Behold, the Son! - Luke 3:21-38

A river opens, a dove descends, and a voice from heaven names a Son. Luke’s account of Jesus’ baptism is more than a milestone; it’s a clear window into the heart of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit acting in perfect unity. We move from John’s urgent call to repent into the moment that launches Jesus’ public ministry, where the Trinity is not a theory but a scene you can picture: the Son in the water, the Spirit resting, the Father delighting.

Together we unpack why a sinless Savior stepped into a sinner’s baptism. First, to be identified as the One John was waiting for. Second, to be identified with us, fulfilling all righteousness on our behalf. This isn’t a story about self-improvement; it’s about substitution, union, and a righteousness you cannot earn but can receive by faith. The Spirit’s descent signals empowerment and the dawn of the promised presence that will later be poured out on the church. The Father’s words—“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”—call us out of neutrality and into trust, reminding every believer that, in Christ, divine pleasure rests on them too.

We then trace Luke’s genealogy back to Adam and discover why those long lists matter. Every name is a thread of faithful promise-keeping, proof that God writes redemption through imperfect people across centuries. And by reaching Adam, Luke sets Jesus as the better Adam: where death once reigned through one man’s failure, life now reigns through one man’s obedience. If you’ve been searching for a sturdy hope, this is it—planned by the Father, accomplished by the Son, applied by the Spirit.

Listen to be grounded in clear theology, lifted by the Father’s delight, and strengthened by the Spirit’s presence. 

