When Jesus Was Baptized!
Sermon Notes
January 7, 2007
Baptism Of The Lord
Jim O’Neal, Senior
Pastor
(480) 895-8766
Matthew 3:13-17 NIV
13Then Jesus
came from Galilee to the
15Jesus
replied, “Let it be so now; it
is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”
Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up
out of the water. At that moment heaven
was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on
him. 17And a voice
from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
A. Introduction
1. Brother Bob on baptism
a.
There was a lovely Church owned Campground, and every summer there
came a large influx of people to stay in the camp cabins or in their own motor
homes. And every summer the management
hired a retired pastor to be the
b. Sunday
came and Bob read the text for the day: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 RSV) Bob then turned to the campers and said, “Any
student of geography knows that the surface of the earth is one fourth land and
three fourths water. When God created
the earth He made it mostly water. That
shows how important water is and brings us to the subject for today’s
message: “Baptism by Immersion.” Some people can’t even catch the most obvious
hints!
2. Today’s Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17
a.
Today’s message is, also, about baptism. However, it is not about baptism by
immersion, or sprinkling, or even pouring.
I am not going to lecture on the best way or the proper form of this
sacrament. Neither do I want to spend
time critiquing other denominations and their methods of baptism. We United Methodists have
thought and prayed long about this sacrament and are comfortable that what we
do is within God’s will.
b. What
I do want to talk about today is this:
Why Jesus was baptized and what it means to us.
B. When Jesus was baptized, He identified with
us!
1. Mother who lost her son (From: “The Upper Room” September 10, 1990)
a.
Marie’s only son died at age 17 from a drug overdose. For several years Marie was so wrapped up in
grief that she was barely able to function.
Then a friend encouraged her. The
friend reminded Marie that Jesus promised to comfort those who mourn: (see
Matthew 5:4) They talked about life
eternal, and God’s promise to bring good in all and even bad circumstances. (see John 3:16 & Romans 8:28) The two women then prayed together. They talked some more and the friend told
Marie that she would always miss her son, because his life did matter to
her. The friend again reminded Marie of
the promise of eternal life, and then said, “Let God fill your life with His
love. Let Him turn your sorrow into a
blessing for others.” Marie began to
look for ways to help other families.
She desired to help prevent the same tragedy that she had experienced
from happening to others.
b.
Today, Marie works in a halfway house for teenage addicts. Her kindness and straight talk have helped a
number of young people reach that point where they want to change for the
good. The teens and their parents know
that Marie understands. She has
experienced the same things with her son, and knows what can happen without
intervention.
2. Holy Bible: Matthew 3:13-17 & John 1:14
a. Jesus
understands what it means to be a human being.
The Holy Bible tells us: “The Word became a human and lived among us. We saw his glory— the glory that belongs to
the only Son of the Father— and he was full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NCV) The Son of God lived as a human upon our
earth. He understands what it is like to
be one of us! He knows what we go
through. Jesus wants to identify with
us, and there on the banks of the Jordan River He did just that. And that’s why He came to John to be
baptized. He submitted to baptism
because He wanted to identify with you and me, and all of us need to be baptized. Jesus wanted to know what it was like for a
person to be baptized. It’s easier for
us to identify with someone who has experienced the same things we have. There is a common bond between those who have
experienced similar things.
b. Of
course, Jesus did not need to be baptized.
And folks have long wondered why Jesus would come to John for
baptism. After all, Jesus is the Son of
God, a being without sin. He was God
Incarnate, the perfect human. Clearly
Jesus did not need to have His sins forgiven.
Neither was Jesus elevating John to some position above Savior. John knew he was the forerunner. John knew his job was to announce the coming
of the Messiah. And John understood that
Jesus was the Savior. And today’s Scripture
makes it abundantly clear how uncomfortable John felt to be baptizing the
Messiah. John says to the Lord, “I need to be baptized by you.” (Matthew 3:14
NIV)
c.
And further, as a part of God’s great plan for redemption, we
recognize that Jesus did more than just identify with us. As John’s Gospel states, He truly became a
human being! He really became one of us!
