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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter three. Matthew chapter three. While 
you're turning there, I just want to thank everybody for your 
prayers and concern for Brittany, as most of you probably already 
know, she gave birth on Friday to a healthy baby boy, Owen James. And we are very thankful to the 
Lord God for his mercy in this respect. I spoke with her this 
morning. She has not had a seizure since 
she had the baby. So we're hoping and praying that 
that will be a a blessed corollary from the birth of Owen James. Well, I want to begin reading 
in Matthew chapter 3 at verse 1. It will be a bit of review, 
and then this morning we're going to take up the baptism of Jesus, 
specifically in verses 13 to 17. But I'll begin reading in 
verse 1. 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. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we 
thank You for the Holy Scripture. We thank You for Your written 
Word. And we thank You for the Spirit who gave us this truth. 
We pray that even now He would be at work in our hearts and 
minds She would guide us into an appreciation of this section 
of Scripture. She would cause us to learn much 
concerning Christ from this passage. We just pray that you would forgive 
us for all of our sins and unrighteousness. We thank you that there is forgiveness 
with you, that you may be feared. And we pray that even now, God, 
you would cause us to appreciate the blood of Jesus Christ that 
was shed for the remission of sin. And God, we ask that you 
would just bless this time together. May we worship you in spirit 
and in truth, and may you be glorified in this glad hour. 
We ask through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, we remember after 
chapters 1 and 2, with reference to the birth narrative, Jesus 
then went to Galilee. He was brought up in the small 
town of Nazareth. That is where we left off specifically 
with Jesus in chapter 2, verses 22 to 23. Here in chapter 3, 
verses 1 to 12, we see the ministry and the message of John the Baptist. He was the forerunner who had 
come to announce the coming. of the Lord, who had come to 
call Israel to repentance. He was undergoing or he was going 
through a baptism associated with the remission of sin and 
with repentance unto life. And in this particular instance, 
now Jesus comes to John in order to be baptized. He makes that 
70 mile, about 70 mile journey from Nazareth in Galilee to the 
region where John the Baptist is baptizing. And it's a very 
instructive portion, first and foremost, because it sets Jesus 
before us. We misread the passage, and I'm 
saying this as a pronounced Baptist, but we misread the passage if 
we come to this section simply as a means to prove baptism by 
immersion or simply as a means to set forth obedience to Jesus 
Christ. Those things are important to 
be sure. But what's in view here is the divine revelation of who 
Christ is. It sets the stage and links between 
what has preceded and what will follow. It is very key and very 
important that we understand all that is asserted here concerning 
the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to break down these 
verses into two broad categories. First, the discussion with John, 
and then secondly, the baptism of Jesus. So, the discussion 
with John, verses 13 to 15, I've already mentioned, he came about 
70 miles in order to be baptized by John. It says Jesus came from 
Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. Remember, 
again, he grew up in Nazareth, in Galilee. This is the first 
public demonstration, or the first public act by the Lord 
Jesus. And as Luke tells us, he was 
about 30 years of age at this particular time. Notice in verse 
14, it says, and John tried to prevent him wasn't just once. John was persistent. John really 
tried to keep Jesus from undergoing baptism. And why is that? Because 
John understood that his baptism was associated with repentance. He recognized at least this much 
concerning Jesus that he didn't need to repent. Now, in John's 
gospel, John the Baptist says, I did not know him. Probably 
a reference to the fact that Jesus was Messiah. Be hard to 
believe that he never met Jesus Christ. Their parents were cousins. They probably saw each other 
at least some point in that 30-year period. But as well, John would 
have received information concerning the Lord Jesus. And he already 
mentioned that in his message in verse 11. He said, 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. So John is persistent 
and yet unsuccessful in his attempt to keep Jesus from undergoing 
baptism. He doesn't need repentance. He 
doesn't need the remission of sin. And John says, I need to 
be baptized by you. And are you coming to me? Are 
you submitting to this ordinance? Are you coming into the waters 
of the Jordan to associate with remission of sin, to associate 
with repentance unto life? John recognizes the superiority 
of Jesus, and he sees that he, John the Baptist, ought to be 
baptized by Jesus and not the other way around. And it's based 
on this A bit of a dispute, not a mean-spirited dispute, but 
this bit of a challenge by John that Jesus then gives the reason 
in verse 15. This is most instructive for 
us. He says, Jesus answered and said 
to him, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us 
to fulfill all righteousness. It's a bit of an interesting 
statement that Jesus makes at this particular venture. Remember, 
this is the first time in his public ministry or the first 
time in his life that he has been publicly manifested. I think 
that this statement is somewhat of a programmatic statement about 
all that will entail his ministry. I don't think he's saying that 
just the act of baptism fulfills all righteousness, but it is 
that first step to fulfilling all righteousness. Again, not 
that from age zero to thirty he was a lawless, wretched sinner. That's not the case at all. He's 
always wholly harmless and undefiled. What I think he is hinting here, 
too, is that which we call the active obedience of Christ. I 
think the background for this statement is the suffering servant 
in Isaiah's prophecy. In fact, we'll have cause to 
reflect on that. Pastor Cam read from Isaiah 42. 
