WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:02.730 Let us now ask the Lord to bless the preaching 00:00:02.730 --> 00:00:07.589 of his word. Oh Lord our God, we give thanks 00:00:07.589 --> 00:00:10.509 unto you that by your sovereign grace you have 00:00:10.509 --> 00:00:13.490 made us your people. You have surrounded us with 00:00:13.490 --> 00:00:16.949 your mercies and your protecting care. Make us 00:00:16.949 --> 00:00:20.070 grateful this morning and this evening, joyful 00:00:20.070 --> 00:00:22.910 in your providential care and in your grace. 00:00:23.469 --> 00:00:26.190 Take our eyes from our burdens and griefs and 00:00:26.190 --> 00:00:28.710 grant that they may always be fixed on your goodness. 00:00:28.969 --> 00:00:32.229 and Your grace. Teach us this day and always 00:00:32.229 --> 00:00:35.090 the things we need to know so that we may serve 00:00:35.090 --> 00:00:38.289 You with all our heart, mind, and being. And 00:00:38.289 --> 00:00:40.469 so make the words of my mouth and the meditations 00:00:40.469 --> 00:00:43.369 of all our hearts pleasing in Your sight for 00:00:43.369 --> 00:00:47.130 the sake of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:56.649 Amen. So as a reminder, We are studying the gospel 00:00:56.649 --> 00:01:00.590 readings and we do that from Advent That's the 00:01:00.590 --> 00:01:03.549 usually the first Sunday in December sometimes 00:01:03.549 --> 00:01:06.950 occasionally the last Sunday of November all 00:01:06.950 --> 00:01:10.069 the way to Pentecost So what we're doing is for 00:01:10.069 --> 00:01:13.950 half the year We are focused completely on studying 00:01:13.950 --> 00:01:17.310 Christ and having Christ revealed to us by looking 00:01:17.310 --> 00:01:20.980 at his life Today we are starting again with 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:24.040 our gospel reading Matthew chapter 3 beginning 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:28.719 in verse 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:31.719 at the Jordan to be baptized by him and John 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:35.439 Tried to prevent him saying I need to be baptized 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:39.599 by you and you are coming to me But Jesus answered 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:44.079 and said Permit it to be so now for thus it is 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:47.969 fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness Then 00:01:47.969 --> 00:01:50.790 he allowed him and when he had been baptized 00:01:50.790 --> 00:01:53.430 Jesus came up immediately from the water and 00:01:53.430 --> 00:01:55.790 behold the heavens were opened to him and he 00:01:55.790 --> 00:01:58.469 saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove 00:01:58.469 --> 00:02:02.069 and the lighting upon him and Suddenly a voice 00:02:02.069 --> 00:02:05.709 came from heaven saying this is my beloved son 00:02:05.709 --> 00:02:09.889 in whom I am well pleased These are the words 00:02:09.889 --> 00:02:15.129 of Almighty God receive them in your hearts As 00:02:15.129 --> 00:02:17.189 we look at this passage, there are three things 00:02:17.189 --> 00:02:22.430 that I want you to see today And that is number 00:02:22.430 --> 00:02:26.430 one God is revealed more clearly as the triune 00:02:26.430 --> 00:02:33.150 God in Jesus baptism God is revealed more clearly 00:02:33.150 --> 00:02:42.949 as the triune God Secondly Jesus baptism is his 00:02:42.949 --> 00:02:50.199 anointing as the high priest for us. Jesus baptism 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:57.939 is his anointing as the high priest for us. And 00:02:57.939 --> 00:03:02.419 finally, Jesus baptism makes him an instrument 00:03:02.419 --> 00:03:06.520 of righteousness. Now here's the key though, 00:03:07.060 --> 00:03:11.900 so does our baptism. Jesus baptism makes him 00:03:11.900 --> 00:03:16.039 an instrument of righteousness and so does our 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:22.099 baptism as Christians particularly reformed Christians. 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:26.919 We are often not adequately surprised by God 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:33.039 We think that we have a lot of intellectual knowledge 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:40.349 about God in our heads They're just so full and 00:03:40.349 --> 00:03:44.969 we think that we know God We think that we know 00:03:44.969 --> 00:03:51.650 Jesus and the gospel And you see we live in a 00:03:51.650 --> 00:03:55.509 world That is constantly striving for surprises 00:03:55.509 --> 00:03:58.830 And I think in a way we try to not be surprised 00:03:58.830 --> 00:04:02.099 by God by saying I already know that yep And 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:04.960 yes, it is true. It is good for us to be reminded 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:07.919 about the things of Jesus, the things of God. 