I want to say good morning to all of you. It's been, I feel like, a long time coming. I've known of this congregation since I was about your age. 1983, I was 13 years old at the very first Mid-America Reformed Baptist Family Conference, and I started meeting some people from Grace Baptist Church of Canton, Michigan. And so my wife and I used to run around with Tonda and Mindy Dikama, And over the years, we've met a number from the church and crossed paths in different places, but it's good to be with you. My name is Steve Woodman, and it might be a little confusing because I think my dad was here a number of years ago. My dad's name is Dave Woodman. And in fact, I was just told by Steve and Cindy Hornby that they hosted my dad when he came here to preach a while back. And so, my dad and mom have six kids, and my younger four siblings are quite a bit younger than I am, but I'm their brother, their older brother, not their dad. So some of you might have met my dad, Dave Woodman. He pastored for a while in Schoolcraft, Michigan, just south of Kalamazoo. And now my mom and dad and my three younger sisters and all of their husbands and kids are in the Grand Rapids Church. My only brother is in Sam Waldron's church in Owensboro, Kentucky. And I have one older sister who's over here in Hamilton, actually not that far from you guys either, Ontario. I grew up in Northern Ontario. So greetings from our church. If you've been around for a little while, you might actually know us as Kemp Road Baptist Church. That's who we were for a long time. And then when we moved into East Dayton, we changed our name It's actually the same road, but in Montgomery County, it's Burkhardt Avenue, and we decided not to name ourselves after a road again. But Arbor Church is Kemp Road Baptist Church. We just moved a number of years ago. So, it's good to be with you. I know we've had a number of your elders at our church over time preaching, and so I know there's been a historic relationship between the churches, but this is my first time at Grace, and so it's good to meet you, good to be with you. I'm going to ask you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 3. And while you're turning there, I'll mention to you that I think you all sometimes pray for our workers in the Middle East. They were hoping to come home this fall and were not able to do so because of COVID. But they actually did make it back now here in October. The airports opened up. And I literally just saw them yesterday for a little bit before they got in Friday night. And I saw them before I drove up here yesterday. I don't know if they'll make it up here or not, but he said to say hi and hopes to renew that friendship here at some point. All right, so if you're in Matthew chapter 3, we'll read there in just a moment. Let's begin in prayer, and then I'm going to read from Matthew 3 and then insert a couple of other verses from the Gospels as we look at this account of the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. All right, let's pray together. Our Father, Lord, we are thankful for your word. We're thankful for the truths of the songs that we've sung and the scriptures that have been read. Lord, we're thankful for your grace, for justification by faith, for the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that in your grace you will hold us and keep us to the very end. Lord, we thank you for your word and we pray now as we come before it. Lord, you know these dear saints much better than I do. You know what they're going through this week and what they need. So I ask, Lord, Holy Spirit, that you would work in our hearts to minister your word, whether it's for a conviction of sin or for comfort and help in the Holy Spirit, remembering the things that are true of us in Christ, Lord, minister to us, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. So we have a number of children here in the service. I wonder, perhaps some of you have already made a profession of faith. Maybe some of the older kids have been baptized. I've heard of a baptism, maybe in the last couple of years, where a number of young men were baptized. To me, baptism is a little bit like, you know, when we go to a wedding. When we go to a wedding, We're not only rejoicing with the ones who are being married, but as they give their vows, those of us who are married kind of remember our own vows and maybe some of the things we need to still work on in our own marriages. But when we go to a baptism and we see people being baptized and identified with Christ and declaring their public discipleship, oftentimes that reminds us of what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ as well, and how it is that we are in Him. Well, when we think about Jesus Christ, God the Son, who came in the flesh as a man. You know, we think about the incarnation. We naturally think of his birth and it won't be very long. And some of you will be digging out some things from the basement or the closet, getting ready for that season. I know you don't wanna hear that right now, but it's not very far away. But when you think about it, the accounts of Jesus' baptism, which began His public ministry, are also filled with the richness and the uniqueness of the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ. For those of us who have been baptized as followers of Christ, you know, and we think about what it means to go under the water, we often think about how we identify with Jesus when we're baptized, right? We go back down into the water and it's a symbol of Jesus's death and burial and then his resurrection. Our baptism is a picture of our spiritual