That's the first servant song. Isaiah the Prophet, under the 
inspiration of the Spirit, wrote four songs concerning the servant 
of the Lord. This servant who would come and 
who would suffer. This servant who would give his life a ransom 
for many. This servant who would go to 
the full extent to save his people from their sins. In Isaiah 53 
at verse 11, God, through the Prophet, said this, He not only bears our iniquities, 
but he is the righteous servant himself who fulfills all righteousness. You see, with reference to salvation, 
we not only need the forgiveness of sins, brothers and sisters, 
but we need a righteousness that avails with God. We not only 
need to have our sins covered in the blood, but we need the 
righteousness of another to be imputed to us. And this is what 
Jesus is getting at. He says, permitted to be so now, 
for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. 
He is going to undertake on behalf of his people to do everything 
that the law of God demands. to do everything that the will 
of God demands. Jesus willingly subordinates 
himself. And in this instance, in his 
baptism, he is identifying with his people. He is identifying 
with all those whom the Father had given him. He is identifying 
with sinners. And even more than identifying, 
he is representing them. When you look at the entirety 
of Christ's life, every act of obedience, every fulfillment 
of righteousness, every step of the way went into providing 
that garment that we stand in need of, that righteousness of 
Jesus. So much so that the Apostle Paul 
could say in Romans 5 19. So also by one man's obedience, 
many will be constituted righteous. We need Jesus to fulfill the 
law for us. We need a champion. You see, 
God demands perfection. God demands obedience. Is He 
going to get it with us? Does He find it in you and I? 
All we have to do is look at His perfect law and see ourselves 
condemned. You shall have no other gods 
before me. Done. Over. Failed. We've all 
been found out as violators of that law. We look at ourselves 
as gods before Him. The second, you shall not make 
for yourself an idol. Anything that you put in place 
of God is an idol. It may not be a pole. It may 
not be a rock. It may not be a golden calf. 
But whatever it is that demands your energy and attention more 
than God is an idol. You shall not take the name of 
the Lord your God in vain. You might say, well, I never 
cuss. I never blaspheme. Do you know 
that every act of sin causes reproach to fall upon the name 
of God? Remember that instance when Nathan, 
the prophet, indicted David of Israel. What's his word to David 
at that particular time? By this act you have given cause 
to the Gentiles to bring reproach on the name of Yahweh. When we 
as God's people go out and sin, we bring reproach upon the name 
of our holy Lord Jesus. Remember the Sabbath day to keep 
it holy. I mean, there's not even a doctrinal 
embracing of that in much of evangelicalism today. And we 
who, by God's grace, see the doctrine clearly established, 
where's our practice at? Is it a weariness? Is it a burden? Is it a hardship? Is it a headache? Is it something that should grieve 
the saint of Christ that we come to church? Can't we, for one 
day, imitate the ethic of the psalmist who said, I was glad 
when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. 
Yes, we doctrinally assent to this truth, but where are we 
practically? What about honoring your father 
and your mother? And not only parents, but any sort of lawful 
authority. The same God who says, submit 
yourself to your parents, says, submit yourself to the governing 
authorities. Are we good at that? Do we obey 
the man, or do we seek to stick it to the man? What about murder? You might say, well, I've never 
actually shot anybody in the head. I've never actually took 
a knife out and plunged it into somebody's heart. But if you 
hate your brother without cause in your heart, if you say, rock 
off, fool, if you think ill of a man, you've committed murder 
in your heart. The sin of adultery. You say, 
well, I've been faithful to my marriage partner. What does Jesus 
say? Does Jesus say it only lies in 
the externals as we trace through soon on the Sermon on the Mount? 
Jesus says, I say to you, he who looks upon a woman who lusts 
in his heart has broken the seventh commandment. We need a champion. We need one who says permitted 
to be so now, for it is necessary that we must fulfill all righteousness. We need to see in this statement 
the very righteousness of God imputed to us. And then we continue 
on in those commandments. We're not supposed to steal. 
We're not supposed to lie. We're not supposed to covet. 
