In Matthew chapter 3, I have
a title I hope you will find interesting this morning. Why
was Christ baptized? In Matthew chapter 3 verse 13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. Now why would the Lord
Jesus go to all that trouble to come to John to be baptized
of John? Now the fact that Christ was
baptized tells me that baptism is important. Baptism is not
optional, extra equipment to the believer. Now, you don't
have to be baptized in order to be saved. That's true. But
this is also true. Baptism is not something that's
optional, extra equipment to a believer. Baptism has to be
important. The scripture says that Jesus
went from Galilee to Jordan. Well, you know how he got there?
He had to walk for three days. That's some effort. I mean, that's
some effort. And if he put that much effort
into being baptized, it must be important. It must be important
for us who believe on him to put forth some effort to make
sure we're baptized, confessing him. So baptism is not a non-essential
doctrine. It's essential to the life of
the believer. Now, like I said a moment ago, you don't have
to be baptized in order to be saved. Our Lord wasn't baptized
to wash away any sin or cleanse himself from any sin. He had
no sin from which to be cleansed, did he? You know, a lot of people
try to put that burden on people. You know, you've got to be baptized.
The waters of baptism will wash away your sin. And that's just
not so. Now, people, that sounds like
good psychology to use on somebody if you're trying to get them
to do something. You're trying to get them to be baptized so you can
put another notch in your belt. But that's not so. What does
the scripture say? It's the blood of Christ that
cleanses us from all sin, not the waters of baptism. Baptism
is a confession of our faith, confession of faith in Christ
who cleansed us from our sin by his sacrifice. Baptism is
symbolic. It's a picture that shows how
Christ cleansed his people, and when we're being baptized, I'm
talking about me in specific, how Christ saved me, how he cleansed
me from my sin by his death, his burial, and his resurrection.
All right? So why was Christ baptized? Well,
the short answer is this. He was baptized as a picture
of the redemption that he would accomplish for his people. But
look back at Matthew chapter 1. We know Christ came to save
his people from their sins. Verse 21, this is the angel talking
to Joseph and says, and she should bring forth a son and shall call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. That's why he came. And that
is what he's going to accomplish. At this time, the Lord's about
30 years old. And for the first 30 years of
his life, the Lord Jesus lived in almost complete obscurity. He was almost completely silent. We just have that one interaction
between him and his parents when he told them he must be about
his father's business. Other than that, he's completely
silent. And now suddenly he comes from
Galilee to Jordan to begin his public ministry. And he begins
his public ministry with a picture of how he's going to save his
people from their sins. Salvation is going to be accomplished
by his death, his burial, and his resurrection. And then about
three and a half years later, he's going to end his public
ministry, accomplishing that on the cross by dying for the
sin of his people and coming out of the tomb the third day.
You know, the old classic thing they tell public speakers, you
know, you begin telling people what you're going to tell them
and then tell them what you're going to tell them and then remind
them what you told them. That's what the Lord is doing here.
He began his public ministry with a picture of how he's going
to accomplish the redemption of his people. He went throughout
his earthly ministry preaching the kingdom of Christ and then
he ended it by accomplishing that salvation for his people.
Now verse 14, but John, our Lord came to John to be baptized of
him, but John forbade him saying, I have need to be baptized of
thee and comest thou to me. Now you can understand John's
reluctance to baptize the savior. I mean, John knew this is the
Lord. He knew who he was. He told the Pharisees one time,
he said, I'm not worthy to tie his shoes. Well, I'm certainly
not worthy to baptize you. I need to be baptized of you.
