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Matthew 3, and then I'll read 
a section from Matthew 20. So our focus this morning will 
be on two particular passages. Beginning in Matthew chapter 
3, I'll read beginning at verse 13. 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. 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." Then over in Matthew chapter 20, verses 17 to 28. Matthew 20, beginning in verse 
17, Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside 
on the road and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, 
and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the 
scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him 
to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the 
third day He will rise again, Then the mother of Zebedee's 
sons came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something 
from him. And he said to her, what do you 
wish? She said to him, grant that these 
two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other 
on the left, in your kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, 
You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup 
that I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism 
that I am baptized with? They said to him, We are able. 
So he said to them, You will indeed drink my cup and be baptized 
with the baptism that I am baptized with. But to sit on my right 
hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it is for those 
for whom it is prepared by my Father. And when the ten heard 
it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. But Jesus 
called them to himself and said, You know that the rulers of the 
Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise 
authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among 
you. But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your 
servant. And whoever desires to be first 
among you, let him be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not 
come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom 
for many. Amen. Now I realize if you're using 
a Bible translation that is not the New King James or the King 
James, the references to baptism are absent in verses 22 and 23. They are in the parallel passage 
in Mark's Gospel in Mark chapter 10, verses 38 to 39. Just to 
make that clarification, we are going to maintain our focus this 
morning on Matthew's Gospel, chapters 3 and 20. So let us 
pray and ask the Lord's guidance as we look to His Holy Word. 
Our Father in heaven, we gather together on this Sabbath day 
and we come to praise your great and awesome name. We know that 
you are the God who made this world and everything in it. You're 
the God who sovereignly governs it. And you are the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has sent his Son into this world 
to save his people from their sins. We rejoice, Father, Son, 
and Spirit, for so great a salvation. We rejoice in your mercy and 
in your kindness and in your love. And we pray that even now 
your Spirit would be at work in our hearts and in our minds, 
that you would edify and strengthen your people, and that you would 
save sinners, Lord God. We know that with men it is impossible 
to save. We know that it does not depend 
upon him who wills or upon him who runs. God, we take great 
comfort in what Paul says, that it is you who shows mercy. We 
pray that even today, Father, by your spirit and word, you'd 
open eyes and open hearts to the truth that man stands before 
a holy God. that you would show them their 
sin and you would show them the glory of the Savior, the one 
who lived and died and rose again, that sinners might have everlasting 
life. We pray even now that you would wash us and purify us and 
cleanse us from all sin and illumine our minds and our hearts. And 
we pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, perhaps 
this is the first time you've ever attended a church where 
there is a baptism. And basically what a baptism 
is, it is a Christian practice. And in Christianity, we also 
call it an ordinance, or we might call it a sacrament. And in that 
ordinance or sacrament of baptism, or in that practice, what happens 
is that we take a new believer, somebody who professes faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ, someone who says that by the grace of 
God, they've come out of darkness into marvelous light, they get 
baptized, they publicly identify with the Lord God Most High. 
We see this commanded in the Scripture. We see it as an act 
of obedience on the part of the new believer. We see that everywhere 
in the book of Acts this is precisely the practice in the early church. The apostles would go forth, 
they would preach the gospel, the good news concerning the 
life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus. They would then call 
upon men, women, boys and girls to believe on Him, to repent 
from their sins. And when persons came forth and 
embraced Christ through faith, they would be baptized. And so, 
of course, we get baptized because God commands it. We get baptized 
because the early church practiced it. But I want to address an 
even more foundational reason why we get baptized this morning. In Matthew 3 we see the water 
baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 20 we see his reference 
to another baptism. And so I will argue this morning 
that these two baptisms of our Lord Jesus Christ is the reason 
for His people to be baptized. In other words, if Christ did 
not live, if Christ did not die, if Christ did not rise again, 
then no one would be saved. There would be no reason to follow 
Him in baptism. It's not because these people 
here this morning that are going to go into that tank have done 
a good thing. It's not that they're wiser than 
the rest of God's creation. It's not that they've engaged 
in a successful course in what it means to be a believer. No, 
it's because Jesus lived and died and rose again and reached 
down in His mercy and grace and delivered them from their sins. That's why people get baptized. It's because God Most High is 
reconciling the world to Himself through the death and the resurrection 
of His only begotten Son. So Matthew 3 establishes the 
water baptism. Matthew 20 refers to this other 
baptism which we will see in due course. But let's look first 
of all at the first baptism of Christ in verses 13 to 17. We see that Jesus now embarks 
on his public ministry. Rather, he's about to embark 
on his public ministry. After this occasion, after this 
baptism under John the Baptist, he will then go into the wilderness 
to be tried and tested for 40 days and it's from that vantage 
point that he then begins officially his public ministry. So this 
in a sense is preparation. We read in verse 13, then Jesus 
came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by 
him. Now this John is not the Apostle 
John who wrote the Gospel of John, it is John the Baptist. This man who outside of Judea 
would baptize, would immerse, would bring people into the water, 
and he would call upon them to confess their sins. And so here 
comes Jesus to the Baptist, and the Baptist understands the significance 
of this, and in verse 14, John tries to prevent him. John understood 
what baptism typified. He understood what it pictured. 
