Our scripture reading for this morning comes from Matthew chapter 3. Matthew chapter 3, the account of John's coming and then Jesus coming to John. So Matthew chapter 3, 1 through 17, the whole chapter we will read. So listen to God's word. In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, You brood of vipers, who warns you to flee from the coming wrath? bear fruit in keeping with repentance and do not presume to say to yourselves we have Abraham as our father for I tell you God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire I baptize you with water for repentance but he who is coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to carry he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire his winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John 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 thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. So I was planning to preach on this passage before I found out I was going to do a baptism. So God in his providence knows what he's doing. And as we think about this, there are differences between John's baptism and later Christian baptism, but we're going to focus on the continuities, the similarities. And as we think of this, we're going to emphasize, too, this coming of John that's found in all the Gospels. In fact, it's where the Gospel of Mark begins. It's really where the Gospel of John begins. It marks this special place. What is this role that John has and what's this baptism that he has? But we're not going to focus just on John's baptism or baptism in general. We'll talk about it. We'll think a little bit about it. But more so, we're going to think about what this baptism reveals about Jesus. Jesus who comes to John to be baptized. What does that say about him? In Jesus' day, there were many opinions on what the coming Messiah would be like. And so Jesus, throughout his ministry, constantly had to realign people's expectations, tell his disciples and others what it was that he came to do. And we could say similarly in our day, there are many opinions on who Jesus is. And too many of them are based more on bumper sticker slogans than on the biblical text. And so we constantly need to return to God's Word, to these Gospels where Jesus is portrayed before us. And so in our text, we're going to look at, we're going to get to know Jesus through his baptism. And so our text begins with this coming of John. And we'll look at his clothes, his message, and his baptism as we think about John coming. And so verse 1 says, In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. John the Baptist created quite a stir in Israel. Everyone knew about him. Everybody was talking about him. He was the conversation around the dinner table. And he was even the conversation amongst the governor's mansion. And so in our days, we'd say he was trending on every social media website. YouTubes of him were going viral all the time. But why was this? What was it about John? Well, first we can talk about his clothes. You had his crazy dress. Now, if I came up here to preach this morning in a white jumpsuit that had all these jewels encrusted on it and it had a big low v-neck up front and it had a cape in the back, and I had my hair dyed black and slicked back and probably some big sunglasses on, you would probably all get what I was trying to do. I'm trying to be like Elvis. Oh, maybe you didn't get it. I would have danced, but that would have been bad. Now, if I showed up like that, I hope the elders wouldn't let me out of the council room. But I would be making a statement if I'm coming like that. Well, John, similarly, is making a statement. We read there in verse 4. Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Now we might not get that right away, because maybe we think this was the fashion of the day. But people in Jesus' day didn't wear this sort of garment, a camel hair garment. And even in the Old Testament, people didn't wear that. But there was one person who did. One person that was identified by this dress. And that was the prophet Elijah. And so back in 2 Kings, we read about one of the kings of Israel, Ahaziah, who had sent out messengers and they had been met by this prophet who had sent them back. And so he asks about this man who they met. And so they tell him in 2 Kings 1.8 that they answered him, he wore a garment of hair with a belt of leather about his waist. And the king said, ah, it's Elijah the Tishbite. And so they knew about Elijah because of what he wore. And other prophets, it seems by Zechariah 13.14, followed Elijah's pattern. And so John here, as he comes dressed in this way, he's making this connection to Elijah, to those prophets. He's making a claim as to his identity. He is a prophet to God, even this one, as we'll see, who's promised to come. And that's no small claim in his day. Because there had not been a prophet in Israel for about 400 years. They had been waiting and waiting. And so we have not only his dress, we also have his message that's rather startling. We read there in verse 2, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We have trouble feeling the impact of those words. It's very similar to someone coming and claiming, Jesus is about to return. The problem is we've had many people do that. And it hasn't turned out so. And we rightly look at the biblical text and know that that's not the way it works. That God hasn't revealed that time when Jesus will return. It may be today. It may be tomorrow, or it may be in many years. He will come like that thief in the night. But in Israel, it was different. God had foretold that he would send a messenger to prepare the way when that Messiah was to come, when God was going to bring this kingdom to Israel. And so we have that prophecy even right in our text. Look at verse 3. This is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. And we find similar things in Malachi. Malachi speaks of a coming one. And I'll read a couple of verses from there and notice in it this imagery of fire that's coming and cleansing. And we'll tie that in later. So from Malachi chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, we read, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? He is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. And then if we jump up, Malachi chapter 4, 1 and 2 and then 5 and 6. For behold, the day of the Lord is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. Then jumping up to verse 5. Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with the decree of utter destruction. And so John comes dressed like Elijah, the one who has promised to come and proclaim the day of the Lord is here. The time of fulfillment is at hand as his message, this time that all Israel looked forward to. Israel had been waiting hundreds of years for God to send this messenger, this Elijah, and now John claims to be him. And Jesus confirms that that is John's role. Matthew 11, he says to them, verses 13 and 14, For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. So no wonder John was divisive. Do you believe him? Do you accept his message? Everyone was talking about John, especially since he was so confrontational. Even harsh, we could say, in his words. He was calling everyone to repent, even those so-called religious leaders. And as we think of Elijah in the Old Testament, he didn't come to an Israel that had it all together, to an Israel that was being faithful to God. Instead, as we think of Israel and Elijah's day, they were full of apostasy. And so John, as he now comes as this new, new Elijah, also says Israel is a mess. He doesn't come with the backing of the religious leaders, coming out of palaces. No, he's in the desert, calling to all of them to come out and repent. And we see that he comes in opposition to those who claim to be the religious leaders. Look at verses 7 through 10. When he saw the Pharisees and Sadducees, those that claimed to be the leadership in Israel, those who claim to be following God's law. He saw them coming to the baptism. He said, you brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. He has these harsh words for these Pharisees, these Sadducees. They need repentance. They were dependent upon their heritage, their external keeping of the law. They said, we have Abraham as our father. John says, it's not enough. Judgment is coming. Fire is coming. The axe is there. It's ready to cut down trees that don't repent. And so this preaching of John is also connected with a sign. Baptism. We read there verse 5. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. There's this baptism tied with confession, or as we see later, tied with repentance. What is going on here? And there's numerous debates about the background for John's baptism, and I would argue that it's tied to the Old Testament ritual washings purity. Washings were a normal everyday part of life in Israel. And I hope they are for you too, or the person in the pew hopes they are. But in Israel, they were different. You take a shower, you take a bath, you wash your hands because of dirt, sweat, germs. In Israel, they would do that also, but Israel had these washings for what we could call ritual uncleanness. If they touched a dead animal, they had to wash their body. If they carried that dead animal, they had to wash their body and wash their clothes. And if they went to a funeral, they were in the same tent or the same room as a dead body. Then for a week, they were unclean and needed to be sprinkled by ash water on the third and the seventh day of that week. And all of these rituals, these ritual washings related to God's presence. They needed to prepare themselves to come and meet God. These ritual purity laws were one way that God in the Old Testament was teaching Israel about his holiness. And so we can read even as Israel got ready to meet with God at Sinai, he instructs Moses in Exodus 19, verses 10 and 11. Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day, the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And so here John is preparing the people for this coming of the Lord. And he has this washing for them to undergo. We see a difference also from the Old Testament. That ritual impurity that we talked about, that ritual cleansing, it wasn't for sin. It wasn't a sin to pick up a dead animal to carry it. That was part of your job as a shepherd. It wasn't a sin to go to a funeral and be in the same room as a dead body. That was a way to show respect, to carry out your family responsibilities. But this baptism that John comes with, he says it's tied with repentance, with confession of sins. And so as we think of that and put that together, there is this connection because even in that Old Testament context, God was using those washings to teach Israel about sin and salvation. All the people had this problem with ritual impurity. They all had to deal with it on a regular basis, just as all are sinners. And they had to turn to God to provide this remedy so that they could come and meet with Him, so that they could be reconciled just as they all needed that as sinners. And so as we think of that Old Testament ritual washing and bring it forward to John, We can put in the middle that the prophets pick up on this, and they use that imagery of the Old Testament ritual washings to speak of a future washing that God will