Well, morning, folks. It is so lovely to see you.
My name is Graeme. I'm the pastor here, and it's great to meet
! Particularly some new people this morning for whom this is your first time.
We just want you to know how welcome you are.
Now, friends, have you got Matthew 3 open in front of you?
Yeah?
Right.
Do you remember what Shrek said about ogres?
What did he say about ogres?
What are they like?
Onions.
Why are they like onions?
Layers.
Oh, my goodness, guys. Matthew 3, the layers in this.
It's unbelievable.
I've had the week of my dreams this week in this text because of the depth
and the God that we meet in this four verses of Scripture.
So just in case you're thinking we're shortchanging you this morning
by looking at four verses, layers, depths to this.
Can I get us into it this morning?
Here is a T-shirt that you'll find that you can buy at the minute on Etsy.
It's a T-shirt.
Apparently, they market it as the perfect one for a parent to wear when they're out
and about with their children.
So picture the scene.
You're in the 24-7 Asda.
You're a parent.
The kids are running mental around the place looking for the sweet cereal aisle.
Promise you it's a hypothetical.
I've never lived it.
Okay?
They're running around causing chaos.
Somebody from the other aisle, another customer, looks on at these kids disapprovingly
and you can tell what they're thinking.
Whose kids are these?
Only for you to look at mom or dad wearing this T-shirt.
Yeah, I'm with them.
You know the kind of novelty T-shirts that you get?
I'm with her, arrow.
I'm with him, arrow.
You got that phrase in your mind?
Yeah, I'm with them.
That's the phrase that you've got to keep in your mind if you're going to get the enormity
of the truth at the heart of this passage.
So if you're a note taker today, and I love that so many of you are, if you're a note taker
or if you're like me, you like to scribble things in your Bible, then that is what to write
above verses 13 to 17 of Matthew chapter 3.
Go ahead and do it.
Yeah, I'm with them.
And it's the answer to the million dollar question that's right at the heart of this passage.
Are you thinking it?
If you were here last week, maybe it's already in your mind, the million dollar question.
And I'm going to try and get us there.
We'll get to that question in about 10 minutes time, but see if you can work it out as we go.
What we need to appreciate as we head there is that there is a rough 28 year time gap between
the end of chapter 2, do you see it there, and the beginning of chapter 3.
Now blinking, you might miss that.
You might not get that in the plain reading, but that's what's happening in the chronology
of this.
There's a 28 year time gap between the end of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3.
So that means that Matthew has given us in his account of Jesus' life, he has given us
two detailed chapters, 1 and 2, on the first two years of Jesus' life.
And then he's proceeded to write another 26 chapters on the last three years of Jesus' life.
And that's with a purpose.
It tells you that Matthew, according to Matthew, if you and I want to understand who Jesus is,
his person, his significance, we need to get the beginning and the end of his life.
Now if you're like me, you've got a curious mind.
You're thinking, what on earth happened in between those years, right?
What happened in that gap?
Well, we don't know a huge amount about what did happen in those in-between years.
But we do know one thing for certain that didn't happen.
Jesus never sinned.
Yeah?
Jesus never sinned.
So imagine that.
No cheat to his parents.
No fallout with his siblings.
No teenage pushing of boundaries.
No expletives when he hits his thumb with the hammer on the carpentry work site.
And that's the reason I imagine that none of the other Nazarene mums wanted to go for a coffee catch-up with Mary.
And they're telling her about their child but refusing to tidy their room.
How's it going for you, Mary?
He's perfect.
No sin.
And just in case we think his life is about not doing things,
what he is doing this whole time
is he is giving his life totally over to pursuing obedience to God
and with that knowing joy.
Sometimes you'll hear theologians call those two sides of the perfection coin
Jesus' passive and his active obedience.
It's really important.
One of the foundation things of the Christian faith.
His active and his passive obedience.
And I think instinctively we struggle to get our heads around that.
I was thinking that this week.
Because we don't know anything other than living our lives in this world that is broken.
I struggle with this.
I've got no framework for understanding what a perfect life would look like.
I mean, how easy is it at the minute to turn on the news
and see what's happening to people in Iran?
And to watch something like that.
And honestly, your heart is just completely unmoved.
Or Ukraine or Gaza.
Or you take your pick at the minute.
And you feel like because we're bombarded with it
that we can become almost emotionally numb to it.
I've listened to enough Jeremy Vine phone-ins on Radio 2
doing a long drive down south in my time
to know that one of the bingo phrases from callers
when he asked people to ring in
and comment on the latest big political scandal,
one of the bingo phrases you hear from people is this.
