confession. We might have confessed in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. If God is really holy, than no amount of confession and repentance can clean us up!

Enter Jesus. He’s wading into the Jordan river, not because He needs to be baptized but because you need Him to be baptized.

Jesus is identifying with sinners

Isaiah 53:12 prophesied that Jesus would be “numbered with the transgressors”

He walks into that water as if He’s a sinner needing repentance. He’s identifying with His people.

Jesus is not there to wash away His own sin, but to begin the process of washing away ours.

Jesus is sharing in our baptism so we can share in His.

The price paid to wash away our sins would come three years later when Jesus is immersed with another baptism...

Speaking of His impending death on the cross, Jesus said...

Luke 12:50—“I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”

There on a hill outside Jerusalem, Jesus will complete the work He began on Jordan’s muddy banks.

There the Father will make “Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21)

Jesus’ baptism is a preview of what He came to do.

He came to redeem sinners, and to do that He had to identify with them.

But there’s a second staggering truth we need to see...

2) The Father Identifies with JESUS.

Misconception: The Holy Spirit is chaotic and crazy, the Father is serious and stern, Jesus is the kind and level-headed one

So when Jesus comes to identify with sinners, He’s got to convince the rest of the Trinity to go along with His plan

Nothing could be further from the truth!

3:16-17—Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Before we go any further, let’s talk for just a moment about the Christian doctrine of the Trinity...

About 1600 years ago, a pastor in North Africa named Augustine preached a 23-point sermon on this passage. His goal in the sermon was to demonstrate how the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is clearly taught in this text.

Augustine would sometimes say to those who denied the Trinity, “Go to Jordan and you will see the Trinity!” [3]

Not hard to see why: Jesus in the water, the Spirit descending upon Jesus, the Father speaking from heaven

In that sermon, Augustine said...

“The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are a Trinity inseparable; One God, not three Gods. But yet so One God, as that the Son is not the Father, and the Father is not the Son, and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but the Spirit of the Father and of the Son.” [4]

Translation: one God, three persons

Three persons—The Father isn’t being baptized, the Son is. The Spirit isn’t speaking from heaven, the Father is. The Son isn’t descending like a dove, the Spirit is.

One God (inseparable)—Father, Son and Spirit are in perfect unity. They’re clearly working together.

J.C. Ryle—It was the whole Trinity, which at the beginning of creation said, “let us make man.” It was the whole Trinity again, which at the beginning of the Gospel seemed to say, “let us save man.” [5]

The Father isn’t ashamed to identify with Jesus at His baptism. He does three things to show His willingness to identify with Jesus...

A) By opening the heavens

3:16—And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him

In a few places the Bible speaks about heavens being ripped open...

Ezekiel’s vision in 1:1

John’s vision in in Acts 7:56

Peter’s vision in Acts 10:11

John’s vision in Revelation 19:11

It’s always pointing to something massively significant!

I believe Matthew has in mind the words of Isaiah...

Isaiah 64:1—“Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.”

God is saying, “I’m here! The heavens are opened and I’m here!”

B) By sending the Spirit

3:16—and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him

Once again, Matthew is drawing our attention to the OT prophets, specifically Isaiah...

Isaiah 61:1—“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”

The Messiah is here!

The Spirit isn’t getting acquainted with Jesus for the first time. Jesus has lived His life so far obeying the Father in the power of the Spirit

But now the Spirit descends on Jesus in a special way to give Him power for the mission that lies ahead:

Calvin—“Now that the full time is come, for preparing to discharge the office of Redeemer, he is clothed with a new power of the Spirit, and that not so much for his own sake, as for the sake of others.” [6]

By the power of the Spirit, Jesus will...

Cast out demons (Matt. 12:28)

Heal the sick (Lk. 4:18; Acts 10:36–38)

Preach good news (Lk. 4:18; Acts 10:36–38)

Go where He needs to go (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:14)

Die on the cross (Hebrews 9:14)

Be raised from the dead (Romans 1:4)

C) By speaking

3:17—and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The voice of the Father speaks three things about Jesus...

"You are mine”

“This is My... Son”

Matthew is clearly alluding to...

