This morning I am excited to preach from Matthew chapter 3. I would invite you to open your Bible to Matthew chapter 3 beginning verse 13. On the Sunday mornings when I preach, which is occasionally, we are now going through the Gospel of Matthew and we have come to chapter 3 verses 13 through 17. I don't have to tell you that we are in the midst in our country of a presidential election campaign. Between now and the election in November, we are going to see so many ads, we're going to be tired of them probably. Hopefully, we'll get to see a debate between the candidates, and we will see so many ads on TV that we will be glad when election day comes, and it will go on and on. But all of that will be followed by a very solemn event, the inauguration of the president. And the inauguration events will go on for several days. There will probably be the night before the inaugural gala, and that will probably, I would imagine, culminate with fireworks, as it usually does. Then there is the ceremony itself. There will be the formal seating of important guests. There will be a trumpet fanfare. There will be the oath of office. There will be the speech by the new president. And there will be the 21-gun salute with cannons. the playing of Hail to the Chief, and that will be followed by the Inaugural Parade, which goes on for several hours, and then that night, the Inaugural Balls. All of that to inaugurate a man as President of the United States. And that is for the purpose of setting him apart from everyone else in the country to launch his administration. But what a contrast to that we come to this morning in Matthew chapter 3. I couldn't help but think of the contrast as I was studying it. Chapter 3 and the portion we're in this morning, we have the setting apart of Jesus Christ from all other leaders of his time, and the launching of his ministry. And here he is, God come in human flesh, and here he is, the one to sit on David's throne, not just until he dies, but forever and ever and ever. And think of all of the spectacular possibilities that could have marked the beginning of his ministry. After all, he had all the angels at his beck and call. Boy, they could have put on quite a show. He had all the forces of nature at his command. What the thunder and lightning and that'd be better than fireworks. And he had all the attributes of God. He is God. He's omnipotent. He's omnipresent. He's omniscient. He could have put on a display of all of those, but instead he quietly goes to John the baptizer out in the desert, away from all of the hubbub in Jerusalem, where John has created quite a hub out there with preaching and people coming and being baptized. Now, Matthew wrote this Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew, of course under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to present Jesus, each one of the Gospel writers, present Jesus in a different aspect of who He is. In Mark, He's the humble servant. In Luke, He's the perfect man. In Matthew's gospel, he's the king, whereas in John's gospel, he's presented as the son of God. But Matthew presents Christ as the king, the king of the Jews. He wrote this gospel with Jewish people in mind, and so he's making them know about this one, their king. And he showed, first of all, in chapter 1, his ancestry. He has the ancestry that qualifies him to sit on David's throne. And he was the only one at that time in Israel who could fit the qualifications to be on David's throne. And the virgin birth is involved with making that possible. We studied that in our first study. Then he, Matthew showed us the king's birth, very unique for a king being born in a stable and we saw all the reasons for that. And then in chapter 3 he's been showing us the announcement of the king's arrival. When a king would arrive in a place in those days there would be heralds and there would be all kinds of attention, the king is here. God used John the Baptist to do that, but now we see the King's anointing, and it is a very, very significant moment in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, I would invite you, if you're able, to stand with me as I read in Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17. Matthew chapter 3 verse 13. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me. But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. But when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God. descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. This is God's holy word. You may be seated. Well, first of all, in verses 13 to 17, which you'll see on the outline, by the way, in the bulletin is an outline, and on the other side are discussion questions for yourself or with others later on to discuss the sermon. But we have, number one, the significance of Jesus' baptism. This was very significant for him, very significant for the people around him, and for us. It begins in verse 13, then Jesus came. Now, the then tells us, this is during the ministry of John the Baptist at the Jordan River, and that's been written by Matthew in this chapter in verses 1 to 12. He's been writing about that. Many came to hear John the Baptizer preach. He's proclaiming a message from God. They've not had a prophet from God for 400 years in the life of Israel. This is something unique they haven't experienced. Their parents, their grandparents hadn't. But here's a prophet sent from God and he is preaching a message from