Baptism of Fire (Matthew 3.13 - 4.11)

 

Introduction

For the benefit of those who weren’t here last Sunday, Michael kicked off a new series on Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew’s is the longest of the four Gospels; 28 chapters long. And we are going to cover every word of it, finishing sometime around the end of next year - unless of course the Lord returns beforehand.

Chapters 1 and 2 of Matthew are about Jesus' birth so we’ll rewind back to that at Christmas. And that's why we’re starting off in chapter 3 which begins with the ministry of John the Baptist.

And we saw last week that he is no flashy TV evangelist in a white suit and slick website with constant appeals for generous donations. He is edgy, fearless, direct, abrasive, even offensive. His straight talking makes you feel uncomfortable. And yet crowds flock to hear him because people always recognise truth when they hear it.

John speaks the word of God without apologising for it, without varnishing it and without sidestepping any of it. We need a lot of that today. Wherever you hear that, you see a strong church gathering round it.

Let’s read from where we left off last Sunday; starting at chapter 3.13 and I’m going to read into chapter 4.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Prayer… 

I’m going to try and open up this passage today by asking five questions. They are simple questions. They are questions you and I ask every day. The questions are what, why, how, where and who?

1. Why? (3.13-14)

The first question is why? Jesus comes down to the Jordan valley from Nazareth and joins a queue of people, who know they badly need to get spiritually cleaned up, which is why they are waiting to get baptised.

Like on the banks of the Jordan with a line of criminals, cranks, and crooks, even today, Jesus shows up in surprising places.

But why? John the Baptist basically asks the same question. There he is, standing in the river, looking up at this squirming, cringing crowd and telling them very bluntly how urgently they need to get their lives turned around.

“You; it’s time to repent.” “You need to get right with God, now.” “You should urgently change your lifestyle.” “You’ve been living wrong and that needs to stop.” You… Oh. What business have you got with this lot? Why are you even here at all? No, this is all wrong. You’re good and I’m not. If anything, you should be baptising me. We should really swap places.”

John feels unqualified. And he is unqualified. But isn’t it wonderful how the Lord chooses to work through him anyway? God wants to - and can - use you, however unqualified you feel, and however unworthy you are. Nevertheless, John is puzzled that Jesus would come to be baptised. Are you? To be honest, lots of people are.

Why does Jesus get baptised? He doesn’t have to because he never once needed to be forgiven for sin. Unlike anyone who ever lived before him or after him, he led an utterly flawless life. 

Jesus is easily the most life-affirming, life-giving, life-transforming person to ever grace this earth. Practically everyone he met was captivated by his goodness and his kindness.

As we’ll see over and over again in Mathew’s Gospel, the hungry and the thirsty, and the poor, and the chronically sick, and the lonely, and the unloved, and the oppressed, and the bereaved, and the bereft, and those weighed down by guilt, and those covered in shame, and the prostitutes, and the alcoholics, and the lepers that everyone avoided and excluded, and the tax collectors that everyone hated were all drawn to him.

And they were never the same again having met him. Just being around Jesus, people wanted to be more like him.

Who else has ever looked like him or lived like him or loved like him? He lived the most beautiful life anyone ever has. And it was a sinless life. The Bible leaves us in no doubt.

Hebrews 4.15 says, he “was tempted in every way, just as we are - [tempted to lie, tempted to lust, tempted to steal, tempted to hate, tempted to indulge himself, tempted to fall in all the ways you and I are] yet he did not sin.” 

1 Peter 1.19 speaks of “the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

In John’s Gospel, while being attacked by the pompous religious establishment, Jesus says, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” They all just look at each other. No one can think of anything.

Even on trial for his life, his accusers fail to come up with a single charge of wrongdoing and his exasperated judge Pontius Pilate says to the baying mob, “Look, I can find no fault in this man.”

So why does Jesus walk down to the banks of this river, at pretty well the lowest point on the earth’s surface, 400 metres below sea level, to submit himself to be baptised? It’s a baptism for repentance, remember.

Jesus’ answer to John’s question is, v15, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” In other words, “John, all you need to know is that I say it’s the right thing to do.”

And that’s good enough for John. “Jesus is in charge, not me. I don’t understand this, but I don’t need to. I only need to obey. O.K., let’s do it then.”

Jesus doesn’t need to be baptised like we do, but he does so willingly because his life from this point on is going to be all about taking… our… place.

That’s why he came. He is going to walk where we walk, and suffer what we suffer. He is going to go through hell so we, who actually deserve it, don’t have to. 

Supremely, he is going to take our place on the cross, the good in place of the not so good, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God.