Do we pass muster in those areas? Do we fulfill all righteousness 
in those areas? Absolutely not. This is the beauty 
of the gospel. Not that God doesn't demand perfection, 
but that God gets perfection in the person and the work of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And all those who by grace alone, 
through faith alone, look to him receive pardon of sin and 
the imputation of righteousness. That's what Jesus is meaning 
here. Permitted to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us 
to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus here shows his solidarity 
with his people in their need. One commentator says the Messiah 
is a representative person. The Puritans would call him a 
public person. That means he is acting in our 
stead. He is obeying. Yes, for the glory 
of God, the good of his own soul, but for his people as well. Now, 
if you take this and say, well, now I can go sin all I want because 
Jesus fulfilled the righteousness of God. You haven't got it. Haven't 
understood it. You see those for whom he secures 
pardon and righteousness say now, God, help me to fill me 
with your spirit that I may indeed pursue you, that I may follow 
you, that I may glorify you. Commentator said the Messiah 
is a representative person, the embodiment of Israel, whether 
as king or righteous servant. As such, he identifies with his 
people fully. You can never say, oh, he doesn't 
know what it's like. He doesn't know how hard it is. 
Remember going through the book of Hebrews, and we see that Jesus 
is tempted in all points like us, and yet without sin. And 
sometimes people say, well, you know, that's not really fair. 
I mean, after all, he's God. He's the God-man. You know, we 
break when we're tempted, don't we? Oh, not me, Pastor. Yeah, you do. Oh, no, you should see me. I 
can resist the devil like nobody's business. That remaining corruption, 
I keep it down. Oh, you don't sound like you 
need Jesus then. The rest of us wretches certainly 
need him because we don't resist the devil and we don't keep that 
remaining temptation down like we should. You think about that. 
Let's just say when we're tempted, we break at 30%, which I think 
is very gratuitous. I think that's a very gracious 
estimate. I don't know how many of us are 
pressed to 30%. We might get to 3% or 13% and 
we fall like babies. Jesus was tempted and tested 
and never gave in. That means he felt 100% temptation 
without breaking under it. It's us who don't understand. 
It's us who can't identify. Notice the bridge here. Notice 
what the declaration is. The voice from heaven says, this 
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The spirit descends 
upon him and alights upon him. And then in chapter four, what 
does that selfsame spirit do? That drives him into the wilderness 
for the devil to say, if you are the son of God. The father 
just says, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. 
And now this devil is going to come along and say, if you are 
the son of God, we don't know temptation like that. We don't 
know that trial. He was tempted in all points 
like this and yet without sin, that very act, that very fact, 
that very reality demonstrates that he knows more temptation 
than we do. We pray. Jesus Christ identifies 
with his people fully. Please get that. Please understand 
that. Please realize that about our 
public person. He identifies with us fully. And obediently acting out this 
role, he receives the anointing of the Spirit in order to accomplish 
his mission. I think that's where Jesus is 
going when he says, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is 
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. What's John do? 
Let's baptize you then. Let's do this thing then. Yes, 
you don't need to repent. Yes, you don't need remission 
of sins, but you are publicly acting to fulfill all righteousness. And we need that as desperate 
sinners, as miserable sinners. John permits him. John allows 
him. John puts him into the water. 
Notice, secondly, the baptism of Jesus. Three things to observe 
here. The first, the heaven or the 
opening of heaven. The opening of heaven. This is 
a great passage here. When he had been baptized, Jesus 
came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens 
were opened to him. This has got a weight of biblical 
revelation behind it. Ezekiel, sitting by the river 
Kabar. He's in Tel Aviv, and he sees 
heaven open, and God reveals himself. This is a sign of divine 
revelation. See, the important thing in this 
passage isn't necessarily the baptism, though it is important. Don't want to minimize that. 
The important thing is the revelation, what God affirms concerning Jesus 
and what God communicates to us as sinners. In this opening 
up of the heavens, Jesus here receives divine affirmation. He is God's servant. He is the 
anointed one. He is that chosen one who Pastor 
Cam read of in Isaiah 42, verse 1. My elect one. My chosen one. As well, Jesus receives divine 
preparation, which we'll see in just a moment. It's not as 
if Jesus had no Holy Spirit up to this point. It's just that 
as Jesus is now embarking on his public ministry, as he's 
being fit and equipped for that work of fulfilling all righteousness 
and going to the cross, he receives the Spirit in great measure. 