God. There are two aspects to his preaching. First of all, he's preaching repent. That is for people to turn from sin to holiness and to a lifestyle of obedience to Jesus Christ. And we learn from other scriptures that repentance happens simultaneously with believing, putting our faith and trust in Christ, repentance of sin, and trusting in Christ. He was preaching that. And then he was also preaching that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That means that the Messiah has come. Again, this is a gospel oriented towards Jewish people. The Jewish people were longing for the coming of the Messiah. They were under the oppression of Rome and it was a rough time for the Jewish people. And they, as their forefathers had before them, were crying out, Lord, send the Messiah. And here's John saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Messiah is here. Jesus is about to fulfill Old Testament prophecies. And if they repented and believed, they could be part of his kingdom. And so it's a very significant message. Repent and the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now, because many and probably most of these people had true repentance, he baptized them. We saw the last time that I preached that there were some people, they were from the Pharisees and Sadducees who came and they shouldn't be baptized because they didn't have repentance in their heart, and John refused to baptize them. But because most of these people had true repentance, he baptized them. And for them to be baptized was a radical act of declaring that they were not depending on their Jewishness. To be baptized means to be dipped into, to be immersed in water. And Jewish people, to be Jewish you didn't go through immersion. If you were a Gentile and wanted to come to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then you would be baptized. But it was not a standard procedure for Jewish people entering into Judaism or anything like that. There were other issues, other aspects, particularly for women to be immersed, but that was a whole different issue. to them preaching to an audience to say, you need to repent and be baptized. That's something you would expect of Gentiles. And yet these people, when they submit to this baptism, it's a radical act declaring that they were not depending upon their Jewishness. That's what most of the Jews were doing in Israel at that time. I'm a descendant of Abraham. I'm okay. And to be baptized, you're saying, I'm not okay. And I repent of my sin and I believe, and baptism was a sign of that, of God's grace for salvation. So they were saying, they are as spiritually bankrupt as Gentiles. That's how they saw baptism. And for these who were genuinely repentant, this was a big deal. to admit their spiritual bankruptcy. So it's in the midst of this that verse 13 says, Jesus came from Galilee. Now specifically, he came from Nazareth. That's the village in Galilee region where Jesus grew up, spent most of his 30 years growing up and preparing for his ministry. Now he came alone. No family came with him, and he has not yet called any disciples. So he comes alone from Nazareth to Judea, where all these crowds are, for humbling himself to be baptized by John. And it says that he came to John. Now Jesus and John were cousins. John's mother, Elizabeth, according to the Gospel of Luke, before Jesus was born, Elizabeth, who was a relative of the Virgin Mary, knew that Mary's child that she was carrying was God, and that he would be the Messiah. And when Mary came to visit Elizabeth, she became pregnant first, Not a virgin conception, but it was miraculous because of her age and her husband's age. And it was a work of God, and God prepared them for it. The angel Gabriel appeared to Elizabeth's husband, Zechariah, and told him all about what was going to happen. But, so anyway, then there comes a time in Luke's Gospel where Mary, while she is pregnant, visits her cousin Elizabeth. And Elizabeth, when she saw Mary, she addressed Mary as, quote, the mother of my Lord. That's in Luke 1.43. So, Elizabeth knew something of the true identity of this baby, Jesus. Now, her husband, Zechariah, certainly, we assume, would have told her what the angel told him, that their son is going to be the forerunner of the Messiah. I think every married couple would figure that he wouldn't keep that from her, so she would know that. Now, we do not know if Jesus and John ever saw each other as they were growing up. As far as we know, John grew up near Jerusalem, Jesus grew up in Galilee. Maybe they came across each other on the family's trips to Jerusalem for the required feasts, for instance, when Jesus was 12, but we don't know that. But when Jesus comes to be baptized, John did know Jesus' divine identity, and that he came to accomplish God's plan of redemption. We know that because in John 1.29, it talks about John, when he saw Jesus coming, he said, behold, or look over there, the Lamb of God. that takes away the sin of the world. So John is definitely aware of who Jesus is. So he comes to John, it says, to the Jordan, the river, to John to be baptized. Now, he came to be baptized by John, even though he had no need of repentance. That was the big deal that was going on. People were repenting, and as a sign of their repentance, they would go through baptism. But they're repenting because they're sinners, and Jesus has no sin. He has no need to repent. Why should he be