He understood what it demonstrated. And it was closely associated 
with the remission of sins. This is why he upbraided the 
Pharisees, the brood of vipers. He told men to confess their 
sins when they came into the water of Jordan in order to be 
baptized. He sees Jesus and he tries to 
prevent him because he knew who Jesus was. It is of Christ that 
John the Baptist says, he must increase, but I must decrease. It would be akin to C.H. Spurgeon 
falling out of heaven right now and saying to me, would you please 
baptize me? Say, no, I shouldn't baptize 
you, you should baptize me. You're the patron saint of Reformed 
Baptists. John is surprised that Christ 
comes to him and he tries to prevent this transaction from 
occurring. John understands the reality 
and the priority. He says, I need to be baptized 
by you and are you coming to me? John understood what he was 
dealing with in terms of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Christ 
Almighty comes to this particular man and seeks water baptism. And notice in verse 15 our Lord's 
answer to him. Jesus answered and said to him, 
permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill 
all righteousness. Now here's where I'm going quite 
simply with this message. Our confession, teaching the 
biblical doctrine of salvation and justification, connects our 
justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ 
alone. It's not by our works, it's not 
by our addition, it's not by our supplementation, it's not 
by our contribution, but it's grace alone through faith alone 
in Christ Jesus alone. the London Baptist Confession 
of Faith, stronger, I might add, than the Westminster Confession 
in this whole idea of justification by the active obedience of Christ 
and by his passive obedience. Basically what Christ's active 
obedience is, is that he always obeyed the law perfectly. Isn't 
that amazing? When Mary told Jesus to pick 
up his socks and to put them in the dirty clothes basket, 
he did it. And he didn't do it grumbling. 
He didn't do it with a hesitancy. He didn't do it with resistance 
in his heart, but he always did what his Father in Heaven had 
commanded. He had commanded obedience, filial 
obedience to the fifth commandment. Christ executed that as a lamb. 
Christ always did what the Father commanded Him. This is what theologians 
refer to as the active obedience of Christ. You see, we need that. God is righteous, God is just, 
God is holy, God is pure, God is perfect, God has spoken ten 
words at Sinai, He's reconfirmed them in the plains of Moab, He's 
upheld them throughout Scripture, and He has called His creatures 
to obey these things. But if you just give it any, 
any concentration whatsoever, ever, you'll realize that you've 
not obeyed those things, have you? Can you honestly say in 
your heart of hearts, I never have other gods before God? I 
have never made an idol. I have never taken the name of 
the Lord God in vain. I've never broken the Sabbath 
day. I've never dishonored my parents. I've never committed 
murder. I've never committed adultery. I've never stolen. 
I've never lied and I've never coveted it. You can't say that. But someone can. Christ always 
delighted to do the will of His Father. You see, Christ came 
into this world to fulfill it for sinners. This is the beauty 
of it. He didn't come to get rid of 
it, to demolish it, to abrogate it or to cast it away, but rather 
He came to esteem it by obeying it. That's the act of obedience 
and that's what's going on here in Matthew chapter 3. Theologians 
refer to the death of Christ as his passive obedience. Now, 
passive there doesn't mean that he was unwilling participant. Passive is probably related to 
the word passion that has to do with the sufferings of our 
Lord. It's because he lived in obedience 
to the law of God, because he died as a sacrifice and a substitute 
at Calvary, and because he rose again. This is the reason why 
any sinner will ever be accepted in the sight of God. It is not 
by your works, it is not by your efforts, it is not by your wisdom, 
it is not by your ability, because you are dead in trespasses and 
sins. You need grace from on high. 
You need the Spirit of God to apply the Gospel of God. You 
need Jesus Christ as your champion, as your deliverer, as your Savior. And in Matthew 3, Jesus tells 
John, permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us 
to fulfill all righteousness. On the very entrance to His public 
ministry, Christ affirms and confirms this reality, that He's 
going to obey the Father. He is going to execute obedience 
to the divine commands. He is going to fulfill all righteousness, 
because someone must! And apart from Christ, there 
is no righteousness to be had. And this key statement is absolutely 
crucial for our understanding as to how anyone will ever go 
to heaven or why anyone should ever be baptized. The background 
for this statement is Isaiah the prophet. By his knowledge, 
my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their 
iniquities. Jesus identifies with those who 
need repentance and remission of sins. Jesus identifies with 
all those whom the Father had given Him. See, Christ didn't 
have sin, Christ didn't need to repent, Christ didn't need 
to go into that water in the way that we go into that water, 
but Christ is the representative man. He is the perfect man. He is the righteous man. He is 
the fulfilling of the righteousness of God man. He is the man of 
whom the Apostle Paul will later write in Romans 5.19. He says, so also by one man's 
obedience, this is the Lord Christ, many will be made or will be 
constituted as righteous. You see, if you're not a Christian 
here this morning, you've got two problems. One is sin. That's huge, isn't it? Whenever 
you read the papers, or you look at the Internet, or you see the 
news, and you look around what's going on, what is the underlying 
bottom line to everything? It's sin. It's man in rebellion 
against God. Why do people abort babies? Because they're in rebellion 
against God. Why do men lay with men? Because 
they're in rebellion against God. Why do white-collar criminals 
rip off Revenue Canada? Because they're in rebellion 
against the living and true God. You see, we are sinners against 
a holy God, and we need to be forgiven of that sin. We also 
need a righteousness that avails with God, and Christ answers 
to both. In the language of a great catechism, 
a teaching tool for kids, it says, what is justification? 