So he is prepared here at his baptism. And He is as well affirming 
His purpose of heart to do the will of His Father. He is not 
shrinking back. He is not choosing the life of 
ease. He is not going to go into golf. He is not going to go into, 
you know, retail. He is going to take on the assigned 
task of living in obedience to the Father and going to the cross 
for His people. He affirms it. As well, Jesus 
here receives divine approbation. This is my beloved son, the father 
says. Divine approval. It's as if God 
is saying, I have sent my best. I think the backdrop for this 
statement in verse 17, as we'll consider it a bit more fully 
in a moment, is Genesis 22. Remember what God says to Abraham, 
take your son, your only son, whom you love. What we're seeing 
at the outset of Matthew's gospel is Genesis 22 being fulfilled. You see, when Abraham raised 
that knife and he was about to bury it into Isaac, his son, 
his only son, whom he loved, God dispatched an angel of the 
Lord to stop him. He said, No, Abraham, you don't 
need to do that. For now, I know that you fear 
me. What we have in Matthew's gospel 
is the Father taking that knife back and not reneging, but making 
good on that. It is the fulfillment of what 
Abraham told Isaac. The Lord will provide a lamb. 
And as well, what we as sinners receive from this statement is 
divine revelation. We learn a lot about Christ in 
this passage of Holy Scripture. Now, secondly, as we consider 
the baptism, notice the descent of the Spirit. Why a dove? Because it looks good in art? 
I mean, you've all seen those pictures. The ancient Near Eastern 
man, I don't want to call him Jesus, coming out of the water 
and the dove coming down on him. Why a dove? Well, there's myriad 
explanations for this. Perhaps two of them we can at 
least consider. Just briefly, I don't think we 
can be dogmatic here. Some see in this the imagery 
of Genesis 1-2. Though the spirit there is not 
referred to as a dove, what's he doing? He's brooding over 
the creation. He's hovering over the creation. 
And what we have here in Matthew chapter 3 is the spirit hovering 
over the new creation. It is Jesus Christ who will bring 
new creation to this world. As well, some have seen in this 
the dove that returns to Abraham, or rather to Noah's ark. What's 
the significance there? After Noah and his family emerge, 
what happens? It is a new world to whom they 
come. And here the Spirit is inaugurating 
a new world, if I can say it, order. Wasn't George Bush Senior 
that made this popular? It's God Most High under the 
person of Messiah that is instituting a new world order. Messiah's 
reign, Christ's power, Christ at the right hand of the Father, 
where he rules and reigns over all things, for his church. The 
dove, or the Spirit, comes. And again, this is publicly manifested. It is recorded in each of the 
four gospel accounts. Mark tends to give it more of 
an individual bent. Luke makes it more public in 
nature. John the Baptist testifies that 
I saw the Spirit descend upon him and he didn't depart from 
him. So the Spirit brooding, the Spirit, 
or the dove returning to Noah's ark. But what's the function 
here? Again, I already mentioned the suffering servant of Isaiah's 
prophecy is behind the scenes here. In Isaiah 11.2, it says, 
the Spirit of the Lord 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. In other 
words, if you were sitting there that day and you watch this scene 
and you seen this or you saw this dub descent, you would start 
thinking Isaiah the prophet. So remember, they knew the Old 
Testament scripture. We kind of scratch our melons 
and say, what's going on here? Why is the Spirit descending 
upon him like this? What's the deal? Well, the deal 
is that Isaiah's prophecy is being fulfilled in the person 
and work of the Lord Jesus. Again, Isaiah 42, verse 1. Behold, 
my servant whom I uphold, my elect one in whom my soul... 
Here it is. Father delights in the sun. I 
have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to 
the Gentiles. This will be quoted later in 
Matthew's Gospel, Matthew chapter 12, 28 to 30, and it's applied 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm sorry, 18 to 20, and it's 
applied to the Lord Jesus. In Isaiah 61, verse 1, it says, 
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. You remember 
that text? I hope you remember that text. 
It's in Luke's Gospel. Luke chapter 4. Jesus is in a 
synagogue. Jesus is given the book of the 
scroll of the prophet to read. Jesus reads Isaiah 61. He shuts the scroll and he says 
today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. You see, if 
you stood at the bank of the Jordan on that day. You wouldn't 
say, well, that's interesting, a man traveled for 70 miles to 
come and be baptized. He says he's doing it so he can 
fulfill all righteousness. Your mouth would be hanging open. 
You'd be saying. This is the one of whom the prophet 
wrote. This is the one who has come 
to save his people from their sins. This is the suffering servant 
of Isaiah 52 and 53. The one who, for our peace, chastisement 
was laid upon him. This is the man of sorrows and 
acquainted with grief. This is the one whom the Lord 
will be pleased to crush, putting him to grief so that he can save 
us from our sins. You see, this is the background. 