baptized? Well, I'm going to list at least the six reasons why it could be that Jesus wanted to be baptized. Probably more, but here are six. First of all, to identify himself with the message of John the Baptist, that is, that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and the Jewish people needed to repent. He wants to identify with that message. He does that by baptism. Another reason, to show he is in full agreement and obedience with God's plan, even though as part of God's plan he will have to suffer. So it's a big deal for him to submit to that and to show his full agreement and obedience. A third reason, as an act of self-identification with sinners. That's the first step of His being made sin for us. In 2 Corinthians 5.21, we learn that at the cross, He was made sin for us. This is the first step towards that, as He's having this self-identification with sinners. And then it's a fulfillment of Isaiah 53.12, that great 53rd chapter of Isaiah that's a prophecy of so much concerning Messiah. Isaiah 53.12 prophesied of Messiah that he was numbered with the transgressors And yet he himself bore the sin of many by coming to be baptized. Part of the reason he wanted to was for this purpose, that he would be numbered with transgressors, as all of these people lined up to be baptized were transgressors. And he came and stood in that line. And then there's another reason, and that is that he said, and we'll see in verse 15, it was to fulfill all righteousness. And we'll wait till we get to verse 15 to see what that meant. Another reason is to set the stage for his receiving a special anointing by the Holy Spirit. Turn over to the book of Acts, chapter 10. Now in Acts chapter 10, we have the tremendous story of Peter preaching to Cornelius, you remember the Gentile, and at that point the gospel had only been preached to Jews. And yet God's doing a great work, and he sends Peter to preach the gospel to a centurion, a Roman, a Gentile, named Cornelius. And as Peter is preaching to Cornelius in chapter 10, look at verse 38 in that sermon. Verse 38. how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. When did that happen? It was a very, very public, visible moment that we will see here in the baptism. And so that was one of the reasons he wanted to be baptized. The last one that I have is as an act of self-dedication to his messianic mission. It's his official acceptance of this role that God has given him. In terms of our culture, you would say it's his inauguration, or it's his commissioning. So Jesus came to be baptized by him. Now then in verse 14, John would have prevented him. The idea of that expression in Greek is, John tried to prevent him. Have you ever tried to prevent someone from doing something they're really set on doing? Sometimes it's kind of hard. And that's kind of the position that John felt in. And you remember that Matthew, as all of the New Testament, was originally written in Greek. And the Greek verb that John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses here is in what's called the imperfect tense, which is used for actions in the past that happened repeatedly. So that is saying, John repeatedly tried to prevent him. He didn't just say, oh, no, no, Jesus. We don't know how long it went on, but he repeatedly tried to change Jesus' mind about wanting to be baptized. John knew that Jesus was not a sinner like John was, and like all the other people were who were being baptized. John would have prevented him saying, I. Now, as I mentioned, this is written originally in Greek, and in the Greek, the pronouns in this sentence are emphatic. So let me read it that way. I need to be baptized by you. Do you come to me? To John, this is just preposterous. He just doesn't see it. And so he says, To be baptized, do you come to me? John just couldn't believe it. But why does the Holy Spirit emphasize this in inspiring Matthew to say this? It must be that John wants to make it clear that although Jesus was baptized, he is not a sinner. That is clear in scripture and the Holy Spirit is emphasizing that even in the inspiration of this. And so Jesus is not a sinner. Well then in verse 15, but Jesus answered him. And just an interesting thought from the Gospels. These are the first recorded words that we have that Jesus spoke since he was 12 years old. Remember what's recorded that he said when he was 12 years old? It's in the Gospel of Luke. He went with his family to Jerusalem for the Jewish feast, and while he was there, remember how he got into discussion with the religious leaders, scribes, Pharisees, and they were astounded! by his knowledge and what he said. And he stayed there a couple of days and Joseph and Mary left with the rest on the caravan and thought he was with others and then they realized he's not there and so they go back and they find him and of course they're rather disturbed. And Jesus said, don't you know I must be about my father's business? Those words recorded when he was 12 years old. We have no other words recorded that he said until these words. But it's interesting. those words at that particular time, that I must be about my father's business. Now, in chapter 3, Jesus is totally immersed in his father's business. No pun intended, because there's literal immersion here, but in a non-literal sense, Jesus is immersed in his father's business, just like he talked about when he was 12 years old. And then, not too long