The Message of John the Baptist and Jesus' Baptism
Book of Luke Chapter 3
In Chapter 2, we can read about the Lord Jesus as a twelve-year-old, but just a few verses later, we find our Savior at thirty years old.
The rule of the nation of Israel and the Head of the priests is in the hands of people who do not care about Yahweh and will reject His Messiah.
Pontius Pilate has been placed in Jerusalem to rule over God's land.
Herod, a descendant of Esau, has been placed as King of Israel, and we know that the descendants of Esau have always been haters of God's people.
Oba 1:6 How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
Oba 1:10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
There are two High Priests, but there is no time when God said there should be two High Priests.
Joh 18:13 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.
At the end of this book, we will see how these political and religious leaders conspired to bring the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross that Jesus came to die on.
The first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Messiah, was and still is the pivotal point in the history of our world!
The earth that rejects our Divine God got a chance to see Him and what He stands for.
The impact that the Lord Jesus made upon this world can never be overstated.
John the Baptist paves the way.
*****Luk 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
Luk 3:2 Annas and
Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of
Zacharias in the wilderness.
Luk 3:3 And he came
into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins;
Luk 3:4 As it is
written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of
one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths
straight.
Luk 3:5 Every valley
shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the
crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
Luk 3:6 And all flesh
shall see the salvation of God.
Luke gives us an accurate picture of history in the early
days of John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is showing us just how corrupt the government and the religious circles were on that day.
The false High Priest, Annas, had been removed from office by the then Roman procurator, Valerius Gratus, but he continued to hold power over the High Priest office, with Caiaphas being his stepson.
Rome wanted control over the religion of the Jews, and this was their way of doing this.
God had commanded that all High Priests were to be in the line of Aaron.
God's call to John the Baptist came while he was in the wilderness, which was a sparsely populated area.
God found John in a most obscure place.
God always knows where we are and what we are doing.
The Word of God can reach any place at any time because the Holy Spirit goes where He pleases.
The call of God is a personal matter, and this is the way God continues to work.
He loves personal relationships with each of us.
This Jordan is not the nation Jordan that we know of today, but the River Jordan where John could find a place to baptize those who repented.
We will notice that John would not baptize those who would not repent of their sins.
The Church has been lax in this regard.
Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your
mind;
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
The work of John the Baptist was in fulfillment of prophecy.
Isa 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God
Isa 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry
unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for
she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a
highway for our God.
Isa 40:4 Every valley
shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the
crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Isa 40:5 And the
glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for
the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Notice John does not call them back to the Laws of Moses; John calls them to repent of their sin.
They had to recognize that they were sinners just as we do today.
John was called to serve God rather than to serve religion!
John, as a descendant of his father Zacharias, was to train for five years and then serve
If our ministry does not align with God's plans, then we are in the wrong ministry.
What is repentance?
Repentance means that if anyone wished to be forgiven of their sins, they would turn from their sins and change their lives; then and only then could they be baptized.
Baptism was a sign to their neighbors and the world that they were changing their lives because they wanted God's forgiveness.
Act 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
Act 17:30 And the
times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to
repent:
Act 17:31 Because he
hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men,
in that he hath raised him from the dead.
There would be no animal sacrifice; there would only be a living sacrifice.
Rom_12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
John's baptism was a sign that a man wanted forgiveness it was not the means of forgiveness.
Baptism does not wash away sins!
It would be that changed life that would determine if these things came from the heart, just as it is today.
Forgiveness of sins is conditional upon that repentance and that changed life.
A person who truly repents will turn away from sin and turn to God!
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost(Holy Spirit) will not move into a dirty house!
Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Act 3:20 And he shall
send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
It was John's job to prepare the world for the coming of the Lord, and He would come first to the Jews because this was His promise, even though He knew they would reject Him and would then go to the Gentiles.
Amo 4:12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
Amo 4:13 For, lo, he
that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what
is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high
places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.
