We have the baptism of Hannah Kim and Marissa Porter this morning. And oftentimes the question arises, why do we baptize people? And I guess the most basic answer is because the Bible tells us so. But when we start to tease that out, we see that one of the reasons why we baptize is based on our view of God's covenant.
Why we baptized is based obviously on the text of scripture. And this morning, I wanna suggest that we baptize because of the two baptisms of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I want to make that clearer as we proceed, but you can turn to Matthew's gospel. We're going to be looking this morning at Matthew chapter 3 and Matthew chapter 20. In Matthew chapter 3, Jesus undergoes water baptism, and in Matthew chapter 20, Jesus uses the metaphor of baptism to highlight his coming death.
So in short, we baptize because of the active and the passive obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. Beginning in chapter three in Matthew's gospel at verse one. In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.
Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father.
For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones, and even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 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 open 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 can turn to Matthew chapter 20, a shorter, briefer section, but one that does demand our attention this morning. Matthew 20, 20 to 28.
Matthew 20, beginning in 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. 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. Well, let us pray.
Our Father, we thank you for your written word. We thank you that it's given by inspiration of God and that it's profitable to us. And even now, Lord God, we pray for that prophet. We pray that we would see what Christ underwent for his people, that we would see his life of obedience always perfectly to the Father. and that we would see that sacrifice, that atonement, that giving of himself for the ransom of many.
And God, may we see in this the hope of our salvation, may we see in this the foundation of our salvation, that it's not our good works, it's not our conformity to the law, it's not our merit, it's not our are good intentions, but it's solely and alone what Christ has accomplished on behalf of His people. He is our sole righteousness, and in this we greatly rejoice. Even now, Lord God, we pray for forgiveness of all of our sins and transgression and everything that would darken our understanding, and we pray for the ministry and the aid of Your Holy Spirit as we work our way through these passages of Scripture. And we ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Introduction
Well, I mentioned the active and the passive obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our confession of faith, reflecting accurately the Bible, tells us that that is the basis upon which sinners are saved. We're not saved because we're good. We're saved because Christ is good.
We're saved because He fulfilled the law at every step for His people. We are saved because he went in our place upon that cross and took in himself the penalty that was due for our sins. As the apostle clearly specifies in Romans 4.25, Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised for our justification. With reference to justification, basically what's involved with that is God forgiving us of our sins and God's giving us a righteousness that avails with him.
And that is intimately connected to what we find here in Matthew 3 and then again in Matthew chapter 20.
The First Baptism: Water Baptism
So let's look at this first baptism of Jesus in Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 to 17. The context is obvious. John the Baptist is in the wilderness. He is baptizing people.
It's a baptism unto repentance. And here comes Jesus to be baptized by him according to 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? John understood that Jesus was greater. John understood that he was a forerunner. John understood that he was consistent with the prophet Isaiah, pointing forward to one that was greater, one that would come from heaven, one that was in fact Messiah.
So you can see his hesitancy at this particular point. He doesn't want to baptize Jesus because he understands that he should be the one baptized by Jesus. In John 1, 31, which is something of a parallel, John says, I did not know him. probably means he didn't know the full ramifications that he was, in fact, the Messiah. He knew that he would be greater.
He knew that he would announce his coming. He knew that he would be sort of a forerunner to him, but he didn't fully appreciate or understand all of the details involved with who Jesus was. And then in John, we see that when he baptized him, the Spirit came upon him and the Spirit resided upon him without measure. And the same instance is going on here.
So he humbly says, I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me? Now notice the Lord's response in verse 15. We see something here of what's called the act of obedience. Jesus identifies at the outset of his public ministry that it's absolutely crucial that he obey God.
He must absolutely positively obey God. And that's what he says in verse 15. But Jesus answered and said to him, permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. The prophet Isaiah announcing this one in 5311 says, by his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Jesus identifies with his people. Jesus himself is a public person. Jesus himself is a covenantal person. Jesus, as scripture tells us, is the last Adam.
And so Jesus must represent us, and he does so by obeying even this activity of baptism.
Active Obedience and Imputed Righteousness
He says, permitted to be so now, For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. The Apostle Paul in Romans 5 will highlight the deadness that we have in Adam and the aliveness that we have in Jesus. And in Romans 5, 19, he says, so also by one man's obedience, many will be made or constituted righteous. So here's the point.
You and I are sinners. You and I are, apart from God's grace, dead in Adam. You and I, apart from God's grace, cannot please God. We do not obey God's law.