It says, justification is an act of God's free grace. Isn't 
that beautiful? No one's here this morning because 
of their achievements. It's because of God's free grace. wherein He pardons all of our 
sins. For those of you who are in Christ, 
wouldn't you express this as one of the chief bones of your 
religion? Having your sins blotted out, 
having your sins washed away, having your sins put upon the 
Son of God, and Him taking the punishment for them in our stead. wherein He pardons all of our 
sins and, the catechism goes on to say, and accepts us as 
righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ 
imputed to us and received by faith alone. beauty of the Christian 
message. It comes to man in sin. It comes to man worshiping his 
idols. It comes to man degraded by his 
idols. And it says, believe on Christ, 
and through the power of God's Spirit, through the efficacy 
of His Word, He cleanses men from their sins. He washes them. He purifies them. He forgives 
them. And He gives them this righteousness 
that avails with God, such that when we stand before Him on that 
day, we'll be clothed in a righteousness not our own. This is cause for 
celebration. When somebody goes into that 
baptistry and we see somebody identifying publicly with God, 
we don't praise the somebody, we praise the God of free and 
sovereign grace. Jesus says, permitted to be so 
now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. This act was the first public 
demonstration of the obedience that would characterize Christ's 
life and provide his people with the righteousness that we desperately 
need. Paul hits this in 2 Corinthians 
5.21. He says that God the Father made 
Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become 
the righteousness of God in Him. God takes the sin of His people, 
He puts it upon His Son, He punishes His Son in our stead and in our 
place, and then He takes the righteousness of His Son and 
imputes it. He gives it to His people. And the great transaction is 
conducted and enacted by the sovereignty of God through faith. That's why the Reformers emphasize, 
this is what the battle cry was, sola fide, it's by faith alone. It's not by faith plus, a la 
Roman Catholicism. It's not by faith plus your good 
appearance or faith plus what you do for God. It's faith alone, 
in Christ alone, by the gracious work of God alone. It's a beautiful 
thing. Jesus fulfills in our place the 
righteousness of God. When we read the Gospel accounts, 
do we not see this emphasis upon obedience? What does He say when 
His disciples come to Him and they're hungry? He says, my meat 
is to do the will of Him who sent me. Can you identify with 
that? Can you say that the thing that 
characterizes my life is to do what the Father says? You might 
get about 30 seconds in and start to congratulate yourself, and 
then you've undone the whole thing. I had a really obedient day last 
Wednesday. I was really doing well, and 
then I got out of bed. That's the lot in life of man 
in sin and rebellion against God Most High. We need righteousness 
that avails with God, and it is afforded in the Christian 
gospel by our Lord Jesus Christ. We do not only need the forgiveness 
of sins, which is secured by Christ's death, but we also need 
the righteousness of Christ, which is secured by His life. It's not just the dying of the 
Redeemer that we desperately need. It's the doing. It's the 
resurrection. It's the whole Christ. It is 
everything from first to last. Jesus paid it all. Jesus answers 
it all. Jesus provides what man in sin 
most desperately needs. And then continue in the passage 
with me. When he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from 
the water. And behold, the water 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. You see, the triune God is here, 
isn't He? In Genesis chapter 1, in the 
beginning, we read that God, the triune, is there to make 
man. Here at the River Jordan, Matthew chapter 3, we hear of 
God, the triune, to redeem man. The older brothers said to Arius, 
if you want to learn of the Trinity, go down to the River Jordan. 
We have the Son of God going into the water. We have the Son 
of God coming up out of the water. We have the Spirit of God alighting 
upon Him in the form of a dove. And we have this voice of the 
Father saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. See, the Father can only say 
that about Christ. The Father only says that because 
of the righteousness of His Son. The obedience of the Son. The 
covenanted execution of that righteousness of the Son. Back 
behind this is the passage that Pastor Cam read at the outset 
of worship. Isaiah 42, Behold, my servant, 
whom I uphold, my elect one, in whom my soul delights. Isn't 
that beautiful? The Father delights in the Son. 
And as a result of that, the Father delights in the Son's 
people. The Father is delighting in you 
today, it's because He first delighted in the Son of His love. 
