May 23
28
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 40:1–8
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’ A voice says, ‘Cry!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:1–8, ESV)
New Testament Reading: Luke 3:1-22
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’’ He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ And the crowds asked him, ‘What then shall we do?’ And he answered them, ‘Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.’ Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than you are authorized to do.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.’ As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:1–22, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
Here in the passage that is before us today the public ministry of John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, is described to us.
Do you remember what the angel Gabriel said about John before he was conceived? Gabriel appeared to John’s father, Zachariah, and said, “you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Luke 1:14–17, ESV). Here in Luke 3, we find the fulfillment of the words that were spoken by the angel Gabriel about 30 years earlier. Clearly, John’s ministry was one of preparation. He was called to prepare the way, or clear the path, for the Messiah. And how did he do it? One, by preaching the good news concerning the forgiveness of sins (3:18), two, by urging men and women to turn from their sins and to trust in the Messiah (3:8, 16), and three, by baptizing in water all who professed faith and repentance.
In just a moment we will return to these three observations to consider them in more detail. But before we do, notice the way in which Luke communicates the time at which this all transpired. He says in verse 1 that these things happened, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar…” According to our way of dating things, this would mean that the beginning of John’s ministry (and Jesus’) took place in about the year AD 29. Notice, though, how Luke piles up names. If he only wished to give us the date, then the remark about the “fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” would have been sufficient. When Luke mentions “Pontius Pilate… [the] governor of Judea, and Herod… [the] tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene…”, he paints a picture for us. Rome was in power. Israel was not free but was in subjection to them. This was because of their sin and their breaking of the Old Mosaic Covenant. The time for change had come. The time for redemption was at hand. The Messiah would accomplish this redemption and establish an eternal kingdom. But it would not be the kind of kingdom that most expected – his kingdom would be not of this world.
After the mention of five Roman rulers, Luke mentions two priests of Israel: Annas and Caiaphas. Some have wondered about this reference to two priests. Israel was to only have one high priest, not two. A few different attempts have been made to explain the difficulty. Some say there were two high priests because of the corruption in Israel. Others say that these two high priests alternated in their service yearly. And others say that Caiaphas was actually high priest, whereas Annas (who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, by the way) was called high priest because he had formerly served as such. It appears that Annas had been high priest from A.D. 6–15, and Caiaphas served from A.D. 18–36. However, Annas’ power and influence were still very great, so Luke mentions him here. Technicalities aside, it seems that Luke wants us to connect this powerful high priestly family of Israel with the powerful rulers of Rome. Again I say, Israel was not free, but under the thumb of Rome. Nowhere will this unholy relationship between Rome and Israel be more evident than in the crucifixion of Christ. The religious elites of Israel wanted Jesus crucified, and they used the Romans to do it. We get a little foretaste of the beast-like persecuting power of Rome in verse 19 of Luke 3 where we read, “But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison” (Luke 3:19–20, ESV).
So then, our passage begins and (nearly) ends with references to those with political power. From the world’s point of view, who are the powerful, mighty men who shape the course of human history? Answer: Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate the governor of Judea, Herod, Philip, and Lysanias the tetrarchs, and even Annas and Caiaphas the high priests. These all possessed political power. But where was the real power found? Not in these men, and not in these places. No, God was working mightily way out in the desert through a poor and insignificant man (worldly speaking) named John. Immediately after the listing of these powerful figures we read at the end of verse 2, “the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness” (Luke 3:2, ESV).
Just think of it. When the word of God came to announce the arrival of the Messiah, it did not come to the powerful figures living in powerful places (be it in Rome or in Israel), but to an obscure figure living in an obscure place with no power at all, humanly speaking. Why? Well, in brief, it was because John the Baptist was called to be the forerunner to the Messiah who would be a prophet, priest, and king of different kind. The word that he came to speak was not of this world. The temple he came to build was not of this world. And the kingdom he came to establish was not of this world. He was brought into this world to do his work, not in and through the prevailing systems, therefore (for they had grown exceedingly corrupt), but in an obscure and off-the-beaten path kind of way. Both the beginning and end of our passage for today paint this picture.
