"The Son of God" Luke 3:21-38

Sunday March 22, 2016

NASB

Jesus Is Baptized

21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Genealogy of Jesus

23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, [a]as was supposed, the son of Joseph, [b]the son of [c]Eli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of [d]Hesli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of [e]Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of [f]Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of [g]Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of [h]Salmon, the son of [i]Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of [j]Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of [k]Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of [l]Heber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:19

And I want to do a couple things as they're transitioning things that are happening here in our church. We're excited next Sunday morning. We have a missionary from the Jews for Jesus ministry who is going to be presenting. It's Passover Sunday. They're going to be presenting the Satyr service, and they'll be going over the Passover, the elements of it, and how that relates to the crucifixion and the foreshadowing of what Jesus has done for us. So if you didn't have plans next Sunday, nothing going on, you know, busy doing something. I'd love for you to come. This would be really, really good. And just kind of a little more backstory with what's happening with the Jews for Jesus. I had been in touch with them for a number of months. I'd reached out to them and I was excited that we had a missionary who lives in Tel Aviv who was going to come. His name's Liore, and he was going to be here. And we we've been in communications, been a number of months. And um he got married uh a couple months ago, and he was busy running around doing his thing in Israel. And the day after um Israel declared war on Iran, he he notified me that he had been enlisted in the army. Uh so he is unable to come. But I'm grateful um both ask that you be praying for him and for what's happening with his family. But also I'm grateful that Jews for Jesus is kind of pitch-hitting a little bit for us, and uh they're they're um bringing a missionary from California. She'll be here um next week covering for the ore. Uh but we're excited about still the ministry. And then in two weeks, uh, we have Easter Sunday where we get to be involved with First Baptist Beverly Hills. We're gonna be going up to their campus for a sunrise service at 7 o'clock. If you want to get there early, that's fine. I'm not gonna be there until 7. Um but then uh we'll come back here and we have a uh a service where the choir is gonna present the cantata, and then we're gonna have a communion, Lord's Supper, together on Easter Sunday. Okay, do you have your Bibles? If you don't have your Bibles, uh grab a Bible near you. Uh if you're really friendly to the person next to you, uh just take theirs. I mean, it's the church. They won't they won't don't do that. Don't do that. It's important that as you you open the Word of God, there's there's a a reverence and a respect for his word. And I want to turn have you turn with me to Luke chapter three. We are continuing through our series of Luke Acts, and we are going to we're gonna get to a point now where Jesus is moving uh from uh being in the the background and the prophecy and the birth and the temple. Uh John the Baptist has been kind of on the forefront. Now he's gonna go to the back, and Jesus is gonna be where he belongs in the front and his ministry, Jesus' ministry is the Messiah, the Son of God, the chosen one, he is going to be, he's going to be going through, and all that that involves. It's it's quite exciting. But now, right now, we are in Luke chapter 3, and I'd like to read the primary passages, verse 21 and 22, and in honor of reading God's word, if you'd stand with me, please, Luke chapter 3, verse 21 and 22. And I'll be reading, I'll be reading out of out of my version, and just listen along as I'm reading this. We're all standing together out of respect for him. Luke chapter 3, verse 21 and 22, scripture says, Now, when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized. And while he was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven. You are my beloved Son, and you I am well pleased. Would you pray with me, please? Lord, I thank you for what happened. I thank you for the history, I thank you for the theology and the truth. I thank you for your word. Would you help us, please, to hear it and to worship you all the more, for you alone are worthy. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you. Please be seated. Spent the last few weeks trying to talk about the baptism of John, the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin. Spent the last few weeks trying to emphasize how John was the forerunner, he was the one who was preparing the way, the voice of the one crying in the wilderness. And now we get to a point where Jesus is coming in verse 21. Now, when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized. What we have here is a little bit of a consternation because it didn't make sense. Why? Now, if if you're following along, I think this is going to track. If you're just waking up to this or you've never thought about this, if you'll bear with me for just a moment, I need I need to show a little perspective. I need to see, show us how I'm in the Gospel of Luke, how this all plays together. So let me begin with the