The prophet goes on to say, I have put my spirit upon him. He will 
bring forth justice to the Gentiles. We are to come to this particular 
passage. We are to understand it in redemptive 
history. We are to see that Jesus is the 
true Israel. What Israel in the old covenant 
failed to carry out, Israel, Christ in the new covenant executes 
absolutely successfully and he does it. Thoroughly for the glory 
of his father and for the good of his people. There is a lot 
going on here The main point I want us to appreciate is that 
Jesus Christ acknowledges it is fitting for us to fulfill 
all righteousness We learn this active obedience at the first 
baptism of our Lord now turn with me to Matthew 20 and Matthew 
chapter 20. The reason I mention verses 22 
and 23 is because they're key in our understanding of what's 
going on here. As I said, the word baptism isn't 
present in your NIV or your ESV or your NASB. It might be in 
the margin. New King James and the King James 
has it right in the text. There's a variant reading. As 
I said, the passage is present in the parallel in Mark chapter 
10 verses 38 and 39. But note the situation going 
on in this instance. We need to appreciate what Christ 
does in Matthew 20. Verse 17, now Jesus going up 
to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples aside on the road and 
said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the 
Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the 
scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him 
to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the 
third day He will rise again." It's a pretty surprising statement 
for the readers of Matthew's Gospel. For those of you who 
have been with us for any time, we've been spending some time 
in Matthew's Gospel. This occupies our morning study. 
And in this particular instance, Jesus affirms or confirms what 
His primary mission and goal is. Yes, He fulfills the righteousness 
of God. He does that perfectly throughout 
His life. But here He underscores what 
is in His future. And if you've read Matthew's 
Gospel, if you've ever heard of Matthew's Gospel, if you have 
any understanding of Matthew's Gospel, what Jesus says here 
in verse 18 really ought to take you by surprise. Because what 
has Jesus been doing in Matthew's gospel? Jesus has been healing 
the sick. Jesus has been feeding the poor. 
Jesus, on occasion, has raised the dead. Jesus is a man, whom 
Peter describes, who went about doing good. Jesus taught wonderful 
doctrine. Jesus upheld his father's law. Jesus says, do not even begin 
to think that I've come to abolish, but I have come to affirm, confirm, 
and to fulfill it. Jesus has done everything on 
the up-and-up, righteously, in a holy manner, most effectively, 
most always. And so when we read this statement, 
it underscores the divine plan, because the Father sent the Son 
for this very hour, and it underscores the wickedness, and the depravity, 
and the evil that is in man. Have you ever caught yourself 
saying, when you've seen a particularly atrocious thing in the news, 
I just saw something recently, a man walks into a service station, 
one of these minimarts, and he's milling about for just a moment, 
and then there's a girl standing behind the counter, the employee, 
trying to make some small talk with this particular fellow, 
She's pregnant. She's not big with child, but 
she is pregnant. You don't know that unless they 
tell you that. But the man just reaches across and punches her 
right in the nose. Just drops her. She falls right 
on her back. He walks around. And this genius, 
of course, is on a camera. Thankfully, they're not the most 
sharpest tools in the shed. And they were able to pick this 
guy up right away. This poor girl is knocked down, bleeding, 
broken nose. And he goes and he helps himself 
to the cash register. If you're like me, you say, how 
can anyone ever do such a thing? How is it that we could live 
in a world where people would reach across and punch a pregnant 
woman in their nose? Or how could we live in a world 
where they'd actually subsidize abortion? Or how could we live 
in a world where they would actually engage in the sorts of things 
that go on regularly? Have you ever wondered how in 
the world could men take the Lord of Glory, the Perfect, the 
Upright, the Holy, the Pure, the One who fed, the One who 
healed, the One who raised, the One who taught, and deliver Him 
up on a cross, and instead of saying, we want to worship Him, 
we want to bow to Him, we want to delight in Him, they say, 
away with Him, away with Him, give us Barabbas! It's because 
of sin. All is not well in this world. 
All is not well in your soul. Your fundamental issue today 
is that you are in rebellion against the living and true God. 
Now, you may not punch ladies over a gas station counter. You may not abort babies. You 
may not lay with men. You may not march against your 
enemies with all sorts of armament. But whatever it is, you've got 
sin and rebellion against God. And this is a perfect illustration. 
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed 
to the chief priests and to the scribes, and they will condemn 
Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and discourage 
and to crucify. And the third day He will rise 
again. Now, it's as if the disciples didn't even listen. They didn't 
even hear Him. Well, this would have been a 
moment to pause. This would have been a moment to say, but Lord, 
please educate us a little bit more. We're a little bit dense 
with those Old Testament scriptures. We need you to bring them to 
bear on this particular issue. No, that's not what happens. 
Jesus announces his impending death, his betrayal, his scourging, 
his crucifixion. Verse 20, then the mother of 
Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking 
something from him. And he said to her, what do you 
wish? She said to him, grant that these two sons of mine may 
sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in your 
kingdom. Isn't that us? Somebody tells 
us horrific news about their impending death. We say, boy, 
I sure hope things go well for me. I sure hope I benefit from 
this transaction. I sure hope that when everything's 
successfully carried out, you'll remember me and I can sit on 
your right hand and on your left. Now notice what Jesus says in 
verse 22, Jesus answered and said, you do not know what you 
ask. Are you able to drink the cup 
that I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism 
that I am baptized with? They said to Him, We are able. 
