"He Will Please His Father" Sermon: Matthew 3:13-17

"He Will Please His Father"
[Matthew 3:13-17]
January 13, 2008 Second Reformed Church

When Jesus was about thirty years old, He left Galilee and went to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist. When John heard Jesus' request, John was upset and tried to refuse: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" What did he mean? Why didn't John want to baptize Jesus?

Well, what was John doing? In his own words, "I baptize you with water for repentance" (Matthew 3:11a). John was carrying out the symbolic sacrament of running water over a person to symbolize that, in repentance, a person is forgiven for his sin. Just as water washes away dirt, so repentance washes away sin. John was administering the sacrament of baptism to those who confessed that they are sinners in need of forgiveness and cleansing. Now do we see the problem?

Peter wrote, "Jesus committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth" (I Peter 2:22). Jesus, though He is Completely Human, was not born with original sin, He never sinned Himself -- He never dishonored His parents, He never lied, He never lusted after the girl in school who smiled at Him, and so forth. Jesus never ever committed a sin, yet He came to John to receive the sacrament of baptism for the repentance of sin. Why?

Our Scripture this morning gives us two reasons:

First, Jesus said, "Let it be so now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Well, what does that mean?

That means that Jesus kept all of God's Law perfectly. When we say that Jesus is righteous, we are saying that He not only did not sin, but He kept all of God's Law perfectly. Since we do not keep God's Law perfectly, in order for us to be justified before God, in order for us to be declared innocent and holy at the judgment, Jesus Righteousness must be imputed or credited to our accounts.

Therefore, everything that God requires in the Law must have been kept and never broken by Jesus for us to be righteous. We are required to be baptized as a sign and a symbol of our being saved by Jesus Alone. We are commanded to be baptized in the One Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So, though Jesus did not need to be baptized due to His sin, He was baptized for our sakes, because we do sin. And in being baptized, Jesus sanctified baptism for us -- He made baptism a sacrament and a means of grace for Christians.

When we say that Jesus was baptized "to fulfill all righteousness," we mean that Jesus was baptized to prove or authenticate John’s baptism. Jesus was baptized so He would have experienced, first, the baptism that is required of every Christian. Jesus was baptized so that in every way it would be known that He kept and fulfilled every part and aspect of the Law of God. Jesus was baptized for our sakes, so we would know that baptism is necessary and commanded by God of all Christians, but only Jesus Alone saves.

In other words, Jesus was baptized to fulfill part of God's Law. He was baptized so we would know that we are to be baptized. (Since Jesus was baptized, baptism is a holy sacrament, and when the elect are baptized, we receive grace from God.) And He was baptized to show that our salvation is in Jesus Alone.

Second, Jesus, in all that He does, will please His Father. The Father spoke from Heaven after Jesus' Baptism and said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Jesus was baptized because it pleased His Father. Why?

Jesus' being baptized pleased His Father because in doing so, He kept His Father's Law -- as we have already seen. Jesus kept His Father's Law perfectly and experienced every aspect of keeping the Law before we were required to keep it.

The Father was also pleased because in Jesus' Baptism, the Holy Trinity was clearly seen as being One in Deity and Purpose. Jesus, God the Son, stood in the Jordan to be baptized, God the Father spoke His approval from Heaven, and God the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus and remained with Him.

Similarly, it pleased the Father that Jesus was baptized, because it dramatized the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit that occurs for every Christian. Just as God the Holy Spirit indwells Jesus, so the Holy Spirit also indwells every true believer.

And this also pleased the Father in Jesus' Baptism: since every human being that God elected to believe in Him will come to faith and receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, none of them will be lost, since it is alone the Work of God. As Jesus said, "Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled" (John 17:11b-12).

So Jesus' Baptism pleased His Father because Jesus kept God's Law. It pleased His Father because God's Triune Nature was clearly shown. It pleased His Father because it dramatized and inaugurated the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit in each believer. And it pleased His Father because it sealed the Father's election of His people to salvation.

So what does this mean for us?

It means that every Christian should receive the sacrament of baptism -- once. If you are a Christian this morning and you have not been baptized, obey Jesus' Command -- ask me or one of the elders to schedule your baptism.

It means that we should understand that every Christian who receives the sacrament of baptism receives Grace from God to strengthen and mature him.

And it means that we should know and believe that Jesus was not baptized for His sin, because He is sinless. Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness, to obey God's Law, to make the sacrament holy for us, and Jesus was baptized to please His Father.

Let us pray:
Almighty God, help us to understand the seriousness of baptism. Let us not believe it is something of no means or power. Help us to remember that Jesus was baptized to fulfill Your Law, to sanctify the sacrament, and to please You. Make us and all Christians desire to be baptized, not for our salvation, but as a sign and seal of what Jesus did for us. And may we receive Your Grace, and live all things to Your Glory. In Jesus' Name, Amen.