January 13, 2008 "Why Was Jesus Baptized?"

Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

Well this has been a fun week at BBC of looking at the Bible and our faith. Tuesday night we had 74 people at Bible Study and we talked about some strategies and approaches anyone can use to get more out of reading the Bible on your own. Yesterday we had 44 people for a two hour Question and Answer session as we answered all kinds of questions written down by those present about things such as what is Christianity, original sin, why should someone choose a Baptist Church, questions about judgment, death, resurrection, faith, and heaven and on and on. Fred Downs, Pastor Kevin, I answered 32 questions in all.

Since we had that event scheduled for yesterday I thought I would title my sermon today in the form of a question that has also been puzzling to at least a few people. Why was Jesus baptized? People were coming to John the Baptist for a baptism to express their repentance for their sins, their desire to be forgiven, and as an expression of their intention to change their way of living. But the New Testament teaches that Jesus was like us in every way, but without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22). So why was Jesus baptized?

All four Gospels include an account or mention of Jesus’ baptism; it is obviously an important event that marks the beginning of his ministry. Before we look at it this morning there is something I want us to keep in mind. Jesus at the time of his baptism is a Middle Eastern Jewish man likely around 30 years old. He is a person as we are, made of flesh and blood, not merely a divine being pretending to be a person. He is a man living with the limitations that we do – if he stubbed his toe, it hurt. He needed to eat to live. If he cut himself he bled. He laughed, he cried, he walked a lot and probably got an occasional blister like anyone else would. As he wiped sweat out of his eyes on a particularly warm day he probably even said to Peter, "You know it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity."

If we don’t grasp this truth about Jesus then we will not fully appreciate his love, courage, leadership, and spiritual strength. By looking at Jesus’ baptism we learn a little more about Jesus and more about ourselves.

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.

And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said,

"This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

To understand the significance of Jesus’ baptism first we have to recognize the existence of a spiritual realm. Many of us have family members or friends who may not be believers, who may not believe in God, or spiritual reality. The Bible affirms that there is both a physical and a spiritual realm. As human beings we are constantly reminded that our outer, physical nature is wasting away. All I have to do is look in the mirror to know that is true. However, as Christians we know that our inner nature can be renewed, revitalized, and energized day by day by our connection with God’s Spirit. The world we can see is temporary. Look around you today, of all that you see by the time you go to bed tonight, what will still exist even a mere 100 years from now? How about 1,000 years from now? The unseen spiritual realm is eternal and in fact the greater reality. The spiritual realm is similar to electricity in that we can see the impact of its energy and power. I remember one time when there was a light switch in one of our rooms that wasn’t working quite right. When I flipped the switch sometimes the light would work, sometimes it wouldn’t. Sometimes it would flicker and one time I even heard a crackling sound behind the switch plate, that is when I called one of our BBC electricians who came over and quickly figured out the problem was not with the light bulb or the flow of electricity but with the connection and that was quickly fixed and the electricity was able to flow through the wire and the bulb and light up the room. Often that is the case in our relationship with God. God energizes and empowers our spiritual life when we are properly connected with God’s Spirit.

At his baptism, Jesus experienced a vision from the unseen spiritual realm and the descent of the Spirit upon him giving him power for ministry. Remember that in the letter to the Philippians we learn that Jesus emptied and humbled himself and took on our human form. At his baptism, the Spirit descended upon Jesus to empower him and lead into his public ministry.

At his baptism, Jesus not only sees the Spirit coming upon him, he also hears a voice from heaven which tells him about his identity and his purpose in life. The heavenly voice says to Jesus and to all who can hear, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." In these words Jesus receives God’s Acceptance. He is loved and accepted by God. How many of us could benefit from hearing and knowing deep within us that God accepts us? Remember John’s baptism was one of repentance. Jesus may not have sinned, but by coming to John for baptism Jesus is identifying with all of us who long for the acceptance of God but have strained or disconnected our relationship with our Creator through selfishness or indifference. Some of us may think,

"I can’t imagine God would want anything to do with a person like me."

One of the great messages of the Bible is that God sees us exactly as we are, warts and all, and loves us anyway. To God, your first name also might as well be, "Beloved." God loves you and accepts you, just as God loved and accepted Jesus.

The voice from heaven not only expressed Acceptance of Jesus, but also gave Jesus his Appointed Task. Jesus’ appointed task was to be a Beloved Son. A Beloved Son carries out the will of his father. Later in his ministry Jesus told a parable in Matthew 21 about a father who had two sons. He says, the one who was truly a son was the one who did his father’s will. Jesus is the Son who shows what his father is like. Jesus will be compassionate. He will heal the sick. He will treat children, women, foreigners, the broken, and the poor with dignity. The child acts as the parent would. Calling Jesus, Beloved Son, identifies Jesus’ function to do God’s will and it expresses the level of intimacy between Jesus and his Father. Jesus was intimately related to God.

If we are to be God’s beloved children, then like Jesus, we are to be in intimate connection with God and about our Father’s business in the world. Our character will resemble the character of God – we also will be gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. As Christians, as beloved daughters and sons of God, our appointed task is to reflect the character of our God.

