on the teachers this morning. Well, in our study of Luke, we continue to make progress. We are in chapter 3, verses 21 through 22. We have a concise text before us, two verses this morning, but significant. significant event taking place in the life of Jesus and there's much learning to be done from these two verses this brief passage there is a lot here and we will read the text and then waste no time in jumping in and looking at what the Lord would use out of this to encourage us today. So we have something to be learned. We have something in front of us that would encourage us, that would cause us to give God our attention, our undivided attention. What is he saying? What can be learned here? And we make application as we come to the conclusion so verses 21 and 22 chapter 3 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. In you, I am well pleased. The word of the Lord. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We ask that you impress this word on our minds and hearts. Lord, that we would be receptive, that we would even be eager to hear what you want to say to us. So help us in the next few minutes to focus and to hear from you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So this is a noteworthy event. Here we have the baptism of Jesus right before us. We have an overlap in the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus. That's interesting how that goes. John the Baptist, John started his preaching ministry probably six months before Jesus appeared on the scene and there's going to be some overlap. Luke tells us here and keep in mind that Luke the physician did all kinds of investigation and research into the life of Jesus, probably conducted a number of interviews. I mean, he really doubled down to get to the truth. And the reason for that was he wanted everyone who reads his gospel to know the exact truth about Jesus, about why he came, about what his ministry would be about, concerning his death, his burial, resurrection, and ascension, Luke covers that. And one thing, and I don't think it's been mentioned before, but when you look at the very beginning of Luke, like those first four or five verses, he uses the style of the time that any educated historian would have used. And what I mean by that is the Greek in those first four or five verses is really technical. It's like of an educated class, but after that It's normal, koine, common Greek. It's very interesting. So he's getting everyone's attention. This gospel, Luke says, is for the whole world. That's his point. He wants everybody to hear it. He wants everybody to read it. He wants everybody to know it. He wants everybody to receive it. And his focus entirely is on Jesus. So what can be learned from these two verses? What can be learned by us living here in 2025? We are over 2,000 years removed from the time that Jesus walked the earth. Well, I've got three things. so here we go first thing I think we learn is the significance of baptism in the church the significance of baptism in the church so there's a couple things that catch our attention when we look at this now when all the people were baptized so Luke means the ones that were there of course They're down there by the Jordan River and they're being baptized. And what we read here is, there it is, Jesus was also baptized. Now the first part of verse 21 may not surprise us because we knew that was the ministry of John. He's out there in the wilderness, he's preaching, the King is coming. And he doesn't mean, he means in a very short time he is coming. He will make his appearance. He will show up on the scene. And John is there to say, Be ready everybody. Don't let this surprise you. So the Lord has orchestrated this ministry of John that he would be the foreteller or the herald of the coming of Jesus who is the King. So the people are responding and they're responding to John as they submit to a baptism of repentance. And that's why they were all being baptized. You remember they had to go out to John. They had to go out from their villages and their cities to see John and to hear John. Why? Because that's where John was. Not only where he grew up, he was in the wilderness, he was in the desert. Not everybody in those days wore camel hair and ate locusts and wild honey. But John did. And he did that because he was in the wilderness. He was a wilderness man. So the people had to go out to hear his message. They had to go out to him to submit to this baptism. We call it John's baptism. But we are, we might be surprised to find out that Jesus was also baptized now the fact that Jesus submitted to baptism and this is at the beginning of his ministry all right this has this has nothing to do with salvation because Jesus didn't need to be saved right and you might you might just wonder well why would Jesus be baptized why would he submit to a baptism well We could answer that question with a bunch of questions. Why would he need to leave heaven to come to earth? Why would he need to experience life on earth with all of its challenges and griefs and heartaches? Why would Jesus need to experience animosity from other people? Why would he need to experience fatigue Why would he need to experience suffering? Death? Well, that's part of his mission. Well, this is part of his mission. This is what the father has ordered. And what we need to remember is that when Jesus came to earth, he came to fulfill the will of his father. He submitted to that will. And he did that all along his ministry. And he never once stepped out of line or crossed the line. He always was obedient to the will of the Father. So when the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, he