Matthew 3:13-17 Who is Jesus?
The book of Matthew is all about answering this question, ‘Who is Jesus?’ Matthew records the baptism of Jesus to make the answer clear. He presents three sources of evidence:
1. John the Baptist
Jesus came down from Galilee as he wanted to be baptised by John the Baptist. For him baptism meant associating himself with the rest of humanity but more than that, his baptism was to mark his empowering by the Holy Spirit so he could embark on his public ministry. What a shame it is that too often today the association between the rite of baptism and receiving of God’s Spirit, so we can minister for Christ is overlooked. John was not a smooth talking diplomat but a clear thinking individual. He recognised that being religious is not the same as being godly, and said to the Sadducees and Pharisees:
“ You brood of vipers . . .” Matthew 3:7
Thousands of people from all over the region travelled for days to come and hear John. All sorts of people came, which is not surprising as there had been no prophet of God in Israel for 400 years.
He taught the people that they all need to repent because the arrival of God’s Messiah is imminent. He will empower his people with the Holy Spirit and with passion or fire but that he will also be our eternal judge:
“But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11-12
It was in this deserted place that John looked up and saw Jesus, who happened to be a cousin though they lived in different areas and travel in those days was not easy. He stops being the strong authoritative preacher who was rebuking the religious to being a humble man, full of awe and wonder. He saw Jesus approaching and recognised that Jesus did not need baptism for the forgiveness of his own sins:
“John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?” Matthew 3:16
John was identifying who Jesus is - the Messiah of God. In John’s record of the gospel we read about how John talked about Jesus
“. . . among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” . . . John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” John 1:26-31
Although John the Baptist was older than Jesus he recognised that he was ‘before him’ in that he was the Messiah God had promised. He also recognised that he would become the ultimate sacrifice for sin, he was the sacrificial Lamb of God.
Note that there is there is only one gospel, the news about Jesus the Christ who came to die for our sin and empower us to live for God, but we have four authors who wrote about this gospel.
2. Jesus
Jesus now enters centre stage and consequently John the Baptist drops out. John the Baptist described Jesus as the Son of God, saying:
“He must become greater; I must become less. The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. . . . For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.” John 3:30-35
In comparison to Jesus, no man is that important. Any power or authority anyone has, has been given by God.
The question now returns to who Jesus really is. The account of the baptism of Jesus and his subsequent temptation, when he was alone in the wilderness for 40 days, is sandwiched between the key lesson that God wants everyone to understand. John preached:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 3:2
After John the Baptist was arrested Jesus began his public ministry. He moved from Nazareth to the larger town of Capernaum:
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17
Both John and Jesus and his apostles had the same essential message, God’s Messiah has come to rule, so we must repent and live as members of his kingdom. Matthew wants us to grasp the necessity of repentance. This is not like a touch on the rudder of a yacht or a tweak to the compass bearing. It is far more than giving up chocolate for Lent, it is a radical change of direction to be the servant of the Lord Jesus for life.
The gospel message is that if we turn away from living for ourselves to living for him and his glory we have been given the right to be called children of God:
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12
We must turn round because of who Jesus is. No-one should turn their back on their sovereign in this world, it is even worse to turn away from the Living God who entered this world out of love to serve us and save us by sacrificing himself.
3. God the Father
The word of God, spoken from heaven at Jesus’ baptism gives us God’s explanation:
“And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17
This message is so reassuring. It is part of the evidence that turning to Christ is what God requires of us - God has said so.. We must turn to him because of who he is. God never asks anyone to do anything radical such as a complete reorientation of their life without giving a clear explanation.
The Bible teaches that God approaches our wills through our minds. Faith is always rational. That is the title of my website www.bvpalmer.com .
In this statement God gives us two clear reasons for following Jesus:
He really is God’s Son
He really is God’s Servant
Jesus really is God’s Son
Previously John the Baptist had been publicly proclaiming that he was God’s messenger announcing that God was going to visit his earth. Here God’s pronouncement gives us more information, it is essentially a repeat of Old Testament prophecies.
Isaiah 42
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him. . .” Isaiah 42:1
At Jesus’ baptism this promise is repeated, except there is one significant change. Instead of saying, ‘This is my servant’, God says, ‘This is my Son.” Two Old Testament ideas are merged together, the Messiah is both God’s servant and his Son. God will put his powerful Spirit on him, and this is just what happened at Jesus baptism.
Psalm 2
This statement at Jesus’ baptism also encapsulates what God said in Psalm 2. This gives the clearest explanation that the Messiah will actually be God’s own Son. This remarkable psalm teaches both who the Messiah will be and what response is expected from all of us. It foresees that the nations will rebel against the rule of God and gives his reaction:
“The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” Psalm 2:4-6
God then says to his Son,
“He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:7-8
This psalm then goes on to explain the reaction God expects from all people, people who naturally see themselves as kings of their own lives:
“Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” Psalm 2:10-12
To be wise, to serve the Lord, to kiss God’s Son and to take refuge in the Son is the response that God expects of all people.
Isaiah 11
This prophecy confirms that the Messiah will be a direct descendant of Jesse, the father of King David, and that he will be endowed with the Spirit of God:
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:1-3
The Holy Spirit of God will come upon God’s King, confirming that he is God’s eternal ruler.
