1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:22,440 We will consider the subject this morning, verses 13 to 17. 2 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:31,400 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 3 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:36,140 And John tried to prevent him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming 4 00:00:36,140 --> 00:00:37,140 to me? 5 00:00:37,140 --> 00:00:44,680 But Jesus answered and said to him, permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for 6 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,400 us to fulfill all righteousness. 7 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:54,480 And he allowed him, and when he, that is our Lord, had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately 8 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:55,480 from the water. 9 00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:00,960 And behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like 10 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,040 a dove and alighting upon him. 11 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:11,360 And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 12 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:12,360 pleased. 13 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,480 Let's pray. 14 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:21,360 Father, show us Christ this morning. 15 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,880 Show us your Son and we will be satisfied. 16 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,120 He is the Son in whom you are pleased. 17 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:34,160 And not just pleased, but well pleased, perfectly pleased. 18 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:38,760 Lord this moment I do feel is that we're standing on holy ground when we consider the baptism 19 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:40,960 of the Son of God. 20 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:43,800 Lord help us, Lord, would you remove any distractions? 21 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,240 Remove our minds from distractions and the things that will take place later. 22 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,800 Father, give us a focus to hear from heaven. 23 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:56,200 Not to hear from a man, not to hear from a pastor, but to hear from God himself this morning, 24 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:00,600 Lord, as you speak to your people through your word. 25 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:05,120 Lord would you give us listening ears and circumcise our hearts that we may receive 26 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:12,200 it and that we would find a fruitful place and Lord bring forth a fruit for your glory. 27 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,200 We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 28 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:16,200 You may be seated. 29 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:22,320 Okay, yeah, someone, you said Gail got sick. 30 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:23,320 Okay, let's pray for Gail. 31 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:24,320 We'll do that. 32 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:25,320 We'll check on her. 33 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:26,320 Okay, thank you. 34 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:34,040 So we're in the book of Matthew and up to this point Matthew has introduced us to a 35 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:36,640 waiting nation who's also a wayward nation. 36 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:39,200 Of course this is Israel. 37 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:44,000 We have seen a desert prophet, that's John. 38 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,960 We've been introduced to a sinful people. 39 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,080 There are some proud religious leaders. 40 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:56,540 We've heard a powerful message of repentance and yet surprisingly we have not yet formally 41 00:02:56,540 --> 00:03:00,240 met the main character of Matthew's gospel. 42 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:05,640 We have not yet met the one who is coming who is greater than John and we know him as 43 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:07,480 John the Baptist. 44 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:12,240 In fact this coming one is so great that John the Baptist is not even worthy to be his slave 45 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:16,520 and is not even worthy to carry his sandals. 46 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,760 This one is the one who will baptize his people not with water but with the spirit and with 47 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:22,720 fire. 48 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:25,340 We are told that he is the son of David. 49 00:03:25,340 --> 00:03:28,440 We know that he's also the son of Abraham. 50 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,380 We know him as the virgin born son of Mary. 51 00:03:32,380 --> 00:03:38,320 We know that King Herod tried to kill him in his infancy but yet we have not been formally 52 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:39,880 introduced to him. 53 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,200 Not formally, that is until today. 54 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:51,080 Today actually marks the formal introduction of God's promised Messiah to Israel. 55 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,640 Today is Christ's manifestation to the world. 56 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:59,440 Now in the Orthodox Church tradition this day is celebrated the day of Christ's baptism 57 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,600 on January 6th they call it Epiphany other churches celebrate the arrival of the wise 58 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:04,600 men on that day. 59 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:10,400 But the Orthodox Church celebrates January 6th as the baptism of Christ. 60 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:14,800 And Epiphany simply means manifestation from above. 61 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:16,680 That's literally what it means. 62 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:24,560 So this is Christ's manifestation publicly to Israel and really to all the world. 63 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:31,200 His baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry. 64 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:39,080 But I'd also like to say his baptism shows his willingness to identify with sinful people. 65 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:42,880 Now look at the text, verse 13. 