Let us now consider the ministry of John the Baptist in three parts. How did John prepare the way for the Messiah?
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John Preached The Good News Concerning The Forgiveness Of Sins Through Faith In The Messiah
Firstly, we must see that John prepared the way for the Messiah by preaching the good news to the people. That is what verse 18 says: “So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people” (Luke 3:18, ESV). The question is, what was the content of this good news that John the Baptist proclaimed? The context makes it clear. John the Baptist proclaimed the good news that the Messiah was here and that forgiveness would come to all who believed in him.
That the good news John preached was about the forgiveness of sins is made clear in verse 3. There we read, “And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3, ESV).
That the good news was about the forgiveness of sins through faith in the Messiah who had now come is made clear in many places.
It is made clear by the citation of Isaiah 40:3-5. In 3:4 Luke says, “As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God’” (Luke 3:4–6, ESV).
Luke wants us to know that John the Baptist was the “voice… crying in the wilderness”, of whom Isaiah spoke. John was the one who prepared “the way of the Lord” – the Lord being the Messiah, God with us. The saying, “every valley shall be filled” communicates that the Messiah would lift up the lowly. The saying, “every mountain and hill shall be made low” communicates that to come to him in faith requires humility. The saying, “the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways”, communicates the need for repentance and that the Lord will sanctify his people. Finally. the phrase, “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God” communicates that the salvation worked by Israel’s Messiah would not be for Israel only but for all people – “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God”, Isaiah says. When Luke cites this text he is saying, the time has come. The things of which Isaiah spoke have arrived.
We cannot take the time in this sermon to explore this point in depth, but you should know, brothers and sisters that Isaiah 40 is a very important Old Testament text. It begins by speaking of the comfort and peace that God would one day bring to Israel. But here is something important to know. Isaiah 40 introduces an entire section of the book of Isaiah running through to the end of chapter 55. May I encourage you to read that section on your own time later today, or later this week? When you read Isaiah 40-55 I think you will be able to see that it is all about the Messiah. It is about the Savior, the Redeemer, the Chosen One, the Servant of the Lord who would one day emerge from Israel, and the work he would do to accomplish our salvation. As you read Isaiah 40-55, you will notice Exodus themes. And you will probably also be struck by how often the nations are mentioned. Isaiah proclaimed the good news. Some have referred to the book of Isaiah, and particularly this section of Isaiah, as the gospel according to Isaiah. The good news was this: one day a Savior would come who would comfort Isreal with the forgiveness of sins. He would accomplish a second Exodus. He would be a light to the nations. When Luke quotes Isaiah 40:3-5 (and by the way, this is the first full citation of an Old Testament text in Luke’s gospel) he wants us to consider, not just Isaiah 40:3-5, but the whole chapter, and the whole section it introduces, namely Isaiah 40-55. Luke wants us to see that John the Baptist is the one who prepared the way for the Lord. He wants us to view the entire earthly ministry of Christ in light of what Isaiah had to say about him long before he was ever born. Luke wants us to read his gospel against the backdrop of the gospel that Isaiah proclaimed long before.
John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah by proclaiming the good news. The good news that John the Baptist proclaimed was that the Messiah – the one that Isaiah (and others) spoke of beforehand – was here, and that forgiveness was found in his name.
That John was concerned to exult Jesus Christ is made clear in verse 15. There we read, “As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:15–17, ESV).
