Sermon(Mt 3:13-17): The baptism of Jesus Christ

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025286683

 

 

 

Scripture reading: Mt 3:13-17

 

>> 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him 17 and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” <<

 

Hi, brethren! A thief and a prostitute fell in love and got married and had a child. Then, as the child was born, was it a sinner or a righteous one? As I have said before, a good person or a righteous person becomes such a person by his own good or righteous deeds. Therefore, a baby, when born, is neither good nor righteous. Then, is the child a neutral one who is neither good nor righteous nor wicked? In the eyes of God, the child is indeed a mass (lump) of sin, for he came out of the bodies of the thief and the prostitute who committed sin. The same is true even from view of the child. This child is plainly a sinner. If the thief's hand is a lump of sin, and the whole prostitute's body is a lump of sin, then the child born of the two is also a sinful lump. Because this child has built his being by receiving parts of the spirit and body of the parents. Because, as I said before, the physical body and the spirit of a living being are united together into a spirody. (Spirody(영물체(靈物體)) = Spirit + Body.) Father's spirody (sperm) and mother's spirody (egg, nutrient) combine to form a child (a spirody). Therefore, according to the absolute eternal law of nature, all children born of sinful parents are sinners. If a father unrighteously earned money and gave it to his son, also the money in the hand of the son is unrighteous, naturally. Likewise, human beings born of unrighteous parents are existentially unrighteous humans. (Their being (existence) itself is unrighteous.

 

Of course, it is not right to punish a child who was born of parents who committed sins just because the parents have sinned although the child hasn't sinned himself. Because his birth is not a result of his will, but of his parents', and because it is against the law of nature to call him to account for the result that lacks his will. But we can define a child of sinful parents as an unholy human, an unclean filthy human. We can also define him as a human who is a lump of sin, who is exempted from punishment. Every human being is a sinner who is unrelated to punishment at birth. It's like a case that a criminal minor, though having committed a crime, can't be put into jail but can be called a criminal. He can not be punished, but he is a sinner indeed. Therefore, even if he committed no actual sins whatever, every man born of parents is a sinner and can never be righteous himself. The problem is that since Adam, every human being sinned and became a lump of sin from the time of his birth. These human beings, the lumps of sin, can never be clean and righteous before God and be used as divine tools of God unless they are forgiven by God at least through formal procedures (rituals). Such men can not hold the holy things in themselves because they are unclean vessels.

 

As Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized, John knew how high standing he (Jesus) was in. So he said, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? (v. 14)" But Jesus said that he must be baptized by John 'to fulfill all righteousness'. John, who realized what Jesus meant, baptized Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus had no sin. “We have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Heb 4:15)” This is absolutely right. Of course, Jesus received the human spirit and flesh from the Virgin Mary by the infinite power of the Holy Spirit without the involvement of a man. For this reason, Jesus had to take some measures to attain to the perfect righteousness, in relation to his humanity given from Mary. Mary was, of course, a virgin and her character was wonderful, but she also received her flesh from her parents and perhaps committed several actual sins in her life. To resolve this problem, the Catholic Church produced the dogma that Mary conceived Jesus in her innocency (that is without any sins). But this dogma is farfetched. Therefore it is undeniable that Jesus had the human body, thus he must need some measures to become wholly righteous. So the Bible says about him like this. “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Rom 8:3-4)” In other words, Jesus took 'the likeness of sinful flesh' as his being.

 

(But one may think that children don't need to be baptized if their parents were baptized already and became righteous. But as for the sin of a human being, the sin is committed by the will of the subject with the body that the subject controls. And forgiveness of sin is granted to the subject, and the body of the subject that is forgiven sins is acknowledged as righteous. Even if both parents are baptized and forgiven sins, their children must be baptized in order that their spirit and body may be free from unrighteousness they have received from their parents. Because the body and spirit that the child received from parents became unrighteous the moment the body and spirit were separated from his parents.)

 

Therefore, in order for Jesus to be 100% holy and to do God's work, he had to incapacitate his 'likeness of sinful flesh'. The incapacitation of sin needs God's declaration, that is the declaration of a servant of God, not his (Jesus') declaration. At that time it was John the Baptist who was appointed by God to administer a ritual to cleanse sin. “He (God the Father) who sent me (John) to baptize with water said to me ... (Jn 1:33)” John baptized the people for their repentance (Mt 3:11). Baptism is God's declaration of forgiveness of sins to those who have repented their sins. Of course, Jesus has no actual sins (sins that he committed himself). But because of the humanity he took, he needed baptism to get rid of his 'likeness of sinful flesh', so he came to John whom God sent to baptize people then. Of course, John the Baptist was a sinner as a human being, but he was a baptizer whom God appointed. Therefore, when John baptized Jesus, his humanity became completely righteous.