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:12.900 But it is particularly important that we just 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:16.819 don't sit there and say, I'm settled. There's 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:21.079 nothing else for me to know. You know, we live 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:23.800 in a pop culture that is always looking for the 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:26.199 new and shiny. And so that's one of the reasons 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:28.579 that we step back. It's always talking about 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:32.879 discarding things. Right? Why? You need the new 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:36.480 fashion. Right? So what do you do? You got to 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:40.480 discard the old. There's this new music or entertainment. 00:04:40.519 --> 00:04:42.899 I have to go pursue that. There's this new app. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:48.860 Haven't you heard? And so what do we do? We discard 00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:53.139 the old. We go running after the shiny and new. 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:59.670 You know what we see though? That in a pop Culture 00:04:59.670 --> 00:05:03.829 full of searching always for the new That we 00:05:03.829 --> 00:05:09.069 learn to dispose of our relationships That's 00:05:09.069 --> 00:05:11.290 what the normal dating world is right you get 00:05:11.290 --> 00:05:13.209 out there And you just got to test the field 00:05:13.209 --> 00:05:16.009 test the field so no relationship You're not 00:05:16.009 --> 00:05:19.149 thinking about the fact young people listen up 00:05:19.149 --> 00:05:21.649 You're not thinking about the fact that that 00:05:21.649 --> 00:05:24.089 young lady or that young man someone's future 00:05:24.089 --> 00:05:26.730 husband or wife And so that I might get to know 00:05:26.730 --> 00:05:31.089 them But I pursue them in such a manner that 00:05:31.089 --> 00:05:32.829 I make them think that they're important. And 00:05:32.829 --> 00:05:37.910 then I drop them to go pursue the next one. And 00:05:37.910 --> 00:05:40.410 you know what we do? We seem to do that with 00:05:40.410 --> 00:05:45.329 our theology. Now, in some ways, God does reveal 00:05:45.329 --> 00:05:47.230 and make manifest to us these things that we 00:05:47.230 --> 00:05:49.769 didn't understand before. And sometimes, it's 00:05:49.769 --> 00:05:52.970 so startling that we even wonder if we were saved 00:05:52.970 --> 00:05:56.949 before. That's a wonderful thing. That's a wonderful 00:05:56.949 --> 00:06:04.170 grace. But we don't want to do that and walk 00:06:04.170 --> 00:06:09.550 away from God's very deep and revealing truth 00:06:09.550 --> 00:06:15.790 about Himself. But even in the practice of our 00:06:15.790 --> 00:06:19.290 Christian life, we settle in and are not surprised 00:06:19.290 --> 00:06:24.730 by God at all. We frequently do a mental check. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:28.019 And we check all the boxes. We already know something 00:06:28.019 --> 00:06:30.399 about that Bible story. How many guys have ever 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:32.519 learned about Jesus' baptism before? Raise your 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:35.980 hand. Children, you should put both hands up, 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:38.300 right? You've heard this before. And so what 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:42.339 do we do? We say, as I preach, or you're sitting 00:06:42.339 --> 00:06:45.040 in a Sunday school lesson, we check out. I know 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:48.459 that. I know that. I know that. But do you understand 00:06:48.459 --> 00:06:52.000 the beauty of God's love, the great way in which 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:56.920 He has revealed in these things? Dearly beloved 00:06:56.920 --> 00:07:01.839 we need God to reveal who he is and what this 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:07.519 means for us Our God is so great. He's so mighty. 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:12.000 He's so deep. He is so faithful. He is so gracious 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:17.720 He is so loving and We will spend eternity learning 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:23.600 of his love and his person We need for God to 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:29.850 reveal himself to us So let us be surprised by 00:07:29.850 --> 00:07:35.689 God You know Jesus baptism can easily fall into 00:07:35.689 --> 00:07:38.730 the category of passing over the passage a lot 00:07:38.730 --> 00:07:42.129 like a plate full of stale crackers moldy cheese 00:07:42.129 --> 00:07:45.790 and a glass of oxidized wine You know what oxidized 00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:48.949 wine is? Okay, that's wine that was left out 00:07:48.949 --> 00:07:51.610 in the air too long, and it goes acidic it kind 00:07:51.610 --> 00:07:56.170 of like vinegar right Who wants to sit down and 00:07:56.170 --> 00:08:01.610 enjoy that? That is not what God's Word