Matthew 3:13-17
We’ve been going through the Gospel of Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, verse by verse in great detail. In Matthew Chapter 1, we saw the genealogy of Jesus, God in the flesh, from Abraham to Joseph. We see Jesus is conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary.
In Matthew Chapter 2, we see the wise men inquire about Jesus Christ. Herod is alarmed. The wise men are directed by a star to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The wise men worship him and offer their gifts. Joseph flees into Egypt with Jesus and Mary. Herod slays the children. Herod dies. Jesus is brought into Galilee of Nazareth.
Now, in Matthew Chapter 3, we’ve seen John the Baptist preaching. He preaches against the Pharisees and Sadducees. He calls them vipers. And now we’re going to see Jesus coming to John the Baptist here today to be baptized of him in the Jordan River.
Jesus Was About 30 Years Old When He Got Baptized
In Luke Chapter 3, right after Jesus is baptized, the Bible tells us “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age.” So, we know that Jesus is about 30 years old when he gets baptized. With that said, let’s look closely at the Scriptures.
Matthew 3:13
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
We see Jesus was in Galilee. Mark Chapter 1 tells us Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee to be baptized of John in Jordan.
John the Baptist is in the wilderness of Judaea. The first verse in Matthew Chapter 3 told us that. Jesus comes to John the Baptist. Jesus comes from Nazareth of Galilee in the North to the Jordan River in Judaea in the South.
The Jordan River runs close to the Sea of Galilee in the North all the way down to the Dead Sea in the South.
Some people say Jesus was baptized in the North, but the Bible tells us exactly where John the Baptist was baptizing in the Gospel of John. People want to make money off tourists so they make up where Jesus was baptized.
John 1:27-28
He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
A Map of the Approximate Location of the Baptism of Jesus
You can see Bethabara was much more South towards the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is up there in the North. You can see Nazareth up there too. We go down South along the Jordan River to that approximate spot in Bethabara beyond Jordan.
Jesus, the Son of God and God in the flesh comes to John the Baptist to be baptized of him. This was a long journey for Jesus. Jesus didn’t make John the Baptist come to him. Jesus went to John the Baptist. It’s about a 29 hour walk according to Google Maps. Hey, Jesus got lots and lots of exercise. He wasn’t lazy. He worked hard. He moved around.
Matthew 3:13-15
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 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.
John the Baptist forbad Jesus or forbid him or wanted to prevent the baptism of Jesus. Why? John the Baptist knew Jesus was perfect. John the Baptist knew he, himself, wasn’t perfect. Why wouldn’t it be the other way around?
John the Baptist says, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” That’s John the Baptist being humble and telling the truth.
John Needed to Be Baptized by Jesus
We all need to be baptized of Jesus because he is the Savior of the world. But Jesus came to a man who is just like you and I, John the Baptist. He was a sinner just like you and I. Jesus never sinned. Jesus was perfect.
So it doesn’t make sense for a sinner, such as John the Baptist, to baptize Jesus Christ. We would all say the same thing because we know we can’t compare to Jesus. But what does Jesus say to John the Baptist? Look closely there in verse 15. “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Suffer or allow it to be so now. Jesus needs John the Baptist to baptize him because it is the right thing to do. Now, in order to get baptized, you must have someone else do this for you. You can’t baptize yourself. Some people are out there baptizing themselves. Some people are baptizing each other. But Jesus chooses John the Baptist to baptize him.
Notice that Jesus chooses a Baptist to baptize him. John the Baptist. This is why we call ourselves Baptist. We are Christians, but we want people to know the type of Christians that we happen to be.
We Are Baptist So You Know Our Distinct Beliefs
As a Baptist, we are King James Bible only. We don’t use any other Bible version here but the King James Bible in English.
We know that salvation, or being saved from hell, is only by God’s grace (you don’t deserve it) through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We also believe in the Trinity here. We know that God is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Once saved always saved is the truth. Believing, or putting your faith or trust only in Jesus Christ, is the only way to be saved forever. Once you believe “IN” Jesus Christ, you receive everlasting life. Everlasting means forever.
John the Baptist saw the Trinity with his own eyes when he baptized Jesus Christ. John the Baptist preached to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. John the Baptist went out and preached to the people. We follow all of these examples from him and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, Jesus chooses John the Baptist because he taught the truth. We will preach the truth here at this church. And we will continue to preach the truth here at this church.
John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus Christ
Jesus asks John the Baptist to suffer it to be so now and to baptize him. John the Baptist then baptizes the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3:16-17
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan river because there was much water there. John 3:23 tells us that. You need much water so that a person goes completely under the water. Baptism is immersion. Your baptism in water is you being fully surrounded by water when you go completely under the water.
It’s not sprinkling water. We follow the example of Jesus Christ. “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water.” He goes all the way down into the water and then comes up out of the water.
And we now know that water baptism is simply a like figure of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When you get baptized in water, it’s a picture of you dying, being buried with him, and arising from the dead with him when you come up out of the water.
Jesus Was Prophesying of His Future Death, Burial, and Resurrection
And remember, when Jesus got baptized, he still had a few years before he died on the cross. His baptism is prophecy of what was going to happen to Jesus Christ. His baptism is telling the future death, burial, and resurrection.
Now, we know that we have four Gospels. The baptism of Jesus is only seen in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The baptism of Jesus isn’t seen in the Gospel of John. Remember, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic Gospels or from a similar point of view.