So He said to them, You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized 
with the baptism that I am baptized with. But to sit on My right 
hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those 
for whom it is prepared by My Father." Jesus reminds them of 
what He just said. He uses different language. He 
uses biblical image. He uses theological convention 
to communicate just what it is that stands in his future. They're 
jockeying for position. Make no mistake about it. He 
says to them, you don't know what you're talking about. You 
don't get it yet. You haven't internalized the 
reality of my delivering up, of my being scourged, of my being 
crucified. And as I said, he pulls back 
into Old Testament Scripture and he brings forth this idea 
of a cup. Notice. He says, are you able 
to drink the cup that I am about to drink? Now many of us miss 
that reference perhaps because we don't know the Old Testament 
the way that we should. But his audience wouldn't have 
missed it. The cup in the Old Testament is God's wrath. God's fury, God's anger. God says that he would give this 
cup of wrath to Babylon. God says that he would give this 
cup of wrath to the wicked. God says that when men die and 
enter into judgment, there is fury, there is hell, there is 
suffering, for them having disobeyed the God of holiness and righteousness 
and truth. Several instances in the scriptures 
we see this reference to the cup. You see what Jesus says? 
These men come to Him, or the mom comes to Him and says, can 
my boys sit on your right and sit on your left? He says, you 
don't understand what I'm about to go through. Again, just imagine 
for a moment the idea of a cup of God's wrath. Jump ahead in 
Matthew's Gospel, and you'll see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane 
refer to this cup again. What does He pray there? He says, 
Father, if it's possible, If it is possible, let this cup 
pass. Christ understands what the cup 
is. It is the wrath and fury of His Father. He knows what 
lay in wait for Him outside of Gethsemane. He sweats drops of 
blood. He understands all too well the 
reality of hell. He understands all too well the 
wrath and fury of God. You think lightly of sin? You 
think it's some small thing? You think it's just a little 
demerit that you can deal with on your own? This costs the Son 
of God this sort of agony. He says to his disciples, my 
soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. That's what 
the cup is. You don't know anything about 
what I'm going through. He doesn't say it like I am. I'm saying 
it kind of like a vindictive jerk. Jesus was never a vindictive 
jerk. Then note this next reference. 
Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink and 
be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? This is a reference to his death. This is a reference to the overwhelming 
awful power and fury and judgment and wrath of God. He describes 
it as a baptism. Our dear brother Matthew Henry 
says that Jesus would be sprinkled. That's not the word that is employed. Jesus would be overwhelmed. Jesus 
would be immersed. Jesus would be plunged. Jesus 
would be dipped. Jesus would undergo four sinners. He uses the language in Luke 
chapter 12, verse 49. I came to send fire on the earth, 
and how I wish it were already kindled. I have a baptism to 
be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished." 
You see, he's not talking about the water baptism of Matthew 
3. He's not talking about the Holy Spirit baptism that came 
upon him at that occasion. He is talking about something 
in his future. He is talking about something on the equivalency 
of this cup of God's wrath. He is talking about him being 
overwhelmed under the fury and the judgment of God Most High 
in order to save his people from their sins. You don't go into 
that tank because you behaved well. You don't go into that 
tank because you successfully completed an online course. You 
go through that or into that tank because of what Christ went 
through on our behalf. It's baptism. Go back to Matthew 
20, just so we can see how it plays out. Matthew 20, verse 23. So he said to them, 
you will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism 
that I am baptized with. Who's he talking to? He's talking 
to James and John. What happens in Acts chapter 
12, when Herod, in his rage, executes his wrath on the church? 
It's James who is the target. Herod beheads James for the cause 
of Christ and truth. What happens to this John? He's 
exiled on the island of Patmos. I should clarify something that 
I've said before. Tradition tells us, or history 
tells us, that he was boiled in a vat of hot oil. He didn't 
die. He emerged from that. Apparently, 
history tells us he did eventually die of old age. But I think exile 
on the island of Patmos and a vat of hot oil does indicate something 
to what Jesus is talking about here. He says to these men, because 
of your identification with me, you will understand something 
of the cup and something of the baptism. Now may I make just 
a small observation at this particular point? Who do we think we are, 
brethren, when trials come, when difficulties plague us, or when 
persecutions actually become our lot to cry, snivel, complain, 
and whine in the manner of, how can these sorts of things happen 
to a good person like me? If the Son of God was made perfect 
through suffering, and if the sons of God subsequent to Him 
were made perfect ultimately through suffering and death and 
entering into the eternal state, what's our portion? And what's 
our lot? Do you think our calling, as 
Christians, is to zip along this world, just singing, dancing, 
and reveling? Do you think you're never going 
to have issues? You're never going to have trials? There's 
never going to be hardships? There's never going to be persecutions? 