2 Corinthians 5.21 says, “God made him [Jesus] who knew no sin to become our sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” What a thing!

Have you ever heard of a magistrate who found someone guilty of an offence and then paid the fine? I have - but only once. It was in the case of a woman who was caught stealing milk off people’s doorsteps (which shows how long ago it was!) 

She did it to feed her undernourished kids and by the letter of the law she had to be fined for theft. But the judge was so moved by her plight, so filled with compassion for her little ones, that he insisted on paying the fine.

I searched the Internet this week for other examples of such a thing – and I found nothing. Why? Because judges just don’t come down from their lofty benches and take the place of lawbreakers! It doesn’t happen.

But One did. Jesus came down from the highest heaven to the lowest point on our messed-up earth and he paid the ultimate price, moved with compassion, for you and me. 

2. Who? (3.15-17)

The second question is who?

As Andrew was saying two weeks’ ago, people are ever more confused by questions of identity. Who am I? Am I really loved? Does my life have any purpose? What am I here for?

Of course, these days, there is unbelievable and tragically fast-spreading confusion over something everybody instinctively knew just a few years ago; am I male or female?

But the questions: Who am I? and Where do I come from? are not new.

Some of the answers people give are pretty weird though. Professor Andrei Arkhipov, formerly of the Institute of Radio Astronomy in Kharkiv, Ukraine, a respected intellectual, claims that we grew out of waste that was left here on earth by aliens.

Nobody who has ever lived has been surer of his identity than Jesus of Nazareth.

He knew where he came from; “Before Abraham was born, I am.”

He knew who he was; “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

He knew his purpose; “I have come so that you may have life in abundance.”

Jesus comes up out of the water, v17, and hears his Father’s voice. “This is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased.” This is the Father’s smile of approval.

What’s Jesus actually done in his life up to this point? He’s just been working with his earthly dad in a workshop for about 15 years. That’s it.

God says “I am well pleased with my Son” before Jesus works a single miracle, preaches a single word, calls a single disciple, drives out a single demon, ticks off a single Pharisee or heals a single soul.

If you’re a caring nurse, or a good van driver, or a patient stay-at-home mum, or an honest businessman or a cheerful shop assistant, God values you just as much as he values an amazing evangelist or a famous worship leader or a successful megachurch pastor.

Because much more than appreciating what you do, the Lord delights in who you are. Grace is not about your performance; it’s about your position. Father God’s overflowing love for his Son is not performance-related. And it’s not for you either.

You cannot make God love you any more by earning it. His love and affection for you was settled and sealed from the creation of the world. God the Father delights in you. This is who you are.

What the Father says here is hugely significant. Because it echoes two Scriptures from the Old Testament that reveal who Jesus really is.

“You are my Son” is from Psalm 2, a royal psalm, a song for a king, but no ordinary king. It goes on to say, “I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession.”

No earthly ruler has ever had jurisdiction in every country to the ends of the earth.

This is a prophetic song about One who would be King of kings and Lord of lords, the anointed one, who will have authority over all nations.

“With you I am well pleased” is from Isaiah 42. “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.” And Isaiah goes on to say more about this servant; his humiliation, his sufferings, his laying down his life for all.

So this is a statement, right at the start of his ministry, about Jesus’ identity. He is a great king and he is a suffering servant.

In other words, he is the very highest who becomes the very lowest. He is exalted and he humbles himself. His majesty is matchless, and his humiliation will be unparalleled.

In Christ you have a new identity. You are a new creation. You give pleasure to your Heavenly Father. God is so for you. You are his beloved child. Church is not “them”, it’s “us”. It’s family. The Holy Spirit lives in you. This is who you are.

When God looks at you through the prism of your faith in Christ he does not see the mess we see in ourselves; he sees the radiant perfections of the Son he loves.

Let that sink in. Do you need to embrace and believe that truth about who you are this morning 

3. Where? (4.1-2)

The third question is where?

Ever been in a spiritually good place before? Perhaps when you were first converted, or your baptism, or witnessing a remarkable healing, or experiencing a glorious time of worship where heaven seemed to touch earth, or receiving a prophetic word for you that was so spot-on, or maybe being at an exceptional large Christian gathering like Stoneleigh or Devoted...

Who doesn’t love a massive spiritual high? But here’s the thing; they never last. Life is not like this all the time. It isn’t for us - and it wasn’t for Jesus either.

Straight after that outpouring of affirmation and delight as his Father’s dearly loved only Son, v1-2 say that Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days.

In the desert of Judea, here’s what it’s like, the temperature can get up to around 40° at midday and at night it drops to about 4°. It’s rugged, it’s arid, it’s unforgiving.