union with him. But you know, not only is it appropriate for us to think about our identification with Christ, but I firmly believe that when Jesus himself was baptized by John the Baptist, he was identifying with us. His humanity was on full display in this account that lies before us of His baptism. And we know that He was coming as God, but He had become man, and we see that on full display here in this account. He was showing us that as the God-man, He was committed to the redemption of our souls. And that's what I want you to take a look at with me here. I'm reading from the New King James Version. So, what I'm going to do is I'm going to read mostly from Matthew 3 and then go to a couple of other places and just read it for you. Now, Mark 1, 9 to 11, has a record of the baptism of Jesus, and the details in Mark are found in the other Gospels as well. Follow along as I read Matthew 3, 13 and following. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me? But Jesus answered and said to him, permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed him. Now, before I continue with Matthew, listen to what Luke says in Luke 3.21. It fits in about here. When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized. And while he prayed, the heaven was opened. All right, so back to Matthew 3 in verse 16. When he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And now I want you to listen to the record of John the Baptist in the Gospel of John, John 1.32. Speaking of John the Baptist, it says, And John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon him. I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. So while the Gospel of John doesn't really give us an account of the baptism per se, it tells us of this promise that was given to John the Baptist concerning how he would identify and confidently confirm that this indeed was Messiah. Now here's how we're gonna look at this this morning. We're gonna try to keep it simple. All right, so number one, we're gonna look at John's question. Any of you kids like asking questions? Does anybody ever get annoyed with you for asking questions? Well, there's a good question we need to look at. John's question. And then we're going to look at Jesus' answer. And then the third thing from this account we're going to look at is the Trinitarian display, or we could say the Trinity's display, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all there in that one picture together. In fact, I bet you that some of you kids have probably seen pictures or maybe in books you've seen that some sort of a diagram, you know, with the Spirit in the form of a dove and the baptism of Jesus and that event. It's a pretty significant account. So let's look, first of all, at this question then. And basically, John's question is, are you, Jesus, coming to me to be baptized? Now, it's interesting to think about this, about John and Jesus and their relationship with one another. Now, we know that Jesus was coming from Nazareth of Galilee. We talk about Jesus of Nazareth. That's eventually where his family had gone after they fled to Egypt, and Jesus was raised in Nazareth of Galilee. Galilee is kind of like saying Michigan. Nazareth would be the city, Galilee would be like the state or the province, and Jesus was from Nazareth of Galilee. And he came from there to where John was baptizing in the Jordan in the province of Judea to start his public ministry. We don't know a whole lot about Christ's life from childhood until now. Some of you probably remember he was born. We have the account of his family fleeing for safety. Wasn't he about 12 when he was found in the temple kind of schooling some of the religious instructors? We're told that he grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man, but we don't know a whole lot more about Jesus as a child or a teenager or even a young man in his 20s. But here, probably about 30, Jesus comes to start his public ministry. The time had come for him to begin what it was he had been sent to do. And his baptism is recorded in some version in all four gospel witnesses, more as an account in the three synoptic gospels, and then that reference in the book of John. But it's that significant because this marks his official arrival, his first public appearance as the grown Christ who is now ready to do what he was sent to do. Now, we're told that this was not a private thing. John was baptizing others. And while it seems as John was baptizing others, Jesus came and he asked to be baptized. Now, why do you think Jesus wanted to be baptized by John? Why do you think John was hesitant? Well, we can imagine. I'll mention more here in a few minutes, but it seems like John is really just now coming to the realization that Jesus is Messiah. Probably when Jesus came to be baptized. Even though they were related. You remember how Mary and Elizabeth were related? And they were the mothers of John the Baptist and Jesus? So even though John and Jesus were related, it seems that John the Baptist did not really understand that Jesus was Messiah. That's kind of mind-blowing when you think about it. But as Jesus comes to be baptized of John, it seems that God is revealing to John that Jesus is Messiah. Now, you can imagine why he'd be hesitant. John would be saying to himself, to Jesus, you are God's son, the Messiah, the anointed one, the prophesied one, holy and sinless, with all power and majesty and glory, and I'm a sinner in need of forgiveness by you? I mean, I've been called to minister and I've gladly ministered, but even the gifts and the blessing on my ministry are things that I would seek from you. You have the baptism of the Spirit. I've been baptizing with water. You're coming to me to be baptized? You know, there's something here that's very instructive for us about the humility and the dedication that John the Baptist had to God. You know, it's so easy for us to be lifted up in pride when we're given gifts to use, when maybe we have some of God's blessing on our gifts, and we see them being used for God's glory. John's attitude is recorded in Matthew 3.11. He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. In another place, he says, I'm not worthy to tie them. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. You know, it's very possible that this may have actually been something of the peak of John the Baptist's ministry. we're coming to a point of transition. I mean, John had been preparing the way for the Messiah. He had been pointing people to this need for repentance, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. But now, with Jesus coming, the one who is mightier than John the Baptist, Jesus, in essence, at least over time, would be taking John the Baptist's followers, and John the Baptist would be encouraging people to follow Christ. You actually need to have repentance and faith in Him. He's the one. So this may have actually been the zenith of John's ministry as far as his usefulness and the number of people coming to him to be baptized. And this was a time where some of us, if we were struggling living in the flesh, we might have snapped a little bit at the prospect of losing a little bit of what we had, but that doesn't seem to be the case for John the Baptist. He knew his place in relationship to Christ. And do you remember what he said? Do you remember his attitude? John the Baptist would say, he must increase, I must decrease. Well, it's a beautiful picture of humility and dedication to God that John understood his place and was willing to step back as soon as Messiah appears. So, John the Baptist questioned, you're coming to be baptized by me? Well, secondly, we have Christ's answer in verse 15. Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. So in essence, Jesus is saying, it is appropriate at this time for you to baptize me in order to fulfill all righteousness. Well, what did Jesus mean by that? And why was he being baptized? Let's open that up a little bit. It's not that it was wrong for John to ask the question. But Jesus replied by saying, no, it is appropriate. It is an appropriate, maybe exception to the way you might think things would normally work. But Jesus said, no, I do want to be baptized by you. Why? Well, we're gonna look at a couple of sets of reasons. First of all, think about three reasons that John baptized Jesus that really relate to John in the immediate circumstances right there. First of all, Jesus wanted to validate John's message. He wanted to show that John's message was really his message, and he was in agreement with it. Now, that message is summarized in Matthew 3 too. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And as we saw a few moments ago, John had been preparing the way for Jesus to come. And now Jesus is showing that He is the King who is bringing His reign to the earth, beginning to establish that kingdom. And the repentance that John preached was how people were brought into that kingdom. They would be brought in through repentance. Jesus' kingdom was a spiritual kingdom, not a physical kingdom with swords and shields, but a spiritual kingdom of the hearts of men. So, John's ministry and message were pointing people to the coming sacrifice of Christ for sinners. as well as the sending of the Spirit. And Jesus' baptism ties it all together and confirms the validity of what John had been saying. Now, secondly, and closely related to that, not only did Jesus want to validate John's message, but he wanted to identify with John's baptism. which is a very similar thing, but if Christ were to be baptized by John, then later in Christ's ministry, it would be natural for people to see a close relationship between their ministries and their messages. Because essentially, what Jesus was doing was approving of, and even ordaining, in a sense, John's ministry and John's message, and saying, I confirm this, I agree with this, and this is what I want you to know. In fact, Jesus was going to take that, and we were going to have a greater understanding. and we were going to have actual salvation that would come through the Lord Jesus Christ. But John had a purpose in preparing the way for Jesus to come. So John truly was the one heralding the arrival of the king. Kids, you could think about it as like John is saying, the king is coming! The king is coming! It's kind of what John's ministry was. And then now that the king had come, He appreciated the faithfulness and the ministry of this faithful and loyal servant. So Jesus wanted to identify with his message, with his baptism, but there's a special reason, too. The third reason for Jesus to be baptized by John was to fulfill the promise given to John. Now, we already read this from John chapter 1. where John the Baptist says, I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. Now, as you compare Scripture with Scripture, and you look at what's going on here, it seems like what happened is, when Jesus came to be baptized by John, somehow God revealed Christ's identity to John at that point. The reason I say that, and the reason I think we know that, is because of John's question, because of John's response. You want to be baptized by me? John had knowledge of some kind, at least at that point. Before that, while they may have