I mean, that's pretty early on in the history of Christianity, 
Acts 12, and James is losing his head for his master. I mean, 
these were the best people on the face of the earth. These 
were chief servants of Christ Most High. These were the men 
whom God had ordained to propagate the glorious gospel of free and 
sovereign grace, to make disciples and to plant churches. Surely 
and certainly you would think they'd be met with nothing but 
approval. They'd be welcomed into any city that they went 
into. What happens to Paul when he's in one particular city? 
He has to escape. They put him in a basket and 
lower him down the wall. Here's the holy apostle Paul, 
the theologically inclined Paul, the man of God that this world 
has not seen since, shimmying down a wall in order to preserve 
his life. If you signed up this morning 
and you're going to enter into that tank and you think that 
means rose petals and bluebirds from here on out, may I suggest 
you need to get your nose in this book. You need to listen 
to the Apostle in 2 Timothy 3. All who desire to live godly 
in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. That's the reality. What happens, 
according to Jesus, in John 3? When Christians live the way 
they're supposed to, they uphold the truth, they maintain fidelity, 
they serve their Lord faithfully, they emphasize His truth. When 
they're standing at the water cooler at work on a Tuesday morning 
and somebody says, what do you think about same-sex marriage? 
And you say, I oppose it, because God the Lord opposes it. And 
He has said in His Word that man should not lay with man the 
way that he does with a woman. And women shouldn't do that either. 
Do you think they just say, well, that's so good to have your opinion. 
We just love you and we want to encourage you and we want 
to hopefully help you along your way to heaven. That's not what 
happens, is it? You're tarred and feathered. 
They look at you like you're a bug. Like you're odious. You're offensive, you're prejudiced, 
you're bigoted, you're bad. To side with the living God and 
His moral law today identifies us as bad, as unfair, as mean, 
as unkind. The faithful Christian says, 
so be it. They say with Luther, in a completely 
different context, but one that certainly ought to bear upon 
us, here I stand. I can do no other. That itself 
assaults me. I'm not going to forsake the 
word of the living God. For the baptizees, if that's 
the word, those going into the tank this morning, embrace the 
reality of discipleship. We live in a day and age where 
Christian discipleship doesn't look much more than being able 
to say church. We are saved by grace through 
faith in Christ and that alone. That is underscored a thousand 
times. Once we are saved by grace through 
faith in Christ alone, what does Christ call us to do? He calls 
us to follow Him. He calls us to take up our crosses 
daily. He calls us to love His Word. 
He prays to His Father, sanctify them by Thy truth. Thy word is 
truth. We ought to be men and women 
of the book. We ought to be men and women of the law. We ought 
to be men and women who say with the psalmist, open my eyes that 
I might see wondrous things from Your law. We ought to be like 
that Psalm 1 man. It is really only a description 
of Jesus. But being in Jesus and having 
vital union and connection with Him, that Psalm 1 man does what? He meditates on the law of his 
Lord, day and night. You're not going into that baptistry 
and the three brethren that are coming up that we're going to 
extend the right hand of fellowship to. You're not joining this church 
the way that men would join a social gathering or a social club. We are bound together in this 
place by something much greater and much deeper and much more 
solid than just some verbal agreement that we'll try to look after 
each other. We are bound here by the blood of the Lamb and 
we need to follow Him. We need to pursue Him. I love 
that description in Revelation 14. How are the godly described 
there? They follow the Lamb wherever 
He goes. That's the disposition for those 
entering the waters of baptism. And may this be a reminder of 
our own baptism and rehearse to us the importance of having 
identified publicly with the living God. Some of you have 
been baptized. Some of you are not living in 
a manner that is consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some 
of you struggle. There's always going to be struggles. 
There's always going to be inconsistencies. Throw yourself afresh on the 
mercy of God Most High. Confess your sins. Renew your 
repentance. Start again. Press onward. Press forward. I know that whenever 
I would be in the church, not actually conducting the baptisms, 
I'd always want to get baptized again. There's something about 
it, right? Isn't there something special? 
You remember the day of your baptism? I can. I remember publicly 
identifying with my Lord. Not having all the theology down, 
not knowing all the jots and tittles, but having that confession. 
He saved me. Isn't that a great thing? You 
don't have to go into the water again this morning. You say, 
Lord God Most High, forgive me. then my conduct has not been 
worthy of the gospel. Then my conduct has fallen astray. Renew my heart. Give me the zeal. Give me the fervency. Let me 
leave this place more resolved than ever to serve my Lord. because he lived for me and because 
he died for me. He drank this cup of wrath and 
he went through this baptism, which was his death. He was overwhelmed 
by it. It engulfed him. It overtook 
him. And this is seen in the remainder 
of this chapter and in this book. John Gill says, but the baptism 
of his sufferings is meant which are compared to a baptism because 
of the largeness and abundance of them. He was, as it were, 
immersed or plunged into them. Go back to the text now, chapter 
20, verse 24. And when the ten heard it, they 
were greatly displeased with the two brothers. Why do you 
think they were greatly displeased with the two brothers? Were they thinking this way? 
