04.2.07. Baptism Of The King
Chapter 7 - BAPTISM OF THE KING
Jesus Christ came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. But on His arrival, John tried to hinder Him, because he saw nothing in Jesus Christ to necessitate His receiving the baptism of repentance: “Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by [hupo, ablative of agency] him. But he was trying to hinder Him, saying, I have need to be baptized by you, and you are coming to me?” (Matthew 3:13-14—translation). John was administering the baptism of repentance, demanding that the recipients first prove by their lives that they had repented of their sins. He realized that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did not fit that category. He had no sin of which to repent. Therefore, John tried to prevent Christ’s being baptized with his baptism.
There is no Biblical substantiation for the opinion that Christ was confessing the sins of Israel in the same sense that Moses and Daniel did (Exodus 32:1-35; Daniel 9:1-27). Others say He was setting an example for us. Some who believe Christ was setting an example for us actually link Jesus Christ with the baptism of repentance. That concept certainly will not stand the test of Scripture.
It can be said that Jesus Christ was baptized for the following reasons:
1. He was baptized to manifest His dying to natural relationships, such as to parents and vocation. Jesus Christ was more than the Son of Mary. He is the eternal Son of God; therefore, He died to His relationship with Mary. He had been a carpenter, but He also died to that relationship.
2. Baptism, Christ’s first public act in the flesh at the beginning of His public ministry, announced His last act in His flesh and blood.
3. Christ’s baptism verified for John that Christ was the Son of God
(John 1:32-34). John was progressively learning about Jesus Christ.
4. Christ’s baptism authenticated John’s message concerning the One coming.
5. His baptism distinguished John’s relationship and Jesus Christ’s relationship to sinners. John had been sent from God with the message of repentance, but Jesus Christ had been sent by God the Father to bring salvation (Luke 19:10).
John and Jesus Christ are distinguished as witnesses. John was a light sent from God to bear witness concerning the Light in order that all may believe through Jesus Christ. John was not that Light (John 1:6-9). The Lord Jesus included John’s name as a witness in John 5:32-37 when He said His own works and the Father bear witness of Him. John was a burning and shining lamp. He was a flickering light in which the Pharisees were willing to rejoice for an hour (John 5:35). Since John was a flickering lamp, he was willing to decrease in order that Christ might increase (John 3:30). As a star loses its brightness in the light of the rising sun, the light John was giving would diminish in the rising of the light of Jesus Christ who is the Light of the world. Christ’s statement that the Pharisees were willing to rejoice in John’s light for an hour explains the light shining in the darkness and men unable to comprehend the Light. No one can suppress the Light sent from God. God’s light will accomplish the purpose for which He has sent it. In contrast to John, the flickering light, Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, “became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we observed His glory, the glory of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14—translation). The missions of John and Christ are distinct. In answer to John’s trying to prevent His being baptized, Jesus Christ said to him, “permit it at the present time: For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he permitted him. And having been immersed, Jesus went up immediately from the water: and, behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down as a dove, and coming upon Him. And behold a voice from the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I take delight” (Matthew 3:15-17—translation). John could not assist Jesus Christ in fulfilling all righteousness. Furthermore, John waited until sinners came to him and proved by their lifestyle that they had repented before he would baptize them. But Jesus Christ in His incarnation came down where sinners are. The adverb “thus” (houtos) can refer either to what precedes it, as in Matthew 5:19; Matthew 6:30, or to what follows it, as in Matthew 3:15, Matthew 6:9, and Acts 7:6. This adverb is used the following ways in Scripture: like, in this way, thus, so, like this, or in like manner. Therefore, its meaning must be considered in the light of its context. In Matthew 3:15, it points to something that would follow Christ’s baptism. The pronoun “us” (hemin) in Matthew 3:15 is plural. Does it apply to John, to future sinners—as taught by those who believe in baptismal regeneration, or to the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Grammatically, it could refer to Jesus Christ and John, called the Baptizer. But theologically, it cannot refer to John. Man cannot assist God in the fulfillment of righteousness. Righteousness was fulfilled by One—Jesus Christ—not two—John and Christ. By the obedience of Jesus Christ, not the obedience of Christ and another, men are made righteous (Romans 5:16-21). The righteousness which Christ fulfilled was accomplished not at His baptism but at Calvary. His baptism was only a picture of that which He would accomplish at the close of His public ministry. Therefore, it was righteousness which could not be accomplished by Christ and John or by Christ and sinners in their act of obedience to baptism. But it was accomplished by the Persons in the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ, in whom dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9), gave Himself for us (Galatians 1:4). He was crucified for us (Galatians 2:20). He offered one sacrifice forever (Hebrews 10:10-14). Jesus Christ offered Himself through the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9:14). The Father laid on Jesus Christ all the sins of the elect (Is. 53:6).