consecration and what this baptism is about, the consecration of the Son of God. This is in the scripture, this is the point where Jesus is publicly beginning his ministry. This is the point where he comes before God the Father, God the Spirit, as God the Son, and He is beginning what has been foreordained. He is fulfilling all of the Old Testament scriptures. This is the writings of the Old Testament, the truths, the prophecies, the law, everything is coming to fruition as Jesus is walking through this period, this time. This is not repeatable. This is not a one of many. This is a one-time deal. This is an occurrence that happened in a specific place, in a specific time for a specific reason. But we start to have an issue with this. I have an issue with this. If we're not careful, we're going to get mixed signals. We're going to get some of this mixed together or messed up. So let's just kind of back off for just a second and let's talk about what's happening here. If you're in the Gospel of Luke, and I hope you are, scoop back up to chapter 3, verse 3. Let me just remind you of what's happening in the context of Jesus being baptized. In Luke chapter 3, verse 3. Luke 3, 3, Scripture says he, speaking of John the Baptist, came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. So John was getting the people ready. John's baptism was one of foresight. It was one of looking forward and saying, this is the Messiah. You need to have your heart ready. You need to be prepared to take it in. It's like the over-eager student getting ready for the first day of class and having all of his pencils sharpened and all of her notebooks in line, having everything ready, getting a good night's sleep and a good, hearty breakfast, getting right there at the table and ready to take notes and to listen to take it all in. He says the Messiah is coming, and you don't want to miss this. It has eternal consequences, ramifications if you don't pay attention to what he is and who he is and what he's going to do. So you've got to get ready. So when you start to realize your need for salvation and the taint and the destruction of sin and all this happening, you say, This is this is the time. I'm ready. I want to be ready for the Messiah to come. That's John's baptism. That's what he's doing. He's saying this is for the repentance of sins, to realize that you need a Messiah. Now, when Jesus comes, he's going to have a baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He's going to have a baptism that is going to represent past tense, what Jesus has done for us on the cross, with his life, death, burial, and resurrection, how he takes care of us, and we are buried with him in baptism and raised to walk in newness of life. All of that is what's going to take place in the future. But right here, right now, John the Baptist is preaching and he's saying this is the baptism of repentance. Now, have you clicked yet? Are you with me yet on why this seems a little concerning? Why would Jesus, the Holy One, without sin, without error, without anything against the holy God, why would he need a baptism of repentance? Um Luke chapter 3, verse 21 reminds you what we just read just a moment ago. He says, Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized. When all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized. I think it's a good question. I think it's one that we need to spend some time in. And once again, you may be you may be sitting there thinking, I don't care. Okay, you don't have to care. But those of us who do, and I I hope you will, you understand that this is what it means to walk into the Word of God and that God have the authority in terms of what he tells us and how he shows us the truth. Because the simplistic, tried answers just don't work. You have to grapple with this. You can't just make a list of rules and say, I'm gonna do this, this, and this, and I'm gonna be good and I can get on with my life. What he wants from us is a communion, a relationship with him, where we walk in this way of wisdom and we seek his face and we get to verses like this and say, wait a minute, wait a minute. You just said that John is baptizing a baptism of repentance, and Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, holy, fully human, fully God, he's being baptized too. What in the world is going on? That doesn't make sense. That doesn't click. Not at first. There's a number of theories of why Jesus was baptized. And the reason I started this whole section was consecration, because I think that's one of the strongest and the best. Is this the beginning of his ministry? Some want to suggest that he was repenting of some sin that he had had or he's going to have. Leave that on the shelf. That doesn't belong. It's not possible. Jesus is fully, fully God, fully man. He is perfect. He did not need to repent of any sin. He never sinned. He was sinless. He was the perfect sacrificial lamb. Some suggest that maybe he was just giving an example, that he wanted to be, he wanted to be showing others behind him, this is what we do. We get baptized. Maybe and maybe not. Some were suggesting this was an affirmation of John's baptism, that he wanted he wanted others to say, hey, what John has been talking about and how he's been pointing to me, this is good, and I want you to get in on this. Maybe and maybe not. It could be some thought that maybe Jesus was even a disciple of John. There's not a lot of traction on that idea, but but the idea that he could have been a part of that. It's interesting when you