Down by the Riverside

There were two "miracle" babies born at the beginning of Luke's Gospel, John the son of Zachariah and Jesus; immediately after John's birth the focus shifted to Jesus. Luke recounted Jesus' birth and the incident in the Temple when Jesus was twelve years old, but John is not mentioned again until 3:2, more than thirty years after his birth. John comes onto the scene as a preacher who called for repentance in light of the corning of the One predicted by the prophets-the Messiah. Many saw him as the first genuine prophet to come to God's people in almost four hundred years. To them he was the embodiment of the spirit of Elijah. They responded to his preaching in droves, even though it was hard preaching, preaching which called for them to change their lives from the inside out. As a token of their response those who believed John were baptized. Although ritual washing had long been a part of Jewish practice, this was something new. Because of his emphasis on the rite, John became known as The Baptizer. Peasants, priests, even Roman soldiers came to him to be baptized. But John is best remembered because a carpenter from Nazareth came one day to be baptized.  The story is found in Matthew 3:13-17. Jesus was in his early thirties when he came to John, perhaps as old as thrirty-­three. Luke's statement that he was "about thirty" when he began his ministry allows a fairly loose interpretation. From what we know about the various events mentioned in the Gospels and the dates of the various rulers, Jesus was probably born about 7-5 B.C. and his ministry probably began about AD. 27/28. Until this time he had been quietly living and working in Nazareth, preparing himself all the while for this moment. The early church had a hard time with Jesus's being baptized. The best writers struggled to explain why Jesus came to Johm to receive baptism. Those who say the early church made up the gospel stories, should ask themselves why they would have included a story which gave everyone so much trouble. Maybe it's alluded to in all four Gospels because it happened. The Gospel writers included the story of Jesus's baptism because when we understand what was happening down by that riverside, our faith will be strengthened. What happened when Jesus was baptized?

To begin with Jesus's baptism was

AN ACT OF ALLEGIANCE John the Baptizer's objection to baptizing Jesus was fully appropriate. Jesus had no need of a baptism of repentance. Therefore Jesus offered an explanation, "Let me have my way for now, for it is the fitting way for both of us to do our full duty to God." In this act, John would be doing his duty as the divinely appointed "forerunner". The 'advance man', if you will, for the Messiah, God's anointed redeemer. It was the task for which he had been born. In this act, Jesus would be doing his duty by publicly accepting God's mission. He was pledging his allegiance to do God's work in God's way. Robert Stein: "For Jesus ... baptism meant leaving the quietness of the carpenter's shop to assume his messianic task. The 'silent years' had come to an end The time had now come to fulfill the mission for which he had been born. "i.in his baptism Jesus committed himselfto the will ofGod even ifit involved death. Jesus knew what had happened to the Old Testament prophets. He knew that the denunciation of sin and the call to repentance would not be well received by the rich and the religious elite. Thus at his baptism Jesus committed himself to a path that inevitably fed to conflict and persecution. He woh later would invite people to take us a cross and follow him made just such a commitment at his baptism. 11 Almost certainly, some of those receiving John's baptism would soon forget the fervor they felt at his message, would soon return to their old ways. Jesus never swerved from the step of commitment he took that day, never swerved because his entire life had been lived in light of that commitment. Remember, at the age of twelve he had told his mother, "I must be doing my Father's business."

We should also remember that Jesus's baptism was also

AN ACT OF ASSOCIATION

Jesus had come to redeem the human race. By being born a human being he had linked himself to our race. Now, in his baptism he make one more declaration of his intention to associate himself with us.

In one sense this is just another facet of his surrender to God's will. God's scheme of salvation called for his identifying himself with human sinfulness. In his baptism Jesus links himself with us. We sometimes use the baptism of Jesus as an example to argue that believers should also be willing to be baptized. That's probably a mistake. Nowhere in the New Testament are we encouraged to follow the example of Jesus and be baptized. This text makes it clear that Jesus' baptism was not like that which those responding to John had received, nor was it like that which Jesus' followers would later receive. --Those receiving John's baptism did so as a token of their repentance. Jesus had no need for repentance. --Those receiving Christian baptism do so because it is a pictoral representation of the inward spiritual resurection which occured when we trusted Christ. It depicts the reality called "regeneration", the new birth, to use a phrase from the Apostle John's Gospel. Jesus had no need of such a spiritual resurrection. ln being baptized Jesus seemed to be saying, "Though sinless myself, l am linking myself to this race of sinner who are in constant need of spiritual clensing and repentance."

Following Jesus's baptism there came ...

AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF AFFIRMATION

Two wondrous things took place in response to Jesus's action: --The Holy Spirit came upon him. --A Voice from heaven commended him.

Addmittedly this is a mysterous realm: God anointing God for his task. The Jewish people understood that the Messiah would inagurate the age of the Spirit, that he would bestow the gift of the Spirit upon his people. John had said as much in his preaching, (Mt. 3:] 1) Before the Messiah could bestow the Spirit upon othere, he had to be anointed by the Spirit. The descent of the Dove and the Voice from heaven were heavenly responses to the action Jesus had taken. They gave the moment a special significance.

What was going on here?

John as well as Jesus saw the descent of the Spirit. John, as well as Jesus, understood its meaning.. This was an affirmation of Jesus itentity and mission. John the Apostle was once a disciple of John the Baptizer. In his Gospel, the Apostle records the Baptizer's reflections on what happened that day at the river.

JN 1 :29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of Ciod, who takes away the sin of the world! [30] This is the one I meant when 1 said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. '[31 J J myself did not know him, but the reason J came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed tu Israel. " .fl\/ 1:32 Then .John gave this testimony: "J saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. [33) 1 would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize witlt water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' [34] J have seen and 1 testify that this is the Son of God 11

This heavenly affirmation was important for John because it announced that he had fflilled his task. It was important in the history of salvation because it so clearly revealed that redemption is the activity of the Trinity. 11 remains important for every believer because it reminds us that Jesus was the God-chosen Savior, that Jesus had been given God's approval for a task which Jesus alone could do. =No one else could so clearly reveal God's character.  --No one else could walk sinlessly among us. --No one else could be an acceptable substitute for every sinner no matter how vile. With that Voice ringing in his ea.rs, Jesus set out for the first of many confrontations with the Evil One.

Conclusion

Our churches keep records of the number of baptisms we perform. It's necessary I suppose, yet it seems an unfair way to judge a church. Somehow I doubt if John kept such records. Even though he may have baptized hundreds, if not thousands, during his ministry, he is only remembered for baptizing one person.

That One Person made a difference because he, more than anyone before or since, was committed to God's will. That One Person made a difference because he, more than anyone before or since, was willing to identify himself with those who needed him the most. That One Person made such a difference that he, more than anyone before or since, received the accolades of heaven. You and l never approached the baptismal waters only to hear the minister say, "You don't need to be baptiszed." You and l were spiritually dead, you and 1 needed the spiritual resurrection depicted in the drama of baptism. Still, you and 1 can gain something from looking at the baptism of Jesus. We can have our faith bolstered as we hear God declare his approval of Christ our Savior. We can be reminded of the simple formula for ministry, a ministry that will make a difference: 1.   Be committed to do God's work in God's way. 2.   Be willing to identify with those in need. lf we do that, we might also hear God's voice of affirmation. ******** If you check this page regularly, you know I’ve not been posting sermons for a few weeks.  I’ve had trouble accessing my files.  I hope things will be better soon and we can resume the study of Ephesians.