 

Here we can see what is righteousness before God. As soon as all humans are born, they are inherently unrighteous. They continue to grow and commit actual sins. (They grow to be sinners!) These people first need baptism to be righteous. Anyone who believes in Jesus as the Savior and intentionally is not baptized must know that he remains unrighteous existentially (from the standpoint of existence). No matter how much you study, how smart and talented you are, you must hear the admission declaration of the head of school at 'the entrance ceremony' to become a student at a prestigious school. My brethren, the sacraments ordained by God are of such importance. It is so important to be a member of a community that worships God. It is so important for you to belong to a group where God's name is. Brethren, why is the baptism so important? Peter answers that. “And Peter said to them, >Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)< (You shall receive the Holy Spirit as gift, in Korean version of the text.)” Baptism is the sacrament that cleanses our existential sin. After we believe in Jesus, we can be forgiven our actual sins by the prayer of repentance in the name of Jesus. Our actual sins can be forgiven if we rely on the merits of Jesus' cross. But the unrighteousness at birth and the actual sins that were committed until we believe in Jesus are forgiven by baptism. And the Bible says that the Holy Spirit comes to a man only after he is baptized. “And you shall receive the Holy Spirit as gift.”

 

Thus, from the fact that the infinitely holy God the Son was baptized by John the Baptist, we can see that the flesh he took was not fake flesh, but real flesh. We can also see that only by baptism can Jesus remove the label of 'unrighteousness of humanity' which was attached to him at birth. Though God the Son, who became a human, was an omnipotent One, he was never able to begin the work of the salvation of mankind without solving the problem of 'unrighteousness' imposed on him when he had been born here. So he was baptized by John the Baptist to do the work of God in 100% righteousness of both divinity and humanity. All works done by him in the unrighteousness of his humanity could be always a problem in natural law. So Jesus had to be baptized to fulfil 'all righteousness (Mt 3:15)' without any unlawfulness at all.

 

Here are the lessons the Bible gives us today. First, all priests and lay people must do God's work after solving the problem of sin. Jesus, the Son of God, who had no actual sins, was baptized by John the Baptist and began his work in earnest. Then it is obvious how much more we who are common humans and lump of actual sins should take our sins seriously. If the minister keeps ministry without repenting his sins, all his ministry is unrighteous. From the fact that righteous Jesus, God the Son, was baptized, we can see how much God takes even the least sin and the trace of the sin seriously and how much he hates it. We must live a life of crucifying ourselves every day. “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal 5:24)” Baptism is the sacrament of sin-washing and the symbol of killing one's sinful nature. In baptism we come in and out of the water. One's sinful self dies in the water, and he, coming out of the water, is born again a new man in Jesus. Those who want to do the work of God must be clean vessels. You can not be used by God while having sin and keeping the shape of sin. Those who would do the work of God in sins and in sinful attitude are all burglars.

 

Next, we must know that the Holy Spirit comes to the righteous without sin. When Jesus had cleared his body of the likeness of sin in the flesh by being baptized by John, the Holy Spirit came down on him like a dove. Of course, he is the Son of God. Yet his humanity is a human. He was incarnated to live as a human on earth and he lived as a prophet of God. He received the Holy Spirit and did the work of God according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Brethren, secular people who do not know baptism do not know the Holy Spirit for they are unrighteous. But when we believe in Jesus as the Savior and are baptized, the Holy Spirit comes upon us. When we are baptized, we are cleared of all our unrighteousness due to our existential unrighteousness and all past actual sins up to then, and become clean. The Holy Spirit comes to those who are thus cleansed. Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, overcame all the temptations of the Devil and performed great miracles. My brethren, the Holy Spirit is our power, and the prerequisite for the Holy Spirit to be in us is our cleanness. Therefore the righteous are strong, and the wicked are weak. The source of our strength is cleanness and holiness. Samson had the power to kill the lion while he had a long hair as a mark of the holy one dedicated to God. But when his head was shaved, that is, when he lost the mark of the man of God, he became an ordinary man. Do you want to be a potent person? Do you want to be a wise person? Then stay away from sin and live with the Holy Spirit! In addition, the text says that the heaven will be opened only after we become righteous. Your prayer will not ascend to God, God's answer will not come to you, God's blessings will not come upon you like gracious rain until the heavens are opened to you. Only he who has settled the problem of sin can receive the blessing that the heavenly gate will be opened to him.

 

After Jesus was baptized and received the Holy Spirit, he heard the voice of God the Father from heaven. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. (v. 17)” Brethren, who are the sons of God and who are God's delight? Sons of God are those who believe in Jesus and are baptized in his name and have the Holy Spirit in the heart. John baptized people with water, but Jesus, with the Holy Spirit and with the fire (Mt 3:11). When we believe in Jesus as the Savior and receive the baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19), we also receive the Holy Spirit. So if we believe in Jesus and are baptized, we become children of God. The Spirit of God dwells in the children of God. Ordinary people own only the human body and the human spirit, but the children of God have received the Holy Spirit in addition to them. To accomplish all these without any unlawfulness, the incarnate Son of God had to be baptized by John the Baptist. Since he was baptized, all his earthly ministry after that became a totally righteous ministry with no injustice, and all the grace of God through him (Jesus) became ours without any unlawfulness. Jesus overcame shame and was baptized by John the Baptist to offer us the grace of God. He beared disgrace (of being baptized as a ordinary man) because he so loved us.

 

May each of you be a humble man like Jesus so that you are loved and praised by God and man.

 

Chong Tack Kim

 

- Dongtoma Sunshine Church -

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