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, 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," Luke 3:21-22.
Jesus Christ was obedient to His Father in all things, all the time. To be disobedient is sin. Jesus Christ is the sinless Lamb of God. He always only did and said what the Father would have Him do and say. All of creation was at Christ's disposal, but He only did what the Father would have Him do. "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously," I Peter 2:22-23. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Scriptures. "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be," Matthew 26:53-54. To what point would Christ be obedient to the Scriptures? "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross," Philippians 2:8. Jesus Christ did not view Himself as the exception to the rule, nor was He rogue in His life. Christ was not uncontrollable or rebellious. He submitted Himself to the Father in all things and all the time. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour, and He is also our example on how to live the Christian life. Let us get into our text.
"Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened," Luke 3:21. At the appointed time Christ came into the world; at the appointed time Christ was baptized; at the appointed time Christ went to the cross; at the appointed time Christ ascended back to heaven; and at the appointed time Christ is coming back. God is Sovereign in all things, and knowing this truth should give us great peace as we go through this life. The first act of Christ's public ministry was baptism. Christ came at the appointed time, and He came to the one who God had given authority to baptize; this being John the Baptist.
Did John know Who he was about to baptize? What was John's reaction? Turn to John 1:29-36. According to Scripture, John did know Who he was about to baptize and he made this known to all who were there. A delegation of priests and Levites were sent by the Jews from Jerusalem to John to question him about his ministry and his person. John emphatically tells them that he is not the Christ. On the very next day John points out to them the Christ (verse 29). The people were not looking for a Lamb, they were looking for a conquering king. This has greater implications than the political side. The people did not see their need for the Lamb, and this is because they did not see themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness. Can you picture the different response from the crowds if John had announced, "Behold, the conquering king that will defeat all of your enemies and give you what you have been desiring,"? There were no shouts of joy from the people, and amongst the crowd only two people actually followed Christ (John 1:37). There in the midst of them was the only One Who could deliver them from their sins, but they were not looking for the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. "It was the Spirit of God presenting the Lord Jesus to Israel in the very office and character in which they stood in deepest need of Him. They would have welcomed Him on the throne, but they must first accept Him on the altar." A.W. Pink.
John surely knew Who he was about to baptize, and his reaction is found in Matthew 3:13-15. John had already proclaimed that he was not worthy to even loose the latchet of Christ's shoes, so how much more unworthy to baptize Christ? Those of us whom the Lord has saved can understand why John said this. Who of us would want to do anything but fall down and worship Him Who took away our sins? Here is a quote from John Gill regarding the reaction of John the Baptist, "And comest thou to me? who am of the earth, when thou art the Lord from heaven; "to me", a poor sinful creature, when thou art the Holy One of God; "to me", who am thy servant, when thou art Lord of all; "to me", who always stand in need of thy grace, when thou art God all sufficient." Yes, Jesus came to John to be baptized.
Why must Christ be baptized? He gives us the answer in Matthew 3:15. John was the one commissioned by God to be the forerunner of Christ, and was also the only one ordained to administer baptism at that time. Christ came to fulfill all righteousness, both moral and ceremonial, and baptism being a part of this, Christ willingly submitted to it. If Christ is our Lord and Saviour, we should also submit to His ordinances, and to His Word.
Luke 3:21 tells us that while all this was going on, Christ was praying, "and praying". It would be real easy to look over these two words in verse 21. Christ was continually and repeatedly in prayer. In Christ's humanity, He was totally dependent upon the Father; thus He prayed. How often did Christ pray? All the time. Christ was in a constant state of prayer. Not only did this show His constant dependency upon His Father, but it also showed continual communion with His Father. Christ especially prayed when life was unusually busy. "And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed," Luke 5:16. Christ would pray with His face towards the ground, towards heaven, and He would pray as He broke bread, etc. He would pray amongst crowds, privately with His disciples, and He would withdraw from all to spend time in prayer with His Father. Christ didn't do anything without prayer. What an example Christ set for us in prayer. A humble needy person prays to God. A prideful person doesn't see the need to pray. A prideful person doesn't understand the war that we are in with our flesh (James 4:1-3). There has never been anyone equal to or more humble or meek than Jesus Christ; yet, He spent much time in prayer. How much more should we? "Pray without ceasing," I Thessalonians 5:17.
How strong are you as a Christian? How sinless are you in your walk with the Lord? How much of the Scripture's do you fully understand? How much of the Word do you have hidden, memorized, in your heart? How obedient are you to the Word of God? We should be driven to much time in prayer simply by looking at these five questions. May the Lord grant us the grace that we would truly see ourselves, and that we would see our need to live a lifestyle of prayer and obedience to the Lord. Our God is so good to us, and He answers every prayer that is according to His will.
Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