is. That's 00:08:01.610 --> 00:08:03.629 not what we'll see today. We're gonna go and 00:08:03.629 --> 00:08:06.389 we're gonna feast and be surprised that the great 00:08:06.389 --> 00:08:09.709 things of God has revealed and made manifest 00:08:09.709 --> 00:08:15.509 to us. Let us stay a while and enjoy the gifts 00:08:15.509 --> 00:08:20.069 of understanding Jesus baptism. As you know, 00:08:20.189 --> 00:08:21.949 we've talked about before, John the Baptizer 00:08:21.949 --> 00:08:24.810 was preaching repentance and baptizing folks 00:08:24.810 --> 00:08:26.949 who came out to the Jordan River. We're told 00:08:26.949 --> 00:08:31.250 that people came from all over, all over the 00:08:31.250 --> 00:08:34.809 area, all parts of Judea, right? Those people 00:08:34.809 --> 00:08:36.669 that were interested in the things of God. There's 00:08:36.669 --> 00:08:39.470 a prophet out there at the Jordan and he's preaching. 00:08:40.210 --> 00:08:41.750 Man, I need to go see it. I mean, look, they 00:08:41.750 --> 00:08:45.350 didn't have radio or apps or cell phones, TV. 00:08:45.970 --> 00:08:48.090 They didn't have newspapers. Everything was word 00:08:48.090 --> 00:08:51.279 of mouth. You guys realize it's been 400 years 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:54.919 since there's been a prophet 400 years awaiting 00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:57.399 and there's this prophet and he's dressed like 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:59.379 Elijah and he's out at the Jordan River and he's 00:08:59.379 --> 00:09:03.340 preaching And we're under oppression The Romans 00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:06.960 are ruling over us We've got we've got religious 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:10.139 leaders that are laying heavy burdens on us and 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:13.019 we need God's deliverance Well, let's go out 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:20.490 there And so We see that John declares that there's 00:09:20.490 --> 00:09:23.169 a baptism to be had, a baptism of repentance. 00:09:24.190 --> 00:09:27.870 And it was all done for the preparation of the 00:09:27.870 --> 00:09:31.850 coming of the Lord Jesus, the coming of the Messiah, 00:09:32.429 --> 00:09:37.830 the coming day of the Lord. Now it's important 00:09:37.830 --> 00:09:40.330 that we see that in the Old Testament is full 00:09:40.330 --> 00:09:43.289 of ritual cleansing by the pouring or sprinkling 00:09:43.289 --> 00:09:47.330 of water. It is all over the place. We find this 00:09:47.330 --> 00:09:50.210 beginning in Leviticus where God instructs his 00:09:50.210 --> 00:09:56.309 people and We see it all through the Old Testament 00:09:56.309 --> 00:10:01.190 a pouring or sprinkling of water to be cleansed 00:10:01.190 --> 00:10:04.710 John's baptism was not a foreign idea to God's 00:10:04.710 --> 00:10:09.309 people and Jesus shows up to be baptized by John 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:12.799 And of course, we're told that John tried to 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:15.200 prevent him saying, I need to be baptized by 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:17.679 you. Can you imagine this? He knows who Jesus 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:21.960 is. You know Jesus is the Messiah. And he's even 00:10:21.960 --> 00:10:24.759 said, hey, you know what? There's one coming 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:29.059 after me in whose sandals I am not able to carry 00:10:29.059 --> 00:10:33.779 or touch who's going to baptize you and really 00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:37.659 you being all of us with the spirit and fire. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:42.620 That's who we need to look for and so Jesus shows 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:48.000 up and John says I I can't baptize you Do you 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:53.679 realize by the way why? John says He wasn't worthy 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:57.360 to carry his Lord's sandals Now I know some of 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:04.919 you out there have funky feet Right and so your 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:06.740 parents say don't take your shoes off in the 00:11:06.740 --> 00:11:10.639 car Don't do that to everybody else. That's not 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:13.539 at all what we're talking about what what you 00:11:13.539 --> 00:11:17.679 have to understand is is that feet and sandals 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:22.299 were considered very unclean because your feet 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:24.840 walked along the road your sandals walked along 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:28.539 the road and you were encountering all the dust 00:11:28.539 --> 00:11:32.080 on the road and Symbolically in the scriptures 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:35.220 the dust of the earth is part of the curse of 