Oh, James and John! Such carnal aims! Such desires 
in the wake of announcement by our Lord that He's going to die. 
I suspect that they were greatly displeased because if James got 
the right and John got the left, that means they wouldn't. They were greatly displeased 
because they wanted that position. Jesus uses the opportunity to 
call attention to this. Verse 25, He called them to Himself 
and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over 
them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 
Yet it shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become 
great among you, let him be your servant. You see, this is what 
they were jockeying for, position in the kingdom. Jesus says, here's 
how you achieve position in the kingdom. It's not by being the 
greatest, it's by being the least. It's not by being the first, 
it's by being the last. It's not by getting people underneath 
you, it's by you serving others. It's a lesson on discipleship 
for these men who are jockeying for position. It's a lesson on 
discipleship for us who at times jockey for position. You want 
to be great in the kingdom of heaven? Be least of all. You 
want to be first in the kingdom of heaven? Serve others. Just 
do that. There's times in the life of 
every Christian, they want to do something for God, they want 
to serve the Lord, and that's great! And we encourage that, 
please! But we've associated service 
with the Lord as buying a plane ticket, moving our families, 
and taking up shop among some tribe that we never heard of 
or seen. It never dawns on us that we can serve our wives. 
It never dawns on us that we can serve our children. It never 
dawns on us that we can serve our husband, because after all, 
he's our husband. It never dawns on us that we 
can serve in ways that call no attention to us whatsoever. It 
never dawns on us that we can actually just serve without tweeting 
about it or putting our status on Facebook. I've thought that if you want 
to start lifting weights and get big at the gym, not only 
do you need to be taught on how to pick heavy things up and push 
them out, but you need to be taught on how to Facebook it. 
Because everybody who works out has to tell everybody on Facebook 
what they did at the gym. Who cares? Is your day greatly 
amplified because you know that somebody in Maine did legs? Christians, unfortunately, follow 
that tact as well. Before there was a Facebook, 
before there was a Twitter, before there was the missional movement 
in evangelicalism, there were faithful men and women seeking 
to glorify God each and every day by telling people about Jesus, 
by doing nice things for people in Jesus' name, and by doing 
what they can where they're at. before they could tell the world 
about it. Do you know what Christ says? Whoever 
desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. How does 
he underscore the lesson? This is the point. Just as the 
Son of Man did not come to be served, and who had a prerogative 
and a right to do this? When you read the prophet Isaiah, 
chapter 6, and he rehearses his call to the prophetic ministry, 
he says, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. I saw him high. I saw him lofty. I saw the train of his robe fill 
the entirety of the temple. I heard the angels crying out 
to him, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth 
is full of his glory. John tells us in his gospel that 
Isaiah saw Jesus' glory. So that Jesus of Isaiah 6 comes 
into this world, and instead of being praised by angels, he's 
scoffed at by men. Instead of being worshipped by 
men, he's scoffed, he's scourged, he's crucified, he's delivered 
up. And note what he says. This is according to the plan 
of God. This is how it's supposed to be. This is the execution 
of the covenant. This is how Jesus saves His people. Just as the Son of Man did not 
come to be served, but to serve and to give His life, I love 
the language here, a ransom for many. He didn't make men ransomable. He ransomed many. He didn't make 
men savable. He saved many. He didn't help. He didn't assist. He delivers. He's the champion. He's the one 
who breaks the oppressor's back. He is the one who crushes Satan 
under his foot. He is the one that forgives sin. 
He is the one that frees men from the condemnation and wrath 
and fury of God Most High for having violated His holy law. 
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve 
and to give His life a ransom for many. As I said, the rest 
of the Gospel narrative fleshes this out. Chapter 26, the Garden 
of Gethsemane. Chapter 26, the betrayal by Judas, 
the trial before the Sanhedrin, the denial by Peter, the trial 
before Pilate, the mocking of the soldiers, the crucifixion 
of our Lord Jesus, the burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. That 
is the exposition or the explanation of what Christ says here in 2028. 
He didn't come to be served. He didn't come to be praised. 
He didn't come to be worshipped. but rather He came to serve us, 
His elect, His people, the ones the Father chose. He came to 
serve them by laying down His life on their behalf and providing 
a ransom. It's beautiful. So to get back 
to our initial question, why do we baptize? Because these 
four people have shown themselves exemplary in their understanding 
of the Bible and of theology and the confession of faith. 
because we had a hidden camera on them over the last several 
weeks and they always did the right thing? No. It's because Jesus fulfilled 
all righteousness. It's because Jesus went to the 
cross in our behalf. It's because Jesus rose again. And the scripture says that everyone 
who looks to him in faith, everyone who believes on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, will be saved." Isn't that beautiful? It was the answer 
that Paul and Barnabas gave in the Philippian jailers' place. So what must I do to be saved? 