We may give it lip service. We may have some sort of external compliance. We may engage in it, at least at a surface level. But in terms of obeying God with hearts purified by faith, obeying God, in a manner commanded by God and obeying God with the end being God's glory.
We don't do that. We are transgressors of God's law. We lack conformity unto God's law. All we like sheep have gone astray.
But you see, God demands perfect righteousness. So therein lies the problem. If you and I have no perfect righteousness, how are we ever going to be accepted into the presence of God? It's through what Paul says there in 519.
He says, So also by one man's obedience, many will be made or constituted righteous before God. So the idea is, is that when we, by grace, believe the gospel, And if you, by God's grace, believe that gospel this morning, as it is proclaimed by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Most High will provide you a righteousness. He will provide you a garment necessary to go to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Apart from God's provision, no one will ever be in the presence of God Almighty.
There will be no marriage supper of the Lamb for those who do not have the garment of Christ's righteousness. And so Christ, at the outset of his public ministry, highlights that element of his life. He's an obedient figure. The way that Adam transgressed, Christ never did.
Adam was given a paradise environment with one prohibition concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and yet he sinned against God. In the next chapter, Jesus is not sent into paradise, but rather he's driven out into the wilderness, and there for a period of 40 days and 40 nights, he is tempted by the devil. And yet he withstands that, he resists that, and at every step of the way, he fulfills the righteousness of God. Again, he needed to do that as the mediator of the covenant, and he needed to do that in terms of the provision of covenant blessing for all those whom the Father had given him.
If we do not have that righteous garment, we will not enter into the presence of God Almighty. It was crucial that Christ does what Adam didn't do. It is crucial that Christ performs in obedience to God's law every step of the way, and that is precisely what we find in the gospel narratives. I know there's fools out there that would suggest that Jesus sinned.
The Bible doesn't tell us that Jesus sinned. The Bible tells us that he was holy, harmless, and undefiled. He was separate from sinners in the sense that he wasn't defiled alongside of them. The Lord Christ is the champion.
The Lord Christ is the victor. The Lord Christ is the one in whom we have the righteousness of God. This is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.21. that God, the Father, made Christ, the Son, who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. It's a legal forensic transaction, and it is the very basis upon which we have a righteousness that avails with the Father.
Now, at this point, we should all say amen and praise God Almighty, because this is what is demanded of us. It's not the best attempt. God doesn't grade on a curve. He doesn't say, well, you know, He really tried that one.
No, he demands exact obedience to the law. He demands entire obedience to the law. And he demands that not just for 20 seconds in our lives, but the entirety of our lives. If you ever want to actually see what righteousness looks like, look at the 33 years of Christ's existence on this earth.
Beyond that, there ain't none. Beyond that, there is none. Beyond that, we all have to have that righteousness credited to us in order for us to stand in the presence of a thrice holy God. See, we often forget that, right?
Oftentimes, preachers preach Jesus so that people can be happy. People need to be complete. People need that hole in their life sort of filled. No, people need a righteousness.
People need to be clothed with that righteous garment and they'll never stand in the presence of a holy God. You don't understand it. In the prophet Isaiah, he sees the Lord, the Lord of hosts, exalted, lofty, high, and the angels. It's not just the three times that we find in the text in Isaiah three.
It's antiphonal praise. They never stop. They stand in the presence of God. There's a class or a group or an identifiable body of angels whose job it is to stand in the presence of God or stand or fly or whatever it is they do. and confess God's holiness.
That's what they do. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled with his glory. You see, God's eye is too pure to approve of any evil, which ought to terrify us as evil doers. as those who are called by God to obey his commandments, by God who calls us to conform to his law.
We don't do that. So in order for righteousness, it must come from another. Luther called this an alien righteousness. It's imputed by God and it's received by faith alone.
And that's the announcement of the Savior at the very beginning of his earthly ministry. He had to fulfill all righteousness. But as we look at this passage in more detail, there's a lot of good things going on here.
The Spirit's Descent and Trinitarian Affirmation
Notice 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. So in terms of the act of baptism, when he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, certainly suggestive of baptism by immersion. He comes up out of the water. It wasn't just that the water had come upon his head, but rather he had come up out of the water.
But then we have heaven open, and then he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. I think we need to make a connection here between this text and Genesis 1. What do we find the Spirit of God doing in Genesis 1? He's brooding over the creation.
We'll hear the Spirit of God is brooding over the new creation. He comes down upon the Son. And some would suggest it's here that Jesus is adopted and becomes the Son of God. That is absolutely positively not the case.
Jesus had the Spirit. But Jesus is being marked out here as the favored of God, as the Messiah of God, as the anointed of God, as the chosen of God, to do the task the Father had given to Him. This happens according to His humanity, according to His function as mediator. And this is what is being highlighted.