known each other, it doesn't seem that John had revealed to him that Jesus was the Christ. I mentioned that the mothers of these boys were relatives. It's hard to know how much the boys knew each other growing up, because John was raised in the deserts of Judea, and Jesus grew up in Nazareth of Galilee. So they may have very well known of each other, but how well, we're not sure. But it seems like when John says, I did not know him, I think he's referring to Jesus as Messiah. He did not understand that His relative was the Christ. So by the time Jesus comes on the scene to begin His public ministry, it seems that John hadn't received confirmation, but when Jesus comes, there's some sort of, I think, divine revelation that comes, and then the absolute confirmation when the Holy Spirit comes upon Him. We'll see more of that here in a few moments. So the time shortly before the baptism of Jesus seems to be when God reveals the truth to John, and then it's confirmed by the Holy Spirit's presence in the form of a dove on Christ after the baptism. So those are some reasons related closely to John, but now I think if you kind of step back and look big picture, there are other reasons why I think Jesus wanted John to baptize him. Reasons that relate to God's eternal purposes. Again, number one of these reasons is Jesus wanted to publicly show His obedience to the will of the Father. Do you remember what Paul taught in Philippians 2? That we're exhorted to have the humility of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that humility was shown in Christ as one who was obedient even to death on a cross. Well, at His baptism, what Jesus is doing now is He's essentially saying, I'm here, I'm ready, I'm willing, I will obey, because Jesus' baptism was really the first public step on the road to the cross. And so Jesus, at His baptism, is publicly showing His obedience to the will of the Father, reaffirming His commitment as a human now. to the divine plan. Jesus has always been. He's always been God. He is the eternal God, the eternal Son of God, God the Son. He is portrayed in the word of God as the maker of all things. He has existed eternally. Jesus is God, but he had not always been man. He became man when he was conceived When he was placed in Mary's womb by the Holy Spirit, and then born of the Virgin Mary, he became human. And while Jesus was sinless, it was not easy. The Bible portrays to us that Jesus being a man on this broken and fallen world had its real challenges. Many of the same challenges that you and I face as humans in a fallen world, Jesus faced as one who had no sin, but as one who is living in a broken and sin-fallen world. Jesus was an example of humility and obedience for us. So, he came to show obedience to the will of the Father. Secondly, to establish his reign of righteousness. He wanted to be baptized by John partly to establish his reign of righteousness. Now, what does that mean? He says it's fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. John, when you baptize me, Jesus says, We are going to, that's going to be a part of fulfilling all righteousness. What does that mean? Well, you know, the prophets spoke of one who would have a righteous kingdom. Jeremiah 23, five and six says, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a branch of righteousness. A king shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days, Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell safely. Now this is his name by which he will be called, the Lord our God. Righteousness. This is the one. It's Jesus. And his kingdom is revealed to us as a kingdom of righteousness. Now, as one who had no sin, Jesus himself embodied righteousness. He had no sin. He never broke God's law. He was righteousness. He taught the perfect righteousness that was required by God, and He Himself required it. But, Jesus also secured that righteousness for us. Jesus lived a perfect life in complete obedience to the will of God and to the law. And anyone who believes in Him is given that righteousness of Christ. So we're in need of a righteousness that is not our own in order to be accepted by a holy God. And Jesus secured that righteousness for us by dying for our sins. and giving us legally of his perfect obedience. And even now, as his children, he commands us to seek righteousness. In a practical way, we are to seek it. And so everything about his kingdom is a righteous kingdom, a kingdom of righteousness. So Jesus came to show obedience to the will of the Father, to establish His reign of righteousness, and third, and this is glorious, to identify with His people. To identify with His people. I mentioned at the beginning that it's common for us to think about how we identify with Christ in our baptism, but in Jesus' baptism, I believe He was wanting to identify with us. It's kind of similar, but I actually think it's pretty special. Now, I read to you Luke 3, 21, that said, when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized. Now, I don't want to make more of this than what's there, but how is that portrayed? What does that say to us? When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized. It's interesting because Jesus is the God-man, and there's definitely something going on here that is only descriptive of Jesus. John comes to understand that this is the Christ. And then in a moment, we're gonna talk about the Trinitarian display. That's all about Jesus and his deity. But there is a display of Jesus here in his humanity. We don't get the idea here that Jesus is coming and saying, okay, everybody, step aside, I am here. The picture we get