start to dig into these scriptures and you see who John is. Just a few chapters ago, we learned that John the Baptist's father was from the tribe of Levi and his mother was from the tribe of Aaron, both priestly lines. And maybe this is a imagery of the priest offering the sacrifice in the baptism. It's good to think about it. It's fine. I'm not against going down those roads, but let's just leave it and let the scripture interpret the scripture. If you're with me so far, and if you've already checked out, just lean over to the person next to you and say, catch me up later. Because this is going to be good. This is going to be good. But what I appreciate is that we're not the only ones with this concern. I'm not the only one with this. What is going on? Why did Jesus, the perfect son of God, why did he need to be baptized? I want you to turn with me. I'm going to use a couple of the other gospels, the same event. I'm going to use them as filling in the holes, so to speak, of this baptism. Turn with me, please, to Matthew chapter 3. Matthew chapter 3, verse 13. Same event. Now Matthew is recording this. He gets to it in Matthew 3, verse 13. Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent him. See, we're not the only ones with this idea. Jesus, what are you doing? I have need to be baptized by you. And do you come to me? Jesus, I'm I'm I'm a sinner. I need forgiveness. I need the Messiah, and you're you're wanting me to baptize you. So does that help you at all? It helped me a lot. It's like, okay, it's not just me. There's some sort of camaraderie in being able to say, I'm not the only one confused here. And John, John the Baptist, the anointed one, the one who had a specific role in the coming of the Messiah, he's got the same problem. He's got the same concern. And Jesus, among all the others who come, and all the others who are being baptized by John, the crowds, and we talked about this last few weeks, the crowds that came to listen to him. Jesus answered John in Matthew chapter 3, verse 15. He said, Permit it at this time. For it is in this way, it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he permitted it. Permit it at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Let me finish the verse. Verse 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on them, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. But what I want to draw, this that should sound familiar. We just read it in Luke as well. But what I want to draw from that is that phrase that Jesus said. After John said no, Jesus said yes. And this is why Matthew chapter 3, verse 15, permit it at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. What does that mean? John, it's the right thing to do. But Jesus, uh this is a baptism of repentance. I know, John, but right here, right now, in this moment, this is the right thing to do. But Jesus, I don't understand why you're coming, because everyone else, they're coming for repentance. Everyone else, they're coming because they need to be ready for you. I know that, John. They're not me, and I'm not them. And in the context of all that's happening, as we study that phrase, permit it, I read it again, complete everything, uh, permit it, permit it, so that it'd be fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness, fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Whatever we think about this, what Jesus is doing right here is one of obedience. Because somehow, when we we study that phrase, it's talking about doing what we must do out of God's word for his glory, by his direction, his wisdom. Jesus was interpreting all of the Old Testament scriptures. The Messiah was coming in his fullness, and he was saying, in the progression of what we are preparing for and what I'm about to start, this is the right thing because of what I am doing in relation to God the Father and God the Spirit. So now let's come back to the passage and let me show you what's happening. In in Luke chapter 3, after Jesus comes and he's baptized, verse 21, while he was praying, heaven was opened. Now, I I know I know that it's easy to kind of read over these and say, well, that that's that's nice, that's that's good. Let's let's get to something significant. That's significant. Let's let's pause there just for a second. While he was praying, we don't have the details of what this baptism service looked like. We've got some good guesses, we've got some good ideas. We don't we don't know exactly specifically where it happened along the Jordan. We've got some we've got some good ideas. We've got we've got a good pretty good reference. It's not where the tourists usually go, but that's that's okay. We're we're okay. We do know that it happened. We don't know a lot about the details of its happening, but what is significant, what we have to have this morning and why it's going to matter to you and me is this part in verse 21 where he says, baptized and while he was praying. So in the context of Jesus being baptized by John, the heavens opened and he was praying. He was in communion with God the Father and God the Spirit. And somehow, and I don't understand all, and I never will, even in glory, but somehow the Trinity is expressed and exposed. The word itself, Trinity, is not seen in the scripture, but this is one of the primary passages when we talk about the God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit is exposed in all of this happening simultaneously. So here, in this moment, you've got God the Son praying, and as he is praying, God the Father