Psalm 2:7—“I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”

Interestingly, in the very first temptation Satan will tempt Jesus to deny this truth: “if you are the Son of God” (Matthew 4:3)

"You are loved”

“This is My beloved”

This is a clear echo of Genesis 22:2, where God tells Abraham to take his son, his beloved son and sacrifice him on a mountain

Abraham’s beloved son wouldn’t have to die on that mountain. Abraham told his son that God, Himself would provide a lamb. Two thousand years later, another Beloved Son would climb that same mountain and He would die in the place of His sinful people.

“I am pleased”

“with whom I am well pleased.”

These are the most precious words a son can ever hear from his dad: “I’m proud of you, son.”

That’s what Jesus hears at His baptism

Again, Matthew is alluding to the prophets...

Isaiah 42:1—“Behold My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”

Jesus hears all this as He begins to identify with sinners.

It’s easy to identify with the Buckeyes when they play like a top-ten team. But when they play so poorly it looks like they could lose to Virginia Tech, it’s a bit harder.

The Father doesn’t first speak these words when Jesus walks on water or heals the sick or raises the dead. He speaks as Jesus is identifying with sinners.

Three years later, Jesus’ identification with sinners will reach its peak.

Our sins will be poured out on Jesus on the cross.

In that moment...

The heavens won’t open up. The sky will turn black.

The Father won’t speak His pleasure over the Son. He’ll be punishing Him in our place.

But make no mistake: the Father loves His Son. This is their plan.

John 3:16—“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The Father and the Spirit are putting their stamp of approval on this plan as Jesus comes out of the dirty Jordan river

Jesus’ baptism is a preview of what He came to do.

He came to redeem sinners, and to do that the Father needed to identify with Him.

But there’s a final staggering truth we need to see...

3) God Identifies With HIS PEOPLE.

We’ve looked at the text to understand it’s meaning, let’s now examine what significance it has for you and me today

But first...

Not a Christian? None of this is true for you, regardless of your performance.

But if can be! Repent and believe today!

Here’s where I do the Baptist pastor thing. Identify with Jesus!!!

Christian? All of this is true for you, regardless of your performance.

Not talking about what could be if you’re good enough. I’m talking about what is because Christ was good enough in your place!!!

How does God identify with His people?

The Scriptures repeatedly say if you belong to Jesus, you are in Christ

One of the metaphors is baptism

Galatians 3:27—“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

If you’re a Christian, you’re in Christ. You’ve put on Jesus. And now, because the Father identifies with Jesus, God identifies with you.

Imagine you’re a third string defender for a soccer team. It’s the championship game and you’ve never got any playing time. Your all-star teammate scores the winning goal. Are you a champion? Yes!!! Why? Because the goal is credited to the entire team, even to the players sitting on the bench who don’t do anything. You’ve “put on” the jersey, so the victory accomplished by your all-star teammate is credited to you! [7]

If you are in Christ, what the Father says to the Son is true of you.

Not because you deserve it, but because His victory has been credited to you. Not because you’re good, but because He is.

Christian, listen to what God says to you...

"You are mine”

Because Jesus is the Son of God, we can be adopted into God’s family if we come to with Him in repentance and faith

Hebrews 2:11 says Jesus is not ashamed to call us His little brothers and sisters. Why?

Romans 8:29—“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

"You are loved”

If you believe in Him you too are God’s beloved, not because you are good but because you have been baptized into Christ!

Ephesians 1:5-6—“he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

Spurgeon—We shall grow in grace, but we shall never be more completely pardoned than when we first believed: we shall one day stand before the glorious presence of God in his own sacred courts, and see the Well-beloved and wear his likeness, but we shall not even then be more perfectly forgiven than we are at this present moment.

“I am pleased”

We all want to hear God say on judgment day, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)

We will! Not because we’re awesome, but because He is!!!

Ray Ortlund—if sin were the color yellow, everything we do has a shade of yellow. It’s all corrupted by sin.

Some of our acts are deep yellow, others have just a yellowish tint

But if God hates sin, than how can He ever be pleased with me?

We think we have to get all that yellow out. NO!

He is pleased with you (if you’re a Christian) because He’s pleased with Jesus.

Won’t this lead to lawlessness?

Oliver Twist—once we get him to really believe he’s a thief he’ll always steal for us.

The reverse is true. Once we really believe who we are in Christ, we are free to fully obey Him!

How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord Is laid for your faith in His excellent word What more can He say than to you He has said To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose I will not, I will not desert to His foes That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake I'll never, no never, no never forsake

How Firm a Foundation

Benediction (Ephesians 4:4-6 )

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