01 09 2022 - Jesus' Baptism Luke 3:21-23a

01 09 2022

Jesus' Baptism

Luke 3:21-23a

 

2 Weeks ago, we talked about

Jesus came to Save Us of Our Sins, but He also,

 

Saved us from our Disillusionment!

Saved us from Our Defeat!

Saved us from Our Death!

 

Luke 3:21-23a · The Baptism (esv)

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, And when Jesus also had been baptized And was praying,

the heavens were opened,

²² and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form,

like a Dove;

and a Voice came from heaven,

“You are My beloved Son;

with You I am well pleased.”

^23a Jesus, when He began His ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the Son (as was supposed) of Joseph.

 

When we look at The Expressions of Christ, We See These Special Events. This is WHEN His Presence Is Notably Demonstrated  With His GREAT POWER!

 

 

And this, Being Jesus' Baptism Is One of Those Times.

 

We Have Just Heard Luke's Version, Of This Event!

 

 

The Holy Spirit Descended Upon Christ, As we are told, In the Form of A Dove!

 

And Then – A Voice Came from Heaven,

 

“You are My beloved Son.

With You I am well pleased.”

You know, In Some Newer Translations, Which there are those who believe It To Be More Accurate, They Put the Adjective Beloved"

In a Totally Different Phrase or Sentence.

 

 

This Is Done To Emphasize The INTENSITY Of The Personal Nature Of This Experience.

"You Are My Son.

My Beloved.

In You I Am Well Pleased."

 

 

And with this Being Of Such an Important Event, All 4 Gospels Tell of Jesus’ Baptism And So, I am Going to Read

All 4 Gospels of Jesus’ Baptism.

You can Read Along with Me Because the Gospel Readings Are in Your Bulletin.

 

And As We Read, Please Note What Is The SAME And What Is DIFFERENT!

 

 

We Begin with Luke, 3:21-22 (Esv):

²¹ Now When All the People Were Baptized, And When Jesus Also Had Been Baptized and Was Praying,

The Heavens Were Opened,

²² And The Holy Spirit Descended on Him in Bodily Form, Like A Dove;

And A Voice Came from Heaven,

“You Are My Beloved Son;

With You I Am Well Pleased.”

 

 

Matthew 3:16-17 (esv)

^{16 “}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; ¹⁷ And Behold, A Voice From Heaven Said, “This Is My Beloved Son, With Whom I Am Well Pleased.”

 

 

In Mark 1:10b-11 (esv) We Hear:

“Immediately He Saw the Heavens Being Torn Open and The Spirit Descending on Him Like A Dove. And A Voice Came from Heaven, “You Are My Beloved Son;

With You I Am Well Pleased.”

 

 

John 1:29b-34 (Esv) Says:

^29b “Behold, The Lamb of God, Who Takes Away the Sin of The World! ³⁰ This Is He of Whom I Said,

‘After Me Comes a Man Who Ranks Before Me, Because He Was Before Me.’

³¹ I Myself Did Not Know Him, But for This Purpose I Came Baptizing With Water,

That He Might Be Revealed To Israel.”

³² And John Bore Witness: “I Saw The Spirit Descend From Heaven Like A Dove, And It Remained On Him.

³³ I Myself Did Not Know Him, But He Who Sent Me to Baptize with Water Said To Me, ‘He On Whom You See The Spirit Descend And Remain, This Is He Who Baptizes With The Holy Spirit.’

³⁴ And I Have Seen and Have Borne Witness That This Is The Son Of God.”

 

 

 

So, In What Ways Are These Readings Are The Same:

 

All 4 Gospels Have Jesus Coming to John for His Baptism.

 

All 4 Have John Baptizing Jesus.

 

All 4 Talk About the Spirit Descending from Heaven Like A Dove.

 

 

Then – In What Ways Are They Different:

 

It Is Only in the Book of John

He Does Not Record About the Father’s Voice at All.

 

And it is in Matthew, and Mark They Tell Of the Sprit And Of the Father’s Voice, Both Being Present As Jesus Comes

Out of The Water.

 

But It Is Only Within Luke – Where Jesus Says That He

Went And PRAYED FIRST, Then The Spirit Came And Then He Heard The Voice of The Father.

 

 

 

So – We Agree There Are Some Differences And some Likenesses.