It is not as if Jesus did not previously have the Spirit, but 
at his baptism, he received the Spirit in an extraordinary way 
to demonstrate that he was Isaiah's servant and to enable him for 
the work of ministry. That's what's going on. John 
132, I saw the spirit descend from heaven like a dove and he 
remained upon him. Is that a great statement? What are we told in Ephesians 
5 to be filled with the spirit? What's the implication? Yes, 
we have the spirit, according to Ephesians 1, 12 and 13. He 
is the seal. He is the guarantee. He himself 
is the guarantee of our final inheritance. But we are told 
to be filled with him. The implication being, though 
we have him, though he's our seal, though he's our guarantee, 
we're not manifesting the fruits as we ought. We're not living 
as we ought. We're not doing as we ought. 
So we need to seek fresh filling from on high. Not so with Jesus. John the Baptist says, I saw 
the spirit descend upon him and he remained there. He didn't 
go anywhere. He's not like any other man I've 
ever seen. He's not like any other person 
I've ever met. He is Isaiah's servant of the 
Lord, and the Spirit is upon him so that he can do his work. 
R.T. Frantz says, But now as the Spirit 
comes upon him, Jesus is visibly equipped and commissioned to 
undertake his messianic mission. The one who is to baptize in 
the Holy Spirit must first himself be endowed with the Spirit. Is everybody with me here? This 
is like some great stuff that we should be tracking with. I 
hope your hearts are pounding right now in worship to this 
lamb. That's the point of this passage. 
Again, as an avowed Baptist, we are not to come here and say, 
look, he came up out of the water. That implies immersion. We can 
make that implication somewhere else. Right now we're to view. 
We are to prize, we are to adore, we are to gather in the presence 
of this One that is set before us in His beauty and glory. We 
are to be like that psalm that we just sang, Psalm 45. What does the psalmist say? My 
heart overflows with a goodly theme. My pen is a ready writer. What does he do? He just takes 
the time to praise Jesus. There's this mindset today that 
if you come to church and you don't learn how to be a better 
guy or a girl, you've wasted a sermon. Or you come to church 
and if you haven't learned five principles on how to discipline 
your children, you've failed miserably. Or if you come to 
church and you're not given some moralistic principle that you 
can take out and apply in the world, it's been for naught. 
You know what? As Christ's people, sometimes 
we just need to see him. We just need to adore him. We 
just need to worship him. We just need to praise him. We 
just need to have him set before us afresh so that we can say 
my tongue is a ready writer. My heart overflows with a goodly 
theme. That's what Psalm 45 is about. 
He's just praising God for Jesus. He's just praising Christ. He's 
just praising and adoring and honoring and glorifying. And 
you know what the interesting thing about this is, when we 
view Christ that way, you'll go be a better husband. You'll 
go be a better father. You'll go be a better citizen. 
You'll go be a better person because you've been in the presence 
with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You have spent 
time to worship. You have spent time to praise. 
You have spent time to learn of him and to adore and to honor. Let's move on thirdly and finally 
to the divine proclamation of verse 17. And suddenly a voice 
came from heaven saying, This is my beloved son in whom I am 
well pleased. How does the chapter start? John 
is the voice of one crying in the wilderness. The chapter ends 
with the voice of one crying Look what he says about the son 
of his love. He is my son, my beloved son, 
the son that I am well pleased in. He doesn't say that about 
us. He says it about us in him to 
be sure that the beauty of this statement is that it focuses 
upon the son of his love. I already mentioned the biblical 
background of Genesis 22, but as well, we ought to hear Psalm 
2. What does he say in Psalm 2? We'll just turn there for just 
a moment. We sang that this morning as well. Psalm 2. Why do the nations rage and the 
people plot a vain thing? Verse 7 says, I will declare 
the decree. The Lord has said to me, you 
are my son. Today, I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you 
the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for 
your possession. While it's not a direct fulfillment passage 
that the voice from heaven declares, it is capturing, it is gathering 
together these strands of biblical data to focus the attention upon 
the Lord Jesus. Matthew is really good at this. 
Remember how he starts his gospel. This is the genealogy of the 
son of Abraham, the son of David. He wants us to see Jesus in God's 
redemptive plan. And then, as well, Isaiah 42, 
verse 1. We've already rehearsed it a 
couple of times this morning, but it wouldn't kill us to say 
it again. Behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect one, in whom 
my soul delights. So these strands of biblical 
data come together, and suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, 
this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. This is a 
great testimony. This is what we're to take away 
from the passage. This is what I hope you will 
be inflamed with this morning in this glad hour. You've learned 
of Jesus, you've learned of the champion, you've seen that he 
fulfills all righteousness. You see that he has the seal 
of divine approval. He is God's man for God's task, 
and that task is to save his people from their sins. He is 
set apart. He is publicly affirmed. He publicly 
affirms his mission. The Spirit of God descends upon 
him to prepare him for that role. And then that divine approbation 
from heaven, where the Father says, this is my beloved son 
in whom I am well pleased. R.T. France again said this. 