He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And then notice what we find in terms of the statement. Verse 17, and suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Jesus receives affirmation.
Jesus is prepared here when the spirit comes upon him without measure. Jesus is publicly affirmed by and confirmed by his father. And we are revealed something about who he is in terms of his function and role. Isaiah the prophet tells us the spirit of Yahweh shall rest upon him the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord Isaiah 11 2 in 42 1 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. Isaiah 61, 1. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
Again, this isn't that he had never had the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. But it's come upon him in such a way, without measure, as John tells us, to earmark him as the servant of Yahweh, consistent with the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah that would come. It is the approbation of the Father, and that is even testified when he says, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Now, I said just a moment ago, this is not when Jesus becomes the Son of God.
This is a heresy. that Jesus was this normal guy that lived in Nazareth, and at this particular time of his baptism, he's adopted specially as God's son in order to do the task that the Father had given him. That's not the case at all. Our confession of faith is a much better guide. In chapter 8 of Christ the Mediator, paragraph 2, it tells us the identity of the second person of the Trinity who took on our humanity with all the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof, yet without sin.
And then in paragraph three, it tells us, the Lord Jesus in his human nature, thus united to the divine in the person of the Son, was sanctified and anointed with the Holy Spirit above measure, having in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell, to the end that being holy, harmless, undefiled, full of grace and truth, he might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of a mediator and surety. This is not definitionally what Jesus became. Jesus always was the second person of the Trinity who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. He took on our humanity.
What's happening here in this account is not him becoming God's son. It is God's approbation of His Son. It is God's affirmation of His Son. It is God's publication of His Son, marking Him as the covenant mediator who will fulfill righteousness and will ultimately die and be raised again for the salvation of His people.
It's a glorious and a wonderful passage in the very beginning of our blessed Savior's ministry. But before we leave this text, we ought to appreciate what we see concerning the triune God. as the triune God is active in the original creation account, Genesis chapter 1. Some would say, well, we don't meet the Trinity until the New Testament. No, the Spirit of the Lord is brooding over the waters.
How does the Lord God create? He does it by His Word. Christ is the Logos, the Word of God. All three persons are present in Genesis chapter 1.
Let us make man in our image. That's undebatable, but here at the new creation, the creation of redemption, the creation of redemptive blessing, the creation that the Old Testament prophets look forward to, this new heavens and new earth, begun now, fully realized in the age to come, but this is what's happening. The Trinity is present at the redemption of sinners. The Trinity is present at the new creation.
John Gill commenting says, it would be almost unpardonable not to take notice of the testimony here given to the doctrine of the Trinity. Since a voice was heard from the Father in heaven, bearing witness to the Son in human nature on earth, on whom the Spirit had descended and now abode. The ancients looked upon this as so clear and full a proof of this truth that they were want to say, go to Jordan and there learn the doctrine of the Trinity. That's what you tell the Jehovah's Witnesses standing out there on Yale Road.
Send them to the Jordan and show them the Trinity. The Father says, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Again, it's not adoptionism. This is not the beginning.
This is rather Christ as mediator being publicly affirmed by the Father. The Spirit like a dove. Not a dove. The Spirit is not a dove.
Don't get that in your head that the Spirit is a dove, that there was some hypostatic union that obtained there and that the Spirit now is a dove. No, He came like a dove. He descended upon Jesus and He alights on Him. Again, not that He had never had the Spirit, but the Spirit has come upon Him without measure so that He can function as the mediator of the new covenant to save wretches like you and me from our sins.
That's the end game of it all. I mean, glory of God and the salvation of sinners. So if some of this theological language sounds a bit confusing, I would hope that it doesn't, but I hope that you would learn. I hope that you would take not only the Bible, the Book of Romans, the Book of Galatians, but our confession of faith and learn something concerning justification, concerning the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, so that we are clothed in that garment, so that we are able to to fellowship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at that marriage supper of the Lamb.
The Second Baptism: Suffering and Death
Now let's look at the second baptism of Jesus in Matthew chapter 20. This is not water baptism. I'm using this in a theological sort of way. But we have the second baptism of Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 20, or alluded to.
We don't see it fully until the cross, when He's overwhelmed with suffering and death. But Matthew chapter 20, it's a very interesting passage. We see what's happening. The sons of Zebedee are jockeying for position.
They want to be closest to Jesus, which isn't bad. I think all of us want to be closest to Jesus, don't we? But with reference to their particular expression of this wanting to be closest with Jesus, they show a fundamental flaw in their thinking concerning the kingdom. They think that the crown will come without the cross.