 

However - In Each, It Records the Spirit Descending "Like A Dove."  But Why as A DOVE? Is Holy Spirit a Bird?!

 

 

Why Did the Apostles Use The Dove as the Metaphor For The Spirit's Coming Into Our Lives???

Let me ask, Have You Ever Seen And Heard A Dove Take Off And Fly And Then Land?

 

They Are So Graceful, Gentle, And Quiet.

 

You See – THAT IS THE POINT!

 

Just Like a Dove – That Is the Way Which The Holy Spirit Comes Into Our Lives.

He Came to Jesus Gracefully! Freely! Gently! And Quietly!

But it was John who said, The Spirit Entered Inside of Jesus! And He Stayed!

 

 

^32b “I Saw the Spirit Descend From Heaven Like A Dove, And It Remained On Him.

³³ I Myself Did Not Know Him, But He Who Sent Me to Baptize with Water Said To Me, ‘He On Whom You See The Spirit Descend And Remain, This Is He Who Baptizes With The Holy Spirit.’

 

The SPIRIT Enters Inside of You and Me!

PRIVATELY! And He Stays!!!

 

 

Have You Ever Done This Before?

Read Of the Same, One Event, But with Different Writers?

 

 

As we Read the 4 Gospels, We Gained a Truer Picture Of This Event! And We See, Just How Important It Was to Grasp ahold of: The Spirit Descended Upon Jesus During His Baptism!

 

 

Even While Jesus is still in the water.  

Correct me IF I am Wrong, But Isn’t this How We Picture Our Lord’s Baptism?

Jesus, Standing in Waist Deep Water, And With John the Baptist Standing Next to Him.

 

And With John Saying,

“Behold, The Lamb of God,

Who Takes Away the Sin of The World!

 

 

Now - Isn’t That What We Have Grown Accustomed to Know?

 

But Then – WHY Is Luke Different?

 

I have taken a little Liberty with the Text.

You will notice, The Heavy Blue Is what I added.

 

 

I did this Just for Us, To Help Us Understand In Making His Point!

 

 

(Luke Writes:)

²¹ Now When All the People Were Baptized,

1)        And When Jesus Also Had Been Baptized!

2)        And Was Praying!

3)THEN The Heavens Were Opened,

 4) ²²And The Holy Spirit Descended on Him!

In Bodily Form! Like A Dove!

5) And THEN A Voice Came from Heaven,

“You Are My Beloved Son!

With You I Am Well Pleased!”

 

 

As Luke Puts It. This Special Presence of God, Came To Jesus When He Was By Himself, And Praying.

 

 

In Other Words:

It Was Not a Public Event!

But Rather, It Was a Personal

And Private Experience!

 

It Was Not Meant for ALL to See!

For No One Else to Hear The Father’s Voice from Heaven.

 

Luke Says that:

1.   He Came Out of The Water.

2.   Went Off by Himself.

3.   And prayed.

4.   And That Was When, It Happened.

 

 

SO - How Does That Set With Your Way of Thinking?

Luke, Was the Only One Who Recorded that Jesus Prayed.

 

IS THAT IMPORTANT?

 

Jesus, Went Off by Himself to Pray.

Several times Luke Records that:

"Jesus Left the Crowds,

He Left His Disciples

and Went Off

By Himself To Pray."

 

I Believe Luke Emphasizes This to Us To Get Our Attention.

 

When Jesus Prayed, Then Something Always Happened!

 

 

When Jesus Was Facing a Crisis, He Prayed!

 

 

When He Was Facing a Tough Decision, He Prayed!

When He Experienced a Time of Doubt, He Prayed!

 

 

It Was at These Points of Time When Christ Prayed There Seems to Be Always A Special Appearance Of God, Just Like This One, At His Baptism.

 

Could It Be That Within These Times of Prayer Jesus Regained His Identity! He Revisited His Destiny!

 

"You Are My Son,"

 

And In That,

He Regained His Power

His Vision

His Purpose for His Life, And this Came Jesus Thru The Father And The Spirit?

And IF Jesus Christ Gained This Within His Prayer Time, Then What Should We Expect To Gain Within Our Own Prayer Times?

 

 

Do You Honestly Pray?

Do You Pray Like Jesus Did?