after this, he's going to be at Jacob's well, Remember talking to the Samaritan woman at the well? And the disciples have gone to get food, they come back, find him talking to the woman, and have a tremendous conversation there in John chapter 4. And then they said, well, did you get some food from somewhere? And Jesus said, my food? is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. That's in John 4.34. So, Jesus at 12 said, I must be about my father's business. Now here, he is now immersed in his father's business, and it continued, even in the conversation with the woman at the well. And his passion, that shows us something of Jesus' passion that was spoken of in a messianic prophecy in the book of Psalms. And let's look at that. Psalm 40. So turn in your Bible to Psalm 40. Psalm 40 and verses six through eight, Psalm 40 verse six. In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted. Now God commanded the sacrifices, but there's a sense in which he didn't delight in them. But you have given me... This is a prophecy of Messiah. The me there is the coming Messiah. You have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, Behold, I have come in the scroll of the book that is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God. Your law is within my heart." That's being about his father's business. That was his passion. And then we won't read it, but that is quoted in the book of Hebrews 10 verses 4 to 7. And we then get the impact of the fact that he didn't delight in the burnt offerings and sacrifices. Yes, he commanded them. Yes, he wanted them. But the satisfaction of God's wrath against sin came through the fulfillment of those sacrifices. And that is Jesus' death on the cross. And that was his passion. to do the will of the Father. And that's part of why he is here at the Jordan, telling John, I must be baptized by you. And so Jesus answered him, let it be so now. He's saying, although it didn't seem appropriate to John, it was indeed very inappropriate at this time that he would be baptized, because it's God's will. for him to start his ministry now, not later. And so he says, it is appropriate. Now is the time. And then, he has an interesting statement. following that, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Now we think of fulfill, usually we use the term fulfill in the sense of it means accomplishing the predictions of the Old Testament. There's a prophecy Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. That prophecy is in Micah 5, 2. So we say, well it was fulfilled, it was accomplished, it came to pass. But the expression to fulfill can also mean to bring to completion. And that's how Jesus is using the expression here. Here it means to complete all that God has set out for him to do. And it's all beginning right here at the baptism. So this is an important step. in God's plan for him to perfectly complete and fulfill God's plan. Jesus is dedicating himself to the task of making sinners righteous. We cannot do it ourselves. We are not saved by ourselves, not saved by works, it's by God's grace. And so Jesus is in the task of the Father's will of making sinners righteous. But what about our task? Now that we have become children of God, and we've been given the righteousness of Christ, and we have that righteousness, what about the task for us? How is that connected with what Jesus is doing? We'll turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians. chapter 5 and verses 18 through 20 2nd Corinthians 5 18 through 25 18 all this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and so that was the ministry that Jesus was committed to and he reconciled us to himself and gave us, so we have a work to do, gave us the believers, the children of God, the ministry of reconciliation. Now, we can't reconcile someone, but we have the Ministry of Reconciliation. The Ministry of Reconciliation is telling people the message of the Gospel, how they can be reconciled with God. And he goes on in verse 19, that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespass against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." So, Jesus being committed to doing the work of the Father, and as a result of that, we have forgiveness of sin and salvation, then reminds us We have a work to do, and that is to be the ambassador, carrying the message of the gospel to those without Christ. Well, back here in Matthew chapter 3, so by this, that is by saying let's fulfill all righteousness, he is saying that this is the beginning of his ministry of suffering and dying for sin. It's the beginning of his ministry of what's called in Isaiah, his ministry as the suffering servant. Now, by being baptized, I think there's three things we should note that happened by his being baptized. First of all, he took his place among sinners, and we saw that as part of the reason he wanted to be baptized. So he took his place among sinners. Secondly, he was symbolizing his death and resurrection. which will be his ultimate identification with sinners. Baptism carries that symbolism. When we had baptism a couple of weeks ago, we had two of our church family who went under the water. And that, in scripture, is portrayed as a picture of Christ was buried, and we are buried in Him. But Pastor Steve has never left anyone under the water. He brings them up. And that's a picture of resurrection. And so, of the three things that were happening here, the