Transcript

From John To Jesus

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, if you have a Bible, go ahead and open it up. Turn to Luke chapter 3. We'll start in verse 21 this morning in a somewhat familiar passage to see something absolutely beautiful. Last week we looked at John the Baptist and his ministry as he called people to repentance, called people to be baptized as a physical sign of genuine repentance, needing to be cleansed from evil that still remained in them. The Israelite leaders and the Jewish people, so they might be prepared for the coming Messiah. Well, these verses this morning will mark a transition from John the Baptist ministry now to Jesus' ministry. In fact, at Jesus' baptism, his ministry is kind of launched, and that'll be the main focus through the rest of the Gospel of Luke. We're going to jump right in this morning. We have three main points that you see in your notes, the first of which is the nature of God. The nature of God. Now, when all the people were baptized, again, that is those from last week under John the Baptist's ministry. And when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven. With you I am well pleased. In our text this morning, we have explicit identification of all three persons of the triune Godhead. Now, while this text isn't primarily about the Trinity, it's not its main point per se, it is still a very important part of what is being said. And Luke wants us to see something inspired by God's Spirit. Because at Jesus' baptism, we see the Holy Trinity, the God who is three in one. At the moment of Jesus' baptism, the Holy Spirit descends, again, like a dove, and the Father speaks. The Bible teaches us that there is one God, not three. And yet, while God is one in his essence, God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three eternally distinct, never divided persons. So in the moment of Jesus' baptism, the three of the Trinity all appear simultaneously, yet appear distinct. Now, to affirm the triune nature of God is agreeing with both scripture and church history. To deny the Trinity is to contradict Scripture, neglect the spiritual wisdom of the saints empowered by God's Spirit to interpret Scripture, and be historically regarded as an unorthodox Christian, if a Christian at all. But you and I both know that when articulating the nature of God, you can get into theological heresy, wade into it quicker than Usain Bolt in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, right? So if I may, as your pastor this morning, I want to help you appreciate who God is by how he has revealed himself in the scriptures. I want to do that. And it's really important I say that means helping us see how he has revealed himself and simply marvel at the mystery of his divine nature, the mystery of his otherness. You have four points under the main point, because there are four things I want you to know about God. And if you hold all four together, we can, and I want you to hear that phrase, marvel at his mysterious nature without mistaking him for who he isn't. Four things. You've seen your notes. The first is there is one God. There is one God. God is not one of many. Christianity, like Judaism, is monotheistic. We believe in one God. We thank to the Shema, a part of scripture that the Israelite people would recite to their kids every day, would recite in the morning and in the evening. And many Israelite men and women would try to actually recite it before they died. Deuteronomy 6, 4, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. He goes on to say, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Some of your translation might say strength. That's where Jesus quotes in the New Testament. There is one God. Number two, the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct persons. Distinct persons. Each person is distinct. Jesus is not the Father. The Father is not the Son. The Spirit is not Jesus. The Father is not the Holy Spirit. They are distinct. And you can see this as they relate to one another in the scripture. Think of John 17, as Jesus prays to his Father, the high priestly prayer. Maybe in Galatians chapter 4, verse 4, where the Father has sent the Son to earth, had sent the Son to earth. Maybe John 15, 26, where the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, is sent from or by both. The three persons are distinct. Like the God of the Old Testament, the God of the New Testament, and the God of the church age. No, no, no, no, no. One God, three distinct persons. Each person, number three, is fully God. Fully God. The persons are not each a God, they are all the God. The Father is truly God. The Son is truly God. The Holy Spirit is truly God. Not parts, not percentages. God is not the eggshell, the egg white, and the egg yolk, three parts of a whole. Or one third of one being. He does not exist in parts, and he's not made up of pieces. So there is one God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and they are distinct persons. Each person is fully God, and there is one, number four, again, divine essence. Essence. The triune God is the one true God of the universe. Think with me in a few passages, like the one that we're in. We see in the book of Ephesians this beautiful truth in the first 14 verses, that the triune God had planned, has provided for, and is protecting your salvation from eternity past for an eternal future, each person of the Godhead working in harmony. If you look in Ephesians chapter 1, you see the first few verses talk about the Father appointing our salvation. The next few verses, the Son accomplishing our salvation. And the next few verses, the Spirit applying our salvation. Maybe think of the Great Commission. The Great Commission. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Three names. Distinct persons, different names. Maybe Ephesians chapter 2, which teaches us that we approach God through Christ by His Spirit. So again, we can say, we can't fully explain this. And we have to be okay with that. You and I are not God. We are creatures, he is created, and we can behold him for who he is as he has revealed himself in scripture, but we cannot pin him down totally, understand him fully. Our minds are finite. We can simply marvel, marvel at his divine nature and at what he's done for us. Now we see it Jesus' baptism similarly. The Son is physically in the water, distinct. Yet God affirmed by the Father with his authority, saying, My son. The Spirit descends from heaven, distinct. Yet God anointing and empowering Jesus. The Father speaking from heaven, distinct, yet God identifying his beloved son below. Behold the Son. Let's look at that beautiful moment in Scripture. One person at a time. The baptism of the Son of God. This is your next big point. The baptism of the Son of God. God the Son is baptized, which brings a lot of questions. Because Jesus is being baptized by John the Baptist. John the Baptist had a particular ministry to prepare people for the Messiah who's being baptized. And John's baptism was a call to repent because there was sin present in the lives of those he was calling, and his baptism was to cleanse them from sin present in their lives. Are you asking the question yet? So why is Jesus baptized? Like, what's the purpose? Why did he participate? If Jesus was sinless, which we know he was, and he did not need to repent, and he did not need to be cleansed, why did he participate? The answer is twofold. Two reasons. In the Gospel of John, we have the same story of Jesus' baptism. And John adds John the Baptist's words to Jesus' baptism. I'll read from the Gospel of John. John the Baptist says, God sent me to baptize with water and said to me, He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain. This is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness, John says, that this is the Son of God. So John the Baptist had not seen Jesus in his older age. And so you think, okay, what does he look like? He even sent his disciples to discern. Well, as we see in the Gospel of John, God had spoken to the camel wearing locust-eating baptizer and said, Hey, Jesus is actually, he's gonna come to you. And you can point to him then with this beautiful picture of my spirit descending. So think about that for just a moment. John's life was about Jesus.

unknown 13:09

Right?