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:41.080 sin And that's why the Jews had this obsession 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:44.899 about washing the feet. That's what was symbolically 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:47.000 happening when Jesus stooped down and washed 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:49.399 the feet of his disciples. He was saying, I'm 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:52.139 going to take away your sin. I'm going to cleanse 00:11:52.139 --> 00:11:56.340 it. And the curse of sin will no longer stick 00:11:56.340 --> 00:12:07.450 to your feet. And so here Jesus says, no. Permit 00:12:07.450 --> 00:12:11.289 it to be so now for thus it is fitting to fulfill 00:12:11.289 --> 00:12:14.730 all righteousness Now we've talked about this 00:12:14.730 --> 00:12:17.490 before and we keep making all these contacts 00:12:17.490 --> 00:12:20.809 back to the Old Testament and Sometimes it's 00:12:20.809 --> 00:12:23.149 super clear right because it quotes the Old Testament 00:12:23.149 --> 00:12:28.389 passage other times. We're not so certain But 00:12:28.389 --> 00:12:30.570 here we see and understand what God is saying 00:12:30.570 --> 00:12:34.399 if you listen to the readings. If you read the 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:36.279 readings ahead of time, perhaps you saw some 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:41.159 associations. All of the songs that we sang today 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:45.919 are all in reference to what's happening at Christ's 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:50.879 baptism and what is being revealed. And it says 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:54.320 that John allowed him. So what is Jesus talking 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:58.080 about? Fulfillment of what? Jesus certainly did 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:00.500 not need to be baptized for the repentance of 00:13:00.500 --> 00:13:06.360 his sins. He was holy. He had never sinned. Jesus 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:09.720 is consciously and obediently conforming to the 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:14.399 will of the Father. Jesus comes to fulfill the 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:20.139 plans of the prophets. Consider Isaiah 11. The 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:23.379 Spirit of Yahweh shall rest upon Him, the Spirit 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:26.200 of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:29.279 and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:33.440 fear of Yahweh. What did the Spirit do? When 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:36.080 the heavens were ripped open and the Spirit descended, 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:40.759 it rested upon Jesus. The Spirit came and He 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:45.700 rested upon Jesus. And then it says, because 00:13:45.700 --> 00:13:48.679 of these things, in Isaiah 11, his delight is 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:52.039 in the fear of Yahweh. And he shall not judge 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:54.580 by the sight of his eyes. In other words, he's 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:56.639 not going to look at people and say, oh, they're 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:58.379 dressed right. They have the important position. 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:01.460 No. What did you see Jesus do over and over again? 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.759 Says he knew their hearts. He didn't look at 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:11.539 the outside. He knew their thoughts. Jesus it 00:14:11.539 --> 00:14:14.000 says in Isaiah 11 nor shall he decide by the 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:16.580 hearing of his ears But with righteousness he 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:19.759 shall judge the poor that is not just poor financially 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:24.679 but poor in heart the humble the contract those 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:28.580 who confess their sins and It goes on in Isaiah 00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:31.340 11 and said and decide with equity the meek of 00:14:31.340 --> 00:14:34.080 the earth those who have the power They have 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.960 some kind of power and they restrain their power. 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:42.759 That's what meekness is in the Bible It says 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:44.980 in Isaiah 11, he shall strike the earth with 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:46.919 the rod of his mouth. He's going to give them 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:51.700 truth, and it's either going to break you or 00:14:51.700 --> 00:14:55.639 it's going to destroy you. It says, with the 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:58.279 breath of his lips, he shall slay the wicked. 