The Jews will not reject the Lord Jesus a second time!
*****Luk 3:7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
We had better be aware that the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not for entertainment.
That sad fact is that John the Baptist would not be allowed to preach in many churches today because he preached the truth, and neither would the Lord Jesus Christ for the same reason.
John preached the coming "judgment" of God. People do not want to hear about the judgment of God!
So many today concentrate upon the love of God, which is very great, but they reject the judgment of God on the unbeliever, and they are wrong.
No matter what different preachers preach, there will be a day of God's wrath!
I admitted to God that I was a terrible sinner because I was!
In fact, I am still a sinner only saved by the "Grace" of God, and He is still working on me.
A viper is the great enemy of souls!
Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
A sinner is anyone who has voluntarily violated the divine law; a moral agent who has voluntarily disobeyed any divine precept, or neglected any known duty.
All sinners are devoted to sin.
1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16 Howbeit for
this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all
longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to
life everlasting.
The wrath of God is coming upon those who reject any part of the Word of God!
Joh 16:8 And
when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment:
Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Eph 5:7 Be not ye
therefore partakers with them.
Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the
Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled
but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
To follow the truth of God is noticeable in those who do!
*****Luk 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
The proof of a saved soul is repentance!
Valuable fruits of repentance are speaking truth and doing things that are according to the will of God. Such fruits come from the new life that a person receives when he repents.
The concept of having Abraham as their father made the Jews feel safe because their pride would not allow them to believe that any child of Abraham should ever be lost.
That same pride said that any single Jew was of more value than all the people in all the nations of the world.
The Talmud stated that God made the world for the sake of the Jews, which is not true, and the Bible never says such things as these.
The Lord Jesus put an end to this nonsense: Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 8:12 But the
children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
What is the truth? Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
It's called faith! Faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that has been done to save us.
Rom_4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Rom_4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Gal_3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
To disagree with the Lord Jesus Christ is to bring the judgment of God upon yourself!
*****Luk 3:9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
God is the Divine Woodsman who cuts down trees, and He has laid His axe at the roots of the trees!
This is God's warning to us all!
To be honest, we cannot produce good fruit in our lives without faith in the Gospel and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
For these Jews, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple was less than a generation away.
*****Luk 3:10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
Luk 3:11 He answereth
and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath
none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Luk 3:12 Then came
also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
Luk 3:13 And he said
unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
Luk 3:14 And the
soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said
unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content
with your wages.
When "judgment" is preached without prejudice, people begin to understand what God is saying.
To the first group, John answered that we are to share our blessings with others.
To the second group, John answered that we should not rob
others to enrich ourselves.
To the entire group, John answered that we share our
prosperity with those who have nothing.
The fruit of salvation goes much deeper than these practical things. John gave these people a good idea of where to start.
We can see the reality of removing hate and increasing love.
How can we tell we are in the last days?
2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2 For men shall
be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3 Without
natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4 Traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form
of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Along with all these things, we see there is no natural affection for our neighbors.
The one thing that drives our politicians today is hatred. They hate each other with passion; it drives them to make laws that each other hate instead of doing the job they went to Washington to do.
They are a pathetic bunch, for certain.
We should understand that God does not condemn any soldier for doing his duty.
A soldier who goes above his duty and simply becomes a murderer will be condemned by God, but even these can be forgiven.
When John says to do no violence to any man, this is what he is saying.
We follow orders, but indiscriminate killing, especially of the innocent, should not take place.
All terrorists are murderers!
God demands a changed life!
When we are filled with the fruit of the Spirit, it will be noticeable to those we are around.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
The Messiah would be mighty.
The Messiah would be more worthy than any man.
The Messiah would use the Holy Ghost.
The baptism of John the Baptist was a full-immersion baptism and not a sprinkling.
John's baptism was with water, but the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ would be with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
This fire would be unquenchable!
John preached the truth of the Scriptures, but also as a Prophet, he preached the words God told him to preach.
John the Baptist preached the same no matter who was in the audience.
