The Baptism of Jesus
Sermon Title: The Baptism of Jesus
Sermon Text: Matthew 3: 13-17, Mark 1: 9-11, Luke 3: 21-23, John 1: 15-18, Romans 6: 3-4
Sermon Date: 1-17-2016
matt 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,[a] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son,[b] with whom I am well pleased.”
mark 1:9-11
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;[a] with you I am well pleased.”
luke 3: 21-23a
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;[a] with you I am well pleased.”[
john 1: 15-18
15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.[a] 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God,[b] who is at the Father's side,[c] he has made him known.
Romans 6: 3-4
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
In our journey with Jesus we come to his first public appearance since he was in the temple at 12 years of age. He is now 30 and He is about to begin His earthly ministry. So how does he introduce Himself to the world? Well John the Baptist introduces Him by saying “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” But Jesus, though sinless, begins His earthly service to the Father by being baptize.
Many people misunderstand baptism. Some act as though, since baptism doesn’t save, it isn’t important. Other people make the mistake of saying if you don’t get baptized then you won’t go to heaven.
While baptism isn’t necessary for salvation, it is necessary for obedience. Obedience is necessary if you are wanting to experience the joy, the growth and the fruitfulness that is the Christian life.
We must not minimize what the Bible emphasizes.
I. The Biblical Method of Baptism
The right method of baptism will allow you to gain an understanding of the meaning of baptism.
The Greek word is “baptidzo” which only means “to immerse in water”
II. The Biblical Meaning of Baptism
A. The Christian’s Past
Your past is in verse 4: You have been buried with Jesus Christ by baptism. When you are baptized, you are buried under the water. This is a visual symbol of your old life dying and being buried. It also connects you with Christ's death 2000 years ago. He took your sin, carried it to the cross, suffered and died for you, bearing your sins in His body. He paid your sin debt in full. When He died, you died with Him because of your faith in Him. Your old self was crucified with Christ, that your body of sin might be destroyed and you should no longer serve sin. Your baptism is a funeral of your old self. You bury that old self; it's in the grave of God's forgetfulness. Your sin is gone; you no longer have to be haunted by the ghost of guilt. Baptism is a visual picture of your old self going into the grave
B. The Christian’s Present
Paul tells us in Romans 6 that Christ was raised from the dead, so we should walk in the newness of life. That's the present reality for the Christian. Jesus didn't stay in that grave, He arose. And, you didn't stay in that grave, you came up out of the water a new person. You now walk in a new life. The old has gone, the new has come. You've been born again. Coming up out of the baptismal water is a symbolic picture of you coming out of that grave, risen to a new life in Christ. Your old sin nature has been washed away, and you come up clean and new
C. The Christian’s Future
Paul goes on to say that, since we have been planted like Christ in death, we shall be raised like Christ in the resurrection. Someday I am going to die, and they will put my body into a grave. But as the grave couldn't hold Christ, it won't hold me. I'm going to be raised like Him. That's what baptism depicts. It pictures our death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus. That's really the core of the gospel, and God commands that we be baptized because He wants us to understand the transformation that occurs when we are saved. Baptism is a beautiful illustration of the death, burial, and resurrection of the person who believes on Jesus Christ. Immersion is the way God arranged for us to symbolize it. You don't want to use just any symbol. Sprinkling doesn't depict the full meaning of baptism. Immersion does. The method and the meaning are bound up together
III. The Biblical Motive for Baptism
A. It Proclaims your commitment to Jesus
B. It Portrays your conversion to Jesus
C. It pays attention to your command from God.
IV. The Biblical Mandate for Baptism
Jesus began His earthly ministry with baptism and he closed His earthly ministry with the command to baptize.
The Great Commission
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:16-20 ESV)