The Baptism of Christ - Part 4

CONCLUSION

Imagine we came to church today and the guest speaker was John the Baptist. He gets up to preach, looks us in the eye. “You snakes! Think you can escape the punishment God’s about to send? Do things to show you’ve turned from your sins. And don't start saying, we come to church every week. I tell you God can take these floor tiles and make churchgoers! The fire has started; live like God wants.” Would we get up and walk out? Sit and grumble, then thank him for his word after the service? Ask, how can I show God I’m repentant?

Jesus had a dialogue with the chief priests and elders of the people in Matthew 21:28-32. Jesus said, “Now, what do you think? There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the older one and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ I don't want to,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. ‘Yes, sir,’ he answered, but he did not go. Which one of the two did what his father wanted?” “The older one,” they answered. So Jesus said to them, “I tell you: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you. For John the Baptist came to you showing you the right path to take, and you would not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.” Who do we want to be? People who pay lip service to God but don’t do what He wants? Or people who say no to God, think better of it, repent and turn to Him? Neither is the best option, but it reflects what was happening. The best thing is to say yes to God and follow it through. 

“Sinners” heeded John, the self righteous refused to. Who entered God’s Kingdom, according to Jesus? John’s message still stands and is elevated this side of the cross and resurrection. I’ll close with the transformed Peter’s words at Pentecost: “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit.  For God's promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away—all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Peter made his appeal to them and with many other words he urged them, saying, “Save yourselves from the punishment coming on this wicked people!” (Acts 2:38-40)

Let’s trust in God’s promise to forgive, to send His Spirit and save us from punishment.

The Baptism of Christ - Part 3

THE GREATNESS OF JESUS

I’m picking out three things John said.

“There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” I wonder what John meant by this? We see Jesus crucified, the Passover Lamb of God who died for our sins that we could be forgiven. John wasn’t expecting a dying Messiah, but one who’d lead Israel into glory days, so experts tell us. Did John see Jesus taking away the sin of the world by removing sinners from the world? Separating wheat from chaff? John wasn’t wrong. Just his timing was off. 

“He is the son of God.” What did John mean by this? Jesus was a godly man? That sounds too simple. Angels were called sons of God, but I doubt it’s likely John thought Jesus was a glorified angel. Israel as a nation was called God’s son. Did John see Jesus as Israel personified? Kings were sometimes considered sons of God. Maybe he saw Jesus as King of Israel? Or maybe son of God just meant “Messiah”? We’re blessed in having a fuller understanding of Jesus as Son of God. Our Hebrews reading shows that the Son is the one through whom God created everything, who reflects God’s brightness, who’s the exact likeness of God’s being, who sits at God’s right hand, who’s greater than angels and worshipped by them, whose kingdom will last forever…

“He is the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit.” What does this mean to John? Hear again John’s words: “I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He has his winnowing shovel with him, to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out.” Does John equate the baptism of the Holy Spirit with sorting the wheat from the chaff? The salvation of the righteous and the judgement of the wicked? Are we in Isaiah 40, the Lord sending a wind making the grass wither and flowers fade? Continue further in Isaiah 40 and we read in verses 9-11: “Jerusalem, go up on a high mountain and proclaim the good news! Call out with a loud voice, Zion; announce the good news! Speak out and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah that their God is coming! The Sovereign Lord is coming to rule with power, bringing with him the people he has rescued. He will take care of his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs together and carry them in his arms.” Is this the gathering of wheat into His barn? 

What actually happened when Jesus baptised with the Spirit? Jesus gave explicit instructions to His disciples (in Acts 1:4-5): ““Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” In Luke 24:49, He put it like this: “And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you.” What happens at Pentecost in Acts 2 is Jesus baptising the disciples with the Spirit. In their case, they proclaimed God’s works in the many languages of the Jews gathered in Jerusalem at that feast. They became His witnesses in Jerusalem. The greatness of Jesus here is that the Spirit, the gift of the Father, is sent by Jesus. The Father shares His glory with Jesus. 

And finally in this point, the baptism of Jesus by John. Our reading says: “After all the people had been baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you.”” 

Here’s what the account in Matthew 3:13-15 says: “At that time Jesus arrived from Galilee and came to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. But John tried to make him change his mind. “I ought to be baptized by you,” John said, “and yet you have come to me!”

But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires.” So John agreed.” 

This shows the great humility of the Lord. Christmas shows His humility in laying aside the glory of Heaven to be born as a baby in less-than-kingly circumstances. Easter shows His humility in allowing Himself to be subjected to a criminal’s death though He committed no crime. Allowing Himself to undergo a baptism of repentance by John, though He’d nothing to repent of, is another amazing example of Jesus’ humility.

The Baptism of Christ - Part 2

THE SECOND MESSAGE OF JOHN - “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.”

Once, some of John’s disciples pointed out that Jesus was baptising and everyone was going to Him. John had the same problem as Jesus - his disciples not grasping what he repeatedly told them. John was preparing the way for Messiah, but those protective disciples didn’t get it. John (cue eye roll) reminded them, “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’” John was glad people were going to Jesus. His mission was being fulfilled. “He must increase; I must decrease.” 