is, When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus was also baptized. We don't get the idea here that Jesus is, you know, muscling his way to the front. I don't know if there was a line, but if there was a line, it looks like Jesus got in line. When we're baptized, I'm gonna assume you use this, right? When we're baptized, we go down into the water. It's a beautiful picture. It reminds us of the death of Jesus. And we identify with him in his death and burial. And that's part of what's being pictured when the person goes back down into the water. Jesus died because of our unrighteousness. The righteous man, Jesus, who knew no sin, was made sin for us. He was treated as the sinners we are. In our place, He was given the just punishment for our sin. But at the same time, and this is the glorious doctrine of justification by faith, we become the righteousness of God in Him. The perfect obedience of Jesus is reckoned to be ours. Or it's kind of like legally, if you're paying a bill, it's like they're saying, okay, as far as the court is concerned, this is paid in full. There's no more offense. And that's how we are in God's holy courtroom because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. There's no more offense. There's no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He obeyed every law he was under, and he removed the condemnation and curse of the law from us because where the law is concerned, we are declared not guilty. But we don't just hang out in the courtroom. God brings us into the family room. were adopted into His family and given abundant life and fellowship with God for eternity because all righteousness has been fulfilled on our behalf. And this happens because we're united with Jesus in His death. Now, then when you come back up out of the water, I kind of left them down there a little long, but when we come back up out of the water, what do we think of? You know, when we're baptized, it's kind of a funny thing when you think about it, that what God has established as one of the main ordinances of the Christian church is that we get completely soaking wet. And you'll notice that it's really the truth and the symbolism that's emphasized here in the text. The actual baptism of Jesus is not emphasized as much, you know, the actual going under and becoming completely wet. We'll see that here in a moment. What I want us to think of is that Jesus was baptized, too. He wanted to identify with me. He is my Savior, and because of Him, I am united with Him in His resurrection. Sin and death have been defeated. And I am raised to walk in newness of life. I am a new creation. Now, baptism doesn't do that. It's just a symbol of what's happened to the believer. But it's showing, it's symbolizing that I am a new creation. And I have all of the power and the resources that I need for spiritual life and godliness. My future is secured. And so Jesus was baptized to identify with his people. All right, so John's question, Christ's answer, and now let's look at this interesting and glorious picture, the Trinity's display. What I mean by that, kids, the Trinity's display is, I mean, we have this picture here in the scripture of the Father, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, all there physically represented and present at Christ's baptism. Now, I mentioned that the text doesn't really emphasize the actual baptism of Christ, the act of it. It just says, in Matthew 3, as far as John baptizing Jesus, it says this, then he allowed him. Mark 1.9 doesn't have a lot more. It says that Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. So it would have been, you know, I believe similar to what you all see here that I think Jesus was immersed and he got up and got out and now he's on the shore and he's soaking wet and dripping. But the theology, the symbolism, what this meant is truly, truly significant. After being baptized, Christ came up immediately from the water, we're told. So there, imagine Jesus standing on the shore of the Jordan River, dripping with water, probably people all around. It seems like it was a pretty public event. There were other people being baptized. And this amazing Trinitarian scene unfolds. Luke tells us that Christ was praying. And while Christ was praying, the sky parted. The bodiless Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove and landed on Christ, the God-man, the Messiah. Remember John 1.32, John the Baptist's testimony is, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. So that tells us this was more than just a fleeting image. The Holy Spirit came and alighted on Christ and remained there for some time, enough for everybody to gather this image and to appreciate it. So you have Christ, you have the Holy Spirit, and then the Father's voice coming from heaven saying, and I bet you kids have probably learned this since you were this tall. God the Father says, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Now let's think about this for a few moments. All right, so we have first of all the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man. And the emphasis here is that he's praying. In fact, it's while he's praying that the sky parts and the Holy Spirit comes down. So we know for sure this, if he's praying, he's maintaining communion with the Father. And we can imagine some things that he might have been praying about while we're not told explicitly here. You can imagine based on some of the other things he prayed about in other times in the gospels. Was he praying for the special anointing of the spirit, for the strength as a man to take up the task set before him? You know, Jesus