I need you to put me in Christ. And you know, that is true humility. Because our Lord said of John
the Baptist, there's not been a greater prophet born of woman
than John the Baptist. Yet he's so humble. He's humble
before men telling them, no, I'm nothing but a voice. I'm
not that prophet. I'm not Elijah. I'm just a voice,
I'm a nobody. And he's humble before men and
before the Lord. And he did that following the
example of the Savior. If you think John the Baptist
is somebody, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is God. He's got all the power of God,
all the glory of God, because he is God. Yet, he's a humble
man. He humbled himself to become
a man. And before He humbled Himself
to go to the cross and to be made sin for His people, He humbled
Himself to be baptized of a sinful man, to give you and me a picture
of redemption in Him. Now, if the Lord of glory could
be so humble, I don't believe that we should find it so difficult,
as difficult as we do, to be humble. Do you? We certainly
shouldn't find it hard to humble ourselves before God. and beg
him for mercies. And it ought not be hard to humble
ourselves before each other either. Now verse 15, Jesus answering
said unto him, suffer it to be so now for thus it becometh us
to fulfill all righteousness. And then he suffered him. Now
here's the reason that Christ was baptized. It was to show
union with his people. He told John, suffer it to be
so now. For it becomes us, us, to fulfill
all righteousness. He didn't say it becomes me to
fulfill all righteousness. He said it becomes us to fulfill
all righteousness. Now that's not meaning that we
contribute anything to our righteousness. What the Savior is teaching us
here is salvation through union with Him. Righteousness through
union with Christ, through union. And that's what baptism is all
about. You know, everything the Lord Jesus Christ did, he did
as an us. He never did anything for himself.
He always did it as an us. He did it for his people. Everything
he did, he did for the people that were united to him. So his
people did everything that Christ did because they were in him.
So when he fulfilled all righteousness, so did his people because they're
in him. They're united to him. When Christ
did every thou shalt of the law, His people did too, because they
were in Him. They were doing everything that
He did. When Christ did not do every thou shalt not of the law,
His people didn't either, because they weren't standing in themselves.
They're in Him. They're standing in Christ. And
when Christ died to satisfy the law, the law demands death for
sin. So Christ died to satisfy the
law. There's got to be death for sin. He satisfied the law. He satisfied justice. Well, his
people did, too, because they're in him. They never cease to be
in him. They're in him from eternity. And since Christ died to satisfy
the law, now we know this. He's never going to die again,
is he? He'll never die again. He died one time for the sin
of his people. So the law is satisfied. The
law and justice only demand one death for sin. He already died,
so he'll never die again. He died to satisfy God's justice.
and he'll never demand another. So his people will never die
for the exact same reason. Justice is already satisfied
because we died in Christ, because those who believe were in him
when he died. And that's why Christ was baptized,
teaching us that there's salvation through union with Christ. And
this union with Christ is real and it's vital. vital union with
Christ. It's a vital union because you
can't be saved without it. The only way we can be saved
is by being in Christ through union with Him. Christ was made
sin for His people. He took the sin of His people
away from them and the Father put Him to death for it. And
since Christ is united to His people, His people died when
He died. So the father's never going to
bring up their sin against them again. It's already been paid
for. Justice has already been satisfied
in their death when they died in Christ. And this is why baptism
is only by immersion. It's immersion completely under
the water. John was, we looked at this last
week. He was at Jordan baptizing because
there's enough water to completely dunk somebody under the water.
The word baptized that he uses here means to completely immerse
or to put under or to cover up or to dip. That's what the word
means. It doesn't mean to sprinkle with water. It means to dip,
to dunk under the water. You see, baptism always represents
a burial. It's not a washing. It represents
a burial. Now when somebody dies, we don't
dig a hole in the ground and throw a little dirt in the face
of the corpse. We cover them up with dirt. They
got to be buried. They got to be put out of sight.
They're dead. That's what baptism represents.
It's a burial. Christ died for the sins of his
people. They took a lifeless body down
from that cross and they buried him in a tomb. And his body lay
in that tomb for three days lifeless. Now, explain that. I can't. But
I know he did. He died for sin. But then on
that third day, he arose from the dead. And by his power, he
rolled that stone away and he came out. Because the sin that
was charged to him is gone. Put away under his blood. Paid
for by his blood. And when Christ arose from the
dead, so did his people. because they're united to him.