He said, from this point on, Matthew's readers have no excuse 
for failing to understand the significance of Jesus' ministry. 
You see, from this time on, brethren, you cannot sit there and say, 
well, I didn't know who Jesus was. When the Father in heaven 
thunders forth in such a way as to break the cedars of Lebanon 
and he says this is my Beloved son in whom I am well pleased 
you have absolutely no excuse to say I didn't know I Didn't 
want it. I didn't care He says, however 
long it may take the actors in the story to reach the same crystallogical 
conclusion, it will be this crucial revelation of who Jesus is, which 
will immediately form the basis of the initial testing, which 
Jesus is called to undergo in chapter four, verses one to eleven. 
If you are the son of God. And there, as in the account 
of the baptism, Jesus' sonship will be revealed in His obedience 
to His Father's will. That's who Christ is. That's 
who the Lord Jesus is. Yes, He's the Son of Abraham, 
the Son of promise. Yes, He's the Son of David. He's 
royal. He's the King. And yes, He is 
the Son of God. And if we're thinking biblically 
and we're reflecting upon Isaiah, the prophet will know that this 
David King is also also the suffering servant. Is not what the servant 
of the Lord does and Isaiah 42, Isaiah 49, Isaiah 50, Isaiah 
52 and 53. Now, there's accounts in those 
passages where they plucked out the beard or the hairs from my 
beard. There's accounts in those passages where Jesus himself 
is called a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. It says 
that God laid upon him the iniquity of us all. It says that all we 
like sheep have gone astray. God has brought him to pay. You see, in this public declaration, 
God Almighty is saying, this is my beloved son, Davidic King, 
suffering servant. Later at the Mount of Transfiguration, 
God the Father will make a similar declaration. He'll say, this 
is my beloved son. And then he says, hear him, hear 
him. It's an amazing scene as well. 
Elijah's there and Moses is there. He's not saying disregard Elijah, 
disregard Moses. He's not saying forsake the law, 
forsake the prophets. He is saying this is my beloved 
son. He is head and shoulders above 
these men. You listen, you listen to him. 
You pay attention to him. What do we learn from this passage? 
First, we learn how to get baptized in five easy steps. Hopefully 
you say, no, that's not what we've been learning. Let's make 
sure everybody's awake here. We learn something the rest of 
the New Testament makes much of, and which is a doctrine unfortunately 
being denied today, the representative role of our Lord Jesus. Again, 
we need his dying. We need Calvary. We need blood 
atonement. We need to be washed away or 
have our sins washed away. What can wash my sins away? Nothing 
but the blood of Jesus. But we need a righteousness. 
We need to be clothed in the righteousness of another. Remember 
in Matthew 22, that man who gets into the wedding feast, and yet 
he has no wedding garment. What happens when the king calls 
him out? It says that he's speechless. Speechless. That's what it'll 
be on the Day of Judgment. That's what will happen for sinners 
who stand before the Lord God Most High. We kind of envision 
this idea that God's going to say, where were you on March 
25th, 2011? What were you doing on that particular 
day? That there'll be a trading of 
information. That there'll be a presenting of evidence. Well, 
Lord, it couldn't have been me, because I was at the hospital. 
Oh, Lord, it couldn't have been me. You must have got your facts 
wrong. No, that's not the way it's going to happen on the Day 
of Judgment. You will stand speechless before God most high. There's 
no presentation of evidence. There's no crackpot attorney. 
There's no Johnny Cochran. There is no lawyer sitting there 
saying, objection, your honor. If we don't have this righteousness, 
if we have not received the pardon of iniquity, we will be cast 
out from his presence. We will be cast away into hell. We will suffer. We will endure 
torment. We will die everlastingly. There's a book recently published 
by Rob Bell. There's no hell. He doesn't call 
himself a universalist, but he is a universalist. Like Mike 
Horton's series of articles on this. He's calling it Bell's 
Hell. Bell's Hell. Well, according 
to Bell, you don't have to worry. Love wins. That's the name of 
the book. Love wins. Yeah, love manifested by Jesus 
Christ in his doing and dying and rising again. All those who 
look to him in faith will have everlasting life. You reject 
that, you forsake that, you stiff arm that, and you say with the 
devil, if you are the son of God, you will be on the losing 
end. We learn the representative role of Jesus Christ in this 
passage. And brethren, I suspect for sinners 
that is goodness. One man recently at a conference 
said the holiest of us Which, how do you even quantify that? 