reveals this opening from heaven. Verse 22, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven. You are my beloved son, in you I am well pleased. So you've got this imagery literally, specifically happened, that's also hearkening back to Genesis and creation, when all three of the Trinity are involved in the creation of the world, and now you have all three at the same time, in the same moment, it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Some even argue when Jesus said that, that the us it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness isn't Jesus and John the Baptist. Some have argued, and I like it, I'm not there, but I'm I like it. Some have argued that that us is the Trinity. But but whether it is or not, the focus, the truth is still the same. Jesus Christ is beginning his ministry, and he's as he does it, he's not deciding in this moment, hey, I think it'd be a good idea if I was the Messiah. He already knew that. He wasn't waking up to his identity or the identity of God the Father or God the Spirit. Three persons, one being, he's fully, equally, and eternally divine. He isn't saying that he is starting something from scratch, he's known this. Fully God, fully man. What he is doing is he is saying, This is the starting line. I'm beginning this. And God the Spirit says, Yes, yes, we are. And God the Father says, Yes, yes, we are. And in all of that, I don't get it, I don't understand all of it, but don't claim to, but from the scripture, from all of that, we have this wonderful truth that Jesus Christ is not a willingless victim, he is a voluntary sacrifice who starts this moment knowing full well that the term baptism and the things that are going to happen with the passion, what we're gonna celebrate over the next two weeks, he knows full well where he's going with this. And when God the Father, who is well pleased, and God the Spirit, who descends in bodily form like a dove, all three happen, we have the beginning, what has been prophesied and talked about and anticipated, and now we're here. But you see, that's not all. This is what this is what amazes me among many of how God uses his word and his son to accomplish his purposes, how God works from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit, doing what only God can do. Now, once again, you could be you could be sitting here and saying, Well, well, Byron, thank you for taking us down that windy little road of whatever, and you couldn't care. I I get that. But I want to I want to ask you this morning you might you might want to start caring about this if you don't. And let me tell you why. Because when we use a phrase like the son of God, we're not using it as the heathens, as the secular, as the world would use it. We're not using it as the false religions or the little g gods or the idols or the idolatry or the temples of the sacrifices. When we say words like the son of God based upon the revelation, based upon the scripture, we are talking about one who existed beyond time, space, and matter, who understands all things, is fully God and fully human. And he is worthy of all of our worship, all of our adoration. He is one who took his upon himself to humble himself to come as a little baby in a little manger in a little backwoods town in the Middle East, so that he could fully be the sacrifice for you and me. When he starts this baptism, when he starts this ministry, when all these things start to take place, he's not just another person we think about, another reverence or another respect for another good teacher or another good prophet. This is the Son of God. That matters. It matters because nothing else and no one else is as great or as mighty. There is no other name by all names. There is no other name that every tongue will confess and every knee will bow. There is no one else who is worthy of all of our worship and all of our praise, and there is no one else upon whom we are to fix our eyes and to keep our gaze and our focus and our heart and our attention upon. There is no one else who is fully life, fully shepherd, fully door, fully the way, fully the truth. There is no one else who gives all so that we can be and know him. There is no one else that we have union with, who have a salvation experience, who has this inner transformation. There's no one, according to the scripture, there is no one else who gives us this new life that yet, while we were yet sinners, Christ demonstrates his love for us in that he dies for us. There's no one else. There's no one else that we want to preach about, to teach about. There's no one else that we want to lift up and say, You alone are worthy. There's no one else that we want to guard our hearts and our tongues and make sure that we're not disrespectful or speaking flippantly or using his name in vain. There's no one else that deserves all of this because of who he is: Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. That's worthy of praise. And if we stop there, we're good. But there's a little bit more, I just got to tell you, just out of this passage. I want to take you back to Luke, chapter three. I want to show you something that he does right after the baptism. What Dr. Luke, who's telling us the truth, chapter one, he tells he records all of us so that we can get a sense of the truth and what happened. I want to talk to you about the ministry of the Son of God. Luke chapter 1. I mean Luke chapter 3, verse 23. Right after the baptism, verse 23, when he began his ministry, Jesus himself was about 30 years of age, being