66 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:47,800 Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 67 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:52,720 Now we're talking about an 80 mile trek here and about an 80 mile trip from Galilee specifically 68 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,960 to the Jordan River specifically to be baptized. 69 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,080 Why would our Lord do that? 70 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,680 Now earlier we were told that the crowds in Jerusalem, Judea, and in the Jordan Valley 71 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:08,960 they all went out to John and they were all baptized by him because it was a baptism of 72 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:14,040 repentance and they began to confess their sins and they showed that by submitting to 73 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,160 water baptism. 74 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,440 We're also told that the religious leaders who were stationed in Jerusalem, that is the 75 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:25,840 Pharisees and the Sadducees, they also went out to the desert, out into the Jordan River 76 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:30,280 to investigate what was taking place and to see what John the Baptist's ministry was really 77 00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:31,760 all about. 78 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,240 Now these religious leaders were not at all going to be baptized by John. 79 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:39,220 In fact, they felt they had nothing to repent of. 80 00:05:39,220 --> 00:05:41,560 So it's a great irony this morning. 81 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:50,360 The sinless son of God came all the way from Galilee for the very precise purpose of submitting 82 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,960 to John's baptism, verse 14. 83 00:05:53,960 --> 00:06:01,040 John then tries to prevent him saying, I need to be baptized you and are you coming to me? 84 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,040 So you can see there's an discomfort here or discomfort. 85 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:09,200 John is extremely uncomfortable about the prospect of baptizing Jesus and by the way 86 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:10,200 he should have been. 87 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,680 I mean John's exactly right here. 88 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,200 Now John didn't understand everything. 89 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:22,280 John was not a perfect man, but he was given by God the ability to recognize who Jesus 90 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:23,280 was. 91 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:28,480 Now we see that actually more clearly in John, the Apostle John's gospel in chapter one. 92 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:33,880 The next day John, that is the Baptist, saw Jesus coming toward him and he said, behold 93 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:38,200 the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 94 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,880 That's the very first thing John says about him. 95 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:45,640 This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who is preferred before me. 96 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:47,920 Before he was before me. 97 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:49,320 That's speaking of his eternality. 98 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:51,880 John's actually six months older than Jesus. 99 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:56,280 I did not know him, but that he should be revealed to Israel. 100 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:58,520 Therefore I came baptizing with water. 101 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:00,680 John's like, this is the reason I'm here. 102 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:05,520 So it had been revealed to John by God that Jesus, when he saw him, this is the Messiah. 103 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:08,200 This is the one who is to come. 104 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,200 But John also was given a revelation that this was the sinless one. 105 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:17,800 I mean, what does John say when he sees Jesus for the first time, he says, behold the Lamb 106 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,120 of God is going to take away the sin of the world. 107 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:27,600 Now the Lamb of God is actually a reference to what took place on the day of atonement. 108 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,880 On the day of atonement you would have an unblemished lamb and it would be substituted 109 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:33,560 for the nation. 110 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:39,060 The nation's sins would be confessed over that lamb and then that lamb would be killed 111 00:07:39,060 --> 00:07:41,520 as the one bearing the sins of the people. 112 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:47,520 Now, the lamb that was used on the day of atonement had to be an unblemished lamb, meaning 113 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,320 it had to be perfect. 114 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:54,480 If any blemish, any slight imperfection were found in it at all, then that lamb could not 115 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:55,480 be chosen. 116 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:56,480 Why? 117 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:03,840 Well, the lamb had to be unblemished because it was a foreshadowing of the sinless lamb 118 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,800 of the Lord who would come millennia later. 119 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:14,480 So John here, John the Baptist calling Jesus, Lamb of God, it is a reference to his sinlessness, 120 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,000 to his holiness. 121 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,140 Jesus was the lamb sent from God. 122 00:08:21,140 --> 00:08:27,840 He was the unblemished, the perfect lamb who would also be sacrificed for his sinful people. 123 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:36,120 Except Jesus, he is the sin bearer who did not only cover but he actually removed the 124 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:37,720 sins of his people. 125 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:42,640 Now, John sees it and he attempts to stop him from being baptized. 