This battle with Satan was one of the most brutal Jesus ever had to face. And if he had lost it, none of us would be here today. Mark, in his Gospel, adds the detail that Jesus “was with the wild animals.” 

And these weren’t nice pets to keep him company! These were the kind of creatures that keep you on edge all day and awake all night; scorpions, snakes, spiders, wolves, jackals and the like.

Satan likes to attack when we are most vulnerable. He’ll bide his time and hold his fire, and when we least expect it, just after the excitement and elation of a spiritual high, or when we are tired and stressed, when we’re running on empty, there he is, turning up like a bad penny.

Do any of you feel like you’re going through a time of testing now? Is this where you are? Does it seem like Satan is chipping away at your resistance?

That doesn’t mean that God has stopped loving you! In fact, be encouraged! It means the Lord is building up spiritual muscle and resilience in you. 

No boxer wins a contest without serious time in the gym beforehand. In times of pain and testing, God is making you stronger. He is giving you all you need to win your battles.

Jesus is about to embark on the most fantastic three-year body of work this planet has ever seen. And it springs from this intense period of testing and training in the desert.

4. How? (4.3-11)

The fourth question is how? How does Satan try and divert Jesus from his mission to take our place of judgement and condemnation to die a sacrificial death so that we can be saved?

The three temptations are all different but each one has the same objective. Satan wants us to do what he wants, and not what God wants.

And Jesus’ response each time is to tell Satan he’s not in charge.

If Satan were honest with us – which he isn’t because he is a liar from the beginning and the father of lies – he would say something like, “How would you like to experience grinding poverty through unpayable debt?”

Instead, he says, “How about experiencing the thrill of putting all this week’s wages on the 2.30 at Newmarket? 25/1! Think of the winnings. You’ll be able to take the grandchildren to Disneyland.” It’s your lucky day.

If Satan was honest he would say, “How do you fancy a messy divorce that will ruin your life, traumatise the woman you love, and make your kids cry themselves to sleep for months?”

But he knows that no one will fall for that, so instead he says, “Think of the buzz you’ll get by flirting with that girl in the office! Go on, you owe it to yourself to have a bit of fun.”

The first temptation is about food - just like in Genesis. Jesus thinks, “Oh, here we go… I’ve read this before.” He can see it coming. 

Satan approaches Jesus, and instead of saying, “Why don’t abort your mission and condemn the world to hell” he says, “I bet you’re hungry after all that fasting, eh? Look at those rocks down there. You could click your fingers and that could be bread. Mamma Mia, all crusty on the outside, all soft on the inside…”

The second temptation is more subtle. “Ah I notice you like the Bible. Good man, I love it too. I’ve been reading the Psalms recently.” And he quotes Psalm 91. Out of context. 

The third temptation is basically prosperity preaching. Here’s Satan with an Armani suit and a Rolex watch. “You could be rich, you know. You could live in a fancy mansion with a swimming pool. In Hawaii. With a new Porsche 911 on the drive. I’ll give you all of it, now. Bow down to me.” 

Jesus answers all three temptations with the authority of Scripture. “It is written…” Here’s what the word of truth says about that, Satan - and it’s game over. And as a result, Jesus comes out from his days of prayer and fasting stronger, in the power of the Spirit, and the devil shuffles off to lick his wounds, defeated and demoralised.

Ending – What?

So as we end, the last question is what? What is God saying to me today? What am I going to do in response to God's word to me this morning? What decision am I making today in the light of what I’ve been hearing?

Just as his baptism was a new beginning, a new start in Jesus' life, is today you start following Jesus? If you’ve been hesitating to take that first step of faith, like John hesitated to baptise his cousin, is today the day you hesitate no more and take the plunge?

Have you become aware of your need to be affirmed again by God about who you are in Christ, and how much you are loved? Maybe you just don’t really feel like God takes delight in you very much as his son or daughter. The Bible says be renewed in your mind.

Or are you thirsty and longing to be anointed with power as Jesus was at his baptism? Jesus said, “You will be filled with power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses.” Is it time today for a fresh infilling with the Holy Spirit?

Are you in a time of battle? Is Satan getting under your skin? There’s no shame in that; it's not your fault, it happens to all of us, it even happened to Jesus. Sometimes the time of testing is intense and prolonged. The thing is, are you going to draw strength from on high to stand your ground and win your battles?

If you feel any of those things are true for you at the moment, would you stand please and we will ask God to equip you right now with all you need to leave here in better shape spiritually than when you walked in earlier.

Our prayer is that you will leave this place with a renewed sense of God’s delight over you and with the devil where he belongs, under your feet.

Sermon preached at King's Church Darlington, 9 July 2023