Why was Jesus baptised and what significance does that event have for us today?

the preparations for Jesus – the right time

All four of the gospels talk about the preparation for Jesus ministry that came via John the Baptist

In those days – what days? ch 2 tells us – they were days of new hope and new starts

• – within living memory Herod had annihilated all the under 2’s of Bethlehem and the surrounding area.

• Herod had died – and we can imagine how the nation heaved a sigh of relief when this violent character was no longer its leader

• An angel appeared to Joseph to tell him it was safe to return to his home town of Nazareth

the preparations for Jesus – the right person

1 John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea

4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

So who was this man John

• Jesus cousin and lived a lonely existence in the desert

• his clothing and diet sound strange but if you were living an area like the Galilee desert these would have been practical solutions to the problems of survival

• he was undoubtedly a popular man! People flocked from miles around to hear him preach

5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.

Somehow John managed to communicate to them in ways that traditional religious leaders of the day simply couldn’t match!

• He had the Holy Spirit’s power of his ministry and the religious leaders didn’t!

• here was a man in touch with God an his message – a passionate communicator of God’s truth!

John the Baptist – who was he?

• a roving preacher and a relative of Jesus

There were many roving preachers of the time

• some were religious zealots whose aim was to undermine Roman rule

• others were way-out fanatics whose motives varied from a deranged power complex to a subverting desire for personal fame

How very familiar!

• There was a spiritual and religious supermarket around in their day that mirrors our own in 2014.

• the ideologies may be different – their philosophies may be almost unrecognisable by modern standards

• but you had a choice – and a wide choice – of who to give your heart’s allegiance to.

Bob Dylan wrote a highly influential song ‘You’ve gotta serve somebody’

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk

Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk

You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread

You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

You’re gonna have to serve somebody,

It may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

It was into this context of an ideological supermarket that Jesus began his ministry

• so with so many competing ideologies around how did John prepare for him?

the preparations for Jesus – the right message

So what was it that John was saying?

He said important things …

about me

John describes himself (in John’s gospel) like this

3 “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'”

We’ve lost touch with how significant this was!

• After 400 silent years – God was beginning to speak again!

Let me ask you – have you been suffering silent weeks, months or even years

• silence during which the Lord hasn’t been speaking to you?

• Maybe part of John’s message is for you today!

about you

2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

It’s hard for us at 2,000 years distance to feel the shock-waves this message would create!

• In those days it was possible to become a Jew if you were a gentile

• one of the things you would do as part of your initiation was to be baptised

• that baptism said “I’m leaving my gentile life behind and coming into the family of the Jews”

• So what was so shocking about John the Baptist? he was baptising Jews!

• Card carrying, Sabbath keeping, bible believing Jews

• Surely (the religious leaders argued) these people don’t need to be baptised!

But what John was saying was this “If you know your faith has gone dry, it could be that you need to turn from some sin or wrongdoing or bad habits or plain spiritual laziness in your life – and turn around spiritually! You need a new start with Him – You need to repent!”

and as a sign of that repentance – come and be baptised – just like all these other people who are becoming Jews today – you need to declare you’re leaving your old way of living behind and putting God first in your life again – come and repent and be baptised!

If you’re going to be a real Jew from the heart (and not just by birth) you need to be right with God! So repent!

Message – even if you’ve been a Christian for many years – you’re established in the faith, you know your Bible you may still need repentance

about them

But there we other people in t crowds who came to see John

• people who probably stood at a distance to watch what this maverick preacher was doing

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, (they were clearly not coming to be baptised – just to stand and observe) he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

There is always a danger in the orbit of the church that the power of the Holy Spirit can be diluted by becoming over-familiar with the mechanics of the faith

• What waters down his power probably quicker than anything else is the feeling that we’ve made it – we’ve arrived – we’ve done the business!

• we’ve been there, done that, got the tee shirt!

• there aren’t many religious questions that we can’t give an answer to

This was the message these Pharisees and Sadducees were sending out time and time again!

• “We are the religious experts” they implied – “we are the Bible readers, we are the theologians – so you ought to listen to us”

• the word in that sentence that gives it away is the word “ought” – always beware that word!

• by not keeping in touch with God they had lost their spiritual authority – their God-given right to impart grace, God’s generosity, to their people

• and now they were sniping at the one person who was most compellingly doing it – John

And what is a classic sign of spiritual corrosion – wanting to keep a safe distance! Standing at the edge of the crowd

I know when my heart is cold towards God – it’s when I don’t want to face him

• when I don’t want to be in the spiritual action

• when I want to spectate and not to participate

• when I want to be a onlooker and not a player

If that is you today I want to assure you that there is a way back to vibrant spiritual reality!

about him

11 “I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

John knew that, although him ministry was impressive by any standards, there was something missing from it!

• repentance will take you so far – but receiving the Holy Spirit will complete God’s work in you!

Now I know that in the recent history of the church this phrase the baptism of the Holy Spirit has been used to generate more heat then light!

• Christians have fallen out over it and churches have been split down the middle by it – how sad!

To understand it all we need to do is go back to the original meaning

• to be baptised meant to be immersed in, or overwhelmed by

• the Holy Spirit is the spirit of God, the hear attitudes and vibrant life of God himself

• so to be baptised in the Holy Spirit is to allow myself to be overwhelmed by God! – by his love – by his peace – by his joy

This is what Jesus came to bring!

the preparations for Jesus – the right actions

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John.

14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?”

Instinctively John knew who he was dealing with here

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.

As you sit here today can I ask you what you think the right course of action is for you?

• There may be something to repent of >>>

It could be that you’ve never been baptised as Jesus was.

• you may have been baptised as a baby – and I respect the importance of that

• but, significant as that was, it was someone else’s decision and not yours

the preparations for Jesus – the outcome

they all saw something

16 As soon as Jesus was baptised, 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.

This was not a private, hidden ceremony

As Jesus went down into the water with the people whose lives were changing the Spirit of God made himself known.

they all heard something

17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

God very publicly putting his seal of approval on Jesus’ ministry

We can see who is preparing the way for Jesus – is it just John?

• God the father’s voice

• the Spirit’s image – the dove

• so the whole of the trinity is present here at Jesus first public act.

The whole trinity paving the way.

My hearts prayer of 2014 – to pave the way for Jesus >>>