the Baptism of Jesus Matthew 3:17 | 1509
11“ I bap tize you with a wa ter for re pentance. But af ter me comes one who is more pow er ful than I, whose san dals I am not wor thy to car ry. He will bap tize you with a the Holy Spir it x and fire. y 12 His win now ing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his thresh ing floor, gath er ing his wheat into the barn and burn ing up the chaff with un quench able fire.” z
The Baptism of Jesus 3:13 – 17pp // Mk 1:9 – 11; Lk 3:21,22; Jn 1:31 – 34
13 Then Jesus came from Gal i lee to the Jor dan to be bap tized by John. a 14 But John
3:11 x Mk 1:8 y Isa 4:4;
Ac 2:3, 4 3:12 z Mt 13:30 3:13 a Mk 1:4
3:16 b Isa 11:2; 42:1
3:17 c Mt 17:5; Jn 12:28 d Ps 2:7;
2Pe 1:17, 18 e Isa 42:1;
Mt 12:18; 17:5; Mk 1:11; 9:7; Lk 9:35 tried to de ter him, say ing,“ I need to be bap tized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus re plied,“ Let it be so now; it is prop er for us to do this to ful fill all righ teous ness.” Then John con sent ed.
16 As soon as Jesus was bap tized, he went up out of the wa ter. At that moment heav en was opened, and he saw the Spir it of God b de scend ing like a dove and alight ing on him. 17 And a voice from heav en c said,“ This is my Son, d whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” e
a
11 Or in
3:11 John points ahead and beyond himself to another person. John especially emphasizes the contrast between himself and the Coming One.( 1) John himself knows clearly the identity of the One to come. John is the herald; the Coming One is the messianic deliverer.( 2) John’ s baptism was only preparatory. The Coming One will baptize with the blessing of the Holy Spirit. But the unrepentant he will baptize with the judgment of eternal fire. 3:12 At the end of a harvest, the farmer took a pitchfork and tossed the wheat into the air, where the wind blew the lighter chaff away. The wheat was then stored in the granary. The chaff was burned. 3:13 – 17 What does Jesus mean that in his baptism he and John will“ fulfill all righteousness”? Jesus fulfills the hope of the Davidic king and righteous
Servant. But more important, he is also Immanuel,“ God with us,” and Jesus, the one who will“ save his people from their sins”( 1:21).
Jesus experiences a threefold revelation:( 1)“ Heaven was opened.” God himself is opening the gates to reveal something momentous.( 2) Jesus’ anointing by the Spirit is both the coronation of Israel’ s Messiah and the commissioning of God’ s righteous Servant for the work he will now carry out in the power and presence of the Spirit.( 3) Jesus is heralded as the unique Son who is the triumphant messianic King( Ps 2), yet the humble Servant( Isa 42).
3:1 – 17 We don’ t like to offend. But John does warn us, as will Jesus later, of the coming
PEOPLE TO KNOW // JOHN THE BAPTIST
MATTHEW 3:13 – 17: John was the son of Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, who was a priest. When the angel Gabriel announced Elizabeth would have a child, he said the baby would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born. Furthermore, he would bring the people back to God, have the spirit of Elijah the prophet and prepare the way for the Lord( Lk 1:15 – 17).
John became a fiery preacher. He lived in the wilderness, eating honey and locusts. His words of judgment were especially aimed those who believed that they were God’ s chosen and thus didn’ t have to be righteous. He called them a“ brood of vipers” and said they must change their ways( Lk 3:7 – 8). John attracted great crowds to the Jordan River where he taught and baptized. He instructed listeners to follow God and repent from their sin.
John said he came to prepare the way for One greater than himself who would baptize with the Holy Spirit( Lk 3:16). John was pointing to Jesus, and he had the honor of baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River. After this, John encouraged his disciples to follow Jesus instead of himself( Jn 1:35 – 37).
John was arrested by Herod Antipas after John had condemned Herod for marrying Herodias, the former wife of Philip, Herod’ s own brother. Though Herod took an interest in John, Herodias plotted John’ s death. Herod eventually had John beheaded( Mk 6:17 – 28).
APPLICATION John’ s prophetic task was to prepare the way for Jesus. Crowds of people, from the most pious to the most sinful, came to hear John speak. Rather than enjoying the fame and trying to amass crowds and honor for himself, John always pointed away from himself and toward Christ. John is an example for how each believer should live and a model and guide for Christian leadership. Our lives should be focused on bringing others to Christ. John spoke God’ s message shamelessly, even to the point of his own death. May we also be unashamed of the gospel( Ro 1:16).
UNCORRECTED PROOF