How could the Lord Jesus Christ, the impeccable Savior, submit to John’s baptism? It has been said that Christ saw His sheep struggling under judgment. Christ saw the ones the Father had given to Him in the covenant of redemption struggling in their depravity, and He must go in to rescue them. He must become identified with them, taking their place in judgment in order that they might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Hence, Christ’s baptism was a portrayal of that which would take place at Calvary. The One who knew no sin was made a sin offering for the elect, and this was symbolized in His baptism.
Jesus Christ was born under the law which He Himself gave (Galatians 4:4). He had already submitted to circumcision (Luke 2:21) and had been to the temple at the age of twelve (Luke 2:46). Hence, in nothing was He distinguished from the other children of His people until He was publicly identified in His baptism. His relationship with the other children of His people was not one of personal sinfulness, but it involved humiliation under the law. Christ’s baptism in Jordan is a portrayal of His being released from the judgment which He would bear at Calvary for all the elect. God laid on Him the iniquities of all of those the Father gave to the Son.
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). What is the meaning of this verse?
(1) It cannot be sin in the abstract, or sin as such. Since He did not have any sins of His own, His being made sin must be in some figurative sense.
(2) It cannot be that He was a sinner, because He knew no sin.
(3) It cannot be that He was guilty, because that would have disqualified Him as the Savior.
(4) It does mean He was a sin offering, or God treated Him as though He were a sinner, because our sins were judicially imputed to Him. Therefore, He in reality bore those sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). The word for sin, even in Hebrew, can mean sin or sin offering. Jesus Christ was a sin offering. He did not become a sinner, but He was judicially treated as a sinner. The sins were not His. They were legally ours, and He paid for them at Calvary. Where did Christ’s identification with sin take place? It occurred the same place where He fulfilled all righteousness. It did not come to pass at His baptism but at Calvary when He suffered on behalf of those the Father gave to Him. Peter confirmed that Jesus Christ fulfilled all righteousness at Calvary when he spoke to the Jews about their having killed the Prince of life. Peter called the Jews’ attention to the lame man who had been healed (Acts 3:12). He told them the power with which he had been healed was that of the holy and righteous One they had denied and killed (Acts 3:13-16). He added, “And now, brethren, I have known that you acted on the basis of ignorance, as also your rulers. But the things, which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:17-18—translation). Thus, Peter proved that righteousness was fulfilled only figuratively at Christ’s baptism. It was actually fulfilled at Calvary. In His baptism, Jesus Christ identified Himself with the work He came to accomplish at His first advent. His first act in His public ministry foretold His last on account of His elect.
Immediately after His baptism, the Spirit drove Christ into the wilderness to be tested by the Devil (Mark 1:12). Christ’s trial in the desert is recorded in Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13. Mark’s account is very concise, and Luke’s account is very similar to Matthew’s account.
Three prepositions in Matthew 4:1 must be understood in order to properly translate and interpret this portion of Scripture. “Then Jesus was led up [anechthe, aorist passive indicative of anago, a compound word made up of the preposition ana and the verb ago, which means I go up] by [hupo, ablative of agency] the Spirit into [eis, accusative of extent] the desert to be tried [peirasthenai, aorist passive infinitive of peiradzo], by [hupo, ablative of agency] the Devil” (translation). The passive voice for “tried” would not be used unless Christ was led by the Spirit into the desert for reasons other than testing.