And Jesus has to remind them the crown will come, but there's a cross prior to it. And in this, they imitate, or rather we imitate, or ape them. We don't like the crosses associated with the Christian life. We just want the crown.
We just want a car to take us out and we end up in heaven at the end of the day. I mean, wouldn't that be great? Maybe the hitting us with the car may not be the greatest, but the end game is there. We wanna be with Jesus.
We don't wanna have to deal with the various things that we see in this world and not just out there, but right here, that proneness to wander and proneness to leave the God that we love. It is intriguing.
The Disciples' Misunderstanding of the Kingdom
Notice in verse 24, when the 10 heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. I don't think they were greatly displeased with the two brothers who were jockeying for position because the ten said, you know, you shouldn't do that. You should be humble. Lowliness earmarks the kingdom of heaven.
No, it's because they wanted that position. They were greatly displeased because if James and John got those places of prestige, then they themselves would have been excluded. So you gotta get the point. The mother of Zebedee's son says, you know, Jesus, can my beloved boys sit on your right and your left?
I mean, again, that's a natural sort of reflex on the part of a parent. We want the best for our children. And the best for our children is close association with Jesus Christ. So we can't fault them in this, but we can when we consider the context.
Because if you go back for just a moment to verse 17 in chapter 20, It says, 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 discourage and to crucify, and the third day he will rise again. So you see context there. 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. Do you see how callous that is? Let's go back to the illustration. I actually had this thought the other day.
A lady was drinking coffee as she turned the corner. I was walking my dog. And she looked like she was going to get out of control there and wipe me out. I don't really have this wish as I walk that I get wiped out.
But the thought occurred to me. I could get wiped out. So let's say I got wiped out and I die. And one of you tonight, call my wife and say, hey, can we have his library?
He has some really good books in there. And I've had my eyes on those. Whenever I visit him, I have this tendency to want to cover it. That would be callous.
It would be insensitive. That would not be a kindness expressed to my beloved, would it? If you answer, yeah, well, that would be all right. You've got problems and you need to sort of sort that out.
Jesus has said, I must go to Jerusalem. I must be tried. I must be crucified. And then they come up and say, can we sit on your right and your left?
That's callous, brethren. That's not being sensitive to the turmoil that a person is undergoing. It's like when Jesus goes into Gethsemane and his soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death, and he goes to his disciples and he says, you couldn't watch with me for one hour? You're sleeping?
I know the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. He acknowledges that, I think, in the sort of tenor of Psalm 103. He knows our frame, he knows where dust, he knows where... and he pities us. But nevertheless, it's sort of a callous expression of one's allegiance to the Master.
And the same sort of thing obtains here. He has said he must die. And they said, we want to be on your right and your left. So that's the context.
Now
The Cup and Baptism of Wrath
notice what Jesus responds with in verses 22 to 27. First, he tells them they do not know what they ask. 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?
You don't know what's coming. You want the crown, but you don't want the cross. You want the good things associated with the kingdom, but you don't want the difficulties or the afflictions or the hardships. Brethren, as Christ's people, we know you don't get one without the other.
We don't just have this crown in our future with easy sailing in the here and now. There's trial, there's difficulty, there's heartache. The apostle tells us in 2 Timothy 3.12, all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Paul's message in Acts chapter 14, as he had just been stoned on the previous day or day before, he comes into the city and he says, through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of heaven.
In Galatians chapter 6, he says, from now on, let nobody trouble me, for I bear in my body the brand marks of Jesus. What does he mean by that? He means scars associated with his commitment to the Lord Christ. So the point is, there's always a cross before the crown.
Now it will differ in degrees. I don't think all of us are going to be Job's or all of us are going to be what Paul got. But if you soar through life with no affliction, no heartache, no trial, no difficulty, you're an exception rather than the rule. With reference to the particular context, our Lord Jesus tells them, they don't know what they're talking about.
And then He speaks of drinking the cup. Notice in verse 22, are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? Now, this cup is in the Old Testament. This cup is in Gethsemane.
This cup is metaphorical. It refers to judgment. It refers to wrath. God's judgment, God's wrath.
You see that cup in Psalm 11 or Psalm 75. You see that cup in the prophets with reference to God's judgment of, say, Babylon. You see this cup in Gethsemane where the Lord Jesus Christ asks the Father, according to His humanity, if it be possible, take this cup from me. Let this cup pass.
What does that mean? It didn't mean it was some sort of a drink or some sort of a beverage, some sort of thing that was displeasing to the Savior. He's talking about the wrath of the Father. That's why he resolves, even so Father, not my will but yours be done.
