author: Ryan Hayden Take your Bibles with me this morning and go to Luke 3. Luke chapter 3. We are going to be looking at verses 18-38 this morning.
I don't know about you, but I really enjoyed the Missions Conference last week. Brother Fielder did a great job, and I was stirred up for missions. I hope you were too.
Now, because of the missions conference, it's been about three weeks since I last preached from Luke. When we left off last time, we were talking about John the Baptist. That's what the first half of Luke 3 is about.
John the Baptist was a forerunner to Jesus, a special envoy sent to prepare people for Jesus. He was a mighty preacher and bold in the faith.
But he wasn't Jesus, and he knew that.
We are going to jump right back into Luke 3 and read the second half of this chapter and talk about Jesus' baptism today.
[!bible] Luke 3:18-38 - KJV 18. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 19. But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20. Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. 21. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. 23. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, 24. Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, 25. Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, 26. Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, 27. Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, 28. Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, 29. Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, 30. Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, 31. Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, 32. Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, 33. Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, 34. Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, 35. Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, 36. Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, 37. Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, 38. Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
The main thing I want to talk about today is the baptism of Christ. What does it mean? What does it not mean?
The Baptism of Christ is so important that it is one of only a few things that is recorded in every one of the gospels. It marked the beginning of Jesus' ministry. It's important.
It's also something that is very often misunderstood and it can be the cause of a lot of doctrinal error and confusion. So we need to cover it.
But here in Luke the baptism of Jesus is sandwhiched in between two things I want to cover very quickly.
The first is this little story about John the Baptist being killed. Herod, who was the king at the time, did something very wicked. He had his brother killed so he could marry his brother's wife.
Now, that was typical of the kind of person Herod was. He was a bad man.
And John the Baptist wasn't about to look the other way. He spoke out against Herod and it ended up costing him his freedom and his life. He called out Herod for his sin and Herod ended up killing him.
Actually, it was Herod's wife that did it. Herod was going to leave it alone, but Herod's wife couldn't stand it and she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a charger.
Very often, Satan opposes the work of God through the pressure that wives put on their husbands and the temptation for leadership is to just bury your head in the sand. To let that unspoken pressure keep you from speaking the truth.
The point is that John wasn't afraid to speak the truth, even when the truth was dangerous. Even when the truth brought the heat.
The second thing in our verses we aren't going to spend a lot of time on is the geneology. It's sort of interesting that Luke ends this chapter with Jesus' geneology.
Why a geneology?
- Well, it shows us that Jesus was a real person, with a real family.
- It shows us that He was in the line of David and a rightful heir to the throne of David.
- It gives us the line of Joseph, which complements Matthew's geneology of Mary.
But I think the biggest point of this geneology is that it identifies Jesus with a bunch of sinners. Everyone on that list was an imperfect sinner - going all the way back to Adam, and I think the reason Luke gave it here is because Jesus identified with sinners at His baptism. A theme of this chapter is who Jesus identified with.
And that brings us to the meat of the message today. Let's look again at verses 21-22:
[!bible] Luke 3:21-22 - KJV 21. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
Now, this is just a couple of verses here in Luke. Matthew, Mark and John have a bit more to say about it.
So what was the Baptism of Jesus all about? I want to give you four words this morning that describe this baptism.
Empowerment
(Jesus was empowered for service.)
Confirmation
(Jesus was confirmed to be the Son of God)
Identification
(Jesus idenitified with sinners)
Fulfillment
(Jesus did everything a righteous person was to do) Jesus baptism was very important. It is talked about in all four gospels. But what is the purpose of Jesus baptism?
I want to give you four words this morning that explain the Jesus' baptism.
The first word is...
1. Empowerment
Our text says that the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove on Jesus.
This story involves all three persons of the Trinity:
- We have the Son - Jesus who is getting baptized.
- We have the Spirit - descending on Jesus like a dove.
- We have the Father - saying to Jesus "this is my beloved Son."
There is a heresy called "modalism" that denies the trinity and says that God is just God and that He takes three different modes. Many of our charismatic friends believe in this.