I mean, who's the holiest of us? But here's the point. He 
says the holiest of us only have small beginnings of knowing how 
sinful we really are. See, me thinks those who appreciate 
the active and passive obedience of Christ the most are those 
who are convinced of what the doctrine of total depravity is 
all about. You see, when you see how bad you are, Christ looks 
that much better. When you see how wicked you are 
and you hear the prophet Jeremiah say such unhappy things like 
the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. 
Who can know it? Sinners rejoice that there was 
one who fulfilled all righteousness. Sinners rejoice that this one 
went to the cross. Sinners rejoice that Jesus is 
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Martin 
Luther said this, if anyone would feel the greatness of sin, he 
would not be able to go on living another moment. I believe that. So great is the power of sin. Those who get a glimpse of it, 
though, are thankful that it's Jesus Christ who said, thus, 
it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness that he identified 
with us, that he represents us, that he not only went into the 
water of baptism for us, but he went to Calvary's cross, that 
he bore there the full weight and wrath and fury of God most 
high in himself so that he could free us from our sins. A second 
thing we ought to we ought to ponder in this passage is the 
glory of the Triune God. Don't miss that. Matthew is Trinitarian. It's not just in Matthew 28. 
That's where we often go, right? Go, therefore, make disciples 
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We take great pains to 
say it's the name singular, and it's the three persons, and they're 
coordinated, and they're beautiful, and they're glorious. Matthew's 
just being repetitious by the time he gets to 28. He's already 
given us this view of the triune God. He has shown us Christ go 
into the water. He has shown us the spirit like 
a dove alighting on him or descending upon him. And he has given us 
that voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son. I mentioned 
this last week, or the week before rather. J.C. Ryle said it was 
the whole trinity which at the beginning of creation said, let 
us make man. Remember that in Genesis 1, excuse 
me, 26 and 27. Let us make man in our image. Plural nouns being used there. 
He says it was the whole trinity again. Again, which at the beginning 
of the gospel seemed to say, let us save man. I like that. That's beautiful. That's what Matthew 3 is showing 
us. The triune God is involved in the saving of sinners. It 
is He who will save His people from their sins in union with 
the Father, in union with the Spirit. He's empowered. He's 
enabled by the Spirit. He's always got His Father approbation. 
He's always got His Father's love. He's always got His Father 
in the view. All three persons of the Trinity saving sinners 
from their sins. Gregory, one of the early theologians, 
that proved himself faithful with reference to the Trinity, 
said, No sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined 
by the splendor of the three. No sooner do I distinguish them 
than I am carried back to the one. When I think of any one 
of the three, I think of him as whole, and my eyes are filled, 
and the greater part of what I am thinking escapes me. I cannot 
grasp the greatness of that one, so as to attribute a greater 
greatness to the rest. When I contemplate the three 
together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure 
out the undivided light. And then a third observation, 
the public affirmation of the Davidic king. I already alluded 
to this. Voice in the beginning, voice at the end. Human voice 
in the beginning, divine voice in the end. On the basis of two 
or three witnesses, every fact is confirmed. We have two voices 
sort of enveloping this passage and presenting to us the Davidic 
Messiah, presenting to us the suffering servant. The voice 
of the Baptist announces the coming of the exalted Lord. The 
voice of God the Father announces the coming of the Davidic king 
and suffering servant and the one who is his beloved son and 
whom he is well pleased. And that brings us finally to 
consider this. God says Jesus is his beloved son. It's always 
struck me as interesting how God views Christ. I mean, you 
think, wow, that's kind of interesting. Why would that interest you? 
My mind kind of functions this way. If the Father says this 
of the Son, what should we say of the Son? If the Father says 
this is the beloved Son, what should Christians think? What 
should Christians engage in? We ought to be like the psalmist 
in Psalm 45. Our hearts ought to overflow 
with a goodly theme. Worship ought not to be a burden. We are coming to worship the 
son. We are coming to be in the presence 
of the son. And if the father says of his 
son, this is my beloved son, then he is beloved in my eyes. Or you go later on to the book 
of Ephesians and you'll see that God has highly exalted him. Why? Because he gave himself 
up to death, even the death of the cross. God didn't say, well, 
you know, that's all right. That's pretty good. Now you can 
just know. Paul takes pains to display for 
us just how pleased the Father is with the work of the Son. 