He knows what lay behind Gethsemane. This is what provokes the exceeding sorrow, the sorrow even unto death. It's not the hands of men, it's not the crucifixion per se, but rather it's the wrath and fury and judgment of God. So he says, you don't know anything about this cup that I'm about to drink.
And then he refers to baptism. Again, it's metaphorically used here, theologically in terms of passive obedience, but this is what he says. Are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? This is not his first or water baptism as we saw there in Matthew 3, 13 to 17, but rather the suffering that he will undergo on the cross.
Now, if we would have just translated, instead of transliterated the word baptizo, we would read the word immerse instead of baptism. Immerse fits the picture well. Jesus isn't gonna be sprinkled with God's wrath and judgment. Jesus isn't gonna have a bit of God's wrath and judgment poured upon him, but Jesus is gonna be overwhelmed by it.
That's the point. Immersion shows that. Immersion demonstrates that. In Luke 12, 50, our Lord Christ says, but I have a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed I am till it is accomplished.
So he's using it metaphorically, and I'm using it theologically, metaphorically, but I hope that you get the point. He is telling these disciples, he is telling these two men, I have a cup to drink, and it's the cup of God's judgment, and it's the cup of God's wrath. I have a baptism to undergo, and it's an overwhelming influence of God's wrath and judgment upon me. That is obvious from this context and from the Luke 1250 passage.
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. So you see the point. He says, I have to go to Jerusalem and there I have to be crucified.
They come and say, hey Lord, can we sit on your right and your left? He says, you don't know what you're asking. I have a cup to drink and I have a baptism to undergo that you haven't really contemplated yet. You obviously missed what I said in verses 17 to 19.
But go back to the text because Jesus leads them by the hand to appreciate what he is speaking to. Verse 22, at the end, we are able. No, you're not. That is not the case.
You are going to suffer, you are going to have issues, you are going to have problems, but you're not able the way that Jesus is able, that public man, that last Adam. So he said to them, verse 23, you will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. Now, this is a historically accurate statement, not that Jesus needs me to tell you that, but the James here, we're gonna meet in a couple of weeks in our studies in the book of Acts. James gets his head chopped off by Herod.
This John ends up on the island of Patmos, exiled for the word of God and the testimony of the Lord Jesus. As best as I can tell, after they'd already tried to kill him by boiling him in a vat of oil. I used to think that the boiling of him in the vat of oil was the way that he met his end. No, it was sort of a precursor to his life in Padmas.
Now, Padmas was a rock out in the Aegean Sea. It wasn't sandals. It wasn't a retirement facility. It wasn't golf course laden.
It wasn't, you know, with an entertainment sort of wing. It was a place of exile. So you see what Jesus says to these two men, you're gonna drink a cup, you're gonna be baptized, you're gonna have some suffering, you're gonna have a cross before you get the crown. But in terms of you being able to do what I'm gonna do, you don't know, you don't have a clue.
And then he says in the end of verse 23, 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. So verse 24, and when the 10 heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. Now, Jesus uses this occasion to guard, or to hopefully guard his disciples, or to promote in them thinking that is contrary to the world. They live in a world where power structures are evident.
They live in a world where power structures are obvious. And typically in the world, you've got all the low life at the bottom, and then you've got sort of the dictator, the tyrant, the leader at the top. And that's their mindset, and that's what they're thinking in terms of greatness in the kingdom. How do I be great in the kingdom?
Well, it isn't stepping on people the way it often is in politics, stepping on a mass of people so that you can be the guy on the top and everybody serves you. See, that's the structure that they had in mind. So Jesus wants to disavow them of that. Verse 25, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded 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 what he's doing? You want to be great in the kingdom? Guess what?
You better start to serve. You want to be great in the kingdom? You better start to put others first. You want to be great in the kingdom?
Don't demand that everybody serve you. You want to be first in the kingdom? You need to be the last or the least of all. You see, the kingdom ethic is not the guy on the top with everybody under him.
The kingdom ethic is the guy at the bottom serving everybody else up, the way that the Son of Man does. And that is precisely where he takes this argument and highlights the nature of his redemptive act for his people. So verse 27, whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Now notice this in verse 28, "...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many." So this indicates something of the cup that He's going to drink, and this indicates something of the baptism that He is going to be baptized with.
And the beauty of Matthew, the theological author of this gospel, verse 28 tells us what he's going to do in Jerusalem. And then the rest of the narrative takes us to Jerusalem with the Savior. He knows that he's going to Jerusalem. He knows that he's gonna be tried.