It doesn't surprise me anymore.
We're just so used to living in this world.
But what we need to see is that when Jesus comes on the scene,
he is something both radically different and wonderfully attractive.
And Matthew wants us to look at him and conclude,
here is humanity as it was always meant to be.
He is perfect love,
covered over in flesh.
And so with that in mind,
would you have a look at verse 13?
Now remember the context
that we thought about last week.
John the Baptist is at the River Jordan.
So people are coming to him.
Do you remember we saw that last week?
Verse 6.
People are coming to him.
And what are they doing?
They are confessing their sins.
They are publicly declaring that there is dirt on my hands,
that I am guilty before a holy God.
And my greatest need in this moment
is not to keep hiding,
is to come and be clean.
That's what they're coming to John and saying.
And what are they doing?
They are being baptized.
Again, to see it in the text,
they're being baptized.
So they're going under the water.
They're coming up again.
And then one day,
John is out in the middle of the river doing his thing.
You're in the text.
Yeah?
He's out in the middle of the river doing his thing.
As usual,
a queue of people is forming.
Right?
Again, we're British.
It probably wasn't a queue.
Probably just gathering around the river.
Right?
But looking up,
what does John see?
Or rather,
who does John see?
He clocks Jesus.
Do you remember Jesus as the one,
verse 11,
whose sandals John has just said
that he is not worthy to untie?
And Jesus has come all the way
from Galilee in the north
down to the Jordan.
Now, depending on where the starting
and the ending point is
that is somewhere between
a 40 to 80 mile trip.
Think of it roughly Glasgow to Edinburgh
or Edinburgh to Glasgow,
depending on your preference.
And he's not doing an Uber.
He's doing it on foot.
Now, just remember what we thought about last week
with all these details.
None of it is filler.
All of this is with a purpose.
What is the purpose?
What does Matthew want us to see?
He wants us to see that this has a purpose.
And now we're getting warmer
to our million dollar question.
Are you thinking it yet?
John, he clocks Jesus in line.
And he effectively says,
Jesus,
what are you doing here?
What are you doing here?
You're here wanting to be baptized by me?
Surely it's me that needs to be baptized
by you.
Do you see what he's saying?
Surely this should be the other way around.
I guess this is a bit like Magnus Carlsen
enrolling in a beginner's chess class.
Or maybe it's Adele auditioning
in the early rounds of the X Factor.
Do you get it?
Surely it's the other way around.
And you've got to say that John's right, isn't he?
And I was thinking about it this week, friends.
I can get my head around
why the people in this day
are confessing their sins
and getting baptized.
I get that.
I can get
and most definitely understand
why I needed to repent of my sins
and come to Christ to forgiveness.
And so we've arrived
at the million dollar question.
Are you thinking it?
Why is Jesus getting baptized?
Because he's not repenting
of any sins that he committed.
Right?
You guys, perfect.
Friends, this is where we need to remember
the T-shirt.
He's not repenting of any sins.
What is he doing in this moment?
And this is glorious.
He is identifying himself
with the very people
that he's come to save.
And see, as we try
and get our heads into this,
to the answer to that question,
I was reminded of a famous old quote
about the Bible.
And it's been attributed
to many people over the years.
And to be honest,
it's been repeated so often,
I don't think anyone knows
who said it anymore.
But that's no problem
because it's not about
who has copyright to it.
It's about the insight
that it contains
and it's absolutely golden.
You ready for this?
The Bible
is like a river
shallow enough
for a lamb to go wading,
but deep enough
for the elephant
to go swimming.
And what Matthew is doing
in verses 16 and 17
is inviting us out
to the deep waters
and
to the deep waters
and to get our elephant on.
Friends, this is,
this is deep
and it is profound
and it is wonderful.
And maybe you're here
this morning,
you think,
all this Jesus stuff
is still new to me.
I don't really get it.
Come wait in this.
This is who our God is.
What we get in these four verses,
we get a profound glimpse
into the heart
and the mission
of the God of the Bible.
You ready to be stretched
a little bit by this text?
You up for it?
The God of the Bible
is triune.
We've already been singing
about that,
meaning that he is one God
in three persons.
He is Father,
he is Son,
he is Spirit,
and that puts him
in a league of his own.
There is nothing else
like him
out there
on the market.
He is radically different
from any
so-called competitors
in this world.
He is so radically
different from
what our Muslim friends
would understand
Allah to be like.
or our Buddhist friends
who worship many gods.