126 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:47,240 I mean, he even confesses, if anyone, he says, I need to be baptized by you. 127 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,640 That's an undeniably true statement. 128 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:53,320 That's exactly what should have taken, well, not what should have taken place, but John 129 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:54,320 understood the role. 130 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,720 Now, John the Baptist, you have to understand, he is a great man. 131 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,320 Born of woman, Jesus said there's none greater. 132 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:05,840 He was a holy man, righteous, an undeniably great prophet. 133 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:12,800 But even John, a man as great as he, recognized his own sinfulness in the presence of Christ, 134 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:14,720 who was a sinless one, the holy one. 135 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,800 Now, John, you don't find discomfort at all when he's baptizing all other Israelites. 136 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,280 He's perfectly fine doing that. 137 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:22,720 But not this man. 138 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:23,960 He was not comfortable. 139 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:29,080 For John knew that Jesus did not need his baptism. 140 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,600 Rather, he said, I need to be baptized by you. 141 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:36,640 In verse 11, we see why Jesus did not need John's baptism. 142 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,620 Because his baptism was unto repentance. 143 00:09:40,620 --> 00:09:42,220 So here's the John the Baptist job. 144 00:09:42,220 --> 00:09:44,560 This is what he was commissioned to do. 145 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:45,640 He was a herald. 146 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,400 He was to prepare the people for the king who was coming. 147 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:50,560 That is his job description. 148 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:52,640 Well, how would he prepare them? 149 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,440 Well, a holy king is coming. 150 00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:01,760 So he called the people to confess their sins and then demonstrate, show, prove the reality 151 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:05,960 of the repentance by submitting to his baptism, which we talked last week would have been 152 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,720 scandalous to Jews because only Gentiles needed to do that. 153 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:10,720 Not a Jew. 154 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:13,400 But here you have Christ. 155 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:17,880 Christ comes 80 miles down from Galilee and he has nothing to confess. 156 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,180 There was nothing in him to repent of. 157 00:10:20,180 --> 00:10:21,780 Not a bad moment. 158 00:10:21,780 --> 00:10:25,160 Not even a slight mix up on one day. 159 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:27,760 Never disobedient to his parents. 160 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:28,920 There's no sin in him. 161 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,560 There's no unrighteousness. 162 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:34,560 There's no blemish whatsoever in him. 163 00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:38,240 Well, then why in the world did he get baptized? 164 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:40,880 Because this baptism is under repentance. 165 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:41,880 Verse 15. 166 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:48,060 That Jesus answered and said to him, permit it to be so now. 167 00:10:48,060 --> 00:10:52,240 He's understanding, John, I understand you're uncomfortable with this, but allow it. 168 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:58,240 For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. 169 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,400 And John allowed him then. 170 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:02,080 So you have the Baptist. 171 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:06,960 He's very reluctant to baptize Jesus, yet he finally relents. 172 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:11,640 And when we see our Lord submitting to baptism, this was not an any admission of guilt. 173 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,840 There was no need of sin or something he needed to repent of. 174 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:23,160 Instead, and this is what's great about this, our Lord's identification in baptism of repentance 175 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:31,880 was a foreshadowing of what would take place later in a greater way at the cross of Calvary. 176 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:40,420 It is a sign of his accepting the responsibility for sins he did not commit. 177 00:11:40,420 --> 00:11:43,920 So we start to see the beginning of a picture being filled in. 178 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:52,080 We see the picture of an innocent man being taken and guilty ones will be set free. 179 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:55,840 So from the very beginning, friends, from the very outset, from day one of his public 180 00:11:55,840 --> 00:12:03,400 ministry, the Lord Jesus is identifying with his sinful wayward people. 181 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:08,280 And later he's going to more fully identify with them, not by being baptized, but rather 182 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:14,040 by being put to death for sins he did not commit. 183 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:19,440 So what we see, we see his willingness to take on the role of the sin bearing substitute 184 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:20,440 for his people. 185 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,440 That means the cross was not an afterthought. 186 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:24,520 This is three years before the cross. 187 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:27,920 Jesus comes and he initiates the process. 188 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:32,780 John the Baptist came as a herald, the one who would prepare the way for a king. 189 00:12:32,780 --> 00:12:33,780 And that's what he did. 190 00:12:33,780 --> 00:12:36,920 He's announcing the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 191 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:45,020 Now every faithful Israelite should have prepared for this king by listening to John, understanding 192 00:12:45,020 --> 00:12:49,520 the message, and then confess their sins in baptism. 