He knows that he's gonna be crucified. He knows that these men are gonna rise up and vehement opposition to him. If you and I knew that, we'd go the other way, wouldn't we? If I knew that in Jerusalem bad things were gonna happen, I would go somewhere else.
I'm sorry, I'd like to tell you I'm more courageous than that, but if I knew that horrible men were gonna do horrible things to me, and I was gonna suffer at their hand, I'd probably say, okay, I think I'll go the opposite way. Go to Nineveh, that great city. Jonah is told, what does he do? He gets on a boat and he goes the opposite direction.
That would have been me. That would have probably been all of us, right? We don't like discomfort. We don't like crosses.
We don't like hardship. We don't like pain. We like comfort, thank you very much. We like all the good things that we have in this affluent society.
So when we look at this particular narrative and we know why Jesus, we know that Jesus, when he gets to Jerusalem, bad things are gonna happen to him. Jesus provides the theological rationale for that in chapter 20 at verse 28. Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.
The Passion Narrative as Christ's Baptism
So that shows us what's involved in the cup that he drinks and what's involved in the baptism with which he is baptized. It shows us as well why he continues, why he sets his face like a flint to go into the city of Jerusalem, knowing the horrific things that are going to meet him there. He's doing it not to be served, but rather he's doing it to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. So Matthew's gospel at this particular juncture gives us the theological rationale for as to why he goes to Jerusalem to do what he's doing.
And then when we start to ask the question further, well, what does that cup, what does that baptism look like? Well, look at all the things that happened subsequent to this, the Garden of Gethsemane, Matthew chapter 26. He says, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Now that's Christ speaking according to his humanity.
Remember, hypostatic nature, the one person, the two natures, hypostatic union, rather, the one person, the two natures. Here he speaks according to his humanity, as the covenant mediator, as the one who is facing down the very wrath and judgment and fury of God. All of us, according to our humanity, would say the same thing. As well, we have the betrayal by Judas, this cup, this baptism.
It's seen vertically in terms of what the Father is going to inflict. It pleased Yahweh to crush Him, according to the prophet Isaiah, but He's let down, as it were, by those closest to Him. I mean, Judas betrayed Him. And in that very context, it says all the disciples forsook Him.
They fled away. What a horrible thing for these men to do. On the one hand, they're saying, can we stand or sit right on your right and right on your left? And then the push comes to shove, and what do they do?
They bail. They abandon him. This is a baptism that we know nothing of. And then the trial before the Sanhedrin.
I mean, it's a kangaroo court, isn't it? It's terrible what they do to him. And I think in Matthew's gospel, what we see at the end is the men of the Sanhedrin smacking him. It's the men of the Sanhedrin lifting their hands and striking the Holy Son of God.
Some try to say, well, no, dignified men in the Sanhedrin wouldn't have done that. Oh, they absolutely did do that because they put an innocent man on a Roman cross. Of course, they would slap him and smack him and spit in his face. He's denied by Peter. one of his closest associates.
In fact, when you look at the gospel records, and everybody needs to get this, there's a doctrine of friendship. Not everybody is going to be everybody's best friend, but in the midst of friendship, there are times when we have best friends. You had the 12th, didn't you? But then you had these three that are mentioned specifically, Peter, James, and John.
They go to Gethsemane with the Lord. They're, you know, at the Mount of Transfiguration. It's always Peter first that's mentioned. I can't prove that he was the closest.
We know that John was the beloved disciple. We know that John at the supper laid his head upon the bosom of our Lord. It's always Peter first. Peter is a close associate, if not the closest associate, and he bails.
He denies the master, not to the Sanhedrin, not to the Roman emperor, but to a slave girl. He denies the master. We see the mocking of the soldiers. Again, just to flesh out for you what this cup and what this baptism looks like in terms of what the Savior announces.
The Son of Man didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. And then, of course, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. that cry of dereliction on the cross, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It doesn't mean what I think, at times it's explained to me. But suffice to say, what it does express is that Christ, according to his humanity, understands the displeasure of the father against sin and against rebellion.
Not that Christ was a sinner, not that Christ was a rebel, but that it was imputed to him. And so all of these things flesh out for us in the context of Matthew's gospel, what this baptism is.
Why We Baptize: Active and Passive Obedience
And I suggest to you, the only reason anybody ever goes into that tank, Now there's fakes, there's false professors, we don't know the hearts, we're not omnipotent, I can't read, there's no E on the backs of persons that should be baptized and are not. But upon a credible profession of faith and repentance toward our Lord Jesus Christ, those who manifest in some degree or other good works that demonstrate the fruits and evidences of a lively faith, the only reason they go in there, it's not because they're good. It's not because they're wise. It's not because they're smarter than others.