Too often Christians and churches fall short of this behavior. Some of us have experienced Christians who were consistently rude, unforgiving, petty, quick to express anger, offense, a harsh word, and abounding in lukewarm concern. None of us are perfect by any means, but I sincerely hope and pray that the overall image that people have of this church is that folks will say,

"The people there are gracious and kind, merciful and compassionate, patient and quick to forgive. They really love people." That is a description of intimate, beloved children doing the will of God.

Jesus was baptized so that he would hear God’s Acceptance, receive his Appointed Task, and enjoy God’s Approval. "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." How many individuals struggle because they do not receive the approval of their father or mother or the person they look up to in life? One of the questions we got yesterday was about the years between Jesus being in the temple at the age of 12 and his baptism at the age of 30. The Bible tells us nothing about these 18 years. One thing we do know is that we never hear about Joseph, Jesus earthly father, after Jesus is 12 years old. Many people believe Joseph may have died while Jesus was in the critical teen years or as a young adult. If Jesus did not have an earthly father for the years he was maturing into manhood, it may explain both his compassion for children, women, and the poor, and it would have been particularly important for him to receive the approval and affirmation of God. Now as grown man, having the most significant experience of his life, the final thing Jesus hears are words of approval about how pleased God is with him.

Those words are worth their weight in gold, especially when they come from someone we love and respect. A child who comes home from school with a good report card yearns to hear, "We are so pleased with you." When people do something very kind, generous, helpful, or special for us we often express our gratitude and thanks. But if we look at the scripture what has Jesus done to this point to merit the pleasure and approval of God? Nothing other than being himself.

Some people live most of their lives trying to please parents who never seem satisfied, who never share life giving words of approval and affirmation, who never say, "I’m so pleased with you." But God is different. God delights in us. In third chapter of the prophet Zephaniah we hear these words which are also fitting for Jesus at his baptism:

"The Lord, your God, is in your midst,

A warrior who gives victory; He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will renew you in his love;

He will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival."

At his baptism, Jesus experienced a vision of the unseen spiritual realm, the descent of the Spirit upon him like a dove, and a voice from heaven that told him about his identity and purpose in life and spoke words of affirmation and approval.

Does that remind you of your baptismal experience? Some of you have never been baptized. Some of you were baptized as infants and have little or no recollection of that event. Some of us were baptized but the experience was less memorable than what Jesus experienced.

A man is stumbling through the woods, totally drunk, when he comes upon a preacher baptizing people in the river. He walks into the water and bumps into the preacher. The preacher turns around and almost overcome by the smell of alcohol, he asks the drunk, "Are you ready to find Jesus?"

The man answers, "Yes, I am." So the preacher grabs him and dunks him in the　water.　 He pulls him up and asks him, "Brother have you found Jesus?"

The drunk says, "No, I haven't found Jesus."

The preacher, surprised at the answer, dunks him into　the water again, for a little longer, pulls the drunk up and asks again, "Have you found Jesus?"

The man answers again, "No, I haven't found Jesus."

The preacher at his wits' end dunks him in the water again and holds him down for about 30 seconds until he begins kicking his arms and legs and the preacher pulls him up and asks, "For the love of God, have you found Jesus?"

Gasping for breath the man says, "Are you sure this is where he fell in?"

As I said, some of us were baptized but the experience was less memorable than what Jesus experienced. I was 13 and my sister was 14 when my parents felt it was time for us to be baptized in a private ceremony at the First Baptist Church in Newton, MA. The heavens did not open, the Spirit did not descend, and I heard no heavenly voice. I did get water up my nose though, I remember that. Maybe your baptism was like mine. For others, your baptism, like that of Jesus, may have been a profound spiritual experience.

Regardless of what you felt or experienced in your baptism, what is important is what happens next. Sadly, some people view baptism as an ending, rather than a beginning. The membership lists of churches are littered with the names of people who were baptized and then disappeared from the radar screen of the church. Some of these folks were baptized because their church or family thought it was time to get them "done." Others superstitiously view baptism as some form of divine protection in the present or eternal fire insurance for the future. For others it is a family tradition with not spiritual significance whatsoever.

Baptism is not a magic act. Being baptized will not guarantee you a meaningful life in the present nor entry into heaven in the future. For us, baptism is not the end of our spiritual journey; it is an initiation into a deeper and truly transforming relationship that impacts the rest of our life.

We are not baptized so we will be safe, we are baptized for service.

After Jesus was baptized he began his ministry, after we are baptized we are also called to serve God by serving others and doing what God has called us to do.

In his baptism Jesus receives acceptance and confirmation of his identity – he is God’s beloved child; he receives approval and encouragement - that he is loved, and his appointed task to serve others and proclaim the good news.

Jesus told John that his baptism was necessary to do God’s will in bringing about salvation for his people. In Matthew’s Gospel, the Father’s declaration at Jesus’ baptism is presented in the form of a public announcement, emphasizing that Jesus was God’s anointed Servant about to begin his ministry as the bringer of the Lord’s salvation. That is why Jesus was baptized.