193 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,460 That's why every Israelite should have done. 194 00:12:52,460 --> 00:12:54,800 And here we have our Lord. 195 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:56,920 Don't miss the significance of this. 196 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:04,320 He comes as the true Israel, the true Israelite, doing all that they should have done. 197 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:11,800 So you have the one without sin is submitting to a baptism for sinners. 198 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:13,680 Why? 199 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:14,960 He's the true Israel. 200 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:16,180 He's identifying with them. 201 00:13:16,180 --> 00:13:21,800 The Lord Jesus comes as the second Adam, the last man. 202 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:25,420 So in order to fulfill this mission, he's going to have to do some things. 203 00:13:25,420 --> 00:13:30,400 He had to obey the requirements that God had laid upon Israel in the law, and he had to 204 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:35,040 obey the requirements that God had laid upon Adam in mankind. 205 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:40,640 He had to fully dispose and fulfill those obligations. 206 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:45,280 So we see here Jesus completely innocent, completely free of sin, yet he is baptized 207 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:52,520 in repentance, showing a corporate solidarity with his sinful people. 208 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:53,520 So what does that mean? 209 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:56,420 He's doing exactly what Israel should have done. 210 00:13:56,420 --> 00:13:59,160 He's doing exactly what Adam should have done. 211 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:04,520 Christ was fulfilling all righteousness because that's what we lacked. 212 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:09,600 R.C. Sproul said, fulfilling all righteousness for a Jew would have meant that every jot 213 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:13,400 and tittle of the law of God had to be fulfilled. 214 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:14,560 Everything. 215 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:16,720 God's standard is perfection. 216 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:21,000 Where to be holy, even as God is holy. 217 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:26,960 In order that Jesus be the lamb that takes away the sin of the world, he, that is Jesus, 218 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:31,520 had to obey every jot, every tittle of the law. 219 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:39,120 So his baptism, it marks the beginning of this mission to redeem his people. 220 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:45,480 His birth in Bethlehem, his exodus out of Egypt, his childhood in Nazareth, they're 221 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,840 all behind him now. 222 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:52,820 From this point forward, this point here, you will see the Lord Jesus setting his face 223 00:14:52,820 --> 00:15:00,980 like a flint to head to the cross where he would be slain as the true and final lamb 224 00:15:00,980 --> 00:15:03,000 of God. 225 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:08,060 Now John the Baptist had served very well his commission to be the herald. 226 00:15:08,060 --> 00:15:11,680 He had faithfully announced the coming of the King. 227 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:13,840 He had prepared the way for him. 228 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,040 Now we see Jesus. 229 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:25,680 After an eternity in heaven, after some 30 years in obscurity, the King had arrived. 230 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:28,920 And now he's going to be formally presented to the world. 231 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,520 Friends, this is an amazing section of scripture. 232 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:40,800 Verse 16, when he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water and behold, 233 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:42,960 the heavens were open to him. 234 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:48,120 And he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. 235 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,280 I said this earlier and I mean this. 236 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:53,620 What holy ground we are standing upon. 237 00:15:53,620 --> 00:15:59,560 Here we read at the end and we see the blessed Trinity present. 238 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,880 There's not a lot of times in scripture you're going to read this. 239 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:04,720 I wonder, can you see what was happening there? 240 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,160 I mean do you, here's, so Jesus is baptized. 241 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:12,400 He comes out of the water and it says immediately the heavens were open. 242 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:16,440 Heaven was breaking in on the muddy banks of the Jordan River. 243 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:17,440 That's what was happening. 244 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:23,440 John baptized Jesus and then something wonderful and miraculous occurred. 245 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:25,920 Jesus comes, the heavens were open. 246 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:29,680 Now that phrase, there's only a handful of times that you will read in scripture that 247 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:31,160 the heavens were open. 248 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,320 I'll give you one in Acts chapter 7 verse 56. 249 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,860 Do you remember Stephen, the first martyr? 250 00:16:35,860 --> 00:16:40,580 As he was being stoned to death, we are told that the heavens were opened. 251 00:16:40,580 --> 00:16:45,960 And Stephen looks and he saw the glory of God and the Lord Jesus standing at the right 252 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:46,960 hand of God. 253 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:49,620 The heavens were open to Stephen. 254 00:16:49,620 --> 00:16:51,000 And here we see another event. 255 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:57,860 Here at this Jordan River is another instance where we see that the heavens were opened. 