And this was a necessary step for God to
reclaim us as His own.
Sin separates us from God.
Therefore, only a human who lives a perfect life upon this earth can
earn the right to dwell with God on earth and in Heaven. Jesus did that. And out of love, the God-man willingly takes
upon Himself our sins and gives to us His righteousness that we might be with
God both now and forever!
C. When we are baptized, we identify with Jesus.
1. Ruth a teacher for Jesus!
a.
Ruth has taught high school English for a lot of years. To her it is more than a job. It is her calling from Jesus. At the start of a new school year, one of her
former students visited her in her classroom.
She did not at first recognize the well-dressed man who spoke to
her. “Thank you,” he said, “Because of
you I have a good job, a wonderful wife, and two beautiful little girls. I came to tell you that I graduated from high
school because of you. I knew you loved
me when I was your student because you would walk around the room while you
taught, and you would stop at my desk and put your hand on my shoulder.” Ruth still wasn’t sure who this young man
was. He went on: “When you returned my papers and they weren’t
very good, you always wrote something encouraging. Other teachers acted as if they despised
me. No one knew what to say to me after
my alcoholic father shot and killed my mother and himself. But you listened to me and prayed for
me. You kept on treating me as if I were
somebody important. I want to thank you
for loving me. It’s made all the
difference in the world!” “Oh Tony,”
Ruth said, “you were always a somebody, and I knew
that God had better things for your life!”
b.
Ruth so identified with Jesus, that Jesus’ love just naturally
poured forth from her life. When we are
baptized in the name of Jesus, we align ourselves with the Lord; loving other
people as Jesus loves us.
2. Holy Bible: Matthew 28:19-20
a.
The resurrected Jesus, shortly before He ascended to Heaven spoke
these words to His followers: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end
of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NRSV)
b. In
these verses Jesus says things to us about the call to be witnesses, but He, also,
says this: You have been baptized in the
name of the triune God. You have been
baptized in My name.
You are a Jesus’ person. And as a
Jesus’ person you so identify with Christ that it is easy for others to identify
you as a Christian. By your love and
deeds of kindness people clearly see that you belong to Jesus.
D. When we identify with Jesus, we identify with
the hurting people of the world.
1. Agatha
Burgess and “Meals on Wheels”
(From: “On The
Road With Charles Kuralt”)
a.
After His baptism, Jesus began His earthly ministry. Our baptism is, also, a call to
ministry. Agatha
Burgess current address is Heaven!
However, for years she lived in
b.
When TV personality Charles Kuralt
asked her why she does what she does, Agatha replied,
“I love it! I always wanted to be a
person that lived by the side of the road, and be a friend to man.” The reporter asked, “So why don’t you at
least stop and rest?” “Wouldn’t have
anything to live for,” she replied.
“Because these people coming everyday, they mean so much to me.” Agatha Burgess had
the love of Jesus in her heart.
2. Holy Bible: Luke 4:18-19
a.
When Jesus began his ministry, He read these words from
Isaiah: “The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke
4:18-19 RSV)
b. Jesus
came into this world with a mission to heal and restore all people to God. Jesus had a special concern for the
struggling and downtrodden people of the world.
He came that all people might know dignity and freedom. He came that all people might have the
opportunity to live spiritually rich and full lives. And He calls upon those of us who have been
blessed spiritually and materially to reach out and help others as He did. When you identify with Jesus, you identify
with the needs of those around you, and you help the hurting people of your
community and the world.
E. Conclusion: Recap The baptism of Jesus teaches us three
important things:
1. When Jesus was
baptized, He identified with us!
2. When we are baptized,
we identify with Jesus.
3. When we identify with
Jesus, we identify with the hurting people of the world.
Matthew
3:13-17 NIV
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the
15Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to
do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized,
he went up out of the water. At that
moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with
him I am well pleased.”
When Jesus
Was Baptized!
1. When Jesus
was baptized, He identified with us!
2. When we are
baptized, we identify with Jesus.
3. When we
identify with Jesus,
we identify with the hurting people of the world.