second one was, he was symbolizing his death and resurrection. And then the third thing, he was saying to his father, yes, I am submitting to your plan. I will die. And I will also rise again through your power. It's tremendous. Tremendous statement that he is making of what is happening here to fulfill all righteousness. But then secondly, in this passage, we have the accompanying announcement of who Jesus is. And that's in verses 16 and 17. Now, verses 16 and 17 are unique verses in that we see each of the three members of the Trinity present and involved. And now, of course, they're always present and they're always involved, but we don't always see it. They are not visible. But in this case, all three have a visibility. First, you have the son, definitely visible in that he is here in his body and he's going to be baptized. The father is visible through his speaking. The Father spoke from heaven, and that was really remarkable, as we will see. And then thirdly, the Holy Spirit is here, and He anoints the Son for His ministry, and He's going to take a physical representation to be seen. We'll see that in a moment. So first of all, we have the accompanying announcement, first of all, by God the Holy Spirit. Look in verse 16, and when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water. That's a hint in scripture that the scriptural mode of baptism is immersion. until he's in the water, he comes up out of the water. I wouldn't make a big deal out of that because some would say, well, he walks into the water to have the water sprinkled on him, and so, well, we're not going to quibble with that. But just to say, I think it is a hint of immersion. And so he went up from the water and behold the heavens were open to him. That is dramatic. The Greek expression were open to him is the idea to be torn open. It's the same Greek word. that's going to be used later on at the death of Christ. Remember when on the cross he yields up his spirit and he dies and it says at that moment in the temple the veil prohibiting people from going into the Holy of Holies was torn in two. It's the same Greek word. That was a very dramatic tearing. That was a big deal. This is a very dramatic tearing open. God is about to speak. God is about to speak to his people, which hasn't happened in centuries for his people. Now, this is an answer to the prayer of the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. Turn to the book of Isaiah chapter 64 verse 1. Isaiah 64 verse 1. In Isaiah 64 verse 1, and in the context of this, it is Israel's captivity, when Israel was captured, was conquered by Babylon, and many of the Jews were carried into exile into Babylon. And in the context of that, Isaiah cries out in verse 15, I, excuse me, in verse 1 of chapter 64, in verse 1, O that you would rend the heavens, speaking to God, and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence. But that cry, O God, that you would rend the heavens. That's exactly what's happening here. And you look at the last two verses, or the last few verses, verses 15 through 19. I'm not going to take time to read them, but the heart cry, oh God, we your people, we are in such desperate need. as we are in Babylon, and so that cry, O that you would rend the heavens, that happens here, and it will happen again when he comes in his second coming. but it's reminding us how significant it is that this is the voice of God that is about to speak. So, it says that the heavens were opened to Him. Now, if you have the ESV translation, which I'm using, you have a footnote at the bottom of your page here that says, some manuscripts omit to Him. That's why others here with a different translation, your translation may not have to him. Some of the ancient manuscripts have it and some don't. And so when you translate, you have to make a decision. Do you believe that the Manuscripts should be followed that have the to him or that don't. ESV includes to him. If to him was in the original, then John is saying that only Jesus saw this. But if omitting the to him is right, then others saw the heavens open. Either way, Matthew is emphasizing the experience of Jesus Christ. He's not emphasizing the experience of other people who are around, but he's emphasizing to the Lord Jesus Christ. What did this mean to him? The sight of heaven opening, and he's going to hear the voice of God the Father. would have been a great encouragement as he's about to launch this ministry in which he is going to suffer. You know, if you're away from home, And you catch a glimpse somehow of heaven. Maybe you see a scene on television or in a book or something. And it just kind of warms your heart. It's encouraging. Heaven was Jesus' home. He left home, left glory, and came here. And what an encouragement that was to him. And then to hear his father's voice. So the heavens open. to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending. The Spirit of God does not have a human body or any material form. In fact, the Holy Spirit is likened to the wind. When Jesus has his conversation with Nicodemus that night, and he's talking to Nicodemus about, you must be born again. and he talks about the work of the Spirit, and he mentions the Nicodemus, but you don't see the Spirit. And he uses the illustration of a wind. You see the effect of the wind. You don't see the wind, but you see the effect of the wind. And so it is with the spirit. And the word spirit and wind are