00:14:58.659 --> 00:15:01.039 The righteous shall be the belt of his loins 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:05.159 and the faithfulness the belt of his waist. And 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:08.580 so here, as one commentator puts it, in Jesus' 00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:13.629 baptism, Jesus becomes The spirit -filled instrument 00:15:13.629 --> 00:15:21.149 for the establishing of God's righteousness In 00:15:21.149 --> 00:15:27.409 Jesus Baptism it makes him an instrument of righteousness 00:15:27.409 --> 00:15:31.370 And of course we see here that there's this big 00:15:31.370 --> 00:15:34.649 manifestation this big reveal First there's the 00:15:34.649 --> 00:15:37.370 manifestation of the three persons of the Godhead 00:15:37.370 --> 00:15:42.129 the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit In the 00:15:42.129 --> 00:15:44.389 Gospel of Mark, in his account, we're told that 00:15:44.389 --> 00:15:49.529 the heavens were torn open. What divided heaven 00:15:49.529 --> 00:15:52.850 and earth? The firmament was torn asunder, it 00:15:52.850 --> 00:15:59.330 says. And this big revelation came down. The 00:15:59.330 --> 00:16:04.710 Spirit fell and came down, and God spoke the 00:16:04.710 --> 00:16:09.539 Father. And what did the Father say? This is 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:14.120 my son in whom I am well pleased. And we see 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:16.720 throughout the gospels that God the Father declares 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:20.259 that Jesus is his son. Here the Father says that 00:16:20.259 --> 00:16:23.059 he is well pleased with Jesus. And later on at 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:26.539 the Mount of Transfiguration, he will say, this 00:16:26.539 --> 00:16:35.700 is my son. Listen to what he says. The spirit 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:38.720 descends in the form of the dove. Once again, 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:41.679 we see this creation imagery what the spirit 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:46.340 hovering over the waters? Jesus is going to bring 00:16:46.340 --> 00:16:49.539 in the new heavens and earth through his words 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:53.840 and his actions and He will become the high priest 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:58.019 who will make a permanent atonement for our sins 00:16:58.019 --> 00:17:03.139 in Jesus baptism the Trinity has made manifest 00:17:03.139 --> 00:17:07.630 for us We receive an epiphany an illumination 00:17:07.630 --> 00:17:13.109 a light an understanding of who the Trinity is 00:17:13.109 --> 00:17:17.569 God illuminates to us the great trinitarian society 00:17:17.569 --> 00:17:21.569 of love The father glorifying the son and the 00:17:21.569 --> 00:17:24.690 spirit the son glorifying the father in the spirit 00:17:24.690 --> 00:17:28.289 and the spirit glorifying the father and the 00:17:28.289 --> 00:17:36.720 son So we see this We also see that in Jesus 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:40.740 baptism it is his ordination as the ancient and 00:17:40.740 --> 00:17:44.559 rightful high priest as we've previously Previously 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.299 discussed Jesus is the son of David from the 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:51.920 tribe of Judah Jesus is the rightful king and 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:56.660 he is supplanting Herod the false king Remember 00:17:56.660 --> 00:18:01.059 Herod is an Edomite He is descended from Esau 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:07.190 He's not from Judah He is the false brother and 00:18:07.190 --> 00:18:12.390 false king. The high priests of Jesus' day are 00:18:12.390 --> 00:18:15.710 not the sons of Zadok. You say, well, what does 00:18:15.710 --> 00:18:19.470 that matter? In Ezekiel, God declares that following 00:18:19.470 --> 00:18:22.769 the exile that the sons of Zadok would leave 00:18:22.769 --> 00:18:27.750 priesthood. Since the second century BC, several 00:18:27.750 --> 00:18:32.250 hundred years after the exile, we find That certain 00:18:32.250 --> 00:18:35.630 Levites began to pay the ruling empires first 00:18:35.630 --> 00:18:38.809 the Greeks and then the Romans So that they would 00:18:38.809 --> 00:18:42.970 be able to be and have the right to be the high 00:18:42.970 --> 00:18:48.190 priestly family Annas and Caiaphas those high 00:18:48.190 --> 00:18:51.430 priests of Jesus day were false high priests 00:18:51.430 --> 00:18:54.809 and We find that they don't as we look through 00:18:54.809 --> 00:18:56.910 the Gospels They don't even believe in the Living 00:18:56.910 --> 00:18:59.769 God and they don't even believe in the resurrection 00:19:01.289 --> 00:19:04.089 All they're concerned about is they want to pay 00:19:04.089 --> 00:19:07.109 off the Romans so they can stay in power and 00:19:07.109 --> 00:19:17.650 influence. And so Jesus comes and in his baptism 00:19:17.650 --> 00:19:22.009 he receives his priestly ordination. Now according 00:19:22.009 --> 00:19:24.410 to the Old Testament there are three things that 00:19:24.410 --> 00:19:27.579 are required to ordain a priest. Number one, 00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:30.579 you have to have a call. We see in Exodus 28 00:19:30.579 --> 00:19:34.339 that God calls Aaron. And you see, what does 00:19:34.339 --> 00:19:36.599 Jesus do? I mean, what does God the Father do 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:39.599 at his baptism? He speaks. He makes the call. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:43.059 He says, Jesus is the Son of God in whom he's 00:19:43.059 --> 00:19:47.660 well pleased. And the Spirit descends, fulfilling 00:19:47.660 --> 00:19:52.759 Isaiah 11. And we find out later in Hebrews chapter 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:56.579 5 it says this and no man takes this honor to 00:19:56.579 --> 00:20:00.640 himself But he who was called by God just as 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:04.440 Aaron was so also Christ did not glorify himself 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:09.859 to become high priest But it was said He who 00:20:09.859 --> 00:20:14.440 said to him you are my son and of course that 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:18.400 echoes Psalm 2 where it says you're my son today. 00:20:18.420 --> 00:20:22.380 I've begotten you And so Hebrews confirms to 00:20:22.380 --> 00:20:24.500 us what we were already seeing. If it was a little 00:20:24.500 --> 00:20:28.000 fuzzy, Hebrews is clarifying it. God made the 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:32.619 call that he has set his son on the throne and 00:20:32.619 --> 00:20:39.039 that he is the priest called like Aaron. But 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:43.210 he's not just like Aaron, no. Hebrews four goes 00:20:43.210 --> 00:20:46.430 on or excuse me five goes on and says to us as 00:20:46.430 --> 00:20:49.529 he also says in another place You are a priest 00:20:49.529 --> 00:20:52.970 forever speaking of Jesus according to the order 00:20:52.970 --> 00:20:56.730 of Micah's a deck Which is a quote of Psalm 110 00:20:56.730 --> 00:21:01.109 which we sung today And why is that important 00:21:01.109 --> 00:21:04.509 well Micah's a deck was a priest before Aaron 00:21:04.509 --> 00:21:08.950 We also understand when you translate the Hebrew 00:21:08.950 --> 00:21:12.759 for Micah's a deck it is king of righteousness. 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:17.180 He is a priest who is a king of righteousness. 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.319 The second thing that we need to understand is 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:23.759 you need to be 30 years old. In Luke's account 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:26.420 of Jesus' baptism, we learn that Jesus was 30 00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:30.319 years old. In Numbers chapter 4 in two places, 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:34.200 it speaks to the fact that a priest must be 30 00:21:34.200 --> 00:21:40.670 years old. Finally, The last thing that has to 00:21:40.670 --> 00:21:44.009 happen for a priestly ordination is to be washed. 00:21:44.569 --> 00:21:47.269 Numbers 8 tells us this, take the Levites from 00:21:47.269 --> 00:21:49.730 among the children of Israel and cleanse them 00:21:49.730 --> 00:21:52.970 ceremonially. Thus you shall do to them to cleanse 00:21:52.970 --> 00:21:56.069 them. Sprinkle water of purification on them. 00:21:57.750 --> 00:22:00.950 Now, you had to do this, that's part of it, but 00:22:00.950 --> 00:22:05.390 you know who had to do it? A priest. A priest 00:22:05.390 --> 00:22:11.180 had to perform that washing. Guess what? If you 00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:14.059 didn't know this already, John the Baptizer is 00:22:14.059 --> 00:22:18.059 a son of Zacharias, a Levite who served in the 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:22.599 temple in the division of Abijah. That is to 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:25.819 say, he wasn't a high priest, but there was a 00:22:25.819 --> 00:22:28.579 division of priests that took rotation turns 00:22:28.579 --> 00:22:32.279 and going into the temple and serving in the 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:38.549 temple. If John's father is a priest, what is 00:22:38.549 --> 00:22:46.529 John? He's a priest. Hebrews 7 tells us this. 00:22:47.650 --> 00:22:50.849 By so much more, Jesus has become a surety of 00:22:50.849 --> 00:22:53.490 a better covenant. Also, there were many priests 00:22:53.490 --> 00:22:57.549 because they were prevented by death from continuing. 