John Baptized in water so that Jesus could baptize with Fire.
Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.
“Lord Jesus, I ask that you search our hearts and see if there be anything wicked in them. We ask that your Holy Spirit show us what you are saying to us today. I ask that the words on this page would jump out to us as you speak to our hearts and minds truth and life. In Jesus name, Amen.”
Matthew 3:13-17 NASB
“Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. 14But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” 15But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *allowed Him. 16After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, 17and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
What the Word is Saying
This passage is the culmination of the mission given to John the Baptist:
“The voice of one calling out, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; And let the uneven ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; 5Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken (Is. 40: 3-5).”
He was sent to prepare the way for the Lord. If you have every experienced going somewhere where someone else prepared your duties for you the burden is significantly easier. I used to manage a gas station and we had a roller grill that hot dogs and brats were cooked upon. The cleaning of said item was a daily task and if done right the weekly deep cleaning of it would go relatively smoothly. However, if during the course of the week the person cleaning it did not take the time to clean the rollers all the way to the edge the weekly cleaning could be significantly longer. Since there would be significant grease build up at the ends of the rollers. I say all this to emphasize that a difficult job can be made easier if the one who does it before you, "prepares" the way for you.
This is what John the Baptist was commissioned to do for Jesus. He was to go before Him and prepare the way for Him. Jesus was coming with the mission to restore the people to a right relationship with God. Therefore, when John came preaching repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins, he was changing the mindset and culture of the people. No longer would being a descendant of their father Abraham be sufficient to have a right relationship with God. There had to be a change of Heart. A deep sorrow and anguish over the wrongs committed against their God. Followed by an outward act of Baptism to show their need for forgiveness and reliance on God for it. TO me this is why baptism before a person is aware of their sin and is desperately seeking forgiveness for it is insufficient. There is no way an infant can know those things. The parents and even congregation can know it, but individually it can't be known until the child is able to understand what it is they are seeking forgiveness for.
Knowing that we would need baptism after conversion to Jesus He submitted to the act even though being without sin. He did not need it. He simply did it as a sign of what we need to do. It is at this act of submission where the three persons of the Godhead first come together in the presence of Man. Jesus in the flesh, the Holy Spirit descending as a dove, and the Father speaking from heaven about His Son Jesus. Often it is the same with us. Though not always it is not uncommon for the new Christian to baptized in the Holy Spirit after water baptism. Logistically speaking the house so to speak has been swept clean and the Holy Spirit is free to move in and operate in the clean heart and mind of the believer. If you have not received Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I implore you to do so now. All He asks for is for you to accept the free gift He gave you. Therefore, humble yourself and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. He alone is all powerful and you submit to His authority. Next you must believe He did what He did. That is; die on a cross and rise again from the dead. These are both actions of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for with evidence not seen. Meaning you believe even though you don’t have physical evidence to prove it. I know you made it to this page for a reason and the Holy Spirit is working on your heart. The Father has drawn you and He alone can reveal to you the truth of what I am saying. I know that He is now, and you need to take a step of faith and pray these words with me.
Right where you are; say these words out loud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord of all, I yield my will to your will for you are greater than me. I believe you came to this world and lived a sinless life; I believe you suffered and died on cross for my sins, I believe they put your lifeless body in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the dead. I confess to you that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I also ask that you send me your Holy Spirit to give me power to live a sanctified life and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, I urge you to contact us here so that we might come beside you and hold you up in prayer as you begin your journey with Jesus. I assure you that we have all been where you are. We may have committed different sins, but we are just as guilty, nonetheless. We all needed forgiveness and someone else supported us as we began our Journey with Him.
Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org.
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