Satan’s testing of Jesus Christ is related to the kingdom. The Lord Jesus was born King. He was preserved when Herod wanted to kill all the male children. He was baptized, and then He was driven into the wilderness to be tested to prove He is the One who was, is, and will always be the King of kings and Lord of lords. All three offices of Jesus Christ—Prophet, Priest, and King—are in Him simultaneously. But they are not exercised in sequence. He was the good Shepherd; He is the great Shepherd; and He shall be the chief Shepherd. Thus, there is order in His exercising the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. In Matthew 4:3-4, Satan’s first test of Jesus Christ is recorded: “And having come, the one testing said to Him, since you are the Son of God, speak in order that these stones may become loaves. And He answered and said, it has been written, Man shall not live because of bread alone, but because of every word proceeding out of the mouth of God” (translation). This first test destroys tradition and proves we must be guided by Divine principles.
Matthew 4:5-7 records the second test: “Then the Devil takes Him into the holy city, and made Him stand on the highest point of the temple, And says to Him, since you are the Son of God, cast yourself down: for it has been written, to His angels He shall give a charge concerning you and on their hands they shall bear you up lest you may strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, again it has been written, you shall not put the Lord your God to an all-out-test” (translation). This second test proves the end never justifies the means.
Matthew 4:8-11 records the third test: “Again, the Devil takes Him to a very exceedingly high mountain, and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; And said to Him, I will give all these things to you, having fallen down you may worship me. Then Jesus says to him, depart Satan: for it has been written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve Him only. Then the Devil leaves Him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to Him” (translation). This third test demolishes sensationalism.
Imagine the Devil, who knew who Christ was, telling Christ, the eternal Son of God, he would give Him authority and glory if Christ would worship before him! There was no weakness in Jesus Christ to respond to Satan’s proposal. The testing was not for Christ’s benefit but for the tester and the world. If Jesus Christ could have concurred with Satan’s suggestion that Christ worship before him, Satan would have been promoted. He and the Lord of glory would have exchanged places. Satan would have become the Lord of glory, and Jesus Christ would have become the god of this age. At his beginning, Satan was Lucifer, the archangel who represented Christ. He was a bright and shining one, but he aspired to exalt himself above God (Isaiah 14:1-32; Ezekiel 28:1-26). Thus, Lucifer fell and became Satan. The word “temptation” should not be used in reference to Jesus Christ. Most denominations today teach that Christ could be tempted, could have sinned, but did not sin. Some say that since Jesus Christ had taken our flesh on Himself, He could be tempted with the possibility of falling; otherwise, it could not be considered a real temptation. They say that Christ’s Deity insured His victory. They assert that sinlessness does not preclude temptation, or Adam could not have fallen. Their conclusion is that no one is so holy as to be free from temptation; moreover, it is the yielding of one’s will to Satan’s suggestion that constitutes sin. However, Scripture teaches that the word “temptation” can never apply to the absolutely holy Savior, because He is not only incapable of evil but also untemptable with evil (James 1:13-15).
There are five steps to an overt act of sin:
(1) The first step in an act of sin involves allurement. Allurement is attraction by the offer of something attractive or desirous. We may be allured to something morally good or bad. However, since there was no weakness within Jesus Christ, He could not be allured.
(2) The second step in an act of sin is illumination. The one tempted or allured knows that having what he desires, or what has been offered to him, involves crossing a standing precept into forbidden territory.
(3) The third step in an act of sin is rationalization. The person who has been allured desires something and is enlightened that he must cross a principle and step into forbidden territory to secure his desired object. Then, he begins rationalizing with his human reasoning because he will do his best to justify by rationalization what he wants to do. He will ignore Divine principle and follow his human reasoning.
(4) The fourth step in an act of sin is to aspire after the offer by the tempter.
(5) The fifth step in an act of sin is to surrender to an overt—open to view or knowledge, no longer concealed, or no longer secret—act of sin. Jesus Christ, the impeccable Savior, could not succumb to any of these steps in an act of sin, because He did not have a sinful nature to enable Him to yield to Satan’s propositions.
One cannot deny that Satan offered something to Christ in the desert. Neither can one deny that the eternal Son was aware of every detail of Satan’s offer. He is the eternal Son of God. But it must be denied that Christ wanted anything that was offered. He could not want it because there was nothing in His holy nature to desire it.
NOTE: The book CHRIST COULD NOT BE TEMPTED by W. E. Best presents a more comprehensive study of this subject.