fulfilled the law. Jesus Christ, though he knew no sin, took our sin in his body to the cross, received the nails so that you and I could through repentance and faith receive salvation through Christ and his shed blood. So Christ is conforming to the will of his father. And the Bible says that baptism for Jesus was part of that will. So the significance of baptism in the church, it's significant to us because it was honored by Christ. Christ himself and not just that he was preaching that this should be part of our spiritual journey, but that Jesus submitted to baptism. And so there he was, you can just imagine what it had been like to be there that day out there at the Jordan River and folks around that have been baptized and here comes Jesus. Here he comes, the Lamb of God, and he is going to submit. And I think John was taken aback by this. I mean, he's the one coming. I'm not worthy to take his sandals off. I'm not worthy of that. But John would be one who would administer that baptism for Jesus. So baptism should be held in high regard by the church since Jesus himself was baptized. And then secondly, and I find this striking, and it almost, almost goes without saying, but it doesn't go without saying, we should say it. I want you to notice this. Have you ever noticed this before in your reading? Right there in the second part of that verse, 21, and while He was praying. Heaven was opened. I think this is important for us to think about that prayer is associated with his baptism. And I'm thinking since prayer was associated with not only his baptism but his entire ministry, How much more should prayer be associated with the ministry of the church? You consider the ordinances, one being baptism, you consider the other ordinance, the Lord's Supper, that prayer should be intricately woven into those ordinances. And I think, well, it should be involved, prayer that is, involved in all the ministry of the church. This is the church. Jesus said, my house, remember this, he went through, we believe he cleansed the temple, cleansed the temple twice. One time at the beginning of his ministry and then at the end of his ministry. He goes through, he overturns the table of the money changers. because they had turned worship into some kind of merchandising or profiting from worship and I think we've mentioned that in days gone by how they did that but Jesus overturned the money changers and he said, he said, my house shall be called a house of prayer but you've turned it into a den of thieves And so I think how important it is for us at this juncture just to revisit and think about the ministry of prayer as it pertains to the church. And by church we are talking about the flock of God. All the brothers and sisters Under Christ, all of us who love Jesus, prayer should be woven into our lifestyle, individually and corporately. How important it is to pray. How important it is to take time out, to bow your head, humble your heart before God, and just say, thank you. Or to say, my father, our father, who is in heaven, and then to pray and seek God's blessing and seek God's direction in our lives. And one reason I'm leaning into this this morning is because my life's a lot like yours. And if your life's a lot like mine, I know that it is so easy to get up and get started and get moving. And before long, we've been through a day And maybe we pray consciously to the Lord when our head hits the pillow. I think it's good to stop. To stop. Perhaps to open that Bible. Maybe opening that Bible facilitates your prayer time. Or perhaps you don't need an open Bible to facilitate your prayer time. Maybe you live in a state of prayer. That's great. But I'm just saying, make sure prayer is woven into your lifestyle. And it's easy with all the responsibilities, right? All the things going on. Going here, going there. Especially if you have children. Here we go. To take time out and pray. And I want to encourage the men to lead in this in their homes. Man, make sure you're taking time out with your family for prayer. And teach those children to pray at a young age. That it would be something reflexive at a meal. It doesn't have to be religious. Just pray. Teach them to pray. And pray yourself. Pray for yourself and pray for others. And pray that God will be glorified. But notice this. is indispensable in that situation when Jesus was being baptized. What was he doing? He was not only baptized, but he was praying. And I know this. I know when we pray, God hears. When Jesus prayed, look what happened. Heaven was open. Isn't that encouraging? You know, when you pray, and you pray with the proper sincerity and humility, God's not going to close heaven off to you. God's going to open up heaven. He's going to allow you to see spiritual truth. He's going to give you direction. You're going to see it. You're going to learn to love him more. You're going to learn to follow him closer. That's what happens when you pray. You benefit spiritually when you pray. And we benefit in ways we can't even comprehend when we pray. I want to encourage you today to take time out to pray. Take time out to pray. Start the day praying. End the day with prayer. Doesn't have to be long. Doesn't have to be religious. It just has to be heartfelt. to God out of your heart expressing praise and gratitude for all he's done and then seeking a closer walk with him. So the significance of baptism in the church is seen in that Jesus himself was baptized and that prayer is associated with his baptism. If it's associated with his baptism, prayer should be associated with all that we do as a church. And then when we go our separate ways, the ministry of private prayer, considering our own relationship with the Lord, and then the relationship of our family and friends and neighbors. Very important. And secondly, I want you to notice the unified involvement of the Trinity here at the baptism of Jesus. The Trinity. We're Trinitarian. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And so, I notice here, the Trinity shows up. They're right there. In these two verses, we have Father, we have Son, He's in the water, and we have Holy Spirit. The Trinity. I want you to receive so often, you know, somebody brings up the Trinity and it's in an effort to figure it out. Well, just don't try. Just don't. But what you can do is receive it and be comforted that there is a unity among the Trinity, not only with regard to the ministry of Jesus that we see here, beginning here, it's public ministry that is, but the Trinity is involved in our salvation. We're in our walk with the Lord. And we don't often parse it out that way, but that's the truth. We have a Heavenly Father who cares for us. We have a Jesus, the Son, who died on the cross to make salvation possible for us, shedding His blood, that we would be forgiven of our sin, that we would be cleansed, that we would be cleaned up, that His life would be in us. And we have a Holy Spirit. who makes application of all that salvation that Jesus won for us at Calvary's Cross. So a couple verses that may help on this. If you turn, take your Bible and open over there to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, we'll begin with God the Father and we're thinking about what? We're thinking about His role in our salvation. So we've got God the Father. in Ephesians chapter 1. In fact, I don't think we'll need to turn anywhere else. I think we have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all here in this first chapter of Ephesians. So, you can remember it this way. The Father administrates or authors our salvation. We find out here that it's His plan. Beginning there in verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. Did you know that? You say, I'm a Christian. You say, I have trusted Jesus. Well, he chose you long before you trusted him in real time. He says He chose you, that is God the Father, before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love. In love, in love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ Himself according to the kind intention of His will. So we see here the Father choosing, the Father predestining, we see the Father administrating our salvation. Ponder that. Listen, think about it. You have a heavenly Father. I remember a remark Jesus made one time. He said, he was talking to some folks, he said, if your fathers, and then he said this, being evil, give good gifts to their kids, How much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? I want to ask the dads, or anybody, anybody can answer this, but I think it is good for dads because it gets right next to, have you ever had a child doubt your good intentions for them? I'm going to say it this way. I think we need to be more conscious of our thoughts about our Heavenly Father. I remember doubting my dad a couple times. He didn't take it too well. No one wants to be doubted by their kids. Don't doubt the kind intention of your Heavenly Father. He loves you. He wants the best for you and He'll work it out. But don't doubt His love, don't doubt His mercy, don't doubt where He's bringing you, what He's brought you out of and what He's bringing you into. So that's the Father, the Father, the administrator, the author of our salvation, and then Jesus. We already ran into Jesus there in verse 5. He predestined us to adoption as sons through who? Through Jesus Christ Himself. according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us and the beloved. Here it is, verse 7, I highlighted it. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. And you just have to stop with Paul, because his sentence goes on and on and on, and I can't find a period. I want to stop there. We have redemption through His blood. Whose blood? The blood of Jesus. The forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace. So what can we say about Jesus other than He accomplishes our salvation. The Father administers, Jesus accomplishes, and the Holy Spirit applies. We read on down there in verse 13, in Him you also. after listening to the message of truth the gospel of your salvation having also believed you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise and then one more verse that I like here in Romans 8 and verse 9 Paul said it this way said however he says you are not in the flesh Yes, this is a teachable moment. However, he says, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. So the Holy Spirit makes application of our salvation to our lives. And the Holy Spirit is the comforter who is with us, who seals us, who fills us, as Paul says, in another place. So we see, and this is so beautiful, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in full and total agreement concerning your salvation and your sanctification that you grow in Him. and that you continue to grow until one day we meet on the other side in glory land. So the unified involvement of the Trinity in our salvation, we see them here in this text at the baptism of Jesus. The Bible says there in verse 22, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. It's interesting language there, but there was a form that evidently was seen and this form was like a dove. So that's the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit right there at the very beginning of the ministry of Jesus at his baptism and