do. One that will come in the last days, one that's connected with the coming judgment. Just as God could deal with those physical ritual impurities they had, he could deal with their sin. And so one text that states that is Ezekiel 36, verse 25. As he's looking to the future to Israel, he says, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness. And from all your idols, I will cleanse you. And so we should see this connection with John's baptism. Though John's baptism wasn't that in-time washing, but it is connected with it because it's preparing for it. And that's what John himself says. Look with me at verse 11 and 12. He's saying, I have a baptism, but there's another baptism to come. Verse 11, I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff will burn with unquenchable fire. That final baptism is connected with judgment. All will experience it, this coming baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire that John talks about. But it leads, as he said, to two results based upon that repentance. Some are gathered into the barn, while others are burned with that unquenchable fire. And so as we think of the waters of baptism, we should see that there is this judgment aspect to them also. And they're used that way in the Old Testament. We see water used in judgment to divide God's people from the world. We find it in the flood. As the waters come and destroy the world that then was, but by that and through that ark, Noah and his family are spared. And we also have those waters of the Red Sea that Israel passed through on dry land, but they came crashing down on Pharaoh and his hosts. And both of those, the flood and that passage through to the Red Sea, the New Testament connects with baptism. And so John's baptism was looking to the end. It symbolized that judgment to come. But for those who repented and were baptized, it sealed them. It marked them as those who would pass through that coming judgment and enter in to that messianic kingdom. So as we think about baptism, we should really keep those two images in mind. It has that imagery of cleansing, like washing dirt from the body, but it also has that imagery of judgment, destructive like a flood. And so it's into this setting that Jesus comes. Verse 13, Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. In the book of Matthew, if we had read it from the beginning, this is the first time Jesus is mentioned as an adult. This is the first action that he takes. He's not a known quantity, a known person from what we can tell. Instead, all those crowds are coming to John, and amongst them is Jesus, also coming to be baptized. So then we read John's reaction, his hesitation in verse 14. John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? Matthew is the only gospel that records John's hesitation. And as we read Matthew's gospel, we might also be asking the same question. Why is Jesus coming to John to be baptized? Matthew has emphasized, as earlier in his gospel, that Jesus is the king. He's this coming king, the son of David. The wise men saw his star, they came bearing gifts, looking for this one born king of the Jews. We know that his name is Jesus because he's going to save his people from their sins. Why then does he need to go and be baptized with the rest of the people, confessing their sins? And we're not told what John knows about Jesus. But obviously it's enough that he can say the situation should be reversed. That he needs to be baptized by Jesus. And if we look later, we note that Jesus doesn't disagree with him. But I would argue that John seems to know that he's the one that he's just been describing. The one who was coming after him. who is mightier than him, whose sandals he's not worthy to carry, the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. And so John refuses Jesus. He prevents him from being baptized. He says, no, Jesus, this is not the way. You're getting things mixed up here. John needed to learn the unexpected way that the king was going to come. He was expecting that fire right away. That winnowing fork in his hand. He was expecting glory then. And we must remember that later in Matthew's Gospel, After John's arrested, and he's sitting there in Herod's prison, he hears about what Jesus is doing, and he's still wondering. Matthew 11, 3, he sends messengers to ask, are you the one to come, or are we to look for another? You can imagine him sitting there thinking, why am I sitting in prison if the Messiah is here? Where's all the power, the glory, the fire? And Jesus responds to those messengers, tells them of his wonderful works that he has been doing, all these signs of the Messiah. But he adds at the end, Matthew 11, verse 6, and blessed is the one who is not offended by me. Jesus' baptism by John is part of how he is revealing who he is and his ministry. He has to continually correct the expectations of those around him throughout his ministry. He is the Messiah, he is the coming king, but he's not coming as many expected. So we have Jesus' reply to John in verse 15. But Jesus answered him, let it be so now. For thus it is fitting for us in order to fulfill all righteousness. And then John let it be, he consented. As we mentioned, Jesus in his reply to John doesn't dispute the truth of what John has said. But he says that right now something is needed, is fitting. Yes, John, you do need to be baptized by me, and you will. But at this time it is fitting for me to be baptized by you for that ultimate goal of fulfilling all righteousness. Why was it fitting? We could mention a few reasons. Jesus came as one under the old covenant law, the law of Sinai, the Mosaic covenant. And as we