256 00:16:57,860 --> 00:17:03,340 The Spirit of God descended like a dove and light upon our, didn't say it was a dove, 257 00:17:03,340 --> 00:17:05,020 but like a dove. 258 00:17:05,020 --> 00:17:10,600 Now some speculate that the Spirit of God descending like a dove showed the gentleness 259 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:15,140 of our Lord and the peace that he would bring through sacrifice. 260 00:17:15,140 --> 00:17:18,840 See in the Jewish thought of that day, if you came from a rich family, you would offer 261 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:20,640 a bull for a sacrifice. 262 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,300 If you came from a middle class family, you would offer a lamb. 263 00:17:24,300 --> 00:17:27,440 And if you came from a poor family, then you would offer a dove, like a turtle dove would 264 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:28,440 be offered. 265 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:35,400 So the dove in Jewish mind was a thought of sacrifice, sacrifice for a poor family. 266 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:37,780 But the dove also in scripture is a sign of gentleness. 267 00:17:37,780 --> 00:17:42,980 Do you remember when Jesus sends out his disciples, he tells them be wise as serpents, but what? 268 00:17:42,980 --> 00:17:45,640 Harmless as doves. 269 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:51,240 So you have a sign of sacrifice, you have a sign of gentleness, but the dove was also 270 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,440 a sign of peace. 271 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,440 You go back to Genesis 6 in the account of Noah. 272 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,160 You remember the floodwaters had covered the earth and they had been upon the earth for 273 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:03,700 quite some days and Noah's wanted to check, is there any dry land out there at all? 274 00:18:03,700 --> 00:18:07,420 So he sends out a dove from the ark. 275 00:18:07,420 --> 00:18:09,640 And eventually that dove comes back with what? 276 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,700 An olive branch in its beak. 277 00:18:12,700 --> 00:18:20,260 So from that time forward, the olive branch has been a symbol of peace. 278 00:18:20,260 --> 00:18:22,200 We even use the expression what? 279 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:23,860 To extend an olive branch. 280 00:18:23,860 --> 00:18:25,580 We have it here. 281 00:18:25,580 --> 00:18:27,360 So now get this, this is good. 282 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:35,240 The dove in Noah's time, Genesis 6, represented the spirit of God bringing Noah the good news 283 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,400 of peace. 284 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:44,200 God's wrath had been abated, had been satisfied, and a new beginning had begun. 285 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,580 Now we go to Jesus' baptism. 286 00:18:46,580 --> 00:18:51,280 And we also have a picture, a picture of sacrifice, a picture of gentleness, and a picture of 287 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:52,280 peace. 288 00:18:52,280 --> 00:19:01,080 By a gentle Savior who had bring peace to mankind by means of a sacrifice that marked 289 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:02,440 out a new beginning. 290 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:07,120 It's fantastic there, what God is doing. 291 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:14,000 Now moreover, the Holy Spirit's descent was also our Lord's anointing, anointing for His 292 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,500 mission given to him by the Father. 293 00:19:16,500 --> 00:19:20,280 This is a fafoma of Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 61 verse 1. 294 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:23,200 It says the Spirit of God is upon me. 295 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:30,200 The Lord would later, Luke 4, actually take this Isaiah passage, quote it, and he'd say 296 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:32,240 that refers to me by the way. 297 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:33,280 So what does it mean? 298 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:40,880 The Lord Jesus was anointed by the Father with the Spirit of God fully in order to fulfill 299 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:43,300 His work of redemption. 300 00:19:43,300 --> 00:19:47,960 We call Him the Messiah or the Christ, Christas. 301 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:54,120 Christas or Christ simply means the anointed one. 302 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,080 Anointed with what? 303 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:01,440 Not with oil, but with the Holy Spirit of God. 304 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:05,800 Now some of you might be running ahead and you're like, well if Jesus was God, then why 305 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,200 did He need to be anointed with the Holy Spirit? 306 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,200 That's a good question. 307 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,720 Now the scriptures are clear. 308 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:16,620 Our Lord never ever lost His deity. 309 00:20:16,620 --> 00:20:19,580 He is and was truly God in every way. 310 00:20:19,580 --> 00:20:23,680 So in the incarnation, He did not set aside, He did not lose His deity. 311 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:24,680 He is still God. 312 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:27,800 He assumed humanity is the language there. 313 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:36,400 So in His deity, our Lord needed nothing, but He came as a man taking upon Himself, 314 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,080 assuming true humanity. 315 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,600 That's the mystery that we confess, the hypostatic union. 316 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:43,120 Jesus, two natures. 317 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:45,200 He is fully God, He is fully man. 318 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,240 He is yet both. 319 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:48,240 How do you explain it? 320 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:49,240 We don't. 321 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:50,240 We believe it. 322 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:51,880 Just like the blessed Trinity. 323 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:58,780 But now in His humanity, our Lord was anointed for His appointed task and He was given the 324 00:20:58,780 --> 00:21:00,960 strength to accomplish it. 325 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:01,960 So what does that mean? 326 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:07,000 It means as He lived upon on this earth as a man, He did not use His divine power. 