They did everything that he did. When he arose from the dead,
they did too. Now, all of God's elect are born
in this world dead. They're dead in trespasses and
sin, but they cannot stay that way. It's impossible for them
to stay that way. God, the Holy Spirit is going
to come and give them spiritual life because they're united to
Christ. They've already risen in him. And the believer has life because
they're united to Christ. Let me show you that in a couple
of scriptures. First, Hebrews chapter 2. The believer has life
because they're united to Christ. Everything the head is, the body
is too. Hebrews 2 verse 10. For it became him for whom are
all things and by whom are all things in bringing many sons
to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings. For both he that sanctifyeth
and they who are sanctified are all of one. For which cause he's
not ashamed to call them brethren. The one who did the sanctifying
and the ones who are sanctified are one. They're one. Because
the ones who are sanctified are sanctified because they're joined
to Christ. First John chapter four. 1 John 4. I've written down the wrong, I apologize,
I've written down the wrong reference. But at any rate, the
reference there in Hebrew showed us that, Both he that sanctified
and they who are sanctified are one. Salvation is through union
with Christ. And our Lord began his earthly
ministry giving us a picture of that, what he's going to accomplish
for his people. He's going to accomplish salvation
for his people because they're united to him. And that's why
Christ was baptized. But we learned something else
here from the story of our Lord's baptism, that the salvation of
a sinner requires the work of the whole Godhead, God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It's got to be all three.
Salvation requires the work of the Father in election. The Father's
got to choose a people to save, and He's got to give them to
His Son to save, or they'll never be saved. Salvation requires
the work of the Son that we've been looking at. Righteousness
through His obedience. The law and justice being satisfied
by His death, burial, and resurrection. There's got to be that work of
the Son to make His people righteous. And salvation requires the work
of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's got to come
and give life in regeneration. So the Son's here at the baptism.
He's the one being baptized. In verses 16 and 17, the Father
and the Holy Spirit appear. And Jesus, when He was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water. And lo, the heavens were
opened unto Him. And He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. That's the Holy Spirit
and lo a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom
I'm well pleased. Now that's the father. Now remember
the reason Christ was baptized to show that there's salvation
for his people through union with Christ. And the father says
he's well pleased in his son. He's well pleased. And so that
tells me the only way the father can accept somebody like me is
if I'm in Christ. The only way he can be well pleased
with me is if I am in Christ. And this thing of Christ coming
to save his people, you know, before he was even born, the
angel said he shall save his people from their sin. No doubt
about it. Here at our Lord's baptism, before
he even begins his public ministry, the father already says, I'm
well pleased in him. There's no doubt that he's going
to fail to save everybody that I gave him to save. I'm already
well pleased with my son. The father, you think, you parents,
you think about your children. The father is well pleased in
his son. He's well pleased in the person
of his son, who he is, his spotless holiness. He is what God loves. He's holy and perfect. He is
God. The father is well-pleased with the obedience of his son.
Christ became obedient to the law. He was obedient even unto
death. Even unto a horrible, awful,
painful, shameful death, he was obedient because he came to save
his people from their sin and nothing was gonna stop him from
doing it. He obeyed the law so well, he honored and magnified
it. And the father's pleased with
his obedience. Look back at Isaiah chapter 42.
