Matthew 3:11-17; 11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for
repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not
fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. 12 “And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will
thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into
the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming
to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him,
saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15
But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at
this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all
righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 And after being
baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the
heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and
coming upon Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens,
saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
I. Baptism Administered By John
A. Baptism in Water; Matthew 3:11a
The Greek word for baptism is (βάπτισμα)
or (βαπτίζω),
from Attic Greek.
ιω̂, to dip in or under
water; metaphysical, βεβαπτισμένοι
soaked in wine,) Liddel & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon.
The term translated means to dip or immerse. Dipping clothes in dye came
to imply an identification with the color. In cleaning utensils the idea
of purification as in the Jewish ritual washings. John said (vs.
11) “As for me, I baptize you with water . . .” Most
translations say “with” water. The Greek “en” may be better
translated “in.” John literally immersed those who came to him in
water. By definition alone, the proper mode for Baptism is immersion in
water!
B. Baptism of Repentance; Matthew 3:11a
Those who came to John were repenting of theirs sins in anticipation of
the coming of Messiah. Matthew (chapter 3, vs. 2), quotes from Isaiah
40:3 “A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the
wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”
II. Baptism Administered By Jesus
A. Baptism by the Holy Spirit; Matthew 3:11b
Baptism by the Holy Spirit is administered by Jesus Christ, according
to John. Note that it is associated with His “winnowing fork” as
the instrument that separates the grain which is stored in his barn. It is
a picture of Jesus gathering His elect into the church and finally into
heaven. It is a metaphysical use of the term, baptism.
This occurred on the Day Of Pentecost as predicted
by Jesus Christ in Acts 1:4b,5; 4b " . . . He commanded them
not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the
Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you
heard of from Me; for John baptized with
water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not
many days from now.”
Paul speaks of this truth in
1st Corinthians 12:12-14; 12
12 "For even as
the body is one and yet has
many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one
body, so also is Christ. 13
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one
body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or
free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one
member, but many." This is a divine act of God which occurs simultaneous
with regeneration and has nothing whatever to do with water.
B. Baptism by Fire; Matthew 3:11b
This baptism is by fire and speaks of eternal judgment. Here is a
picture of those who perish in their sin. The same instrument brings
entirely different result as the chaff is blown far from the kernels of
wheat and are burned with “unquenchable fire.” See Revelation
20:14,15; 14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s
name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire.
III. Baptism Administered Unto Jesus Matthew 3:13-17
Here is a most amazing account; the baptism of Jesus Christ!
A. John’s Response
After having spoken so reverently of Jesus, it is no surprise that John
initially refuses to accommodate His request. After all, John was fully
aware that of his own need if Jesus’ baptism, but a baptism of
repentance for the Messiah seemed totally out of place. Vs. 14a
B. Jesus Reply
There is a great lesson in Jesus reply.
It is FITTING; In effect, Jesus said, it’s ok John—don’t
sweat it!
For US; perhaps the “us” refers to John and Jesus in the
primary sense, but it applies to the act of the Godhead as seen in vs.
16,17.
To fulfill ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS ; In some solemn fashion, the
baptism of Jesus would be the solution to the sin problem of the World
and of Man. Let’s see how that unfolds.
1. Identification with the Sinner, Jesus, who was
without sin, identified with the sinner in John’s Baptism of Repentance.
2. Identification with the Cross; According
to Paul, water baptism is a picture of death, burial and resurrection. See
Romans 6:3b,4; 3b “ . . . all of us who have been baptized
into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we
have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
3. Identification with the Godhead; Notice we have the
Father’s voice, the Son coming out of the water and the Spirit’s
presence as the symbol of eternal peace with God! See our text, vs.
16,17
Jesus’ baptism was an affirmation to comply with God’s will to die
and rise up again in full and total payment for our sin! AMEN!
YES ! ! . . . .
God has provided the
means -- He gave His Son to intercede; all we have to do is confess our sin, ask for His forgiveness
and call upon Him to save us from the guilt and penalty of sin.
2nd Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
If you have never entrusted your life to Him, why not come to Him today
for Salvation. That's the first order of business.
"And
there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men, by which we must be
saved." Acts
4:12
Please contact
us if you sense your need to come to Him. We can help. (Just
click on "contact us.")
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