We can learn from this. It’s not about me, it’s about Jesus. We seek to do a great job for the Lord, not get praise for ourselves. He must increase; we must decrease. Christ is more important than our service for Him. Jesus is centre of attention. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

More of a tangent, than an attempt at exegesis, this message of “He must increase; I must decrease” reminds me of something Clive said last year. "The people in our church over 50 are mostly white; the people under 50 are mostly from ethnic minorities. We must get used to seeing more ethnic minority people involved in ministry and this will change how we do things." Ministry goes beyond standing up front in church, but in that too “white” people may decrease and “non-white” increase. Ministry isn’t something white people inherently do to others. We’re one in Christ and God’s gifts are not distributed ethnically. I wonder if we have untapped preachers, leaders, singers amongst the Iranians, Pakistanis, Africans, West Indians (as well as Brits)? 

Jesus was a very different Messiah than John expected and John came to doubt. He was in prison, so maybe we can forgive him his uncertainty. Adversity crushes the spirit and tests faith to the limit. John needed reassurance so sent some disciples to ask Jesus if He really was Messiah after all. Jesus replies: “Go back and tell John what you are hearing and seeing:  the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. How happy are those who have no doubts about me!” Jesus redirected John’s thoughts. John was fixated on Isaiah 40. Jesus points him to Isaiah 61. “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” We look back and see a developed understanding of the first and second coming of Christ. John was totally unaware of this. In the midst of troubles, we can’t see how they’ll resolve. We need encouragement to trust God; we need to know, “is this Christianity malarkey a load of old guff or is Jesus who He says He is?” No matter how convinced we are of God’s goodness when things go well, we easily forget it when trouble comes. 

When baptising Jesus, John saw the Spirit descend and stay on Jesus, as God told him in advance. Yet he came to question whether Jesus really was Messiah. This is a warning. We’re to be confident in God’s power to keep us but not complacent, as if we’re untouchable. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. He sought to devour Jesus. He sought to devour Peter. He sought to devour John the Baptist. Are we immune? Philippians 2:12-13: “Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation, because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.” 

The Baptism of Christ - Part 1

The text of my sermon from 12th January 2020

Bible Reading:

LUKE 3:1-22

HEBREWS 1:1-12

Two men. Born within months of each other. Their mothers were cousins. Both play an important part in God’s plan for Israel, and the world. Both prophesied about in the Old Testament. John the Baptist and Jesus. Two very familiar names. I want to look at the Message of John and the Greatness of Jesus.

It’s not difficult to spot what John’s message was. It has two basic elements:

“Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!”

And:

“I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.”

1. THE FIRST MESSAGE OF JOHN - “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near.”

Also expressed as, “Turn away from your sins and be baptized and God will forgive your sins.” John’s baptism was so the sins of the repentant could be forgiven. 

John was set apart by God for this. When he was a baby his father prophesied over him: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins” (Luke 1:76-77). It’s reasonable to think his father would’ve talked to John about this as he grew up and John would’ve thought about it. John came to understand he was fulfilling Isaiah 40:3 - A voice cries out, “Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord! Clear the way in the desert for our God!” 

If we read Isaiah 40:6-8 we find:

A voice cries out, “Proclaim a message!”

“What message shall I proclaim?” I ask.

“Proclaim that all human beings are like grass;

    they last no longer than wild flowers.

Grass withers and flowers fade

    when the Lord sends the wind blowing over them.

    People are no more enduring than grass.

Yes, grass withers and flowers fade,

    but the word of our God endures forever.”

John came to expect an imminent judgement from God to punish sins. Sinners would wither, fade and die, so they needed to repent, be baptised and forgiven.

Hear John’s method of evangelism. “You snakes! Who told you that you could escape from the punishment God is about to send? Do those things that will show that you have turned from your sins. And don't start saying among yourselves that Abraham is your ancestor. I tell you that God can take these rocks and make descendants for Abraham! The ax is ready to cut down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire.” Are we so desperate to get people into church nowadays that many present a “nice” message offering everything with no need to change? John seemed like he was trying to put people off! Crowds were coming to him, so maybe he was making sure their motivation was right? “If you’re coming to get baptised you’d better change your ways! This isn’t a religious tick box exercise!” The people responded. “What are we to do, then?” His words were striking home. “Whoever has two shirts must give one to the man who has none, and whoever has food must share it.” Some tax collectors came to be baptized, who asked him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” “Don't collect more than is legal,” he told them. Even soldiers asked him, “What about us? What are we to do?” He said to them, “Don't take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely. Be content with your pay.”

John made it clear what repentance looked like, with bespoke answers to different people. What might John say to our generation? Pretty much the same, I think. And maybe: stop saying “I’m offended! I’m offended!” to get your own way; consume less and donate the savings to charity; be nice to strangers on social media instead of vilifying them; take more interest in your character than your appearance? 

Image by Markus Christ from Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/church-st-john-the-baptist-new-ulm-1637450/