This text destroys that idea. Because at one time here we have all three members of the Trinity and they are all present at the same time but in their different forms.
But why would the Spirit descend on Jesus? Well, in the Bible, up until this point, whenever the Holy Spirit came on someone it was for the purpose of empowerment for service.
Just this week we were looking at the story of Saul, and the Bible says that the Spirit came on Saul and he prophesied and God changed his heart. That didn't mean Saul was a spiritual man (he wasn't) but he was empowered by the spirit for a work.
In Isaiah 61:1 we have this prophecy of Jesus:
[!bible] Isaiah 61:1 - KJV
- The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
And, if you turn the page here in Luke to chapter 4, and you scan that chapter, you have Jesus quoting that prophecy for Himself. (You can see that in verse 18.)
Up until this point Jesus was not actively ministering. He was living in obscurity. Most likely working in Joseph's carpentry business. But when the Spirit came on Him here, this was the start of Jesus' ministry.
Now, what is the lesson here for us? I think it has to be that if we are going to do God's work, we need the Spirit's empowerment. If Jesus needed it - then we absolutely need it.
Remember the giving of the great commission in Acts 1? God said you are going to be witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth. We remember that part.
But we often forget the begging of what Jesus said:
[!bible] Acts 1:8 - KJV 8. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me...
The early Christians needed the spirit's empowerment. Jesus needed the Spirit's empowerment. We absolutely need the Spirit's empowerment.
Jesus received that here. So the first word is empowerment.
The second word that I think helps describe Jesus' baptism is...
2. Confirmation
Empowerment by the Spirit - Confirmation by the Father.
When Jesus was baptized, God spoke from heaven and said "Thou art my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased."
That was a confirmation of who Jesus is.
Now, who was that confirmation for? The text says that "all the people were baptized."
Remember, John the Baptist is incredibly popular. He is preaching in the wilderness and everyone is coming to hear him and the thing John is preaching to them is that you have to repent and come to Jesus just like a Gentile.
The jews practiced baptism - but it wasn't for the jews. Baptism was the ceremonial cleansing a Gentile had to go through to acknowledge their sin before God.
So John was saying to the jews - you don't get to be God's people just because you are jews. You too have to acknowledge your sin before me and be cleaned.
And that message, remarkably, was very popular. Lots of people from around Israel were coming and getting baptized by John. So Jesus would have been just one guy in a crowd here.
And John didn't recognize Him at first. John knew about Jesus. But at this point they had lived separate lives. So I think this baptism was God's way of confirming to John the Baptist and maybe some of these faithful disciples that this unknown guy from Galilee was in fact the Messiah and God's Son.
Again, He is a part of the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. All three are active at this Baptism.
And God letting us know that this Man who is about to start doing miracles, this Man who is about to start preaching, this Man who ultimately will go to the cross. This isn't just a prophet, this isn't just a teacher - this is "My beloved Son and I am well pleased in Him."
So we have the empowerment of Christ by the Spirit and the Identification of Christ as the Son by the Father.
That's two words down, there are four words. Let's look at the third one:
3. Identification
Remember what I said about John's baptism. It had a purpose. People who were baptized were saying "I'm a sinner, I'm repenting of my sin."
But here is the thing: Jesus wasn't a sinner. Jesus was holy. Jesus was sinless.
Hebrews 4:15 tells us He was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin.
2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that He was made sin for us, who knew no sin.
Jesus was sinless. He was always sinless. So why did Jesus, who was sinless get baptized? Why did He who knew no sin take part in this rite that was meant to show repetance from sin?
Do you see the problem?
John the Baptist did. Let me read you Matthew 3 - same story, different book. Matthew 3:13-14:
[!bible] Matthew 3:13-14 - KJV 13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
John said "No, Jesus - this isn't how it works. You are sinless. You don't need to be baptized." And in a sense, John the Baptist was right.
So why did Jesus do it?
I think one reason He did it was to identify with sinners. You see, Jesus was sinless. He was perfect. He never sinned and had no sin to repent of.