00:22:58.349 --> 00:23:02.150 But he because he continues forever. That's Jesus 00:23:02.150 --> 00:23:05.809 has an unchangeable priesthood Therefore he is 00:23:05.809 --> 00:23:09.829 also able to save to the uttermost Those who 00:23:09.829 --> 00:23:13.190 come to God through him since he always lives 00:23:13.190 --> 00:23:18.509 to make intercession for them Hebrews 7 goes 00:23:18.509 --> 00:23:21.069 on and says for such a high priest was fitting 00:23:21.069 --> 00:23:25.690 for us who was holy harmless undefiled separate 00:23:25.690 --> 00:23:31.069 from sinners and has become higher than the heavens." 00:23:31.069 --> 00:23:34.349 And he says this, who he does not need daily 00:23:34.349 --> 00:23:37.150 as those high priests to offer up sacrifices 00:23:37.150 --> 00:23:40.869 for his own sins and then for the people's. For 00:23:40.869 --> 00:23:43.549 this he did once for all when he offered up himself. 00:23:44.190 --> 00:23:46.789 For the law appoints his high priest men who 00:23:46.789 --> 00:23:49.849 have weaknesses. But the word of the oath, which 00:23:49.849 --> 00:23:52.890 came after the law, appoints the son who has 00:23:52.890 --> 00:23:57.359 been perfected forever. Dearly beloved, this 00:23:57.359 --> 00:24:02.339 is such great news. Jesus' baptism makes Him 00:24:02.339 --> 00:24:08.259 an eternal high priest. And it makes Him an instrument 00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:14.160 of righteousness. And so does our baptism in 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:19.940 Him. Remember Romans chapter 6 and about the 00:24:19.940 --> 00:24:22.839 question, what shall we say then? Shall we continue 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:27.039 in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:31.079 How shall we who died to sin live any longer 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:34.839 in it? Here it is. Listen to this. Or do you 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:38.559 not know that as many of us were baptized into 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:42.319 Christ Jesus, were baptized unto his death, therefore 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:45.599 we were buried with him through baptism into 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:48.619 death, and that just as Christ was raised from 00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:51.579 the dead by the glory of the Father, even so 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:56.160 also we should walk in the newness of life. For 00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:58.559 if we have been united together in the likeness 00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:01.940 of his death, certainly we also shall be in the 00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:05.339 likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that 00:25:05.339 --> 00:25:08.079 our old man was crucified with him, that the 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:10.660 body of sin might be done away with, that we 00:25:10.660 --> 00:25:15.140 should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who 00:25:15.140 --> 00:25:18.660 has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:20.900 with Christ, we believe that we shall also live 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:23.420 with him, knowing that Christ hath been raised 00:25:23.420 --> 00:25:29.150 from the dead. Dies no more Death no longer has 00:25:29.150 --> 00:25:32.630 dominion over him For the death he died he died 00:25:32.630 --> 00:25:36.150 to sin once for all but the life that he lives 00:25:36.150 --> 00:25:43.069 he lives to God Likewise you this is a plural 00:25:43.069 --> 00:25:46.029 you this is all y 'all who are baptized and part 00:25:46.029 --> 00:25:50.849 of the church Likewise, you all also reckon yourselves 00:25:50.849 --> 00:25:55.170 to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in 00:25:55.170 --> 00:25:59.890 Christ our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign 00:25:59.890 --> 00:26:04.069 in your mortal body, that you should obey it 00:26:04.069 --> 00:26:08.250 in its lusts. And do not present your members 00:26:08.250 --> 00:26:12.150 as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but 00:26:12.150 --> 00:26:15.549 present yourselves to God as being alive from 00:26:15.549 --> 00:26:19.529 the dead. and your members, here it is, and your 00:26:19.529 --> 00:26:23.390 members as instruments of righteousness to God. 00:26:24.130 --> 00:26:29.930 Just as Jesus at his baptism is ordained as a 00:26:29.930 --> 00:26:32.750 priest and he is ordained to be an instrument 00:26:32.750 --> 00:26:36.730 of righteousness in the world, so too are you. 00:26:36.730 --> 00:26:40.250 You can't simply say, I go to church, I'm baptized, 00:26:40.470 --> 00:26:44.049 I can live any way I like, we live in grace. 00:26:44.329 --> 00:26:47.970 I can sin any way that I want. No, you cannot. 