The father is well pleased with the service of his son, with
his son, the servant. Now, Isaiah wrote 700 years before
Christ was born as a man. And look what the father says
about him. Isaiah 42 verse one, behold my servant, whom I uphold,
mine elect, in whom my soul delighted. I put my spirit upon him and
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. The father is
well pleased in Christ the servant. He always did with that which
pleased his father. The father is well pleased with
the sacrifice of his son. He's always seen his people in
the sacrifice of his son and the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. And the father is well pleased
with that sacrifice. Because the sacrifice of Christ
completely took away all the sin that made God angry. And
He's satisfied. Now, you and I are none of that. We're none of that. Our person
is a sinful, wretched, vile person. Our obedience is non-existent. Our service is pitiful and full
of sin. As much as we desire to serve
the Lord mighty pitiful service. We've got nothing that we can
sacrifice. We've got nothing we can use
to pay for our sin. That's all in Christ. So the
only way the father can be pleased, the only way he can say he is
well pleased with you and me is if we're in Christ. Look what
the father says here. He said, this is my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased. He doesn't say with whom I am
well pleased. He said in whom. I am well pleased. I'm well pleased in everything
about him. And I am well pleased with all
those people who are in him because salvation is through union with
Christ. See, John, he was, he was right. He wasn't worthy to tie the Lord's
shoes. He wasn't worthy to baptize the
Lord. He was right about that. And
the same thing's true about you and me. We're not worthy. to
worship God. We're not worthy to sing his
praises. We're not worthy to come before
the Father in prayer. We're not worthy to preach the
gospel. You think of that. We're not
worthy. We're not worthy to preach the
gospel. We're not worthy to come before God and say, thank you.
But God accepts our worship in Christ. He accepts our persons
in Christ. He accepts our praises and our
thanksgiving in Christ. He accepts our persons. He accepts
everything about His people in the Beloved. Only because they're
in the Beloved. It's through union with Christ.
And God gives His people all these spiritual blessings in
Christ. Because Christ has earned them
by His perfect obedience and His sacrificial death for the
sin of His people. And His people have all those
things because the Father has given them to Christ and we're
in Christ. It's all through union with Christ. And the Holy Spirit
is the one who comes and gives that to His people. God's people
have union with the Holy Spirit because they have union with
Christ. God's people, the Holy Spirit comes to them and descends
upon them and dwells in their heart just like the Spirit came
and dwelt in the form of a dove and descended upon Christ when
He came up out of the water because his people are united to Christ,
the spirit comes and dwells in the hearts of those of his people
because of the sacrifice of Christ, because they are united to Christ.
And I can show you that in John chapter 16. He comes to his people because of
the sacrifice of Christ and because they're united to Christ. John 16 verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth. It's expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not
away, the comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart,
I will send him unto you. You see, Christ says he had to
go away. He had to leave them. He had
to go be made sin. He had to go suffer and die for
the sin of his people so that the spirit could come as the
comforter. See, if Christ doesn't go to
the cross, He doesn't suffer and die and put away the sin
of His people. He doesn't rise again the third
day. The Spirit's got no blood to sprinkle. He's got no blood
to apply to the hearts, to give life to the hearts of God's people.
If Christ doesn't go away, He doesn't suffer and die and be
buried. And if He doesn't rise again
the third day, the Spirit's got no comfort to give. We've got
no comfort of salvation, no hope of salvation. unless the Spirit
can point us to a risen Savior. That's right, isn't it? We've
got no hope of salvation if Christ be not risen. The Spirit's got
comfort to give because Christ did die and He did rise again
the third day. If Christ does not go away, the
Spirit's got no Savior to reveal. He's got no righteousness to
reveal. He's got no hope to reveal. Christ had to go away so that
the Comforter could come and point us to the Savior. Holy
Spirit comes and dwells in the hearts of everyone for whom Christ
died because they have union with Christ. So this is why Christ
was baptized to teach us salvation is through union with him. All
right. I want to bring this to a conclusion
that makes this applicable to us right now. When Christ was
baptized, he's teaching salvation through union with him. Christ
identified with his people when he was baptized. His people must
die for sin. He's showing his union with his
people when he was baptized. Showing how he would die for
their sins and be raised again the third day. Because his sacrifice
put sin away. When we baptize somebody, we
don't put them under the water and hold them under. No, that
wouldn't be a happy occasion, would it? We bring them back
up. Christ was raised again. because his sacrifice put away
the sin of his people. He's teaching union. All right,
that's why Christ was baptized. Then why are we baptized? I see
here why Christ was baptized, what he was teaching, then why
are his people baptized? Let me give you three reasons.