Each Person Fully God

The Spirit’s Role In Salvation

Why Jesus Was Baptized

Identified For John, United With Us

Righteousness Given, Not Earned

SPEAKER_00 13:10

He's prophesied in the Old Testament. His life was about Jesus from before he came out of his mother's womb. He was pointing to Jesus, Elizabeth. And now God gives him the privilege of seeing Jesus as he begins his ministry before he's killed by the hand of Aod. He gets to point to him in person. He gets to rest just like Simeon rested, seeing Jesus face to face. All right. My work's done. He's come. What grace. So first, Jesus was baptized to identify himself for John. But secondly, Jesus was baptized to identify himself with us. If we look at the Gospel of Matthew, chapter three, we see John the Baptist tried to prohibit Jesus from being baptized. Matthew chapter 3. Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. And John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and why do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, here it is. Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. What does it mean exactly when Jesus says, hey John, it's it's fitting to quote fulfill all righteousness. Well, God required the righteous through John to be baptized. And Jesus, living a perfect righteous life, did what God required the righteous to do, even things he did not necessarily need to do himself. This is not uncommon in his life. One scholar notes that this is not the only occasion Jesus participates in something like this. The scholar notes that Jesus faithfully participated in the Passover celebration, which pictures God's deliverance of his people of sin, yet he had no sin to be delivered from. So Jesus lived a righteous life as an example and as a gift for those who would trust in him, that they might receive his righteousness. So Jesus' righteous life was not only a like a divine demonstration of who he was for us to see, but I will argue essential for our right standing before God. That alien righteousness that we did not earn but receive by his work. You see, in his life he was tempted like us and he never sinned, perfect before us. We see that he lived under the law as we were called to and never disobeyed. Perfect for us. And in all ways he became and was a perfect sacrifice, so that we might be made perfect by his sacrifice. God made him, Jesus, to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. So Jesus lived the life we could not live, lived how we were called to live in order to be per to show himself perfect, to present himself perfect as us, but unlike us, to be the one we could never be. All so that in him we become the righteousness of God, all in order to be the perfect, blameless, acceptable sacrifice. Again, Jesus was a perfect sacrifice so that we might be made perfect by his sacrifice. So here's the most gracious exchange in history as we learn throughout the New Testament. Jesus was given our punishment. We receive his perfection. When God the Father looks at our struggling, sinful lives, it is no longer stained by our sin, but covered by the blood of the perfect one who died in our place. In Christ we receive the righteousness we could never earn, attain, or achieve. And we should be extremely thankful he lived a righteous life because, as we've said, we are unrighteous human beings and by our own doing we'll never be righteous. That's why Paul says in Philippians 3, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. The righteousness from God that depends on faith. Put plainly, it is essential to our rightness with God that Jesus lived a righteous life. Jesus the Son, God the Son is baptized, God the Spirit descends. In the text, the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. As we see in Jesus' life, his birth. And then in John the Baptist, who pointed to Jesus, Elizabeth filled with the Spirit. And now we see the Holy Spirit descend, indicating his approval of and involvement in Jesus' ministry. So when the Spirit publicly descends here, he is giving witness to Jesus' unique empowerment for his ministry ahead that's about to begin. And we should just say this is a really um profound moment. Because in the Old Testament, I would argue theologically, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit only descended upon unique individuals like prophets and priests at specific times for specific tasks. That's why Moses hoped that in the future all of God's people would be prophets, meaning all of God's people would receive the Spirit of God like indwelling them. David prayed that the Holy Spirit would not leave him. Joel prophesied that God would one day, along with Jeremiah and Ezekiel, send his Spirit to indwell his people that they might have new hearts, enjoying obedience to Jesus. And so now we see the beginning of that in the beginning of Jesus' ministry. This is what Moses hoped for, what David prayed for, what Joel, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel prophesied. The Holy Spirit descending upon Christ the Lord, empowering Jesus' ministry, to thereafter minister to his church and minister through his