 

 

You Know by Reading The Gospel of Luke, We Know that There Are 3 Times When Jesus Receives These Huge Types of Confirmations.

 

 

1)              One Was at The Beginning Of His Ministry,

At His Baptism, Which We Heard In Today’s Reading.

2)              Then At the Middle of His Ministry, This Is at The Event Which We Call: "The Transfiguration."

Jesus Goes Off by Himself, Taking With Him The 3, Peter, James, And John. And They Go to A Mountain Top to Pray. While There - Praying, Jesus Is Transformed, And They All Hear the Father’s Voice,

 

"This Is My Son. Listen To Him."

 

I Believe this Confirmation Is Not So Much for Jesus, But Rather – For His Disciples.

 

"Listen To Him.”

 

 

3)               And then Once Again At the end of Jesus’ ministry. That last night of his life, When he went off by himself, Once Again with the 3, In the Garden of Gethsemane.

 

 

And in His Prayer, He Said: (Luke 22:42 esv)

“Father, If You Are Willing,

Remove This Cup from Me.

Nevertheless, Not My Will,

But Yours, Be Done.”

 

 

What All Happened There, We Do Not Have It All Recorded.

 

However, Based Upon What Has Happened Previously, We Can Take Some Liberty And It Is Not a Stretch To Envision:

 

God The Father Comforting Jesus

By Saying: "You Are My Son,

My Beloved: I Am Here For You."

 

And it is worthy to note, John 17:6-26

 

If You Have Not Yet Caught On, Luke Is Writing His Gospel For The Christians, to Those Who Already Have Been Baptized.

 

 

Luke Is Telling Us, Your Baptism Means The Same as Jesus' Baptism Does.

 

 

You Are God's Daughter,

Or God's Son,

 

And With You –

God Is Well Pleased.

 

 

Do You FEEL

the TOUCH of God?

 

 

Do You LIVE

Within That Type

of Closeness?

 

 

In Your Baptism Your Relationship to God Was Affirmed! And then – It Was Sealed!

 

 

You Are a Child of God!

That Is One of The MOST PROFOUND

 

BUT Also – It Is a

FUNDAMENTAL,

The BEGINNING,

The FOUNDATIONAL

Teachings of Jesus.

 

 

Jesus Is Telling Us –

He Is Telling You and I, That We Can Have The Same Personal, And Intimate Relationship With God That God Has With His Own Son.  

 

 

Do You Know This?

 

 

AND IF You Do,

Do You Always

Remember This?

And Maybe I should include,

Do You Want This?

 

 

Jesus said:

IF You Come to God, God Will Be with You The Same Way He Is with Me, A Father to His Child.

 

God Desires to Have This Type of Personal Relationship With You! With Me!

With Everyone!!!

 

We Know - When Jesus Was Teaching His Disciples How to Pray, He Started by saying:

"Our Father."

But Here is the Thing:

 

Those Wonderful 2 Words - ‘Our Father’

 

Those 2 Words

Are Truly Supposed to Be

“Personal”

“Intimate”

“Loving”

“Touching Your Heart” Type of Words.

 

So, The Next Time You Pray

The Lord’s Prayer,

 

 

To Catch that Closeness, Say the Prayer this way:

‘My Father,

Who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy Will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

 

Before Jesus went to the Father, He Gave Us A Few Commands

To Follow!

 

 

1)        First - Is to Pray.

Our Father,

or My Father, Who Art in Heaven…

 

 

 

 

2)        The Second One Was

"To Go - Into All of The World –

Baptizing Everyone

In The Name of The Father,

The Son and The Holy Spirit."

 

 

But What He is Really Saying to us Is:

Go Tell Others About Me!

 

Tell Them That God Wants

To Have a Personal Relationship,

An Intimate Relationship with Them!

 

God Wants to Have the Same

Type of Experiences with Them

As Jesus Has with the Father.

God is simply asking us

To Share What We Already Have,

With Everyone Else!

 

It is As Simple as That!

 

We Are All Children of God! And He Wants Everyone

Who We Know To Also Be His Children.

 

3)        Then the 3^rd step is

Teach Them HOW to Pray!

"Our Father"

Or ‘My Father’

 

 

"Go Into the World and Baptize."

 

Reveal To All People That We And They - Are God's Children. Then Seal It with A Baptism.

Are You Baptized?