as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli. Now I'm going to spare you. And I'm not going to keep reading the begats, the begats, the begats, but just glance down through there, name after name after name after name. And then get to the very end of the chapter, verse 38. Luke chapter 3, verse 38. The son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. We have two genealogies of Jesus. One in the Gospel of Matthew, one in the Gospel of Luke. In the Gospel of Matthew, it goes all the way back to Abraham. And we understand because Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience primarily, and he wants them to understand that Jesus is the fulfillment. He is the son of Abraham. He is the one who has come, has been prophesied about, and he's going to provide what only the Jewish people were anticipating and aspiring toward and hoping for. He is the son of Abraham. But he doesn't stop there in Luke. Dr. Luke, he keeps going past Abraham. He goes all the way, verse 38, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. He goes all the way back to the very beginning of creation itself. And Adam and Jesus are the two that he bookmarks this genealogy with. Back in verse 23, he says, Jesus himself, about 30 years of age, being as was supposed, because we know that Joseph was his adopted father. He wasn't his biological father. Then we go all the way down to verse 38, and we have the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. So we understand that Jesus is giving us more here in Luke chapter 3 than Matthew. He's not talking about just Abraham, as included, but he's saying, I want to go a little bit wider than that. I want to go a little bit bigger than that. Instead of just the nation of Israel, let's just say the whole created order. Everybody. Not just the Israelites. He comes through. That's the fulfillment. That's important. Don't disrespect it. But there's so much more. Not just the hope of one country in one part of the world, but the hope of the entire world. You see, Adam and Jesus, they had a couple of similarities. Neither had a biological father. Neither one of them had a human father. Both of them had a unique sonship with God the Father. And Jesus is doing something in Luke chapter 3, in addition to, not instead of, but in addition to the consecration of the Son of God, the ministry. Let me show you. Turn with me real quick to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Paul is writing about resurrection. If you're not familiar with the New Testament, and it's no shame if you're not, all of us were not familiar at one point or another. You learn as you go. Corinthians is past the Gospels. You've got Matthew, Mark, and Lucas, John, and then you've got Romans and Acts. And then Acts and Romans. See, I even I messed it up there. But what what you do is with Romans, you've got R. C. colo. So you've got Romans, Corinthians, Corinthians. So you're good on that. So go with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Paul is writing to a dysfunctional, diseased, without ease church, and he's trying to affirm and assure them about resurrection and why Jesus' resurrection matters in reference to the gospel. And he brings in this important point that has to do with Adam and Jesus. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Let's start with verse 22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. That'll preach. We all through Adam fall in nature, dead in sin, but all in Christ will be made alive. Then he's going to keep going. I won't take the time to talk about resurrected bodies, and the seed has to die so that what is grown from the seed doesn't look the same, the glorified body versus the natural body. But I want to show you this. Pick it up in verse 45. So also it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last man, last Adam, this is Jesus, became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man is from earth, earthy, the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy, and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Jesus Christ, when he was baptized by John the Baptist, was not repenting of sin. He was beginning, giving something spectacular. And part of 1 Corinthians 15 kind of gives us a little bit of behind the curtain scene that Adam had to be Adam, and Jesus has to be Jesus. Because what Adam gave us is limited. What Jesus gives us is eternal. When Adam died, Jesus lives. Enslaved in sin, now slaves to righteousness. Dead without hope in Adam, now in Jesus Christ, the judgment, the redemption, the Savior coming to identify with us. In just a few weeks, a few months past this baptism, Jesus is going to start through the ministry and he's going to start talking about how he is going to be a substitute, how he's going to be the Passover lamb, all the things that he is going to be involved in. And understand that what Jesus did as John the Baptist is baptizing him is a one and a one and done. It happens. We are not supposed to have Jesus' baptism. We're not the ones who need or did what Jesus did because we're not in the need. We're in need. But right now, in this moment, in this baptism, I think there's something even more profound that he wants to show us. So now I want to finish. I did, I did um Matthew. I talked about how that's a part of it, but now I want to finish with John. Go to the baptism in John. John chapter 1. John chapter 1, verse 29. We use all of these passages to help us get a full understanding of what's happening and why it matters. John chapter 1, verse 