church. This is the prophetic word of God that the Holy Spirit would descend and stay upon every believer for all time. All that are in Jesus receive his spirit. In this moment, God the Father speaks. A voice came from heaven. The text says, You are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased. Now, when God speaks, you should listen. Right? A lot of really bad things happen when people do not listen to when God speaks. See the old testament. So in this passage, as in all of Scripture, God speaks, and we must listen. So right before the beginning of Jesus' ministry, at Jesus' baptism, the Father now speaks vocally. And he's giving confirmation to skeptics that this Jesus truly is his son. You know, something we find out pretty quickly in Jesus' ministry is that it is impossible to be neutral in regard to your relationship with Jesus. What Jesus says does not give you the ability to be like in the middle? Luke 11, chapter chapter 11, verse 23 Whoever is not with me, Jesus says, is against me. So who do you believe Jesus to be? Is he the perfect Son of God sent for sinful man, or is he a liar? If you think, C.S. Lewis used to say this, if you think he is merely a prophet, then you believe him to be a liar. And prophetic lies are not treated very well in the Old Testament. You ought to think, okay, should we stone him? It is impossible to be neutral in regard to who you believe Jesus is. So ask yourself, even this morning, is Jesus who God says he is? Will I take God out of his word that he is the sinless Son of God come to save sinful man? Do you believe that? 1 John 5, verse 9, if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that he is born concerning his son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God, that is, God's word that Jesus is the Son, has made him a liar. Because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his son. It is impossible to have a relationship with the Lord now that he has been revealed through his son, if you reject the son. You reject the son, you reject God's word about his son, and you reject God. Will you take God at His Word? You say, I have. Well, let me say something. I think that it would just be good for me to share. Just as God is pleased with His Son at His baptism, God is pleased with all who receive His Son, taking Him at His Word for who He says He is. And because we are in Him through faith, God is pleased with us. I have one last section I want to tell you about this morning. It's the longest by far. The third and final main point: the lineage of the Son of God. Yeah, that's gonna be a part of this message this morning. The lineage of the Son of God. Some of you might be better at articulating some of these names. I'm gonna say them as if I know how to perfectly say them, and you're just gonna nod on like I'm saying them right. Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about 30 years of age, being the son, as was supposed of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Mathat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jenni, the son of Joseph, the son of Matthias, Matathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Nagai, the son of Maf, the son of Matthias. I know I'm saying that wrong, the son of Simin, the son of Josech, the son of Jodah, the son of Jonan, the son of Ressa, the son of Zerubel, the son of Shieltiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Adi, the son of Kosim, the son of Elmadam, the son of Ur, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonah, the son of Elachim, the son of Melia, the son of Mina, the son of Matatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salah, the son of Nishon, the son of Aminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Sarug, the son of Reu, the son of Pele, the son of Eber, the son of Shalah, the son of Canaan, the son of Arfakad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahaliel, the son of Canaan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. Do I get no claps for that? Alright, come on. This genealogy I'm kidding. This genealogy tells us something. There's a reason. I read that. That was hard. There's a reason. And it's not just how many years before Jesus came, so that we can kind of like count how long the earth has been here and around and how many you know grandparents Jesus had. But something really amazing. And I want to give you those two things that genealogies tell us. Like this one. So maybe you're like me and you just absolutely skip through them during any Bible reading plan you have. I understand. But let me tell you two things genealogies show us. The first, God is faithful. This is the first thing we see when we read a genealogy. God is faithful. Like, I mean, you're reading them, right? And you're tempted to move past it. Like, who are these people I have never heard of from scripture with Star Wars Jedi-like names that I can barely pronounce? And then, like you, I begin to notice some things. Like, there are a lot of names here. A lot of them. Name, the son of name, the son of name, and so on. And at first, it seems like there is nothing more