read earlier in our reading of the law, Jesus states so much. Matthew 5, 17. Do not think that I have come to abolish the law of the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. That language of fulfillment again. And so Jesus came to keep the law perfectly. to obey every command of God for those who could not. For us in our sinfulness, for Israel in their sinfulness, to earn for us the heavenly rewards. And so in one way, it's fitting for him to be baptized because one of the laws is you need to obey the prophets. And so John comes as a prophet of God, proclaiming a baptism for Israel to undergo. And so Jesus submits himself to that. He undergoes that baptism. But it's also fitting because in that, Jesus is now identifying himself with Israel. He's identifying with them in that all of sinful Israel was to accept this sign, and so he with them has accepted this, even though he was the one without sin. But we could say it also identifies Jesus with Israel as, in many ways, he's repeating their story. Matthew brings that out as, as a child, he has to go to Egypt and then come out, and it says that this is fulfilling God calling his son out of Egypt. A quotation looking back to Israel's exodus. And as we said, that crossing of the Red Sea was that washing, and now we have Jesus going through his baptism washing. And Israel then goes into the desert to be tested. And if we look in chapter 4, that's exactly where Jesus is led by the Spirit to be tested as Israel, though to succeed in his testing. And then we could say we end up on a mountain again, Israel on Sinai, and Jesus as he proclaims the Sermon on the Mount. So Jesus is coming as this new Israel to fulfill all righteousness for the Israel that could not. The Israel that failed in disobedience and apostasy. But most importantly, we could say Jesus' baptism is fitting as it reveals the way of the cross. His path would be one of suffering and death, taking the judgment upon himself. And in Luke 12.50, Jesus describes his coming death on the cross as a baptism. He says, I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished. Baptism, as we said, was connected to cleansing and judgment. And Jesus submitted to the sign to indicate that he would bring about the reality. He would undergo the judgment. His blood would provide the cleansing. Jesus' first act as he began his ministry was to submit to baptism, to show his willingness to submit to the way of the cross. And in this way, Jesus proclaimed that he would accomplish all that has promised in baptism for those united to him. But we're not quite to the end of our text yet. We have 16 and 17 yet to look at. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Many have rightly noted the Trinitarian nature of the scene. The Father giving his approval of the Son and empowering him with the Spirit. The Father's words, they identify, they confirm Jesus' special place in redemptive history. He is this messianic Son who was to come. But they do more. If we have in Jesus' baptism, as we said, this sign of judgment, we now get God's judicial pronouncement. We now get his positive evaluation. Jesus has passed through these waters and notice how he goes up immediately rising out of the waters and he's greeted with this voice from heaven the heavens opening and the spirit coming down in the voice from heaven this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased Jesus who had no need of repentance he was judged good by the father We're well pleased. We could say even a little bit more. If this baptism points us to the cross, Jesus rising from the water in God's declaration points us to the resurrection. We said Jesus' path would be suffering, but it would be suffering and then glory. Death and the power of the grave would not be able to hold him. And thus, as we read this, we who are baptized, who have repented and confessed our sins, we can have confidence. We serve a risen Savior, a fact shown already at his baptism. He passed through the judgment and was victorious. And so we do not need to fear that day of coming wrath, that day of judgment to come, that baptism by the Holy Spirit in fire. We have already undergone that judgment in Christ our Savior, if we're united to Him. And Paul says as much, Romans 6, 4, he says, We were buried, therefore, with Him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Or we could look back to Isaiah the prophet as he gave this promise to Israel and that now applies to us. Isaiah 43, 1-3. But now thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, who formed you, O Israel. Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned. And the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Jesus will return. He will bring the judgment, that baptism that John talked about with the Holy Spirit and fire. But we will not be overwhelmed. We will not be burned if we have turned in repentance and faith to Jesus. If we have been identified with Him through His baptism. if we have undergone that baptism in him as our Lord and our Savior. Amen. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your gospel and that proclamation that we see throughout your scriptures that we can have confidence in Christ, our Savior, having done all for us. And so may we throughout our lives be reminded and comforted by our baptism that in it we are united to Christ, that we have been cleansed by his blood, that we have undergone the judgment in him, and so we stand now dressed in his robes of righteousness. There is no condemnation anymore for us. And so we pray that you will give us that peace of assurance as we live our lives. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.