Looking To Jesus

Matthew 3:13-17

Introduction

When a couple gets married, they are told that “the two shall become one flesh.” Within a few days of marriage, however, they find out that the wedding ceremony did not make them one flesh. They are still two individuals who have to learn what it means to be one flesh. What does that kind of unity look like at its best?

The church is called to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Yet it doesn’t take very many days of attending any church to find that there are some wrinkles in the unity of the church. Not everything is always peace. What does that kind of unity look like at its best?

I have been thinking about the Trinity lately. It is a significant mystery to understand how there can be only one God and yet to see how that one God has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Although I am familiar with all the various ways in which theologians have tried to help us understand this mystery, none of them truly satisfies. Perhaps we have missed the true point of God being one by focusing on oneness as a number concept instead of a relational concept. I believe that as we understand the unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we begin to understand what true unity looks like. Thinking about such things helps us understand God, but it also helps us understand how we can be one flesh and how we can maintain unity in the church.

This morning, we will look at the relationship between God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ as revealed when Jesus was baptized. The baptism of Jesus was a significant juncture in all of history. In it God revealed the one whom He had sent to earth to accomplish His project and in it Jesus began His earthly ministry. In it we also have the veil of heaven pulled back to reveal something of the relationship between the Father and the Son. As we see this relationship, we will learn something about unity.

Let’s read the story as we find it in Matthew 3:13-17 and then think about what it means.

I.                Jesus Submitted to God’s Plan

This text speaks of Jesus’ baptism, but we need to understand it in the context of John’s baptism in the rest of the chapter which tells us that John “appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” When we read this, we often make the mistake of reading it from the perspective of our Christian understanding of baptism. Our understanding is that baptism is a sign of cleansing from sin and acceptance of Jesus. Of course, John and the people of that time would not have had such an understanding. Yet water in relationship to a religious exercise was not unfamiliar to them. Surrounding the temple in Jerusalem there were various ritual baths, which people used in order to cleanse themselves ceremonially in order to be able to go into the temple to offer sacrifices. Each time they went into the temple, they needed to participate in this ritual. So the idea of water as a symbol of cleansing from sin was not unfamiliar to the people of the time. But what John did was different. He was not anywhere near the temple, rather, he was in the wilderness near the Jordan. So his baptism was not the ritual cleansing associated with the temple.

If a Gentile wanted to become a Jew it was possible to do so, but they needed to go through certain rituals. Of course, the most important one was circumcision, but at this time in history, they also were required to be baptized as an initiation rite. This also was not the same as John’s baptism because it was Jews who were coming to be baptized by him.

What this shows us is that there were models for the idea of cleansing from sin through entering into water. But John’s baptism had some unique elements to it. As John baptized people, he called them to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of heaven, which he proclaimed was near. He understood that he was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 40:3 which speaks about the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” John announced that God was coming to judge those who remained in their sins but also to provide a way of forgiveness.  John invited people to prepare for this coming kingdom by confessing their sins and symbolizing their confession by baptism. He announced that they were preparing for the coming of one who would baptize with fire and with the Holy Spirit. So there are several important messages contained in John’s preaching and baptizing. It was a call to repentance. It was a call to cleansing from sin. It was a call to live in obedience to God, as he invited them to “Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” And it was also a proclamation of the nearness of the coming of God’s anointed one.

As we understand this meaning of John’s baptism, we notice a problem. All who came to John to be baptized were baptized because they were repenting of their sin. When Jesus appeared before John, John knew that it was entirely inappropriate for Jesus to be baptized. Whether he knew this intuitively or because he was related to Jesus or because God had revealed it to him we don’t know. But John knew, as we certainly know, that Jesus did not need to be baptized as a sign of repentance for sin. Yet Jesus came to be baptized by John. Because this is surprising, unexpected and hard to explain, we need to take the time to understand it.

When Jesus said, “Let it be so now” we get the sense that he was agreeing with John’s assessment that he did not need to be baptized for the same reason that all the others were being baptized. He had not sinned. He had lived bearing the fruit of righteousness all his life. This is what makes it so difficult for us to understand why Jesus still chose to be baptized.

However, Jesus Himself answered this question when he said, “…it is proper…to fulfill all righteousness.” But what does that mean?

We begin to understand when we set it in the context of what was happening at this time in regards to God’s project. God’s project is the redemption of lost and sinful humanity. Abraham was important in that project as the father of the Jewish nation through whom God would bless all nations. David was important in that project as the king whose descendant would become king over all. The prophets were important in that project as they pointed at many of the details of the coming of God’s anointed king. In this text we meet John who was also important in God’s project as the one who did two important things. It was John who said, “Now is the time. Messiah is coming very soon.” The other thing John did was to prepare the hearts of the people for the preaching and ministry of Jesus. In Acts 8, there were a group of people who naturally followed Jesus, but had not yet heard about baptism in the name of Jesus, having only experienced the baptism of John. That story reveals the effectiveness of John’s ministry and how it prepared people for the coming of Jesus and His message.

When Jesus was baptized by John, it was not because he needed to confess sins nor because he needed cleansing from sins. The time of John’s ministry was a significant point in God’s project. Jesus was baptized as a way of showing that He submitted to that project. He was affirming the ministry of John and indicating that the time for Him to preach of the kingdom had now come. When Jesus said, “Let it be so now…it is proper…to fulfill all righteousness” He was submitting to God’s project as He would now take over God’s project from John.