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. So what 
Peter says, there is no other name given under heaven among 
which men must be saved. So what Christ himself, or John 
the Baptist says in John 3, It says, he that believes the Son 
has everlasting life. He that does not believe the 
Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abides on 
him. So the reason why anybody comes 
to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, why anybody will 
sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in that great wedding feast, 
why anybody will be accepted in the presence of God Almighty, 
it is not because of their doing, it is not because of their righteousness, 
it is because of the doing and the dying and the rising of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. His two baptisms answer the question. active, passive obedience. That 
is the ground upon which sinners are accepted by our God through 
His Son. Well, I want to exhort the brethren 
in our church to pray for these brethren. We are receiving new 
members. That means we ought to pray for 
them. It's a good time to encourage, a good time to plug the whole 
doctrine of intercessory prayer. Certainly, one of the benefits 
of being a part of Christ's Church is the prayers of Christ's people. When we're able to express to 
somebody, I'm going through this, or I'm suffering with this, or 
I'm having this issue, or this trial, and we know that brethren 
pray. I mean, it's the most wonderful thing in the world to know that 
Jesus always prays for us, isn't it? Because you may tell your 
wife, please pray for me, and she might forget. You may tell 
your husband, please pray for me, and we'll forget. Jesus doesn't 
forget. The scripture says He always 
lives to make intercession for us. We can bank on that. I might 
forget. I know. You might forget. But let's make a conscious effort 
not to forget. Let's intercede for brethren 
at the throne of grace. Let's pray. Let's encourage. Let's love. Let's exhibit kindness. Let's do what Christ tells us 
he did. He didn't come to be served, 
but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Far too 
often we treat the church as a commodity. We treat the church 
as a place that is for my benefit. We look for churches based on 
what services it offers, based on what needs that it meets. 
Rather than looking at the church as the house of the living God, 
wherein we go to glorify, honor, praise, and worship Him, and 
along the way we ought to encourage brethren as well. The Lord loves 
the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 
So ought His people. We ought to pray for these brethren, 
love these brethren, encourage these brethren, in their Christian 
walk. And to the brethren, to those 
being baptized, our confession says it this way. One of the 
identifiers or one of the things that we express in this ordinance 
or sacrament of baptism is of His, the person being baptized, 
giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness 
of life. I love that language. It acknowledges something. Things 
have changed. You're not your own anymore. 
You've been bought with a price. Jesus paid it all. You are His 
possession. You are His livelihood. You are 
His choice jewel. Live like it. Function that way. Glorify Him and serve Him. And 
then to those outside of Christ. I suspect that when you come 
to a Christian church and you hear a minister say something 
like that, it could sound offensive. What do you mean outside of Christ? 
Or they use the language unbeliever. They say lost, or they say under 
the wrath of God. This is what the Bible says. 
There is nobody in this place right now, rightly connected 
to God through Jesus Christ, that deserved it. There is not 
a one of us who achieved it. There is not a one of us who 
merited it. There is not a one of us who deserves it. God in 
Christ reached down and pulled our miserable souls out of the 
dunghill of sin and gave us life. And He is able, and He is powerful, 
and He is the God of Holy Scripture who can affect this today. and 
live. There's a hymn that I was reminded 
of when I considered 2028, because what's taught in 2028 is the 
doctrine of substitutionary atonement. You all know what substitution 
is. If I would have been hit by a car on the way to the church 
this morning, I know my illustrations typically have me dying, that 
doesn't indicate a death wish, but if that was the case then 
Pastor Kim would have been preaching in my stead. It's the glory of 
the gospel, isn't it? Christ on that cross in our stead. Who deserved the wrath and fury 
of God? Who deserved the curse and judgment 
of a broken law? Who deserved the wrath or the 
hell that Jesus Christ endured? It's us! But He stood in our 
place. And our hymn book contains a 
hymn that says this, Ye who think of sin, but lightly, nor suppose 
the evil great, here may view its nature rightly, here its 
guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed, 
see who bears the awful load, tis the word, the Lord's anointed, 
son of man and son of God." He then says this, Here we have 
a firm foundation, here the refuge of the lost. Christ's the rock 
of our salvation, his the name of which we boast. Lamb of God 
for sinners wounded, sacrifice to cancel guilt. None shall ever 
be confounded who on him their hope have built. Believe, look 
to him. Take what is said in scripture 
and believe it by God's grace and you will enter into eternal 
life. Well, let us pray and ask the 
Lord to be glorified in our time together. Father, we thank you 
for the word. We thank you for Jesus. We thank you for his ministry. 
We thank you for the active and the passive obedience that he 
fulfilled all righteousness and that he died in the stead of 
all those whom the father gave him. Thank you again, Lord, that 
he rose on the third day. that He ascended on high, that 
He led captivity captive and He gives gifts to men. We know 
that there is a day coming when He will return in the glory of 
His Father with all of His holy angels, taking vengeance on those 
who know not God and on those who do not obey the Gospel. We 
pray that You'd open hearts. We pray that You'd give the graces 
of faith and repentance. We pray that today would be the 
day of salvation and that You would be glorified in this. And 
we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.