than names that are only meaningful for the theologians who like to track genealogies, right? Trying to figure out who was whose, kind of like my grandma on a genealogy website, and she's got like a whole printout for us. And I don't have enough time to go into like all the detail that I know about a few of these individuals, but I want you to see something. There are some pretty messed up people on this list. But no matter how messed up they were, not one of them messed up the plan God had in bringing his Messiah through them. Not one of them. I mean, thousands of years before Jesus walked the earth and God proclaimed who he was, he promised to send a Savior all the way back to Adam. And despite all of the defiance against him, the discipline brought he brought against his people and the different kings and kingdoms that arose, God kept his promise. He was faithful. God is faithful. Every name has a story, but every name here reveals the faithfulness of God. You see, genealogies tell us a lot, but the most important thing they tell us is God has been faithful. He was faithful. He is faithful. He's always been faithful. He was faithful before you knew he was faithful. He was faithful before you had faith. He is faithful and he will always be faithful. So I encourage you as you read a genealogy, every line before a comma, God was faithful. God was faithful. God was faithful. I mean, that would surely be easier than trying to recount the names. Do you believe that? Like really, I I mean, I'm I'm I'm sincerely asking you, do you believe that God is faithful? He's faithful to this promise. How has he been faithful to you? What promises has he made from his word that you've seen him keep? That he will never leave you nor forsake you. That he cares for you, that you can cast your anxieties on him, that you can know about him, that he will give you hungers and desires by the work of his spirit in you for him. That he will convict you of sin so that you might run away from things that are disastrous. Secondly, thing about genealogies is that Jesus, especially in this one, is greater. Jesus is greater. Luke takes the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam. Adam at the very beginning of creation. We know he gave in to sins temptation and he sinned against God. And because of that, Romans 5 says that all who are born are born in some ways dead. As death spread to Adam, death spread to all men because all men are in Adam. Romans 5. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, Adam, and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all men sinned. So ever since then, all humanity has felt this curse. It's not just an action, it's a condition. It's not learned by our environment, it's the core of who we are. It's there at our birth. It's not taught, no one taught you to sin. Might have taught you how to sin better, quote unquote, or sin different. And no one is strong enough to master it or rid themselves of it. We are Adam's children. However, as we learn from Scripture, Jesus was truly human, tempted in all things we have been tempted in and still are, and yet he never sinned. So here's what Romans 5 tells us as a great hope. If because of one man's trespass death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to the condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience many will be made righteous. So I was in Adam, but now through faith I can be in Christ and experience life everlasting. Galatians 3, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. So I was a son of Adam, but now I'm a child of God by faith in the Son. I took God at his word, I believe. For as many as you were baptized in Christ have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, you are all one in Christ Jesus. I am here to tell you Jesus is greater than Adam. And because I am in Jesus, and because you who have placed your faith and trust in Jesus are in Jesus, you have life. Because you are in Jesus, you are justified. Because you are in Jesus, you're saved. Because you're in Jesus, you're in dwelt with the Spirit and do not have to give in to sins and temptation in a moment. Because you're in Jesus, you have life to the full. Because you're in Jesus, you are free from the law of sin and death. And because you're in Jesus, you will spend eternity with Jesus. This is deep, rich theology put plainly, and it is good, so good that we sing about it. We sing about it. In a song called Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery. And we're about to sing about it now. So I'm going to ask both Spencer and Katie Beth to come up and we're going to sing twice this one paragraph from this song as we sing that Jesus is in fact the greater Adam. I'm going to read from it as they prepare. Maybe you've heard the song, maybe you haven't, but it goes a little like this, and they'll lead us in it. Come behold the wondrous mystery, he, the perfect Son of Man, in his living and in his suffering, never trace nor stain of sin. See the true and better Adam come to save the hell bound man, Christ the Great, and sure fulfillment of the law in him we stand.