This was not the only time that Jesus submitted to God’s project. He did so when he left heaven and came to earth. He would do so when He would lay down His life on the cross. His willingness to be baptized was a similar declaration of submission to God’s project

As we observe the willingness of Jesus to submit to God’s project, we see something important about the relationship which Jesus had to His Father. God asked Jesus to leave heaven and give His life in order to redeem the lost people of the earth. Jesus loved His Father and understood the project of God so well that he was willing to submit to it at every point, including being willing to be baptized by John. As Jesus submitted, He did not do so grudgingly or as a concession. He did so fully understanding the will of the Father and being completely in tune with His will. If you have ever been on a committee trying to plan for an event, you know that as soon as you have two people, you have two opinions about how it should be done. That the Father and the Son should be in such unity about something as complicated as the redemption of the world is nothing short of amazing. As Jesus submitted first to becoming human, then to being baptized and then to dying on the cross, we see in that submission a complete unity between Father and Son.

II.             God Loved and Supported Jesus

In response to Jesus’ submission, we see the immediate response of God to Jesus and that tells us more about the relationship between the Father and the Son. We notice three important things that happened at the moment Jesus came out of the water.

A.               The Heavens Were Opened

How often we wish that God would show Himself more clearly. We have an intense longing for the presence of God and the help of God. In the midst of their suffering, Israel cried out to God and we read in Isaiah 64:1, "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—" We agree with that prayer!

After Jesus came out of the water at His baptism, we read that “the heavens were opened to Him.” What we have longed for, was fulfilled after Jesus submitted himself to baptism. When the heavens opened, we see something of the relationship of Father to Son. Because of his willingness to submit to the Father and come to earth, the heavens opened to Jesus indicating that He had complete access to the Father. God did not send Jesus down and leave him on His own. The heavens were opened to Jesus throughout His ministry. We see this in the times he went to be alone to pray, in the times he asked and the Father answered with powerful miracles and in the intimacy revealed in the prayer of Jesus in John 17.

As the heavens opened to Jesus, it demonstrated the constant access that Jesus had to the Father throughout His ministry.

B.               The Spirit of God Descended

The second thing that happened was that “he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.”

Although we associate the Holy Spirit mostly with events that took place after the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God has always been present. The Holy Spirit was present on the day of creation as we read in Genesis 1:2 (NASB), “…the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” Yet God’s Spirit was present in the Old Testament primarily with those who were called by God to accomplish certain tasks. We encounter the power of the Spirit of God at work when the tent of meeting was built in the wilderness. At that time the Spirit of God empowered certain people with unusual creativity and building skills. We also encounter the Spirit of God empowering various people for the leadership roles they had been given. Gideon received power to overcome a vast enemy with only 300 men. Samson was given power to cause the collapse of a temple and destroy the enemies within. The Spirit of God empowered Elijah in many unusual ways and then empowered Elisha with a double portion of the Spirit who had been on Elijah.

It was in this Old Testament sense that God’s Spirit empowered Jesus for leadership and ministry. By the Spirit coming on Jesus, we recognize a fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 42:1, "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations." In a similar way, God’s servant speaks in Isaiah 61:1 saying, "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners…" This tells us again about the unique and wonderful relationship which Jesus had with His Father. God fully supported and empowered Him as His servant in His project to redeem the earth.

C.               A Voice from Heaven Spoke

The third thing that happened was that the voice from heaven, God’s voice, said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

In Psalm 2:7 God says, “You are my son” speaking of His anointed one. After Jesus was baptized, God affirmed that Jesus was the fulfillment of that prophecy when God declared “This is my Son.” Then He further affirmed His love for him by declaring Him to be “the beloved.” Finally God also declared, “…with whom I am well pleased.” This also is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. We read in Isaiah 42:1, "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights…"

            As God spoke these three words to Jesus, they also affirmed God’s support. God had sent Jesus on a difficult task. He asked Him to make a great sacrifice. But He also promised to be with Him through it all. Not only did He promise to be with Him, but in these statements God revealed His pride in His Son and His love for His Son. There is no greater statement that any parent can make to their children, but to affirm them and declare their love to them. That is what the Father did for the Son.

Conclusion

Earlier I mentioned that sometimes we miss the meaning of unity in the trinity. In the baptism of Jesus and all it initiates and anticipates, we see the oneness of the Godhead as a relational concept. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one in a much deeper sense than simply being the number 1. The Son was fully one with the Father in His complete awareness of the project of God and in His willingness to submit to that project. As the Father sent the Son into the world, He loved the Son so much that He spilled over in hyperbole to declare to Jesus, “You are my Son, you are loved and I am very pleased with you.” What a wonderful declaration of the unity of Father and Son as we see this powerful support and love of the Father for the Son.

They say that one of the most important ways parents can give peace and confidence to their children is by being in unity with one another. If that is the effect of the relationship between parents on their children, then certainly the effect of the relationship between Father and Son would be the same on us, the children of God. If the Son honors the Father so much that He is willing to submit to His project and if the Father loves the Son so much that He supports Him fully in carrying out that project, then we can rest assured that we are in good hands.

As we look to Jesus in this way, the example of Father and Son also teaches us what it means to have unity in our human relationships - as husband and wife or in the church or anywhere else. We learn from God and Jesus about submission and about love and support and these are the things which will bring unity.

As we look to Jesus, may His relationship with God cause us to live in peace and joy and may their example teach us how to live in unity!