The people – or at least some – were expecting the Messiah in those days. This may have something to do with the prophecy of the 70 weeks of Daniel which indicated the time in which the Messiah would arrive. But notice they were not sure about his identity. Some thought that John might be the Messiah, but he insisted that he was not the Messiah. His job was to prepare the way for him. “I baptize you with water”, John said (we will talk about water baptism in just a moment), “but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” As great as John the Baptist was, Jesus Christ was much greater. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” What is meant by this? Well, Messiah means anointed one. He would be anointed with the Holy Spirit beyond measure. And, having finished his work of redemption, he would have the authority to pour out the Holy Spirit on his people leading to their salvation. The Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, the text says. Fire refers to judgment. The meaning is this. The Messiah would bring salvation to God’s elect (he would pour out the Holy Spirit on them), and he will judge (he will baptize with fire all who remain in their sins). This meaning is made clear by what John says next: (verse 17) “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire”.
The point is this: John the Baptist was concerned to the exult, not himself, but Jesus the Christ. The good news that he proclaimed was this: the Messiah is here. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Mary, the Son of God. Forgiveness of sins will come to all who believed in him.
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John Urged Men And Women To Turn From Their Sins And To Trust In The Messiah
Secondly, John prepared the way for the Messiah by urging men and women to turn from their sins. Stated differently, he did not only urge men and women to trust in Christ but to repent also. Indeed, true faith will always be accompanied by true repentance. To turn to Christ is to turn from sin. So then, John prepared the way for the Messiah by preaching a message of repentance.
Look again at verse 3: “And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. In verse 8 John commands the people to “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance”. In Verse 9 he warns, “Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Notice that in verse 10 the crowds ask John what this repentance looks like: “And the crowds asked him, ‘What then shall we do?’” And John replies by speaking to the people in general and to tax collectors and soldiers in particular. To the general population, he said, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise” (Luke 3:11, ESV). In other words, he is what repentance looks like. It looks like loving your neighbor. Turn from the sin of self-love, and love your neighbor as yourself. If your neighbor is in need (without food or clothing ), and it is within your power to meet that need, then do it. To the tax collectors he said, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do’” (Luke 3:13, ESV). In other words, turn from the sin of covetousness and thievery. It was not uncommon for tax collectors to take what was owed to the government and a little extra for their own pocket. John the Baptist commanded them to turn from that sin and to Christ. And to the soldiers, he said, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14, ESV). Again, stop oppressing your neighbor, but love your neighbor as yourself.
Brothers and sisters, can you see that John the Baptist did not only preach the gospel – that is to say, the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus the Messiah – he also preached the law. He insisted that men and women turn from their sins as he urged them to come to Christ for forgiveness. John the Baptist proclaimed the law and the gospel, you see. Verse 18 says, “So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.” His preaching of the gospel included exhortations. And in verse 19 we learn that he even exhorted those in positions of power. “But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison” (Luke 3:19–20, ESV).
Dear friends, here is the thing that I want you to recognize. To turn to Christ in faith for the forgiveness of your sins involves turning from sin. It involves repentance. In other words, faith without repentance is not true faith. This does not mean that Christians no longer sin. But it does mean that Christians have turned from sin and to Christ in the beginning and when they do sin, they turn from it and to Christ again and again. The Christian life begins with faith and repentance, and it is characterized by ongoing faith and repentance. It is faith in Christ that saves. But turning to Christ in faith will always involve turning from sin.
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John Baptized In Water All Who Professed Faith And Demonstrated Repentance
How did John prepare the way for Jesus the Messiah? One, by preaching the good news to the people concerning the forgiveness of sins through faith in the Messiah. Two, by urging men and women to turn from their sins and to trust in the Messiah. This brings us now to our third observation. John prepared the way for the LORD’s Messiah by baptizing in water all who professed faith and demonstrated repentance.
John baptized people in water. This is why he is called John the Baptist.
To baptize means to immerse or submerge, and this is what John did. He submerged those who came to him in the Jordan River.
And what is the meaning of this religious ceremony? Well, the ceremony signifies many things. Most obviously it signifies cleansing from sin and a new life.