But Jesus identified with sinners.
[!bible] Isaiah 53:5 - KJV 5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
If you will, Jesus came to earth to be a sinless sinner. He came to earth to live in our place and live without sin. And all throughout His life He is identifying with us. From His circumcision (which pictured sin) to His baptism (which pictured sin) Jesus was identifying with us.
But that is not all He was doing.
Remember, I said four words. We've covered three:
- Empowerment
- Confirmation
- Identification
I think there is one more thing Jesus was doing at His baptism and the word for that is...
4. Fulfillment
So Jesus comes to John the Baptist to be Baptized. John protests. He doesn't want to do it. Jesus isn't a sinner.
Listen to what Jesus said to John in Matthew 3:15:
[!bible] Matthew 3:15 - KJV 15. And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
Do you notice that phrase "fulfill all righteousness." This is the argument that won John the Baptist over.
Jesus had to fulfill all righteousness. What does that mean?
Well, Jesus didn't just NOT sin. Jesus did everything that a righteous man was supposed to do. He didn't just have an absence of demerit. An absence of sin. An absence of negative. He had a perfect positive record too.
Which means that if there was something good that man was supposed to do - Jesus did it while He was on this earth.
We can think of other instances of this too: Jesus took the passover - even though He WAS the passover. Why? That was fulfilling all righteousness. Jesus paid taxes, even though He was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Why? To fulfill all righteousness.
And here is what that means for us. And this is beautiful. When we come to Christ, not only do we get forgiven from our sins. Not only do we have our demerit, our negative taken away by the blood of the lamb.
We get Christ's perfect record. As we sing sometimes:
His robes for mine, O wonderful exchange
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered 'neath God's rage
Draped in His righteousness, I'm justified
In Christ I live, for in my place He died
His robes for mine, what cause have I for dread?
God's daunting law, Christ mastered in my stead
Faultless, I stand with righteous works not mine
Saved by my Lord's vicarious death and life
When God looks at us, He sees the perfect righteous record of Jesus.
It's like this: imagine a test that is just impossible. I mean thousands of questions. Try though you may you are never going to pass that test.
That is God's law - God's standard of holiness.
And God demands a perfect score. No missed questions.
And we can try to take that test ourselves and we will fail - every single time - we will get an F on that test.
But Jesus took the test for us. Jesus identified with us and took our test for us and He got a perfect grade - and is offering us His score.
author: Ryan Hayden
Conclusion
So in this Baptism of Christ we see so much:
- We see Jesus about to start His ministry - being empowered by the Holy Spirit.
- We see God confirming Him as His perfect son.
- But then we see His son - the perfect son of God - identifying Himself with us as sinners.
- And we see Him fulfilling all righteousness on our behalf.
As we conclude our study of Jesus' baptism, let's think about the four key words we've explored: Empowerment, Confirmation, Identification, and Fulfillment.
Christ's baptism wasn't just a historical event; it has profound implications for us today. Just as Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit for His ministry, we too need the Spirit's power in our lives to serve God effectively.
We've seen how the Father confirmed Jesus as His beloved Son, reminding us of the incredible truth that through Christ, we become adopted children of God.
Perhaps most importantly, we've witnessed how Jesus, though sinless, chose to identify with sinners like us. He didn't stand apart, but stepped into the waters of baptism, foreshadowing how He would ultimately take our place on the cross. And in fulfilling all righteousness, Christ not only lived a perfect life but offers us His righteousness as a gift.
So what does this mean for us today? It means that when we place our faith in Christ, we don't just receive forgiveness for our sins. We receive Christ's perfect record of righteousness. We stand before God clothed not in our own feeble attempts at goodness, but in the spotless robes of Christ's righteousness.
As we leave here today, let's carry with us this beautiful truth: Jesus identified with us in our humanity so that we might identify with Him in His righteousness.
Let this amazing grace motivate us to live for Him, empowered by His Spirit, confirmed as God's children, and clothed in Christ's perfect righteousness.