Number one, God's people are baptized to identify with Christ. He was identified with us in
his baptism Well, we're identified with Him when we're baptized
in believers baptism, confessing Him. See, we're baptized, we're
publicly confessing that Christ is my Savior. We're identifying
with Him, just like He identified with His people. Secondly, when
Christ is baptized, He's showing us salvation through union with
Him. Well, when we're baptized, we're confessing salvation. through
union with Christ. When we're baptized, this is
what I'm saying, that I am so sinful. The only way somebody
like me can be saved is through union with Christ. The only way
it's possible that I can be saved is if Christ died for my sin
and that He was raised again because His sacrifice put my
sin away. It's all through union with Christ.
When Christ lived and obeyed the law, I did too because I
was in Him. And when he died, I died in him. I died to the law. I died to
satisfy justice in him. Justice is satisfied with me
because I died in Christ. And when Christ was buried, I
was buried in him. And when he arose from the dead,
I arose to new spiritual life in him. So baptism is our way
of confessing Christ, showing union with him, that this is
my only hope of salvation. This is what Christ did, he did
for me. I did what he did in him. And then thirdly, when Christ
was baptized, he showed his obedience. Not said this to begin the lesson.
Believers baptism is not something that's optional for a believer.
You know, this fella, you know, needs to do it, but this fella
doesn't, it doesn't make any difference. No, it believers
baptism baptism is not optional for a believer. You know how
I know that the savior commanded that we repent and be baptized. Now, Is repentance optional? No, it's not optional at all,
is it? The Savior commanded that we
repent. The Savior commanded that we
turn from everything we used to trust in and turn to Him and
trust in Him. It's not optional. And He, in
the same breath, He commanded that we be baptized. That's His
commandment. Well, we show our obedience to
the Savior by following Him and publicly confessing Him, just
like He commanded us who believe to do. And that's why Christ
was baptized, and that's why His people were baptized. I know many people probably,
many believers have the same experience, you know, that I
did. I can't tell you the moment that
I first really believed Christ from the heart. I believed these
things up here all my life. I just, I could, I've been taught
them. I could see, you know, that's
what the scripture taught it. But I lost, I didn't know the
Lord. And then at some point, I don't know when exactly, at
some point, I believed. And I thought and thought and
thought about that. And I thought, boy, you know, you've been around
a long time. And just, you know, it's just,
And finally, I just went to Henry and said, I've got to be baptized.
And oh, I wish I'd done that a long time ago. I just wish
I'd done that a long time ago. But now I can move on. Now that
I've followed his first commandment, now I can move on. And it's just
a time of rejoicing to see when God brings one of his people
to confess him and believe his baptism. You know, this is a
I was telling somebody about this Wednesday night after we
had the Lord's table. Brother Marvin Stoniker told
me this story. He said he was sitting in his
office one day and Brother Scott walked in. Scott had been the
pastor there at Katie before Marvin. Scott had retired. He's
an old, old man. Scott was old and he was young.
And Scott reaches in his pocket and pulls out a pocket knife
and gives it to Marvin. And it was, I don't know, he
had a long time. I'm not sure if Scott's dad gave
it to him or what, but Scott had a long time. He gave it to
Marvin. He said, I want you to have this. I said, well, he said,
I want you to have something to remember me by, so you remember
me. And Marvin said, oh, Scott, I'm not going to forget you.
I'm always going to remember you. He said, no, I want you
to have it. I want you to have it now, and every time you use
it, I want you to be able to think of me. And Marvin thought, well,
I'll never forget Scott, but, you know, okay. And Marvin carries
that pocket knife with him everywhere. and he has to cut a string off
Glenda's sleeve, you know, he gets that knife out, he thinks
it's God. He gets a letter and he gets
that knife out to open it up, he thinks it's God. And Marvin
said, the Lord has forbidden all tangible forms of worship,
worship spiritually, with the exception of the Lord's table
and baptism. And he said, those are so special
to a believer, because just like that knife, you can't help but
think of Christ when you see him and worship him that way. All right, well, Lord bless you.