Who did John Baptize? Notice, he did not baptize everyone who came to him, but only those who professed faith in the Messiah and showed evidence of repentance. He did not baptize infants, therefore. And neither did he baptize adult Jews on the basis of their ethnicity. Under the Old Covenant circumcision was applied to the male children of Isarel, not on the basis of faith and repentance, but on the basis of ethnicity or genealogy. All of the males who were born from the line of Abraham were circumcised, and rightly so, for they were by virtue of their birth members of the Old Covenant, of which circumcision was a sign. This is not the case with baptism which, as you know, is the sign of entrance into the New Covenant. Men and women become members of the New Covenant, not by birth, but by new birth. They enter the New Covenant and partake of all its benefits by the grace of God alone and through faith in Jesus the Messiah alone. Baptism (the sign of entrance into the New Covenant) is to be applied only to those who make a credible profession of faith and demonstrate repentance.
Here in our text today we see that this was clearly the practice of John. Look at verse 7 and what he said to the crowds who came out to him to be baptized by him. “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” Evidently, John’s popularity had grown to the point that many came to be baptized by him, but he refused to baptize them unless they repent. He would baptize only those who turned from sin and to faith in the Christ that he proclaimed (see verses 15-18 again).
And evidently, some thought they had a right to be baptized based on their ethnicity. Some of the Jews must have reasoned in this way: I am a physically descended up Abraham, therefore, John ought to apply this baptism to me. Listen to John’s reply in verse 8: “And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Luke 3:8, ESV). In other words, this baptism and all that it signifies has nothing to do with who your father is. It is for those who repent and believe. And when John said, “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham”, he was making reference to the Gentiles who would become the true children of Abraham, not according to the flesh, but by faith. This is what Paul famously teaches in Galatians 3:7: “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7, ESV). He teaches the same thing in Romans 9.
Baptism shares this in common with circumcision: it serves as a sign of the New Covenant just as circumcision served as a sign of the Old. But it differs in this way: circumcision was to be applied to the male descendants of Abraham on the eighth day after birth whereas baptism is to be applied to those who turn from sin and profess faith in Christ. And these differences between the two signs correspond perfectly with the differences between the two covenants. Who were members of the Old Covenant? All who were physically born from Abraham. And who are the members of the New Covenant? All who are spiritually reborn in Christ, not from the Jews only, but from amongst the Gentiles also.
And this is why John the Baptist spoke to the crows who came out to him to be baptized, saying, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Luke 3:7–8, ESV). In fact, he warned the Jews who possessed this ethnic pride that a great change was about to take place. He said, “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3:9, ESV). You see, this is the great difference between the Old Covenant and the New. The Old Covenant had many members in it who were faithless and fruitless. Not so with the new. Under the New, “every tree… that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”.
Or state the matter differently using the language of Jeremiah the prophet: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31–34, ESV). John the Baptist understood that this New Covenant of which Jeremiah spoke was at hand, for the Messiah was at hand, and so he preached and administered baptism as he did – he refused to apply baptism to the unrepentant, and he refused to apply it on the basis of physical birth – he applied water baptism only to those who made a credible profession of faith and repentance.
This is the first mention of baptism. Where did this ceremony come from? I think it is right to say that it has its origins in the ceremonial washings of the Old Covenant. We considered these not long ago in our study of the book of Exodus. In the courtyard of the tabernacle (and later temple) there was a large bronze laver, bath, or sea. The priests would wash their hands and feet in it daily, but when a priest was ordained to the office of priest, he would be washed in the water from head to toe. It was a rite of purification. It signified the man’s consecration to the priesthood.
This observation will help us to better understand why baptism was applied to Jesus, as verses 21-22 of our text describes. Some have wondered, why did Jesus need to be baptized given that he did not need to turn from sin or be cleansed. Even John seemed perplexed by this. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that “John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented” (Matthew 3:14–15, ESV).