The God of the Bible
is radically different.
He is the reality
of all realities.
He is the beauty
of all beauties.
Before anything was,
he was.
And with perfect wisdom
and power,
this God spoke creation
into existence.
What do we do
when we speak?
Why does anyone speak?
They speak to make
themselves known.
And this God
has made himself
known
in creation.
And why did he
create the world?
Have you ever wondered that?
Why did he create the world?
Well, because he is
Father, Son, and Spirit.
Because he is
a community of love.
The answer cannot be
that he was lonely
or that he is needy.
He doesn't need anything.
He's not sure
of enjoyment
and satisfaction.
He created the world
to showcase his glory
and invite us
into knowing him.
Friends,
have you ever wondered
why human beings
long for relationships?
The answer is
that we are made
in the image of God
who has eternally existed
as a fully satisfied
community of love.
We're made in his image.
No longer there's longings
for relationships.
This God,
he knows the end
from the beginning.
He's never reacting
to anything.
When Adam and Eve
rebelled against God
in the Garden of Eden,
it was tragic,
but it did not take him
by surprise.
No, this God
has eternally had
a plan
to redeem the world
and showcase
the glory of his love
to the world.
You feeling stretched?
And in Matthew,
what do we get here?
Who's in the photo,
if you like?
Who's in the photo?
The Father,
the Son,
and the Spirit.
You feeling stretched?
And I think we're meant
to ask,
if we know
the Bible story,
I think we're meant
to ask ourselves,
when was the last time
that we saw all three
mentioned together
in the Bible story?
And the answer,
I think,
is Genesis 1.
With the Spirit
hovering over the waters,
let us make man
in our image.
And what is Matthew doing
but creating that sense
of wonderful anticipation
as to what God
is about to do
that's kicking off
in this moment
as he is acting
to bring about
the start of
a new creation.
You see,
as far as
the earth is concerned,
the baptism of Jesus,
I don't imagine
it looks anything special
as far as
earth looking on
is concerned.
But it's almost
as if heaven
at the kickoff
of Jesus'
public ministry
cannot contain
its excitement.
And so,
friends,
let's just think
about three things
that we can savor
as we think about
the Father,
the Son,
and the Spirit
from these verses.
Here's the first thing
we need to savor here.
It's the willing Son
to fulfill
all righteousness.
See verse 15,
right?
Jesus tells John
why he's come
to get baptized.
Do you see it?
What does he say?
To fulfill
all
righteousness.
Now,
we're thinking a bit more
about that word
fulfill
and the law
in a few chapters
time.
But for the purposes
of this today,
in the back
of Jesus'
mind
is this thing
that Isaiah
had spoken about.
And this is where
Isaiah 42
and 52
and 53
come in.
So if you've got it
there,
you can flick there.
And the book of Isaiah,
you've got these two
big things that are
happening in Isaiah.
These two big themes
that you think,
how is this puzzle
going to be solved?
So on the one hand,
you've got God
promising that he's
going to rightly
punish his people
for their blatant
idolatry and sin
against him
and for dragging
his name
through the mud
via their lives
in front of the nations.
So God's going,
on one hand,
he's going to say,
I'm going to punish sin.
But on the other hand,
God is promising
that he's going to
make a way
for his people
to be forgiven
and set free
and to be transformed.
God is going to
create this city
of righteousness
and he's going to
create a people
who long
to live
for him.
And you think,
how is God
going to do
both of these things?
We're standing
at the center
of that Venn diagram.
How God
is going to be faithful
to both of those things?
It's this figure
that you get
in Isaiah 42,
get it in 49,
52, 53,
called
my servant.
This figure
who will act
wisely,
who will have
no deceit
in his mouth,
who will be
despised
and rejected
by men,
who will be
a man of
sorrows
and he will
carry all
our infirmities
on himself
and he will be
pierced for
our
transgressions.
And what else
will he do?
He will
number
himself
with the
transgressors.
So he will say,
I'm one of them.
Are you beginning
to get this?
He's going to say,
I'm one of them.
And Christians
down the ages
have rightly,
absolutely
cherished
Isaiah 52
and 53
in particular
because we read
this and we think
to ourselves,
cannot wait
to meet this guy.
Where is he coming?
sin?
We read it
alongside Matthew
chapter 3.
And so here
we have
Jesus
in this
the most
wonderful
of moments
who having
read the
scriptures
since he
was a boy,
he declares
in this
moment
as he gets
baptized,
as he stands
in the place
of sinners,
as he identifies
with them,
with this
my servant
in the back
of his mind.