00:26:48.589 --> 00:26:52.569 Because in your baptism, you become an instrument 00:26:52.569 --> 00:26:57.049 of righteousness, not just theoretically or inside 00:26:57.049 --> 00:27:00.430 your head, but you become an instrument of righteousness 00:27:00.430 --> 00:27:04.430 in this world. Husbands, if you love your wives, 00:27:04.470 --> 00:27:06.670 if you say you love your wife, then you are to 00:27:06.670 --> 00:27:09.069 be an instrument of righteousness in her life 00:27:09.069 --> 00:27:13.450 and in your children's lives. So too, wives and 00:27:13.450 --> 00:27:18.950 mothers, be an instrument of righteousness, building 00:27:18.950 --> 00:27:23.109 them up. You're an instrument in your jobs to 00:27:23.109 --> 00:27:26.450 righteousness. In your relationships, you're 00:27:26.450 --> 00:27:30.849 an instrument of righteousness. Why? Because 00:27:30.849 --> 00:27:33.829 you've been ordained. You've been called by God. 00:27:34.130 --> 00:27:36.750 The work of the high priest is finished in Christ 00:27:36.750 --> 00:27:43.259 Jesus. Dearly beloved you are no longer in bondage 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:47.920 to sin Reigning sin is canceled by Christ on 00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:52.940 the cross You were united to Christ in your baptism 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:57.119 So be conformed to Christ and put off remaining 00:27:57.119 --> 00:28:00.279 sin for you are an instrument of righteousness 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:04.900 in this world You know that part of the prayer 00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:08.220 of our Lord that we sang today thy will be done 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:11.599 on earth as it is in heaven That is your call. 00:28:11.619 --> 00:28:14.079 It's a petition to God to be sure, but it is 00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:17.180 also your call to take all that you've been given. 00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:20.700 Kids, look up here. Children, look up here. Are 00:28:20.700 --> 00:28:23.900 you looking? Are you listening? God has put you 00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:25.940 in charge of certain things. It might be your 00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:28.619 bedroom. It might be setting the table. It might 00:28:28.619 --> 00:28:30.819 be picking up sticks in the yard, whatever it 00:28:30.819 --> 00:28:33.980 is that God has placed you an authority over. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:38.299 You are to do it in a way That pleases God in 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:43.799 a way that reflects the God of heaven So when 00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:46.839 you clean your room you do it with a smile and 00:28:46.839 --> 00:28:50.119 joy because you have a room Because you have 00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:53.359 a mom and dad you have a shelter over you you 00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:56.579 have Christ's great Forgiveness in your life 00:28:56.579 --> 00:28:59.460 and you've been baptized and you belong to him 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:06.140 So to you adults everything God has put you in 00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:11.180 charge of, no matter how small. Do it in a way 00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:18.259 that God's will is done here on earth as it is 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:23.039 in heaven. Finally, Titus 3 tells us that we 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:26.319 are baptized to be ready for every good work. 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:30.740 We are saved to serve. Paul goes on to say that 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:33.839 we were once rebels, slaves to our appetites, 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:37.799 given to hatred. Now we are to speak evil of 00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:41.880 no man, but be courteous, to be honest, to be 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:46.240 faithful workers, and careful to maintain every 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:53.339 good work. That is to say, in Christ Jesus, in 00:29:53.339 --> 00:29:56.180 our baptisms, we are called to be instruments 00:29:56.180 --> 00:30:00.289 of righteousness in the world. The triune God 00:30:00.289 --> 00:30:04.529 revealed himself to us at Jesus baptism. Jesus 00:30:04.529 --> 00:30:07.069 became a more perfect and eternal high priest 00:30:07.069 --> 00:30:11.410 for us and so his baptism made him an instrument 00:30:11.410 --> 00:30:14.930 of righteousness in this world and so too our 00:30:14.930 --> 00:30:18.130 baptisms make us instruments of righteousness 00:30:18.130 --> 00:30:23.230 in this world to the glory of God. Let us pray. 00:30:24.329 --> 00:30:26.890 Lord we thank you for your word that your word 00:30:26.890 --> 00:30:30.220 is truth. that your word is joy and peace to 00:30:30.220 --> 00:30:33.160 our hearts. We thank you that your word promises 00:30:33.160 --> 00:30:36.720 us victory in Jesus Christ. Help us as we pray 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:39.980 to remember our Lord's baptism and to live with 00:30:39.980 --> 00:30:42.980 the surprise of your grace to us in our baptisms. 00:30:43.640 --> 00:30:46.359 Make us ever mindful of how rich we are in Christ 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:49.599 our Lord. In his name we pray, amen.