It's not because they've decided to follow Jesus. It's because of what God in Christ is doing in terms of reconciling the world to himself. It is by virtue of the active obedience of the Lord Jesus that every step of the way, he rendered obedience to the Father. And it is based on what we call the passive obedience of Jesus, not suggesting that he was not a passive, active participant in it.
There's reasons why it's distinguished that way, but the passive obedience refers to his substitutionary atoning death on the cross. So in other words, Hannah and Marissa aren't baptized because they're great girls. They may be great girls, and well, they are great girls in one context, but they're not going to heaven because they're great girls. They're going to heaven because Jesus says, I must fulfill all righteousness, and I must undergo this baptism unto death.
It is the active and the passive obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not our doing. It is not our keeping. It is not our observing, because we don't, we can't, and we won't.
If God had not taken into His hand the salvation of sinners, none of us would ever go to heaven. God did make Him Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. So with reference to the warrant for baptism, with reference to the whole issue of salvation, it's based upon Jesus. He really is the Savior for sinners, isn't he?
It's not that he's partial Savior. He aids us. Don't you love what Paul says in Hebrews 7? He's able to save what?
To the uttermost! He's able to save completely. You see why this concept of losing one's salvation is perverse? Because if God has purpose to save a sinner, he doesn't let them go.
He doesn't say, well, I've got you for a time and then based on your power and based on your will, I'm gonna let you go. It's MacArthur well said, if we could lose our salvation, we would lose our salvation. What's Paul saying? Philippians 1, I'm confident in this very thing.
He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Jesus Christ. You see, Christ is the savior. It's based on his obedience to the law. It's based on his death in the place of sinners.
It's based on the resurrection from the dead. It is based on what Christ has accomplished. And that's why it's good news. See, if I came to you this morning and said, you know, you just need to try a little harder in your life.
How do we quantify, try a little harder? That's not the demand of God. He never says to you, try a little harder. You need to do exactly and precisely and specifically what he has commanded every jot and tittle.
That's not good news, brethren. That's why we don't preach law as gospel. Go out and be better. That is to kill people spiritually.
The good news is, is that Christ came. Christ lived. Christ died. Christ was raised.
And everyone who looks to Him in faith will have everlasting life. And when they have that, they should be baptized in obedience to their master. They should follow wherever he calls them to go. They should embrace the reality that before the crown, very often, there's going to be a cross.
In fact, he says this in Matthew 16. You need to take up your cross daily and follow me. And
Application: Baptism and Obedience
this might be a good place to transition to some practical exhortation with reference to the subject of baptism this morning. This isn't just a religious rite. It's not just a formula. It's not just something that Christians do, but it's rather a significant expression of your faith in the Master.
It is for the party baptized. We're just happy participants and we get to witness, but it's a means of grace for these two young women. It's a day when I hope they'll look back in the future and say, man, I remember that day. I remember going into that water.
I remember coming up. Not because it's magic, not because we sprinkled something unique into that water and there's a buzz to it, no. It is a public affirmation of my siding with Jesus Christ and to follow Him wherever He bids me to go. That's the exhortation I give to you young ladies.
When you identify publicly, you should have already been doing this, but when you identify publicly with our triune God, you follow the Master. And we all need to be reminded of this because there are many points where we don't follow the Master. We are still prone to wander and prone to leave the God that we love. Baptism, hopefully, will remind us of our own station before God Most High as blood-bought children of the living and true God.
And therefore, I hope we all leave today happy, delighted, and rejoicing that Christ is ours, and we are Christ's, and I want to follow Him wherever He bids me to go. It's a beautiful thing that that baptistry expresses.
What Baptism Is and Is Not
As well, we need to understand, with reference to believers and baptism, we do not believe that baptism saves. It's not the case that we put people in this water so that they'll get saved. We put them in the water because they are saved. As well, we do not believe that baptism is a magical rite.
I've shared before, I know that Long-timers here are probably tired of hearing me share before, but years and years ago, we brought a little Roman Catholic neighbor with us to church, and we had a baptism. And, you know, just to show you how non-magical and non-mystical it is, that's just regular tap water. I started the flow yesterday and put those heaters in. I guess they heat up cow water, you know, those metal things.
They put them in there, water for the cows so those would freeze. There's no magic here. And then in order to get that water out, there's a hole in the wall on the other side, and you gotta kind of reach your arm in there, and you got this little wrench, and if you drop the wrench, forget it, so we put a lanyard on it, and you just unloose it, and then that water's gonna pour right out into the parking lot. Well, that Roman Catholic neighbor that visited that time said, all that holy water's going into your parking lot.