Why was Jesus baptized? Not to signify the washing away of his sin, for he had none, but to signal his consecration as our great High Priest, the only mediator between God and man, and the Messiah. Notice what happened at Jesus’ baptism. It confirms what I am saying. In verse 21 we read, “when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:21–22, ESV). And in this way, Jesus was marked off or consecrated as our great High Priest and Messiah. Messiah means anointed one, and at this moment Jesus the Messiah was publicly anointed, not with oil, by the Holy Spirit, marking the beginning of his public ministry. For you and I, baptism signifies the removal of sin and a new life. Through baptism, we too are consecrated to God as God’s name is set upon us. In Jesus’ case, there was no sin to be cleansed from. Instead, he would be the one to cleanse from sin through his atoning sacrifice, for he is our great High Priest, the mediator of the New Covenant, that is to say, the Messiah who was promised from long ago.
I have one last question to ask regarding the baptism of John, and it is this: what is the relationship between the baptism that John applied and that Jesus commanded his disciples to apply? Those who argue for the baptism of babies under the New Covenant, and those who argue for baptism by sprinkling or pouring, tend to want to make a sharp distinction between the baptism of John and the baptism of Jesus as administered by his disciples. And it is not hard to see why they insist that the two baptisms are different and distinct, for it is very clear that John baptized by immersion (see Matthew 3:16), that he would only baptize those who made a credible profession of faith and repentance (Luke 3:7-8), and that he had no regard for physical descent.
In fact, I think we are to see that the baptism that John applied before the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and the baptism applied by Jesus’ disciples afterward, are very much related. Indeed, it is true that baptism was filled with even greater symbolism after Christ died and rose again, for we know that being taken under the water and brought up again now marks our union with Christ in his death and resurrection (see Romans 6:4). And indeed it is true that those baptized after Christ dies and rose again have a better understanding of how our sins are washed away – through the broken body and shed blood of Christ. So, I conceded that the baptism of John was forward-looking and that it lacked some of the symbolism that would be gained after Christ dies and rose again. But never-the-less, I think it is an error to divorce the baptisms applied by John and by the disciples of Christ before Jesus died and rose again from the baptisms applied afterward. The two baptisms are clearly related.
One, these were baptisms into Christ, for it was the good news of Jesus Christ that John proclaimed! Stated negatively, these were not baptisms into John or Moses. They were baptisms into Christ! These were not baptisms into the Old Covenant, but into the New, which was at hand. These baptisms that John performed were meant to prepare the way for the Messiah. Why would we divorce the baptism that John applied from baptism into Christ, therefore?
Two, though Luke 3 does not say that John baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is some evidence that the baptism of John was marked by the blessing of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Indeed this is clearly seen in the baptism of Jesus Christ in verses 21-22. Hear it again: “and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:21–22, ESV).
Three, there is no evidence whatsoever that those baptized by John (or Jesus’ disciples) prior to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ were rebaptized with a distinctly Christian baptism afterward.
Now, some will point to Acts 19 as evidence for this, and I would like to deal with this text briefly to show you that no such evidence is found here. In Acts 19:1 we read, “And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ They said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ And Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:1–5, ESV).
Upon a surface reading, I can see how some would conclude that Paul made a sharp distinction between the baptism of John and baptism in the name of Jesus. But a more careful reading of the text reveals that something else was going on. When Paul came to Ephesus he found some men in the church who seemed to be deficient in their understanding of baptism (and even of the gospel of Jesus Christ). Notice what these men said when Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And then Paul asked them, “‘Into what then were you baptized?’ They said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’” Do you notice anything strange about their responses? They claim, on the one hand, to have not known that there is a Holy Spirit, and on the other hand, to have been baptized into John’s baptism. There is an obvious problem, here, for John had a lot to say about the Holy Spirit, didn’t he? His mission was to prepare the way for the Messiah, which means anointed one (anointed with the Spirit, that is). In response to the question, are you the Christ?, John replied, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16, ESV). And when John baptized Jesus we are told that “the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:21–22, ESV). So then, there is something fishy about what these disciples in Ephesus said. They claimed to have been baptized into John’s baptism while at the same time being ignorant of what John taught. And notice what Paul did: he set these brothers straight concerning the things that John taught. In other words, Paul did not say, well John was deficient and his baptism was deficient. You need to be baptized into Jesus now. No! The problem with these men in Ephesus was that they did not understand John! So Paul said to them, “‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”.