then a voice right there, a voice came out of heaven. And this voice said, you are my beloved son, in you I am well pleased. So the father here in his own words is putting his blessing on his beloved son. Knowing his ministry is beginning and his public ministry that is is beginning right there in the waters of the Jordan River With John the Baptist and other people around and you have the heavens open You have the Trinity before us in this portion of scripture. I want to know I want you to know this morning Without a shadow of a doubt no matter what you're going through you may be sitting here in pain either spiritually emotionally physically If God is for you, who or what can be against you? I want you to know this morning, even before you walk out the door, that God is for you. You've been born again. You've trusted Jesus. He is for you. He's not trying to lock you out. He ain't trying to keep you down. That's just a part of living on this earth. Keep the faith. keep loving him, he'll keep drawing you close to him, and one day we'll be off of this planet, we'll be in another realm, we'll be worshipping him for all eternity. And finally, I like this, we see in the baptism of Jesus a depiction of what Jesus did or was going to do to save us. What did Jesus do to save us? We see a picture of this in his baptism. So let's break it down. So Jesus is standing in the Jordan River. He's about to be baptized. So I think that represents his life. His life going forward, there He is. That Jesus, and we know this from the scriptures, that He came, He did not sin, He fulfilled the law, He accomplished the will of the Father, even at the end when it got rough. And He's praying. And the sweat drops of blood and the intensity of that moment. If possible, let this cup pass from me Nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done. And the Father's will was accomplished as Jesus was obedient even to death on the cross. But his life is represented there in his baptism. Secondly, his death and burial. This is, I think, a prophetic picture of what he was going to do. There he is in the waters and Here he's going to go down into the water. This is his death and burial. This represents his death and burial. It's a picture of what he would do. He would die and then he would be buried. And there's mystery in both, but there's also clarity that on the cross, at his death, our sins were taken upon Jesus and those sins were nailed to the cross. And then Jesus, at death, was taken down from the cross. And they were in a hurry to do this, so they were willing to break his legs, but no need, he's already dead. They would break the legs of the victim to expedite the death. No need would Jesus, and that was prophesied, that his legs would not be broken. That was prophesied hundreds of years before. That the Savior would die on the cross and not a bone would be broken. I'll tell you what, I wouldn't have to know much to think about that for a while and to think, my, my. Was he the Christ? and you read on and you conclude of course he was the Christ with all the prophecies that were fulfilled not only his life but his death his burial and his resurrection so Jesus goes down into the water and then he comes up out of the water and coming up out of the water represents his resurrection that he would rise from the dead that Jesus Though he was crucified for our sin, he was raised from the dead for our justification. Here in a few weeks, we're going to celebrate Resurrection Sunday once a year. The truth is, we celebrate his resurrection every moment of every day. We celebrate his death, and if we say glory to God for his death, we say double glory for his resurrection, that Jesus is risen. And what that means for all of us, is all of us who have believed, who have been sealed by the Spirit, all of that, what that means for us is that we do not have to fear death. Death has lost its sting. Why? Because Jesus is risen from the dead. And so this is important to us. And then his ascension, he's lifted out of the water and then he comes out of the water. And one day we will join him in glory because he ascended to the right hand of the father. And that's where he is now. And he's praying for the saints. He's praying for you. He's praying for me. And he is working in that high priestly role at the right hand of the Father. And that's the picture we see in Jesus in his baptism. How important is that? So I want you to be encouraged today. I want you to be encouraged that prayer is not only not only something that we engage in, it's the life we live, not only as individuals, but as the church. I want you to be encouraged in the involvement of the Trinity, not only in your salvation, but in your day-to-day life and walk. And then to think and be comforted that what Jesus came to do, he fully accomplished it on the cross. And we consider that the perfect work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. And one day he's coming for us. He will come for us. But in the meantime, if we die, some of us die, he tarries. That means we have longer. Well, maybe not. Maybe we pass, but death is nothing to fear because we will be with him. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and we take that to heart. Those aren't just words. That means something to us. So we give him praise today. Father in heaven, thank you for the baptism of Jesus. Thank you for the teaching involved, Lord, what it shows us, what we learn from it. And Lord, help us to bring these things into our lives and ponder them and live them out and become even more appreciative of what your role is in our salvation. We give you praise today in Jesus' name.