327 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:13,600 Instead, He would be subject to life as a true man, the God man. 328 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:20,240 He would become hungry and thirsty and tired and even weak. 329 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:26,320 In His humanity, He did need the power of God's Spirit to do what? 330 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,480 To do all that God had called Him to do. 331 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:30,640 If He's going to cast out demons, He's going to do it by the Spirit of God. 332 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,860 If He's going to heal the sick, He's going to do it by the Spirit of God. 333 00:21:33,860 --> 00:21:36,560 Now that's enough to say, but does the Bible even teach that? 334 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,600 Yes, look in Matthew 12, 28. 335 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:48,080 Jesus said, if I cast out demons and notice He qualifies it by the Spirit of God, surely 336 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:49,760 the kingdom of God has come upon you. 337 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:51,640 Do you see what He's saying? 338 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:53,240 He's the anointed one. 339 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:54,240 He's given the Spirit. 340 00:21:54,240 --> 00:22:01,200 In Luke 4, when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases 341 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:02,200 brought them to Jesus. 342 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:03,800 Good place to bring them. 343 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,340 And He laid His hands on every one of them and He healed them. 344 00:22:07,340 --> 00:22:10,880 Jesus also came out of many crying out and saying, basically, I know who you are. 345 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,440 You are the Christ. 346 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:16,240 You're the anointed one, the Son of God. 347 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:21,560 And He rebuked them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ, 348 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:25,440 the Christas, the anointed one. 349 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,000 So you say, how did our Lord do this? 350 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:28,000 How did He cast out demons? 351 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:29,920 How did He heal the sick? 352 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,200 The Spirit of God was upon Him. 353 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:37,400 He had been anointed by the Spirit of God for this task at His baptism, and it is a 354 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,280 wonderful sign that the kingdom of God was breaking in. 355 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:41,280 Why? 356 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,160 The King was standing right there. 357 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,680 The King had come. 358 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:49,440 Now additionally, there's so much symbolism here that it's hard to unpack it, but it gets 359 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,520 exciting to me here. 360 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:58,320 Jesus being anointed by the Spirit was also pointing to His kingship. 361 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:04,600 All Israelite kings were anointed as they were coronated and took their royal position. 362 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,280 Go back and read the Chronicles and Kings. 363 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:08,280 They were anointed. 364 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,680 Do you remember what John the Baptist came preaching? 365 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,680 He said, the kingdom of God is near. 366 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:16,360 It's at hand. 367 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:17,440 How? 368 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,920 The King was coming. 369 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:21,600 John was the herald. 370 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,320 Now do you see what His baptism? 371 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:33,080 The true King of Israel had arrived and He's anointed, not by man, not by a prophet, but 372 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,080 by God Himself. 373 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,160 But you say, hey, but I thought if I read my Old Testament correctly, it's not just 374 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:40,920 kings who were anointed. 375 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:41,920 Right. 376 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:46,080 Prophets and priests were also anointed, right? 377 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:49,320 Our Lord comes as all three. 378 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:53,300 He is the prophet like Moses, but greater than Moses. 379 00:23:53,300 --> 00:23:58,260 He is the great high priest, but Hebrews tells us He's greater than Aaron. 380 00:23:58,260 --> 00:24:02,480 And He is the King greater than David. 381 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:07,080 He is the anointed prophet, priest, and King of His people. 382 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:10,280 And you see it here at His baptism. 383 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:20,200 Verse 17, and suddenly a voice from heaven came saying, this is my beloved Son in whom 384 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:27,240 I am well pleased, for further confirmation or further attestation, God the Father gave 385 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:31,000 the definitive word concerning His Son. 386 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:36,540 A voice from heaven comes and it's the Father speaking and He's speaking a blessing over 387 00:24:36,540 --> 00:24:38,440 His Son. 388 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:44,720 This one in the muddy water of the Jordan here, it's my beloved Son. 389 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:51,560 It's not Adam, it's not Israel, it's not an angel, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the true 390 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,360 and only begotten Son of God. 391 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:58,560 He is the one in whom the Father delights and takes pleasure in. 392 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:04,880 In the scriptures, we do read Adam is referred to as a Son of God. 393 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:09,000 Sometimes angels were referred to as sons of God. 394 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:14,600 Israel, in Exodus, was referred to as the Son of God. 395 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:24,040 Adam failed, the angels failed, Satan was an exalted angel, the nation Israel has failed, 396 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:25,840 but not this Son. 397 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:30,480 This Son standing in the waters there at that Jordan River had not failed and would not 398 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,000 fail and could not fail. 399 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:38,880 The beloved Son was the one in whom God was not just pleased, friends, but He was well 400 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:40,000 pleased. 