All evidence points in this direction: These men who were in the church of Ephesus were taught a deficient gospel. Clearly, they did not hear it from John nor from true disciples of John, for John pointed to Christ, and John taught about the Holy Spirit. These men we likely a part of one of the many John the Baptist cults that popped up after the ministry of John the Baptist was concluded, but the teaching of John the Baptist was clearly distorted there, and Paul set them straight. They were not rebaptized as Christians after having been baptized by John. No, they were baptized as Christians after having been baptized with an invalid baptism by some community that was clearly deficient concerning the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
How did John prepare the way for Jesus the Messiah? One, by preaching the good news to the people concerning the forgiveness of sins through faith in the Messiah. Two, by urging men and women to turn from their sins and to trust in the Messiah. And three, by baptizing in water all who professed faith and repentance. It is my opinion that we are to see more continuity than discontinuity between the baptism that John applied at the baptism that Christ commanded in the great commission, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV). Who is baptism to be applied to according to the great commission? Not infants, not those of a particular ethnicity, but disciples of Jesus only, that is to say, those who have turned from the sins and have believed upon Christ for the forgiveness of sins, for baptism is a symbol of this cleansing, of Spirit-wrought union with Christ in his death and resurrection, of death to the old life and the beginning new life under the New Covenant, which is the Covenant of Grace.
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Suggestions For Application
By way of conclusion I ask, how does this passage that we have considered apply to us today?
First of all, I must urge you to believe in Jesus the Messiah that John the Baptist proclaimed. He is the Savior that God has provided. He is the Redeemer that has rescued his people from bondage to sin, Satan, and the fear of death. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. He is the only Savior, and you must know that he is also the judge. Those who do not have him as Savior will have him as Judge. As Luke 3:17 says, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” And so I urge you to believe upon Christ. Trust in him. Make him your Lord and Savior, and be cleansed. Indeed it is true, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, ESV)
Secondly, do not forget that true, sincere, and saving faith will be accompanied by true and sincere repentance. To turn to Christ in faith, one must turn from sin. True, it is not the turning from sin that saves you, but rather the turning to Christ. But how can someone possibly turn to Christ without turning from sin? As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:9, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV). The words, “and such were some of you”, indicate repentance. Those who come to faith in Christ are converted and changed. They are not yet made perfect, mind you. But true Christians are changed. Their life will be characterized by faith and repentance until the Lord returns or calls them home.
Thirdly, those who turn from sin and to Christ for the forgiveness of sins, are to be baptized in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In baptism, the forgiveness of sins, our union with Christ, the death to our old self, and our new life in the New Covenant, are signified. It is not the waters of baptism that do the cleansing or the saving. No, it is only faith in the crucified and risen Christ that saves. But baptism is an outward and visible sign of this inward and invisible faith. In baptism, we profess faith in Christ. In baptism, we say Jesus is Lord. In baptism, we make an appeal to god. And in baptism, the name of the Triune God is placed upon his people, who have been redeemed by the blood of Messiah. Do you have faith in him? Have you turned from your sins and to him? Then be baptized.
Fourthly, and lastly, we as a church must be faithful to administer baptism according to the Scriptures. We must be faithful to give it, not to infants, not children who are too young to express faith and demonstrate repentance, and not to those who have not turned from sin and to Christ, but to disciples of Jesus only. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are not for the world. They are for those who have Jesus as Lord. And so we must give these to those who have made a credible profession of faith and who “bear fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8, ESV). May the Lord give us wisdom, courage, love, and grace. May he work mightily in our midst so that we are blessed to baptize many in the years to come, teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded.
