The Power of Baptism

Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21–23a; John 1:29–34

Last week we saw how the story of Moses and the Exodus is retold throughout the gospel. Ex: Just as God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, Jesus delivered us from our slavery to sin. Just as the law of Moses prepared the people to recognize their sin, John the Baptist represents the law and also came to prepare the way for us to recognize our sin and need for repentance. 

Next, just as Israel was first freed and then passed through the waters of the Red Sea on their way to the promised land, every Christian also begins their journey of faith first with salvation and followed by walking through the waters of baptism. Paul retells the Exodus story,

“Now I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”

1 Corinthians 10:1-2

Next, after making this connection between the Exodus and Jesus, John challenged us to make repentance a daily habit as you continue to leave behind your old ways so that you don’t get trapped in the boredom and suffering that comes from living in the wilderness of our own sin.

Finally, like Israel, the next step in faith is baptism and Jesus modeled this for us.

³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. But John tried to stop Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and yet You come to me?”

¹⁵ Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him to be baptized.

Matthew 3:14-15

¹⁰ As soon as He came up out of the water [and He was praying], He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven:

You are My beloved Son; [Psalm 2:7–12]I take delight in You! [Isaiah 42:1–4]

Mark 1:9–11, [Luke 3:21–23a] 

Interestingly, the first time we see a dove in Scripture is after the flood. Noah sent out two birds, a raven and a dove; but only the dove came back. Ravens are scavengers so, with all the dead, it had plenty to eat but doves don’t eat meat, so it came back to the ark. The second time the dove was released, it returned with an olive leaf, a symbol of peace. Finally, on the third day, the dove did not return because it had found a home.

The dove is seen as the most meek and innocent of all birds because it has no talons, no aggression, and they are one of the few animals that mate for life. It represents the HS well.

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the One I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me.’ ³¹ I didn’t know Him, but I came baptizing with water so He might be revealed to Israel.”

John 1:29–31

³² And John testified, “I watched the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him. ³³ I didn’t know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!”

John 1:32–34

1. Jesus is the lamb of God

Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch. You are indeed unleavened, for Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.

I Cor 5:7

We are supposed to be made new when we accept Christ, so Paul says we should get rid of our old lives, our old sacrificial bread, and plan to prepare new bread, to live a new way of life because we have a new Passover sacrifice, Jesus.

Again, we are going right back to the story of Moses and the Exodus as Jesus is compared to the Passover lamb that was killed in order to show God who his people were. The story goes deeper.

First, a spotless lamb was killed and its blood was spread on the doorposts. This is why Paul calls Jesus “the Passover Lamb” because He is the true spotless sacrifice and, just as the Israelites had to trust the blood on their doorposts, we must place our faith in the blood of Jesus for salvation. 

It’s also interesting how the blood was spread. The blood was placed on the two side posts and the top beam resembling the cross and symbolizing that salvation came only by passing under the covering of sacrificial blood. 

“You know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.”

1 Peter 1:18-19

At this point, they were called out of Egypt to enter the wilderness but this meant a complete change of how they lived and how they saw the world. Sadly, they didn’t learn or act so it took an entire generation of people to live and die before they were able to enter the promised land.

2. Baptism is being born again…every day

The freedom we received was designed to be a daily reminder and an everyday experience of our freedom and many blessings. If done well, this daily remembrance produces gratitude which helps us focus on the future and fight temptation. 

“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants...And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’"

Exodus 12:24-27

The Passover, the Red Sea, and their lives in the wilderness were meant to be an encouragement and also a reminder to never forget that your old life was empty and destined for death and that the only option is to choose life by dying to yourself and being born again everyday. Jesus said,

“I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 

John 3:3

Just as the Israelites walked through the waters of the Red Sea, after receiving our salvation, we need to go through the waters of baptism but baptism doesn’t save anyone; it is simply the first public step of submission in what is supposed to be a lifetime of obedience and this is where Israel failed and this is why John’s message is a warning and preparation for our new lives in the promised land of God’s kingdom.

The symbolism of baptism is dying to this world in order to enter God’s kingdom. Baptism is a one time event but it is also the decision to start your faith publicly with the death of your old ways and a commitment to relive that death through carrying your cross every single day.

3. Righteousness is our way of life

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin…Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

God does not simply save us from hell; He saves us from ourselves so we can be transformed into who we were all meant to be. The challenge that John sets before us is to make repentance a daily habit as we each continue to honor the death of Jesus by leaving behind our old ways and doing righteous things instead so that we can avoid being like the Israelites who were trapped in the pain and boredom that comes from living an empty life in the wilderness of our own sin.

Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too MAY walk in a new way of life…So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:1-11

You must learn to appreciate your freedom. You must seriously consider what your life would be without him. This is why later generations, who did not experience the Passover or the Red Sea, were commanded to tell their children and remember an event that did not happen to them; because spiritually it is a warning that it can happen to any one of us. 

Most of us will never really visit Egypt but you could easily become a slave to what it represents; idolatry and sinfulness. Idolatry is to serve something other than God. This is why all sin ultimately is idolatry because it puts something in the place of Jesus and if you serve and worship at the feet of something else, you have become a slave to your own personal Egypt.

This is literally part of the reason why we meet weekly as churches. We need to be reminded, not just of where we came from, but also where we could end up if we do not walk in the truth of our baptism. Even our own communion ceremony finds its roots, not in the cross but in the Passover.

Passover was an annual memorial meal celebrating freedom from Egypt through the blood of the lamb. Sitting at that table, Jesus took two core elements of the Passover meal: the unleavened bread and the "cup of redemption" and declared they both represented His body and His blood. 

Even our own traditions find their origin in the Exodus story which teaches us that true repentance and faith produces change because it starts with a public proclamation of faith followed by the public action of baptism all of which points to why Israel couldn’t leave the wilderness: they refused to live as if they were free which means they did not really repent. 

Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception…

As it is said:

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. [Ps 95:7-8]

The author of Hebrews assumes we know who the rebels were but if you don’t know Ps 95, you may be confused. Ps 95 says,

For 40 years I was disgusted with that generation;

I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray;

they do not know My ways.”

So I swore in My anger, “They will not enter My rest.”

Ps 95:11-12

For who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it really all who came out of Egypt under Moses? And who was He provoked with for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Heb 3:12-19

His point is: if they really believed it, they would have lived it. True righteousness is only found in obedience to God because he is the only one you can trust to guide your life. Righteousness is found in submission and it requires the humility to know you need God’s guidance and wisdom. Jesus is the ultimate example of this.

The whole life of Jesus is an example of complete and utter obedience to God and, in the same way, all true disciples of Christ are also defined by their own concrete, measurable, earthly obedience to the will of God. This is why the Apostle John said,

This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet doesn't keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him: The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.

I John 2:3-6

What is your Egypt?

This week, pray and consider your life. Literally write down where your life is now and where you want your life to be. Be brutally honest and then submit it to God’s will. Ask him to guide you and then imitate Jesus by doing what you are commanded to do, no matter how difficult.

For the full sermon, click here.