Therefore, he says, God has highly exalted him and given him a name 
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee 
shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to 
the glory of God the Father. So, if the Father is that pleased 
with Christ and exalts him to his right hand and gives him 
universal sovereignty, universal dominion, universal authority, 
why is it that we as Christians want to fight with Jesus about 
doing what we're supposed to do? Why aren't we highly exalting 
him? Why aren't we praising him? Why 
aren't we worshipping him? Why are we saying, well, you 
know, Lord, we don't want to give you full reign or rule in 
our lives. This is an area that I want autonomy 
in. That's just not biblical. That's 
ungodly. And if you're here this morning 
and you have not believed the gospel, you have not looked to 
this beloved son, you're siding with the devil. There's only 
two positions revealed in Matthew's Gospel. Jesus will crystallize 
it in Matthew 12, verse 30. He says, He who is not with me 
is against me. Well, here in Matthew 3 and 4, 
we see something similar. God the Father says, This is 
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. The devil says, 
If you are the Son, perform. If you are the Son, do. If you 
are the Son, impress me. How many people approach the 
things of God that way? The gospel isn't about you having 
a happier life. We considered Providence this 
morning. There's some difficult things that happen in this world. 
You can always tell the Christian, because they'll submit. They'll 
kiss the rod. They may not fully understand 
everything, but they understand that God Most High works all 
things for His glory and for the good of His people. And while 
they're suffering, while there's mayhem, while there's distress, 
they're going to weep and agonize and try to come aside people 
and help them and see them through it. But they're not going to 
scoff. They're not going to resist. They're not going to call into 
question the goodness of the Lord. I mean, that's the tactic 
of the devil. That's what we get in Matthew 
4. If you're the son, make bread. Or change these stones into bread. 
If you're the son, take this. If you're the son. Isn't that 
the approach of many people today? I'll come to you, Jesus, if you 
let me have this. I'll come to you, Jesus, if you 
let me do this. I'll come to you, Jesus, if you 
let me that. We need to hear the message of the Baptist. Repent. 
Repent. We need to hear the message of 
God most high. This is my beloved son in whom 
I am well pleased. And we need to believe on him. Choose ye this day. The voices, 
Matthew 3, the voice of Matthew 4. and follow the lamb who takes 
away the sin of the world or the devil who only wants murder 
mayhem and destruction for your souls. I know you children. I 
know you young people. I know you adults. You've heard 
this many times. Ask yourself this afternoon. 
Go somewhere quiet. Go somewhere in the darkness 
of your closet if you have to and ask yourself, is Jesus lovely 
to me? The Christians aren't perfect. 
We're messed up in a whole lot of ways. You can indict us for 
a thousand things. Often thought that, oh, I saw 
you get in line. You want to nail me, you got 
me. But this thing at bottom is true of Christians. Jesus 
is altogether lovely. Jesus is chief among 10,000. 
Of the sixty-six books and inscription in the in the inscription of 
the Bible, there's one I just don't think I really understand. 
I know this is a horrible admission for a pastor, but the song of 
Solomon, but this much I know that bride says of that bridegroom 
that he's altogether lovely and he's chief among ten thousand 
go somewhere private today. I don't care how old you are. 
I don't care how many times you've been to church. I don't care 
how many books you've read. I don't care if you know systematic 
theology. I don't care if you have memorized the 1689 London 
Baptist Confession of Faith. Get alone with Matthew 317 and 
say, can I say with the Father, this is my beloved son in whom 
I am well pleased because upon this hinges your eternal destiny. What think ye of Christ? Please believe. Please, please 
go seek refuge and he will get it. That's the blessing of Matthew's 
gospel. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for the way that the Lord Jesus is presented to us in Matthew 
three. We thank you for all that this 
passage teaches us concerning him. We thank you, God, that 
he has fulfilled all righteousness, that he has died as a sacrifice, 
as an atonement, as a sin-bearing, curse-bearing, wrath-bearing 
Savior on behalf of his people. And we thank you that he has 
risen again, and he now sits enthroned at your right hand. 
And I pray, God, for any and all who have not believed this 
gospel, that you would work in their hearts, that you would 
open their hearts, that you would cause them to behold the beauty 
and the glory and the majesty of this suffering servant, of 
this Davidic king. Cause them to believe and know 
the joy of everlasting life. And God, forgive us, your people, 
who don't always exalt him highly. Forgive us, God, that in every 
sin and in every preference that is wayward and ungodly, we are 
seeking to devalue and to dethrone Jesus. God, help us to view Him 
as You view Him and to live in accordance with Your Holy Word. 
We ask that You would fill us with Your Spirit. We ask that 
You would cause us to walk as You would have us to do. And 
we pray through Christ the Lord. Amen.