So, let’s put Matthew, Mark, and Luke side by side:
| Matthew | Mark | Luke |
| Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. | Mark 1:9-11 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. | Luke 3:21-22 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. |
We have three witnesses here in Matthew, Mark, and Luke of the baptism of Jesus Christ. In all three of these passages, we have several things in common. We have John the Baptist in the Jordan River with Jesus Christ. Jesus goes down into the water because he comes straightway up out of the water.
Why Were The Heavens Opened?
When Jesus comes out of the water, what do we see? Matthew says, “The heavens were opened unto him.” Mark says, “He saw the heavens opened.” Luke says, “The heaven was opened.” The Bible teaches that there’s a first heaven where the birds fly. There’s a second heaven where the sun, moon, and stars are located. And then there’s a third heaven where God lives.
The heavens were opened. If you study the heavens being opened throughout the Bible, you’ll begin to see that means something is coming from heaven. For example, let me show you a few verses.
Psalm 78:23-25
Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, 24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. 25 Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.
We see the doors of heaven being opened. Why? Because God rained down manna from heaven. He gave them the corn of heaven. And man did eat the food of angels. Do angels eat? Now you know that manna is their food. They eat. There’s good food in heaven. Thank God.
Genesis 7:11-12
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
The windows of heaven were opened when it rained.
A Table Comparing Matthew, Mark, and Luke
| Matthew | Mark | Luke |
| Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. | Mark 1:9-11 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. | Luke 3:21-22 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. |
So, we see the heavens being opened because something is coming from heaven right after Jesus is baptized. Matthew says, “He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.” John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit of God descending upon Jesus.
Mark says, “And the Spirit like a dove descending upon him.” Luke says, “And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him.” We see John the Baptist standing there with Jesus Christ right after his baptism in the water. The heavens are opened and the Holy Spirit is visually seen descending upon Jesus Christ.
This is a miracle that God allows John the Baptist to visually see as we typically, as humans, cannot see spirits. There are times in the Bible when God allows people to see the spiritual world. The Bible says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
We Can’t See Spiritual Things Unless Our Eyes Are Opened
There are physical things that are visible to us and then there are spiritual things that are invisible to us. We can’t see them with these physical eyes that we have. In this case, though, John the Baptist sees the Holy Spirit of God coming out of heaven, descending like a dove would descend, in a bodily shape, and lighting upon Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit does not have a physical body like us, but He descended like a dove in a bodily shape. Doves flutter, flutter, flutter, and then land. John the Baptist saw this happen.
John 1:32-34
And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
The Gospel of John doesn’t record the actual water baptism, but this Gospel gives us many details the others do not. John the Baptist saw the Spirit of God descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. John was sent to baptize. He was told that whoever the Spirit descends upon and remains on is he that baptizes with the Holy Ghost.
John the Baptist is witness to this. He saw this with his own eyes. “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” So, everyone who says that Jesus isn’t the Son of God, calls John the Baptist and God himself liars. The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus is the Son of God.
We See Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Who Else?
Now, we clearly see John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Who else do we see in these Scriptures?
| Matthew | Mark | Luke |
| Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. | Mark 1:9-11 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. | Luke 3:21-22 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. |
In Matthew, we see: “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” In Mark, we see: “And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” In Luke, we see: “And a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”
We see this voice from heaven in the Scriptures saying, “This is my beloved Son. Thou art my beloved Son.” Who would this be? This must be God the Father in heaven. The Father of Jesus Christ. He says, “This, speaking of Jesus standing right there, is my beloved Son.”
We see God the Father’s voice from heaven. He is the invisible God. We see the Holy Spirit descending from heaven. And we see Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the Son of God, standing there. We obviously see three different persons here. They are clearly different and distinct.
There Are Three That Bear Record in Heaven
1 John 5:7
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
We see the Father, the Word or Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost all there at the baptism of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
When we baptize, we baptize in the name of or with authority of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. All three persons were there at the baptism of Jesus Christ. These three are one. There is one God. The Father is God. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God.
Some people, Oneness heretics, will say that only the Father, only the Son, or only the Holy Spirit exists at any given time. They will say that the name of the Father is Jesus, the name of the Son is Jesus, and the name of the Holy Spirit is Jesus.
Obviously, though, the Bible doesn’t say that or teach that. The water baptism of Jesus clearly proves this, but those people will continue to ignore the Scriptures and call the word of God a lie. They will even say that Jesus threw his voice from heaven while he was standing there on earth with John the Baptist.
The Water Baptism of Jesus Shows Three Distinct Persons
But, the water baptism of Jesus, clearly shows three distinct persons. The Father, the Son who is called Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Not once in the Scriptures is the Father called Jesus. Not once in the Scriptures is the Holy Spirit called Jesus. The Son of God and God in the flesh is called Jesus.
And, to end, when Jesus was baptized, the Father, from heaven, says: “In whom I am well pleased. In thee I am well pleased.”
When you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you’re saved forever. You are a child of God. Then, after you are saved, you should get baptized in water and follow the example of Jesus Christ. Water baptism doesn’t save you, but this pleases God when you follow his commandments. So, if you haven’t been baptized after you’ve been saved, it’s time to get baptized in water.
Jesus was prophesying of his future death, burial, and resurrection when he got baptized. When you get baptized, you are publicly confessing you are a sinner saved by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Let’s pray.
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