It's not holy water, it's water. Like the bread and the wine. Sanctified from a common use to a sacred use, That's how we should view this. It's not magic.
It's not hocus-pocus. There's been no sort of incantation delivered over it. It is a symbol. It is an element.
It is a means by which we typify or rather demonstrate and show forth Christ and his burial, his resurrection, or his death, burial, and resurrection from the dead. And then finally, we do not believe that baptism is commanded, or we do believe, rather, that baptism is commanded by Christ and is an ordinance of the new covenant that believers must obey. I usually say this when we have a baptism. If you're a believer and you haven't been baptized, why not?
What is it about Christ's command in baptism that you struggle with? If you do struggle, set up an appointment. We can talk and I'll tell you, don't struggle. Obey Jesus.
It's a wonderful thing. If you are a believer in Christ, you need to be baptized. If you are a believer in Christ, you need to be baptized, not so that you'll be saved, but because you are saved. And this is an expression of one's obedience to the master in water baptism.
It's a beautiful and a wonderful and a glorious thing. And every time we have one, maybe not every time, but most of the time, I think back to when I was baptized. I don't ever look back on that day and say, what a terrible thing, how horrific, how bad, how horrible. No, it was great.
Remember Al Martin one time, I was at his church for a conference and there was a baptism, and he says, whenever we have a baptism, I want to get baptized all over again. Now, take that for what it's worth. We're not re-baptists in that sense. Okay, how many?
No, no, no. But you get the point. It's glorious. It's a wonderful thing.
So if you're not baptized this morning and you are a believer in Jesus Christ, I want to encourage you to search the scriptures. I want to encourage you to look at the book of Acts and see what people did who believed the gospel. See what people did who, when they believed, when they were saved, they entered into the water of baptism in obedience to their master.
Spurgeon on His Own Baptism
I want to end with this quote from C. H. Spurgeon. I've read this before.
Some of you will remember. He reports in his autobiography about his own baptism. I always think this is a good one for young people. Spurgeon was baptized as a young man.
I mean, he was preaching at 16. And interestingly, his parents were Paedo-Baptists. That means they practiced infant baptism. So he got saved and embraced Baptist principles and obviously was baptized as a believer.
And when his parents said something to him, he said something back like this, Well, God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask or think. Not only am I saved, but I'm a Baptist. I'm just sharing that because I think it's demonstrative of Spurgeon's quick wit and of his consistent testimony as a Baptist. But notice what he says concerning his baptism.
Again, I say this primarily for Hannah and for Marissa. May 3rd. In the afternoon, I was privileged to follow my Lord and to be buried with Him in baptism. Blessed pool, sweet emblem of my death to all the world.
May I henceforward live alone for Jesus. Accept my body and soul as a poor sacrifice. Tie me unto Thee. In Thy strength, I now devote myself to Thy service forever.
Never may I shrink from owning thy name. Witness, ye men and angels, now, if I forsake the Lord. I vow to glory alone in Jesus and his cross, and to spend my life in the extension of his cause, in whatsoever way he pleases. I desire to be sincere in this solemn profession, having but one object in view, and that to glorify God.
Blessing upon thy name that thou hast supported me through the day. It is thy strength alone that could do this. Thou hast, thou will. Thou hast enabled me to profess thee.
Help me now to honor thee and carry out my profession and live the life of Christ on earth. May that be your report, and may that be the significance of this day for you too. I've known these girls since they were tiny. I've watched them grow up, and it's a privilege for me to get to baptize them and share in this special moment in their lives.
If you're not a believer today, it's not that that's going to save you. It's Christ. Look to Him in faith. Believe on Him.
He is the one alone in whom there is forgiveness and righteousness that avails with the Father.
Closing Prayer
Well, let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for these sacraments that you've given to the church, for the confirmation of our faith, for increase of faith, for a means of grace. And God, may it function this way today for us.
And may you be glorified as these young ladies go into the water. And may these things that Spurgeon records so many years ago be true in their own lives. And may they walk in newness of life, may they follow the Savior wherever he bids them, and may we as a church help them, may they in this church help us, and may we collectively and together encourage and exhort one another while it is called today, lest we be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. We thank you not only for sacraments, we thank you for the church and for the blessing that we have in this local body.
And we pray that you would strengthen us. We pray that you would increase our affection for one another, increase our unity. And may we endeavor to keep that unity in the bond of peace. And we ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.