the same word in Greek, also in Hebrew. So anyway, the Holy Spirit takes a visible representation. And so it says he saw the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, third person of the triune Godhead. Now the first reference to the Holy Spirit in the Bible is in the book of Genesis chapter 1. Turn to Genesis chapter 1 and verse 2. Genesis chapter 1 verse 2, the earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. That is the first mention of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. But what an expression, hovering. over the waters. The ancient rabbis, even before the time of Christ, described the Holy Spirit here, the Spirit of God, as moving, quote, moving over the surface of the waters like a dove hovering over her nest. And so this verse, back in Matthew chapter 3, he sees the Spirit of God descending like a dove. Again, the Holy Spirit is invisible, but he took on the appearance of a dove in order that they would see the Holy Spirit coming upon him. And since these are Jewish people rooted in Old Testament scripture, The thought is that by seeing the dove they would think of this verse in Genesis 1 because of the teaching they had always heard from the ancient rabbis. And they would recognize this is the Spirit of God descending here. And so the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest upon him. There may be also another possible reason why the form of a dove. Doves were used as a sacrifice that could be brought for some of the sacrifices by a person who's too poor to afford a lamb, and it's a reminder of sacrifices. It could be a combination of both. Then we come to verse 17, the announcement by God the Father. And behold, a voice from heaven. Now, it could have said the voice of God, and that's what it is. But remember, Matthew's writing to a Jewish audience, and we saw one of the first messages that he talks about the kingdom of heaven, and that's synonymous with the kingdom of God. We saw why he did that. The Jewish people were very sensitive about using the name God. because of the commandment to not take the name of the Lord in vain. And so, rather than talk about the voice of God, they would tend to say the voice from heaven. or not say the kingdom of God, but say the kingdom of heaven. And so that's probably why Matthew calls it the voice from heaven, whereas he could have said the voice of God. He probably would have if he were addressing a Gentile audience. But boy, this is very significant, the voice of God. This is the first of three times in Jesus' ministry that God is going to speak audibly from heaven. The first one is here. The second one is at the transfiguration, and that's in Matthew 17, verse 5, where when Peter, James, and John are taken by Jesus on the mountain, Jesus is transfigured. He's glorified before them. And they see Moses and Elijah there, speaking to Jesus. And God speaks from heaven. And he says, this is my beloved son, listen to him. Don't get all wrapped up in Moses and Elijah, listen to him, my son. That's the second time, voice of God from heaven. The third time followed the triumphal entry, and that's in the Gospel of John. So let's look at that. John chapter 12, it's not as familiar, not as often referred to as the first two. So John chapter 12, verses 27, and 28. John 12, 27. This is after the triumphal entry when Jesus enters into Jerusalem and he's gone to the temple. And there's this moment here where he knows what's coming. This is the beginning of the week leading up to the crucifixion. And now is my soul troubled. It's kind of like what's coming in the Garden of Gethsemane. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, just like in Gethsemane. If possible, let this cup from me. Is that what I should pray? He said, but for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven. Same thing. I have glorified it. What a statement! In Jesus' ministry, God the Father has glorified his name. In Jesus' miracles, God the Father has glorified Jesus' name. He says, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. It's God's pleasure that Jesus go to the cross and die. And he will glorify Jesus' name through that. And when he raises him from the dead, the name of Jesus will be glorified. So it's an interesting moment after the great joy and excitement of the triumphal entry where you have this moment. But the Father spoke there as well. Well, back to Matthew 3, verse 17. So the voice from heaven said, This is my beloved son." Beloved, that's a term of great affection for his son. Think of your relationship with people that you just love, and you might call them your beloved. Multiply that by a million times. and you have what it is for Jesus to say, for the Father to say, this is my beloved Son. He is His eternal Son. This is the relationship within the Trinity. There's the Father, there's the Son. He didn't become the Son at His taking on human flesh. He is the Eternal Son. Turn over to Psalm 2. A great, great psalm. Another messianic psalm that is prophecy of the Messiah. And in Psalm 2, verse 7, I will tell of the decree, this is Messiah speaking, this is Jesus speaking, or prophecy of Jesus speaking. I will tell of the decree, the Lord, that would be the Father, said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. And that was partially fulfilled at the baptism. when the father speaks and says, you are my beloved son. Prophesied here in Psalm 2-7, you are my