401 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,620 He was perfectly pleased with this one here. 402 00:25:44,620 --> 00:25:49,240 The full revelation of our Lord's identity is now revealed. 403 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:50,360 There's no doubt. 404 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:52,320 He is the Son of David. 405 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,160 He is the Son of Abraham. 406 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:56,660 He is the one conceived by the Holy Spirit. 407 00:25:56,660 --> 00:25:58,900 He is Emmanuel, God with us. 408 00:25:58,900 --> 00:26:03,260 He is the one who will come to save His people from their sins, but now we have a further 409 00:26:03,260 --> 00:26:07,520 word of confirmation, not by man, but by the Father about Him. 410 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:13,700 He says, listen, the one standing there in that river, He is the unique and beloved and 411 00:26:13,700 --> 00:26:16,000 only begotten Son of God. 412 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,040 That's Him, so listen to Him. 413 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:24,360 Friends, it's so important that we understand we see here the Holy Trinity present at such 414 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:26,180 a significant event. 415 00:26:26,180 --> 00:26:28,120 This is the inauguration of His kingdom. 416 00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:31,840 The Father is speaking a blessing, speaking to the Son. 417 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:37,760 The Holy Spirit is there anointing the Son, and the Son in humility is there standing 418 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:43,200 in those muddy waters submitting to a baptism He did not need. 419 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:45,160 Why? 420 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:51,120 Because our salvation, your salvation, was designed and accomplished by the one true, 421 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:57,640 living, eternally existing God in the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 422 00:26:57,640 --> 00:26:59,640 Now what? 423 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:05,360 Why is Matthew writing this? 424 00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:08,160 What do we do after we hear this? 425 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:10,320 There's one other place we're going to turn in the last few minutes here. 426 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,240 It's an interesting and instructive Psalm. 427 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,660 It'll be on the wall behind me. 428 00:27:14,660 --> 00:27:19,600 It gives us much instruction, Psalm 2. 429 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:26,040 Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? 430 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:29,040 The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together. 431 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:30,800 Who are they taking counsel against? 432 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:37,760 Against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, let us break their bonds and pieces 433 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:40,840 and cast away their cords from us. 434 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,880 Now the one who sits in the heavens shall laugh. 435 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:45,120 The Lord shall hold them in duration. 436 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:48,560 How foolish is it for an earthly king to take counsel against the Lord? 437 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:50,920 He's going to laugh at them. 438 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:58,520 And then verse 5, He shall speak to them in His wrath and distress them in His deep displeasure. 439 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:04,320 Verse 6, yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. 440 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:09,400 I will declare the decree, the Lord has said to me, you are my son. 441 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:12,560 Today I have begotten you. 442 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,240 Ask of me, He's talking to the son. 443 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:21,360 And I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. 444 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:27,360 All the created order belongs to this son given to him by the father. 445 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:30,400 God has set up His anointed one. 446 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:33,320 He has set up His Christ. 447 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,880 God has already enthroned His king. 448 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:37,880 Who is he? 449 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:41,280 Verse 7, God's own son. 450 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:46,620 God has a kingdom and He has placed His only son as the chief in this kingdom. 451 00:28:46,620 --> 00:28:49,640 He is the king of this kingdom. 452 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:51,040 Now the world doesn't know Him. 453 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:53,440 The nations are raging right now. 454 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:55,360 They're raging against Him. 455 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:57,960 That's what the Psalm says. 456 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:04,040 Verse 1, the nations rage, earthly kings and earthly kingdoms are seeking to live independently 457 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:05,040 of Him. 458 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:06,840 They make a mess of things. 459 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:12,680 Look at the laws, the horrible, abominable laws they enact. 460 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:13,680 They're enraged. 461 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:15,080 They're trying to live independently. 