He is declaring,
I am willing.
He's uniting
himself with
the people
that he's come
to save,
saying,
Father,
I will live
for them.
For them,
I'll do it.
I will live
for them
the perfect
life that
they could
never live.
And I will
die the death
that they
deserve to die
because of
their sin.
I'm up for it.
I'm going to
be the servant.
And it's
well worth
seeing,
folks,
that Jesus
saves us
by both
his doing
and his
dying.
Jesus
is stepping
right into
the shoes
of Isaiah
52 and
53 of
this servant
job description
and he's
declaring in
this moment,
I am
willing.
oh,
is this
not great
that he's
come to
do the
very thing
that I
could never
do for
myself
and that
you could
never do
for yourself.
He left
the
eternity
with his
father and
you all
go and
he stepped
into the
water for
you and
I.
See the
willing son,
but secondly,
we need to
go quicker
here,
I promise.
See the
equipping
spirit.
Verse 16,
he descends
on Jesus
in the form
of a dove.
Now don't
get sidetracked
by the dove
there.
I'm going to
give you
your theories
afterwards.
The answer is
we're not
sure.
I think it's
just another
symbol for
the Holy
Spirit.
You get
fire,
you get
lots of
symbols
throughout
scripture.
It's
just another
one of
these
indicating
the
presence
of
the
Spirit.
But what's
important to
see is
that the
falling of
the Spirit
connects Jesus
with the
servant of
Isaiah 42.
The one on
whom God
will put
his Spirit.
And what
will that
Spirit do?
What will
he do?
He will
empower
Jesus to
accomplish
his mission.
And he
will bring
home the
truth that
the Father
is just
about to
declare of
him.
I take
it he
will bring
it home
in a
really
personal
way.
But the
big thing
to see is
the Spirit
is given
to the
Son and
sends him
out to
accomplish
this
mission.
And this
is Ian's
verses next
week and I
don't want to
verse creep but
I'll do it
for five
seconds.
Okay.
Look at
verse one
of chapter
four.
It is the
Spirit that
leads Jesus
into the
wilderness.
Friends,
the equipping
Spirit,
we're going
quicker here.
Thirdly,
see the
adoring
Father.
Verse 17.
Look at
this.
With
him
I am
well
pleased.
Oh,
the
Father,
his heart
is positively
bursting with
pride and
brimming with
love as he
looks on the
faithful obedience
of his
Son.
And there
are overtones
in that word
Son there.
We don't have
time to do
this but you
can check out
your own time
of Psalm
chapter 2
and 2 Samuel
7 there.
We thought
about Psalm
2 a few
weeks ago
in the
first sermon
of this
year.
But when
God talks
about his
Son there,
he's also
talking about
his King.
And the
way that
Matthew's
written this
is he
emphasizes
verse 16
in Matthew.
Do you
see how
Jesus
seeing and
presumably
hearing
is to
show us
that although
this
declaration
is for
the world,
these words
are aimed
personally
at Jesus.
Now
why does
that matter?
here's
what we're
going to
see next
week.
It matters
next week
because in
the very
next few
verses,
the devil
is going
to be in
Jesus'
ear saying,
are you
sure?
You
sure you're
the Son?
You sure
you heard
that right?
I mean,
the distance
between heaven
and earth
is big
and phone
reception is
not great
these days.
You've
just
switched
to
O2.
You sure
it didn't
fall out?
You sure
it didn't
drop?
Or is it
a contract?
You didn't
read the
terms and
conditions?
There's an
asterisk there
that you
missed.
You sure?
I mean,
would you
really be out
here starving
in the
wilderness
if that
was true?
I mean,
it's as if
here God
the Father
is saying
to his
son at
the outset
of his
public
ministry,
no matter
what happens,
he sees
you step
into being
that servant.
Don't you
believe anything
else?
And is
that not a
wonderful
lesson for
the Christian
life?
When the
devil so
often whispers
in our
ears,
you sure?
Again,
think back to
the beginning
of the
Bible story,
Genesis 3,
the devil's
only got one
play.
You sure?
Did God
really say?
Did he
really say
that you
can be
forgiven of
all your
sins?
Did he
really say
his love
is unconditional?
Nothing's
going to
separate you
from it.
Are you
sure?
Have you
seen your
week last
week?
If he did
love you,
do you not
think your
life would
be a little
bit easier?
A cancer
free life?
Do you not
think that you
would sail
through your
exams?
Do you not
think you
would have
no mental
health
worries?