*****Luk 3:19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
Luk 3:20 Added yet
this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
When God gives His preacher a message to preach, it is to be preached as instructed, not watered down, not distorted, nor twisted.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Herod was as much a sinner as we all are!
A corrupt and sinful life will always bring the wrath of God.
I hope our politicians, those who claim the Lord Jesus Christ, do not forget this, and those who do not know Him will certainly see that wrath aimed at them in the near future.
It has to be hard to be a Christian in Washington, but it is not impossible, and they must know they are there because it is the will of God, and they are there to hold back evil and corruption in our nation.
I do not believe that Herod would have killed John, but Herod had an evil wife.
Mar 6:17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.
Mar 6:18 For John had
said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
Mar 6:19 Therefore
Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could
not:
Mar 6:20 For Herod
feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and
when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
When John preached, he told it like it was.
When sin is relevant in our rulers, it makes it easier for the entire nation to be in sin.
Corruption in our leadership just causes corruption throughout our nation, as we have seen and are still seeing.
Herod the Great was living in sin, the sin of adultery; he was, as we know, also a murderer, and those soldiers who murdered those children were also murderers because that was a command that they should have refused.
When our military stops the drug trade, they are not murderers or killers because those who spread the drugs are the killers, and our politicians need to be with our President and our military.
What is the truth? We will never truly prosper in sin! 2Ch 24:20 And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.
The judgment of God is coming to this wicked world!
Jud 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Jud 1:15 To execute
judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their
ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches
which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Jud 1:16 These are
murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh
great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
*****Luk 3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
Baptism is an act of obedience to God.
If the Lord Jesus Christ is obedient to His Heavenly Father, who are we to think we can be disobedient?
We know that our Lord Jesus had no sin, so we must know that Baptism is not for the removal of sin; it is being obedient to our Heavenly Father.
We had better know that every time Heaven opens up, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the object of admiration of Heaven.
Joh 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
What did Stephen see? Act 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
Act 7:56 And said,
Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand
of God.
The one thing that sets these people apart from all others is the fact that they heard the message of John the Baptist, and they responded.
God wants this whole world to hear His message so that everyone in the world will get a chance to respond to the truth of God.
What did the Lord Jesus do differently from the others who were baptized?
1) He demonstrated that He, the Son of God, was fulfilling all righteousness.
Mat 3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
Mat 3:14 But John
forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
Mat 3:15 And Jesus
answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to
fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
2) He was demonstrating His humiliation, that He was a man, fully man.
Jesus was required by our Heavenly Father to live obediently, just as all men are to live obediently to the Word of God.
The Lord Jesus had to live a sinless life to accept all our sins on His body.
Jesus became the Som of Man. Mat 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Birds and foxes are cunning and wicked, but God still cares for them; however, His Son does not have a home on this earth because His home is in Heaven. It is the same for every Christian.
It is God's will for every human to hear the Gospel, and they all respond positively to it!
1Ti_2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
No man is above any other man in the eyes of God. If God expected His Son to be obedient to all the Word of God, then how can we say God will understand if we keep that secret sin or any other sin?
This is why the Lord Jesus was baptized!
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
We must all repent and be baptized!
The Lord Jesus also obeyed God in prayer.
As He was being baptized, His mind and His thoughts were upon His Heavenly Father.
This is another thing that gets our prayers into the throne room of God.
Baptism is the most significant act of discipleship and must be followed by a changed life.
This is where many churches fail today. There is no change in life.
God will not waste His "Grace" on those who will not change their lives!
Prayer is something we must all do!
The Holy Spirit(Ghost) descended from Heaven in the shape of
a dove.
The Son of God receives the blessing of God.
Mar 1:10 And
straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the
Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
Mar 1:11 And there
came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
1Co 2:10 But God hath
revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea,
the deep things of God.
He is an heir to Abraham.
He is an heir to Adam.
He is the Godly Heir. He became the Messianic Prophet of
God.