29. The next day, speaking of John the Baptist, the next day he, John, saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of on behalf of whom I said, After me comes a man who is higher, has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me. I did not recognize him, but so that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water. John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and he remained on him. I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, said to me, He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God. John was limited. John the Baptist, the baptizer. Jesus was. John had questions and doubts and insecurities. Jesus didn't. John was given the truth. It was in pieces and parts, and it was fulfilled as he saw Jesus come and be baptized, and then the Spirit descended on him as a dove. He saw it, he understood it, he acknowledged it because the Spirit of God, by God's grace, gave him that insight, that illumination. Jesus already has it. The Spirit of God descended on him, the Spirit being used by him in the ministry that Jesus is going to continue. But what I really want you to get out of John chapter 1 is this is the Lamb of God. So out of the Gospel of Matthew, we add on the fact that this is this is the one who has come to fulfill all righteousness. He is the one who's consecrated and done everything the prophecy had said he was supposed to do. But now in the gospel of John, we've got the Lamb of God. We've got the perfect sacrifice. And I've got to tell you that this isn't just about substitution, which he will do, but it's also about solidarity. It's about how Jesus Christ became man not for his sake, but for ours. Not for our glory, but for his. That he died for on our behalf, the Paschal Lamb, the Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God, so that we would know him forever and ever and ever. Let me show you this identification. It's in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 11. It's toward the end of one of Jesus' teachings, and as he's writing this or he's saying this, and Matthew records it in the writing, Matthew chapter 11, verse 25. He says, At that time, Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this was well pleasing in your sight. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. And no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and any one to whom the Son wills to reveal him. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Now, if you'll bear with me, I'm I'm I'm I'm just about done. I'm not just saying that so you'll listen. I I really am, but come back, come back to verse 25 of Matthew chapter 11. At that time Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants. So here's the deal you come before the Holy One, God Almighty, and you claim that you're wiser and smarter than everybody else, you're gonna have a problem. Because he opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. You've got to be a child. Childlike faith. He continues in verse 26. He says, Yes, Father, for this way was well pleasing in your sight. The Son, of whom the Father is well pleased, is doing what is well pleasing to the Father. He's saying, All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him. When we think about this identification, this solidarity, this getting into the water, being baptized by John, you know he did that so that you could see him, so that you could recognize his authority, his mission, his ministry, his heart. Because he's not giving you the truth about who he is and how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit have worked both in creation and in recreation, how they've worked in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, and they work in the sense of how God sends the Son, and the Son fulfills the promise for God so loved the world, and then it's fulfilled by the Spirit of God, giving us conviction and that turn of heart so that we respond to Him. He's not talking about just that. He's saying, if you're going to see this, if you're going to understand this, if you're going to have the eyes to see and the heart to hear and want to be a part of this union with Christ, then there's something that's going to have to happen. And he says it there in verse 28. Father, you wanted this to them to know, and I'm going to show it to them. And so here's the call. Come. Come. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden. And when you think about this verse, and you think about the context of what Jesus is saying in the midst of all of these Pharisees and all of these scribes and all of these Sadducees, when you talk about all that he is telling them in the midst of their hypocrisy, they weren't all bad, but the ones in this, yes, they were. And he's talking about all that they're involved in and how they're trying to work their way to heaven and they're trying to do just the right thing in just the right way. He's saying, I know you're tired. You've got to be tired. You've got to be tired of trying to do the right thing so many times. And then at the end of the day, realizing that you haven't done enough. You'll never get to that. You know that, right? That it's not just about how good you act and how legalistic you live. It's not just about reaching this mark or jumping through this hoop or being perfect, the very best perfect that you can ever be. You've got to be tired. You've got to be weary. You've got to be heavy laden. You're trying to take on a yoke of the law. You're trying to take on a yoke of tradition or spirituality or