Do you not
think there
would be no
relational
difficulties in
your life?
Are you
sure that you
picked that
up right?
That's when
we need to
remember that
united to
Christ,
the Father
feels the
exact same
way about
us as he
does his
son.
Nothing's
going to
separate us
from his
love.
Why?
Because he's
willing to
be this
servant.
What did
he do?
He steps
into the
water for
us.
And in
this minute
he identifies
with all
those who
would come
after him
and put
their faith
in him
and say
I'm
with them.
And of
course what
is the
baptism thing
that we
do other
than us
declaring
that we
are with
him?
Yeah?
My,
his life
is my
life,
his death
is my
death,
the old
me has
gone,
the new
me has
risen,
the son
has united
himself to
me,
the father
loves me,
the spirit
is in
me,
and my
plea to
you this
morning if
you've
never done
that,
that you're
missing out
in such a
wonderful
blessing and
also it's
an obedience
thing that we
do because
it reminds us
of a
moment when
this is
true,
when it
first became
true,
he has
totally
united
himself to
us.
And friends,
we need to
know how
heaven feels
in this
moment.
Do you
know why?
We're
beginning to
close it
here.
Do you
know why?
Because this
gospel from
here on
out will
look anything
other than
victory for
Jesus.
is it?
Let me
put it
like this.
In 2007
there was
an experiment
that the
Washington
Post did
with
highly
acclaimed
violin
player called
Joshua
Bell.
And this
experiment,
it went
something like
this,
they got
Joshua Bell
to dress
up as a
busker.
And they
asked him
to go and
busk at
Washington,
D.C.
Subway.
And he
busked for
45 minutes.
He played
some of the
finest classical
pieces ever
composed on
a Stradivarius
violin worth,
get this,
3.5
million dollars.
And only
a handful
of people
stopped to
listen in
that 45
minutes.
A couple
clapped and
in the end
he raised
just over
30 dollars.
true
brilliance,
utter
magnificence
but hidden
in plain
sight.
Why does
God want
us to
know in
chapter 3?
Why does
Matthew want
us to
know in
chapter 3
about who
the son
really is?
Because this
gospel from
here on in
is not
going to
look like
victory.
And of
course the
shape of
his baptism,
if you get
this, is a
prediction of
the shape of
his life.
From this
point on his
earthly life
will be
downward
shaped.
His family
won't
understand
him.
The religious
leaders will
reject him.
Everyday
people won't
get him.
Roman
soldiers will
mock him.
The Roman
authorities will
sentence him.
Roman soldiers
will kill him.
But as if
God is
saying,
or Matthew
is saying,
as you read
the rest of
this, don't
be fooled.
What's
kicking off
here in
chapter 3
is the
most
magnificence
of rescue
missions
from the
most willing
of saviors.
What is
this that
Jesus
is declaring?
Yeah,
I'm with
them.
man of
sorrows,
what a
name.
For
the son
of God
who came
ruined
sinners to
reclaim.
Hallelujah.
What a
saviour.
Let me
pray.
Father, we
just praise
you for who
you are here
today.
Lord, our
finite
minds cannot
get our
heads around
your true
glory and
splendor.
God, I
just
because we
can't fully,
fully comprehend
does not
mean there's
any reason
not to bow
in reverence
and worship.
Father, we
thank you.
We praise
you, Father.
We praise
you, Son.
We praise
you, Spirit.
We thank
you, Lord,
that you
are a
wonderful
God.
And Lord,
I just
pray that
this message
would come
home with
the exact
application
salvation
that it
needs to
have in
each of
our lives.
Lord, maybe
for some
of us here
today, it's
just to
wake up to
the wonder
of who
you are.
There's
nothing else
worth pursuing
with our
lives than
knowing you.
Maybe for
others, it's
to know that
Jesus is the
saviour who
got down into
the dirt.
He is God
with us, and
this just
means he's
God with
us in such
a perfect
and wonderful
way, that
he truly is
one who
knows what
it is.
And Father,
maybe even for
some of us
here today,
this would
be the
morning where
we grasp
your
outrageous
love for
us, and
that we
would turn
in repentance,
leave that
old life
behind, say
sorry for the
ways that we've
offended you and
lived our own
way, and turn
to you, the
giver of life.
And may today
be the day
of salvation.
So Father, we
thank you so
much for your
goodness.
Thank you for
your word that
we have it in
our language,
that we can
pick it up
and read.
Lord, be with
us as we
finish our
time together,
we pray.
In Jesus'
wonderful name
we ask.
Amen.