became a real man, as we said, a human with real physical needs. And while he was not a sinner, he was a real human living in a sin-cursed world. And the Bible portrays him at times as being hungry, tired, sad, like when his friend Lazarus died. And even, I think, lonely. His deity did not prevent actual humanity. Now, I'm not claiming to understand all this, but it's what the Scriptures clearly teach. The One who had always been God became man, and it was real humanity. And the text shows Christ continuing His eternal relationship to the Father But the picture here at Christ's baptism definitely involves Christ's humanity and the difficult task to which he was now assigned. Jesus Christ, the God-man, communed with his Father during his baptism, probably praying for strength and for blessing and for continued submission to the Father's will, some of the kinds of things we do see Jesus praying about at other times along the journey. So, Christ is praying. Now, the Holy Spirit is there. We're told that the Spirit comes in the form of a dove. Now, there's a natural question here, isn't there? Why a dove? Why not something else or some other animal or some other bird? Well, we have a couple of ideas from Scripture, I think, as to why this might have been the symbol of the Spirit. A dove seemed to symbolize purity and innocence and graciousness. After all, you remember Jesus taught in Matthew 10, 16 that we are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. I also think it's interesting that the dove was the only bird that was acceptable for sacrifice. And the fact that the Spirit remained on Christ symbolized the full anointing and abiding of the Spirit on Jesus to enable Him or to qualify Him to perform the job that He came to do. But it was also, and when you think about it from the perspective of John the Baptist, it was also a powerful identifying and confirming sign that this indeed was Messiah. And to John the Baptist, that's what it was. And it was a special thing for John the Baptist to have absolute, no shadow of a doubt, confirmation when that Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove that this indeed was the long-awaited, anointed one. So even though Jesus never did give up his deity, it was voluntarily veiled while he walked on this earth. What we mean by that is a veil is kind of like a covering. There were times that people didn't know Jesus was God. He looked just like a regular man. And so when we say he veiled his deity, it's not that he quit being God, but he lived as a human in such a way that people didn't always immediately just know, oh, he's God. It was veiled. In fact, we sing, is it Hark the Herald Angels Sing? We sing Veiled in Flesh. So he remained God, but people didn't always know it like they certainly one day will. In Christ's human nature, and this again kind of blows me away, but the scriptures portray Jesus's human nature as being in need of strengthening and encouragement. And that was what the Holy Spirit was there, and often the Holy Spirit was used to strengthen the Lord Jesus Christ. So you have God the Son, God the Spirit, and then with the words that came from heaven, we have God the Father. Well, we said that in his baptism, Jesus reaffirmed his willingness to take up the task that was set before him. The Spirit anointed him with power to accomplish it, and now we see the father expressing his delighted approval with his son. Now, in the gospel accounts, in Mark and Luke, the words are in the second person and directed to Christ. So that means, you know, the father is saying to Jesus, you are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. But in Matthew, they seem to be recorded for John the Baptist's benefit. And that's what we've already read, where in Matthew, a voice came from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Well, it was a common practice. Gospel writers are giving the substance of what was said without giving the exact quote, and this was a common way of recording an account. But it's interesting to see the different emphases, whereas one seems to be kind of pointed toward John, because we know that the Spirit coming and alighting upon Christ was a powerful witness to John the Baptist. as well as an expression of the father's love for his son. Well, there are two things here in what the father says. He calls him his beloved son and says he's well pleased. So let's just take a moment and think about those. So the beloved son, or you could say my son, the beloved. I can't help but think of Psalm 2 7. which is also quoted in Acts 13 and Hebrews 1, where the psalmist makes reference to the eternal plan of God to crown Jesus as Messiah and King. Psalm 2 7 says, I will declare the decree. The Lord has said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. Now, in what way is Jesus Christ the son? Well, we've already said that Jesus is eternally God, but He's called the Son for a couple of reasons. Christ is shown to us in the Word of God as having an eternal Father-Son relationship with God the Father. He's revealed to us as the Son. He is begotten. Sometimes He's called the only begotten. Basically, He's the only Son of the Father. Now, this doesn't mean that Jesus had a beginning, but rather that this is the way the relationship has always been from eternity past. And Jesus being the son also means that he shares the same essence as the father. Some of you guys are sons, and you're a son of your father, and you're made of the same stuff. You share DNA. Well, in a sense, we call Jesus the Son. It's not the same exact thing, you know, because you and I didn't exist until a