Title: Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17)
Contents
Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17)
When defining and explaining our Christianity in one word, the most used word is that 'Christianity is the religion of the Word'. Calling Christianity a religion of the word is an expression used to discriminate it from a superstitious religion that can be called a religion of greed.
Superstition is a religion of greed. This is because the purpose of serving superstition is to satisfy greed. Therefore, the more you believe in a superstition, the worse a person becomes. People think that satisfying greed will make you happy, but by satisfying greed, humans become more and more evil and worse. And eventually, because of that evil and sin, human beings will perish and die. For the root of death is sin, and the root of sin is greed.
Our Christianity is a religion of the Word. The reason we believe in God is not to satisfy our desires through God, but to fulfill God's will and righteousness for us through the Word. The reason we want to give up our greed and live according to the Word is because there is not happiness in our greed, but our salvation and happiness in the Word.
Our Christian faith is in the words Jesus prayed to God in the Garden of Gethsemane, 'Not my will, but your will be done' and the words young Samuel gave to God, 'Speak, Lord, your servant will hear'. You can find that perfect model here.
The most important thing in our Christianity is the Word of God. God's greatest blessing toward us is 'speaking'. On the other hand, if there is any supreme discipline directed toward us, it would be 'cease the word'. God always speaks because He loves us. It is to bless us. However, in the Bible, there are several times when God stopped speaking to us humans.
When the Israelites became blind in the land of Egypt and abandoned the land of Canaan that God had spoken of, God stopped speaking about the Israelites for 400 years. That is why there is a 400-year time difference between the last chapter of Genesis and the first chapter of Exodus.
If we really want to be saved and to live a life of heaven on earth and in heaven, we must always listen to God's word. Salvation comes through faith, and faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes from the Word of God.
We can see, hear, and encounter God's Word in the Bible. That is why we call the Bible the Word of God. Therefore, we must cherish the Bible, read it, meditate on it, and memorize it.
But the most clear and sure word of God is the word of Jesus. We consider the words of Jesus, who came in a human body and lived on this earth for 33 years, spoken in human language as the Word of the Word. So, if you look at some Bibles, you can see that Jesus' words are printed in red to distinguish them from other indirect words of God.
Starting today, I am going to preach a sermon focusing on the words of Jesus found in the Bible. We will be able to grasp the core of God's word through the words of Jesus. Through the sermons that will continue centering on the direct words of Jesus, I hope that you and I will all be blessed with the blessing of living in heaven on this earth by realizing the clearer will of God and obeying His words.
Today is the first hour of the day, and this is what Jesus said while being baptized by John the Baptist, verse 15 of today's text, "Jesus answered and said, "Give it now, for it is fitting for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."
Before starting his ministry in Galilee, Jesus first went to John the Baptist and was baptized in the Jordan River. When Jesus was about to be baptized by him, John the Baptist was astonished and wondered how he was going to be baptized by Jesus when he must be baptized by Jesus. This is what Jesus said to John at that time, “Allow it now, for it is fitting for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”
As God, Jesus did not need the baptism that human beings had to undergo. But Jesus was God who came as a human being. He came to show us the perfect model of humanity. Therefore, baptism was not received by Jesus as God, but as a man. So Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
When Jesus was baptized by John, he said, 'Now allow it, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' These are the first words of Jesus appearing in the Gospel of Matthew.
Baptism is a ceremony of covenant before God, meaning that we will die to sin and lust and live to God and His Word. Through this rite of baptism, Jesus was baptized to tell us that we must die to sin and lust and always live to God and the Word.
When Jesus was baptized by John, he said, 'It is proper to fulfill all righteousness in this way.' Through these words, we can understand the purpose of Jesus' baptism by John. He was baptized in this way to teach us to live according to our own ways and thoughts, not fulfilling our own righteousness and will, but by walking according to God's ways and ways to fulfill God's righteousness and will.
We have a sinful instinct to live according to our own greed and will instead of living according to God's word and will. It doesn't happen only to those who do not know God. It can be said that it is an important phenomenon that appears very universally even for those of us who claim to believe in God.
The Jews took God's law very seriously. Especially, the Pharisees do not know how much effort and effort they put in to live according to that law. They valued the Word and the Law, so they wore the Word of God written on their wrist like a watch, and they wore the Word of God on a belt and wore it on their head. .
In order to thoroughly obey God's command to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, about 600 rules and laws for keeping the Sabbath day have been made.
But, nevertheless, they were not saved. They did not receive God's blessing. Do you know where the reason is? We can find the answer in Romans 10:1-3.
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God is for Israel, that they may be saved. I testify that they were zealous for God, but not according to knowledge; they did not know the righteousness of God, and, seeking to establish their own, did not submit to the righteousness of God (Romans 10:1-3).
This means that the Israelites were zealous for God, but because they lacked the knowledge of God, they did not want to achieve God's righteousness, but their own. He did not establish the righteousness of God, but was zealous for God to establish his own.
In the end, they did not work out their own salvation. They did not receive God's blessing. Here we find a very important fact. That is, even those who are zealous for God and His church may not be saved and may not receive blessings.
We can see the same thing in the words of Matthew 7:21-23.
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and perform many mighty works in your name?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. So, you who practice lawlessness, depart from me.
There will be cases where not only those who call on the name of the Lord, but also those who prophesy in the name of the Lord and cast out demons in the name of the Lord will not be saved. I don't know how terrifying it is.
The most important thing for salvation is thorough self-denial and denial. Through thorough self-denial and denial, we can come to a thorough confession and affirmation of God. That's why Jesus told us that if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Baptism signifies this exact self-denial and denial. To die to sin and lust, and to live to righteousness and God. He will consider himself dead to sin and alive to God. (Romans 16:11)
I'm about to finish my talk. Jesus was also baptized. Jesus said it was to accomplish the righteousness of God. The original meaning of baptism is to accomplish the righteousness of God. There is nothing more important than trying to reveal God's righteousness instead of trying to reveal one's own righteousness. It is a very important concept for salvation.
Even if we believe in Jesus for the rest of our lives, even if we serve and serve the church so diligently, we do not have the thrill of salvation to testify that 'the kingdom of heaven is everywhere'. It is because they are living to achieve their own righteousness rather than trying to achieve it.
I hope that you will be able to yearn for true baptism. I hope that you will receive baptism in the true sense of the word. May you become one who is dead to sin and lives to righteousness. I hope that you will become people who live to fulfill God's righteousness, not those who live to fulfill their own righteousness. So, I hope that you will be able to achieve complete salvation. I hope that all of you and I will be able to live on this earth, live in heaven, always rejoice, give thanks, and enjoy the thrill of salvation.