trying to figure out what God is all about in your own limited understanding. So, no, no. God gave me this mission. He came. Jesus came to reveal God to us salvation, gospel, truth, all of that, so that you and I could know him and be free to have life and have it more abundantly, to no longer be captivated and enslaved and burdened so that we would no longer try to do religion. Now we have relationships. We no longer try to get in our own way and do our own thing. We have the Lamb of God walking in our midst and saying, I'm going to show you the better way. You're weary, you're having bladen. I'll give you rest. Take my yoke, he says in verse 29. And as you take it, learn from me. Learn what it means to navigate through crisis and through trauma and through grief. Learn what it means to seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Learn what it means to have peace in the midst of turmoil. Learn what it means to trust me and have the fruit of the Spirit and have the joy of what it means to walk with me even in the hardest times. Learn from me, he's saying. Verse 29. I hope you're still there because that's where I'm at. Matthew chapter 11. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. Learn from me, follow my example, understand my heart. This is where you find rest. Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist for a number of very, very good reasons. And among the top was because he had to come to give us rest. He had to do this so that we can know life. And the Messiah will do that. But in this moment, at this time, the Messiah's coming in, and he's saying, Those of you who need redemption and healing and salvation, come. Jesus was concerned. He was burdened, he was loving, and he wants us to be with him. You see, Jesus had to be fully human to be an adequate representative, to be a substitutionary sacrifice. He had to be all in, physically human, and he had to be fully God to be the eternal penalty for our sins. We can't do it. We couldn't do it. But he did. So my question this morning is are you tired? I dare say that you might be tired of just your everyday routine. You may be tired of being on a hamster wheel, of just going through motions, of being physically exhausted. I think I think there was a number of us in this room who could fit into that category. But I'd like to peel back a little bit and just ask you, are you tired? Are you weary? Are you trying to do things in your own strength, in your own wisdom, in your own way, your own intelligence? You're trying to do things so that you can get through life the best you can for what you want and what you want to get. Are you tired of doing it man's way versus God's way? Can you imagine when Jesus came into the water? All of those, all of those other people wanting to get baptized by John. And as Jesus is walking down, you've got Levi, you've got Simon, I don't know their names, I'm making this up. But you've got all these guys who are standing around and they're just waiting their turn and say, I want to be ready too. I want to be ready too. I want to be ready too. Because I know the Messiah is coming. And then as Jesus is getting closer and closer and he's walking in, in that moment, something miraculous is going to happen, supernatural, because Jesus is going to be baptized and his ministry is going to begin. The consecration, his installment, his commission is starting as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit all coalesced and say, This is this is my son in whom I'm well pleased. All of this is going to happen. And as he's doing that, Simon and Simeon and Levi, they're watching, and they are getting baptized around the Son of God himself. It isn't one more guy getting wet one more time. The very thing they're preparing for, he's right there. And he's ready. The offer is ready today, too, by the way. The invitation is now. Do you, weary and laden, do you want Jesus? I'm gonna lead us in a time of prayer. As I do that, I want to ask you to be um sensitive to what God would have you to res how He would have you to respond. Would you pray with me, please? Lord Jesus, we praise you because you took care of it. You took care of the powers of darkness, you took care of creation, you took care of the promise of life from the dead, you took care of everything. And there are many within this room, within the sound of my voice, very possibly, that came into this building, turned on the television, and they're just tired. Not just physically, but spiritually. And because you identify with us, because you want to be that that solidarity, that representation, that Lamb of God. You're our only hope. And you are more than enough. Lord, I pray for the individual right now who is turning their heart towards you. And I pray that today is the day of salvation. I pray that today is the day of repentance and joy and renewal and that you be glorified every step of the way. You alone, Lord, you alone. Your name alone. Your name alone. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. If you are here this morning and you'd like to talk with a pastor or deacon, we'll be up here at the front. We'd be glad to talk with you. We encourage you to come back next week and the week after. We've got a lot of good things that are happening. And I want to close us in a prayer of blessing. Lord, because of who you are, because of your love and your grace and your fellowship, may we seek you and know you, and may you be honored. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you, you're dismissed.