certain point in time. Jesus has existed eternally, but he does share the same essence as the Father. They are both God. They are both persons of the Godhead. But the scriptures portray Jesus the son as having a close and loving relationship with the father, but he's also sent to do the father's will. And so there's a father-son relationship in how they lived their roles. the son is seen as being sent to do what the father asked him to do. And so in that sense, there's a father-son relationship there as well. So similar to us as father and son, but also in some ways, very, very different because Jesus has always existed. So he's the beloved son of the father and the father says he's well-pleased. And I think those words convey both a past and a present reality at the point of Jesus' baptism. Since eternity past, we're told, the Father has loved the Son, and He expresses that love in the present at the baptism. How do we know this? Is there any more applicable prophecy than Isaiah 42, verse 1? Listen. Behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. So here in the ministry of Isaiah, we have the words of the father concerning the son that are very similar to what we have going on at Jesus' baptism. The father is delighting in the elect one, his soul delights in him, he's put his spirit upon him, and he has been sent to bring forth justice to the Gentiles. What an amazing prophecy. So, the father is in full agreement concerning the son and his task. And when he says that at the baptism, he's saying, this is what it's all about. I've sent him to do this. It has now begun. I love my son. I'm well pleased in him. And he's doing what I've asked him to do. The son is the one chosen for this task. The father delights as the son seeks to perform it. Now, as we wrap up these thoughts, I want us to think about a couple of things. For those of us who know Christ, maybe we've already followed Him in obedience in the waters of baptism. I hope you're encouraged to know that Jesus proclaimed His identification with us in His baptism. Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost. He came for us, beloved. He came to get us. He came to save us. And at His baptism, I believe He was identifying with us. Yes, the Messiah, God the Son, but coming and identifying with us in His baptism showing that he was coming to redeem his people. And when we think about what we have in Christ, not only the complete and full washing of our sins, and you know, that's one of the reasons that I think that the imagery of immersion is so powerful. Because when we go down under, not only does it show, I think, the death of Christ, but I also think when you go under, it's pretty hard to go all the way under and not get completely soaked. And I think that there's symbolism there that we as believers are completely and fully and absolutely washed clean of all of our sins. and robed in the righteousness of Christ, in that great exchange we talk about, you know, where Jesus takes our sin and the punishment and condemnation of our sin, and we are given His righteousness and the blessing that comes with His righteousness, so that as we stand before God, we are declared not guilty and enabled to come into His presence and before the throne of grace because of Jesus. What a glorious remembrance. And by the way, not only is that something we think about at baptism, but when we come to the Lord's table, those kinds of thoughts should be close to our hearts as well. But then there's one other thing I wanna close with, and I don't know you, I don't know how many of you know Christ, or if some of you have been baptized as a follower of Jesus, but I hope that hearing this account today, that the Holy Spirit moves in your heart to wanna be baptized. But to be someone who's a proper candidate for baptism, you have to be a believer. And so it's important for you to turn from your sin, as the scriptures say, repent and believe. The Holy Spirit helps us to turn from our sin as He gives us new life in Christ. And we turn away from our sin and toward the Lord Jesus Christ and say, I have no hope for salvation, to have a relationship with God who is completely holy, unless the Lord Jesus cleanses me of my sin and gives me of His perfection and His righteousness. And if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you turn from your sin, then you could be a candidate for baptism, someone who will come into these waters. And remember, these waters don't do anything to actually save us. They don't contribute to our salvation in some kind of a saving way, but it can be really encouraging to our faith. as we follow the Lord in obedience. And so I pray that some of you perhaps will have a desire to be baptized, which really is not just to go through that ritual, but a desire to believe on Christ so that you can legitimately follow Him in the waters of baptism. And these things that we've said this morning about believers can be true of you and anyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Our Father, Lord, we're thankful for our Lord Jesus Christ for his atoning work on our behalf for our sins. We thank you, Lord, for this glorious truth of justification that says that we are no longer under condemnation if we are in Christ. Lord, thank you for these truths. Thank you for our Lord Jesus, who was not only obedient to death on a cross, but obedient all throughout his life as a young boy and at his baptism. And yes, thankfully, even to death on a cross so that we might have life. Lord, we worship you and we thank you for your glorious salvation to us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.