son. Today I've begotten you, the idea of giving you life, that refers to his physical life through the virgin conception, and then the resurrection life, when he raised him from the dead. So that's in chapter 2 verse 7, but go back to verse 2, of Psalm 2, the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. That is a term for the Messiah and His anointing is here at His baptism. And then another interesting reference to the Son in this passage in verses 10 to 12. Now therefore, O kings, be wise, be warned, O rulers of the earth, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son. The sun, the anointed one. This idea of kissing in that culture, you see it all the time. That someone comes into the presence of a ruler, you see it among Arab nations today especially, and they will kiss on the cheek. I have known many Jewish people, the same thing. And this is saying kiss the sun. pay homage to the Messiah, the Son, the Messiah who is to come. In other words, it's saying put your faith and trust in Him. And I would, you know, we don't have all the conversation of Jesus in the room with Nicodemus, but wouldn't it have been something if in that conversation Jesus said, kiss the sun. Nicodemus, you can believe. You can. I'm the Messiah. I'm here. We are to kiss the Son. We are to trust in, believe in, and have Messiah in our life as our Savior. But one more thing in what happened at the baptism back in verse 17, Matthew 3. This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. The Father was delighted in who Jesus is. And he was delighted in what Jesus has done in the past 30 years of his life. When he was a child living in his parents' home, in obedience to his parents, perfectly, because he never sinned, he was in perfect obedience. And that was pleasing to the Father. And it's pleasing to the Father what He's doing now in coming to be baptized. And it's pleasing to the Father what Jesus will do as the suffering servant. So in all aspects. Jesus, he was well pleased with. The sacrifices were in place until the sun came, but they couldn't take away sin. That's why we saw in the prophecy in Psalm 40 where he says, you know, sacrifices, burnt offerings, I haven't... delighted in my delight is what in what they look towards and that is the coming messiah the sacrifice for sin only in jesus christ could the father be well pleased with a sacrifice because jesus was absolutely sinless sacrificial animals were carefully examined to see if they were without blemish. You see a lot of that in the Old Testament. The Father has examined Jesus, the Lamb of God, and says He is without blemish and sin. The Father is satisfied with Him. This fulfills another prophecy in Isaiah, Isaiah 42, 1. Isaiah 42.1, which Isaiah wrote, Behold, these are the words of the Father, through Isaiah, Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, and whom my soul delights. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Do you have affection in your heart for Jesus? Are you well-pleased? Oh, I hope you are. And I hope if you're a believer and you have trusted Christ as your Savior, You just want to know him more, and to adore him more, and to have more affection, that the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Well, it's hard to really grasp the impact of what Jesus did. But imagine that you need something at a particular store, and the store is so popular that there's a line out the door to get in. And you have to stand in line to get in. And you want what's in the store, so you get in line. And imagine that, what if when you get into the line, you recognize everyone else in that line Well, some of them are registered sex offenders. Some of them are burglars. Some of them are kidnappers. Some of them are murderers. What if you see you're in a small town and you know what everyone does and you see everyone, everyone in that line is a terrible sinner. How would you feel to get in that line and realizing that everyone driving by will see you in that line and assume that you are like them. Guilt by association. That's what Jesus did when he was baptized. He identified with sinners. And he did it for us. And so, like the psalmist said in Psalm 212, kiss the Son, lest He be angry. Thank Him, and if you've never repented of your sin, as John was preaching about, and believed in Him and trusted in Him as your Savior, kiss the Son and come to salvation. And so this morning, if you are here and you do not have forgiveness of sin. Let this passage in Matthew 3 just sink into your heart of what Jesus did. He came to die for sinners. And what that means, that you can have forgiveness, and come in repentance, and trust Christ as Savior. And then there are so many, so many applications in this for us, after we've come to salvation, that we would be about our Father's business, as those ambassadors, as He has come to bring reconciliation. Oh, this day, draw near to the Lord and thank Him for what a Savior, what a friend of sinners Jesus is. Let's pray. Father, how we do thank you for Jesus, the friend of sinners. He came and stood in that line of sinners going to be baptized. And He had no sin. But He came to identify with us, so that He could go and suffer and die and pay the penalty for sin. Father, we praise You and thank You this morning. And we pray that anyone that doesn't have that sin forgiven would come in repentance and faith. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.