462 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:16,640 And it's a foolish thing to do. 463 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,120 It's a dangerous thing to do. 464 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:26,800 Because God says if you ignore His king, not only will you not enter the kingdom of God, 465 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,840 but you will invite the wrath of God down upon your own head. 466 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:32,440 Well, what in the world's a solution? 467 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,700 That's a terrible predicament. 468 00:29:34,700 --> 00:29:39,960 Verse 11 and 12, serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling. 469 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,480 Now let me stop there before I get to verse 12. 470 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:45,800 Friends, we need more fear and trembling. 471 00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:49,700 We do not respect this Holy One as we ought to. 472 00:29:49,700 --> 00:29:55,240 We as a church are in need of great repentance to recover the ability to fear and tremble 473 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:56,240 before Him. 474 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,000 You serve Him with fear, you rejoice. 475 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,360 There's joy, but it's a respectable joy. 476 00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:03,360 So what do we do? 477 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,040 Well, God placed His Son, verse 7, as the king. 478 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:07,680 Verse 12 tells you what to do with this king. 479 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:08,680 You kiss him. 480 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:14,720 You kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled 481 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:16,040 but a little. 482 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:26,080 I'll imagine great wrath, blessed, happy are all those who put their trust in Him. 483 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:30,080 My message to you today would be kiss him. 484 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:31,480 Bow down to him. 485 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:35,280 To kiss the king, it's to prostrate, it's usually to kiss a ring. 486 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,440 Kiss him, bow down to him. 487 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:42,360 Recognize his right to rule over you is what the psalmist is saying. 488 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:43,880 He's the king. 489 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:45,600 You don't make him king, you don't make him Lord. 490 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:47,960 God has already placed him there. 491 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:49,880 So put your trust in Him. 492 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:54,480 Your hope, your confidence must be in Christ and it must be in His atoning work. 493 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:58,000 You have no righteousness apart from this one. 494 00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,000 Come to Him. 495 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:04,320 So your faith cannot lie in what you can do or what you think you might imagine yourself 496 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:10,320 to be able to do, but rather you can only rely on what this divine King has done. 497 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:12,680 If I have any hope at all, it has to be in Him. 498 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:14,640 That's it. 499 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:19,160 And the psalmist says, well, listen, if you get that, blessed are you. 500 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:20,840 You're happy. 501 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,320 All those who trust in the one whom God has sent. 502 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,300 You know why you're happy and blessed? 503 00:31:26,300 --> 00:31:28,560 You will never be put to shame. 504 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,480 You will never be disappointed with this one. 505 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,960 Earthly rulers don't care, Republican, Democrats, they're all going to disappoint you, not this 506 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:35,960 king. 507 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:43,840 But to the one who does not trust, the one who will not bow down and kiss the sun, it's 508 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:46,200 not my warning, it's his. 509 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:52,160 The Bible says judgment is coming and you will perish as his wrath is kindled even a 510 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,920 little against you. 511 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:58,380 Friends, there is a warning of impending judgment. 512 00:31:58,380 --> 00:32:00,400 The King is coming again. 513 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:03,760 The first time is the lamb, the second time is the lion. 514 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:07,200 First time bringing salvation, the second time bringing judgment. 515 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:08,520 What is your job? 516 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:09,520 You kiss him. 517 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:11,360 You bow down to him. 518 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:18,200 John tells us, and this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life. 519 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,640 But this life is in the sun. 520 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:25,780 So if you have the sun, you have that eternal life. 521 00:32:25,780 --> 00:32:29,240 But the one who does not have the sun does not have life. 522 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:34,720 And he tells us in John 3, but the wrath of God abides upon him. 523 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:39,320 I would be remiss in my pastoral duties if I did not tell you that this morning. 524 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:42,180 Kiss the sun, friend, bow down before him. 525 00:32:42,180 --> 00:32:45,400 He is Lord and King that God has set up. 526 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:48,400 Let us pray. 527 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:52,120 Father, thank you this morning for this word. 528 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:54,360 Lord, I praise you, Lord, for your revelation. 529 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:55,960 Lord, what a rich treasure. 530 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,520 God, that you have given to us your people.