 

 

IF Not, Then What is Holding You Back?

 

 

 

Maybe you are too young And You Do Not Understand What The Difference Is Between Before and After Baptism. But once we are Baptized We Are Christians, We Are Brothers and Sisters Of The Same Parent, To Whom We Pray and Are Obedient to.

 

 

We All Pray the Same Prayer, Deeply, and Personally, To The Same Trinity God.

 

 

BUT as With Everything The Evil One Tries To Mislead Us.  

 

 

It Is So Tempting for us to Think Of Our Relationship with God As Within the Terms of Dependency.

 

So Often, Our Understanding of What Our Relationship with God Should Be,  Gets Us Confused.

How Should We Relate with Our FATHER?

 

Many Of Us Are Misled into Believing That Our Relationship With The Father Should BE as A Small Child Is Dependent Upon Their Parents.

 

But It Is Really – Not Like That.

 

YOU SEE – It Should Be As the Relationship Between A Parent to An Adult Child.

 

 

The PARENT (or GOD) Does Not Interfere With the Adult Child’s Decisions.

 

 

But Rather, The Parent’s JOB Is to Be There, With LOVE and SUPPORT, And UNDERSTANDING!

 

Again, It Is Not With The Type of LOVE That Protects, But Rather, With the Type of LOVE Which EMPOWERS.

 

 

We Have Within Us As Human Beings, 2 Basic Needs.

 

1)        One Is to BE FREE!

2)        And The Other Is To BE LOVED.

 

When Things Get Difficult, We Feel the Tension That Lives Between These 2 Basic Human Needs.

 

We Want to BE FREE, But We Also Want Others To ACCEPT US And To UNDERSTAND US.

 

 

This Will Happen When There Is Someone Who Will Give Us The FREEDOM TO BE WHO WE ARE,

 

And To Love Us As We Are, And That Is EvenWhen We Make Mistakes!

 

And that is Even When, The Child, And Or the Parent Must Carry their CROSS OF SHAME.

The Parent Will Even Come And Stand by Us. And They Will Never Abandon Us.

 

 

The Type of LOVE that a Parent Has For an Adult Child IS

Most Assuredly – DIFFERENT Then the Type of LOVE

That a Parent Has For A Minor Child!

When we are Baptized, God’s LOVE for us Is the Same Type of LOVE Which We Have For an Adult Child.

 

And - Before We Are Baptized, God’s LOVE For Us

Is of Same Type of LOVE Which Parents Have for a Minor Child.

 

That Is a Type Of LOVE Which Intervenes.

 

That's A LOVE That Wants To Protect a Child.

 

 

But The Love A Parent Has for An Adult Child Is The Love That Stands By. But They are there With Their Child.

 

And I believe it is Fantastic That God Creates Us to be Babies! Then Children! Then Teenagers! And Then Adults!

 

From Our First Breath, GOD Is Teaching Us About HIS LOVE!

 

And That Is Just How It Ought to Be!

I thought it would be appropriate for us, those who have been Baptized, to Renew our Baptism

 

And for those who have not yet been Baptized, to understand more clearly what Baptism is.

 

Again – This Is Not Our Baptism But rather a Newness to Baptism.

 

My Dear Friends

In keeping with the example of Jesus, you have presented yourselves this day so that you might renew your Sacrament of Baptism.

Baptism is not itself the door to salvation, but rather it is an outward sign of the New Birth which God has shaped within your heart.

It proclaims to all the world that you have taken Christ Jesus as the Lord of your life, and that it is your purpose always to obey Him.

In order that we may hear your testimony of what God has done for you and that we may know that you understand the significance of the step you are taking in renewing your baptism, we want to ask you these questions.

1.               Do you believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? That Jesus Christ the Son suffered in your place on the cross, that He died but rose again, that He now sits at the Father’s right hand until He returns to the judge all people at the last day?

2.               And do you believe in the Holy Scriptures as the inspired Word of God?

3.               That by the grace of God, every person has the ability and responsibility to choose between right and wrong, and that those who repent of their sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are Justified by Faith?

(You can answer – With All of this, I steadfastly believe)

4.               And do you intend by this act to testify to all the world that you are a Christian and that you will be a loyal follower of Christ?

(You can answer – I do)

 

I therefore Baptize you in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.