The message of John the Baptist is that the Messiah has arrived in the person of Jesus Jesus then identifies himself and finally God confirms Jesus true identity. These are the three sources of evidence that Matthew presents. Note that Jesus never refuses to accept that he is God’s Messiah and later in his ministry he is open about this. This is what led to his crucifixion. He did extraordinary miracles that broke God’s laws of nature, The resurrection is the final proof that he is the son of God.
Notice how the devil understood the meaning of Jesus’ baptism and of God’s statement. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness:
“ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Matthew 4:3
This was also the essence of the second temptation:
“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down.” Matthew 4:6
Jesus being the Son of God is the ultimate reason why we should turn to him and realign our lives into serving him. This is the only wise response. Not to do so is most foolish Yet how many today put themselves in to the category of being foolish:
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” Psalm 14:1
People may not reject God publicly, they may even go to church, but in their hearts they do not serve God or his Son. It is absurd to give all our energies, resources and time to our jobs or even to our families if God has revealed himself in his Son.
Nigel Lawson became Chancellor of the Exchequer in Margaret Thatcher’s government. He later agreed to be interviewed by the psychiatrist Dr Anthony Clare in his programme ‘In the Psychiatrist's Chair’ where he was asked:
“What do you think the point of life is?’
He replied,
“I don’t believe in anything beyond life. I just think it is our family that goes on for ever.”
Two sentences later he had to admit that he had sat at the bedside of his daughter as she died. If God has sent his Son, it would be absurd to go on living just for your family. God says, ‘This Jesus is my Son.’ Bring your family to him. Bring your whole life under his rule. It is absurd to put anything else above his rule.
What is it that stops people responding to the call of God that we must repent? When asked this question one man admitted:
“It is my pride. I will find it very hard to go back to tell my work mates and my family, ‘I have been going in the wrong direction.’
God gives us a clear explanation why we must change direction:
“And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” Matthew 3:17
Jesus really is God’s Servant
The Son of Almighty God has come to serve us, he came to die in our place. He really does love us. This is the second reason we are given as to why we must turn to him. Isaiah foretold:
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” Isaiah 42:1-4
Throughout the world people of all nations are crying out for leaders they can trust and whose decisions are all just and based on love. Jesus stands out, there never has been anyone like him. Isaiah, in his 4th song about God’s servant, God’s Messiah, wrote:
“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6
This passage then tells us that God’s servant will rise from death:
“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.” Isaiah 53:10-11
After his resurrection this same Jesus, whose love for us led to his death, will receive glory:
“Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12
If this Servant of God was willing to die for me and was raised to sit in glory with his Father, who am I to refuse to bow humbly before him, with hearts full of gratefulness?
So when God introduces his Son, he uses the language of the suffering servant. It is he who is, as John the Baptist explained:
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29
Jesus indeed became the ultimate sacrificial lamb.
One reason that some give for not accepting God’s call to follow his Son is that they don’t want to change the direction of their lives. I well remember one medical student who was interested in the Christian message. He recognised that the evidence for Jesus being God’s Son, who died for us and rose again, was very strong. However he declined the invitation to ask Jesus into his life and the reason he gave was ‘I like living as I am and don’t want to change’. He clearly hadn’t really understood who Jesus is and how much God loves him.
In contrast God’s focus is all on Jesus. He is not only God’s ruler but also his suffering servant. He embodies the love of God for each one of us. Jesus is calmly identified as such, the response God expects is clear and the reason why God expects this response is because he is both God’s King and his Suffering Servant. This is God’s message to each of us:
“And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” Matthew 3:17
John Williams was working for one of the large commodity firms in the City of London. He was not a Christian. He regularly received a copy of all the Penguin Books published in their classic series. He had just been sent Dr E.V Rieu’s translation of the four gospels. He had got as far as Luke’s gospel. Very late one evening he was travelling home by train from Victoria station. He settled into a corner seat and continued to read Luke’s gospel, having got as far as the trial of Jesus.
There were two other men in the compartment, one was an Englishman and the other an American. The Englishman suddenly had an epileptic fit and fell to the floor. The American leapt up to loosen his collar and put a handkerchief into his mouth to stop him biting his tongue. The American said to John Williams:
“I am awfully sorry but this happens several times each week. You see, we were in the Korean War together and I was wounded and left in no mans land, and this Englishman can and rescued me., carrying me to safety. Just as we were arriving at a safe position a shell landed beside us and the next thing that we knew was that we were in hospital. I was invalided out of the army, back to America. When I heard that the Englishman would never get better I left my job, broke off my engagement and came to England to look after him. You see, he did that for me. There is nothing I cannot do for him.”
By the time they arrived at the next station, the Englishman was improved and he and the American left the train. John Williams continued to read the story of the crucifixion of Jesus with that phrase still ringing in his ears:
“You see, he did that for me. There is nothing I cannot do for him.”
Suddenly he closed the book, knelt in the compartment of the train and gave his life to Christ. The significance of Jesus, the Son of God, coming as a Servant to die for him made sense. He realised he had to respond in the only way he could and become a follower of Jesus. The truth of what the apostle Peter said now made sense,
“Christ died to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3:18
BVP.
