“Then cometh Jesus from
In Matthew 3:13-17, we have the account of the baptism of Jesus. John the Immerser, had begun his work in making the declaration, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand...” (Matthew 3:2) His mission was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight...” (Matthew 3:3 c.f. Isaiah 40:3-5) At this time, John was immersing penitent Jews in the river
It is here that we first encounter, our Lord Jesus as a full-grown man. Jesus at the time of His baptism was 30 years old. (Luke 3:23) It was at the age of 30, that the Levites and priests were able to begin their service. (Numbers 4) John, being from a priestly family (Luke 1:5), most likely would have begun his ministry of preparation upon his turning 30, some six months prior to Jesus’ turning 30. (See Luke 1:26ff) Incidentally, it was also at the age of 30 that David began to reign as king over Israal. (2 Samuel 5:4) David began his reign over physical
In our context, Jesus has come from
“And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to
Prior to the baptism of Jesus and the Spirit’s descent, John did not know with any certainty that his kinsman, Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. But, clearly he understood at this moment that Jesus had no sins to be remitted. In fact, John recognized that he himself was in need of salvation and that he was not worthy to baptize such a one as Jesus. Brother J. W. McGarvey stated, “It seemed to John too great an honor for him to baptize Jesus, and too great a humiliation for Jesus to be baptized...” Therefore, John refused at first to baptize Jesus. One commentator has stated,
“John did not forbid Jesus, but had it in mind to prevent him: was for hindering him. Hence the ASV translation, ‘would have hindered him.’ Again, the preposition (διά) intensifies the verb (kōluō) “prevent, hinder”, and represents strong feeling on John's part. He was moved to strenuous protest against Jesus' baptism by him.” (Vincent’s Word Studies)
John clearly was perplexed as to why Jesus, the sinless one, would be coming to him for baptism. Guy N. Woods stated,
“Jesus did not come to be baptized from a feeling of personal sinfulness, neither because of a personal connection with an impure people, nor for the purpose of showing that there was no imcompatibility between his life and the life of others, nor merely to elicit the Divine declaration that he was the Son of God, nor to confirm the faith of others, neither was it to sanction the baptism of John as having been authorized of God. It was the will of God for him to be baptized, and he came to do the will of God. (Hebrews 10:7)”
Jesus came to John for baptism out of obedience to the One who sent Him. Therefore, He answered John, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness....” (v.14) Jesus recognized that John was correct in his assessment of his relative sinfulness when compared to Jesus’ sinlessness. His answer, “suffer it to be so for now”, (I.e. “allow it this one time”) shows that at least in one aspect it was unnecessary for Him to be baptized. He then further clarified “for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” By this, Jesus made it clear that there was more to John’s baptism than just the remission of sins – it was to fulfill God’s righteousness. Baptism was a righteous act commanded by God – it was a condition for acceptance by God. God commanded it, therefore Jesus obeyed Him. (See John
Jesus complied with every commandment of righteousness. There could be no doubt that Jesus of Nazareth was in full compliance with the will of God, especially given the fact that after His immersion, he arose from the water and “the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased....” (Matthew 3:16-17) Jesus’ public submission to the will of God and the subsequent announced approval of God was the starting point of Jesus’ public ministry. In it, we receive a clear demonstration of Jesus’ humility in lowering Himself, the Sinless One, to be immersed by such a one as John, who was himself, admittedly, in need of receiving the remission of sins at the hand of Jesus.
John’s wondering statement on that occasion, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?” illuminates the characteristic humility demonstrated throughout the life and especially the death of Jesus. Perhaps no passage of scripture elucidates this facet of the character of Christ more than does Philippians 2:5-8,
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Let it be noted that we are to have the same mindset as Jesus did with regard to humble servitude and submission. We are commanded, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4). Then we are pointed to the example of Jesus Christ, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus...” We are to imitate Jesus in our humble submission to God and servitude to His cause.
In order to fully understand the concept of living a life of humble submission and servitude toward God we need to grasp something of the magnitude of Christ’s example. Let us observe the language of Philippians 2:6-8.
Verse 6 states, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God..." The word I want us to observe closely is the word “form.” Burton Coffman quoted John A. Night as follows,
“The Greeks had two words for "form," one of them referring to mere external appearance, as when a mirage takes the appearance of water... the other suggests that the appearance is the true revelation of the object itself, the form participating in the reality. It is the second word (morphe) which Paul here employs.”
Fritz A. Reinecker defines morphe, as used in verse 6 and 7, “The outward display of the inner reality or substance. Here it refers to the outward display of the Divine substance, i.e., divinity of the preexistent Christ in the display of His glory as being the image of the father.”
Preincarnate, Christ was in the form of God – He was Divine Spirit. As John affirmed, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...” (John 1:1) Jesus,”thought it not robbery to be equal with God..." The ASV reads that Jesus “counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped...” His equality was not something He needed to “grasp for” or seek to attain – He had it as a right since He was God! Jesus existed in form as equal to God, but in order to begin His mission to reconcile man back to God, He, “made himself of no reputation...” (v.7a). Or, as the ASV translates, He “emptied Himself...” He divested Himself from all the advantages of Deity, casting aside for a time, the glory that was His by right being in the “form of God.”
In doing so, He took upon Himself, “the form of a servant...” (v.7b) The same word is used here as was used in verse 6. Christ revealed another aspect of His true nature, or form, in His submission and servitude with regard to the Father’s will. He took upon Himself the role of a servant to the Father. And going further, He “was made in the likeness of men...” (v.7c) Vincent wrote on this passage,
“Likeness of men expresses the fact that His mode of manifestation resembled what men are... As He appealed to men, He was like themselves, with a real likeness; but this likeness to men did not express His whole self. The totality of His being could not appear to men, for that involved the form of God. Hence, the apostle views Him solely as He could appear to men. All that was possible was a real and complete likeness to humanity. What He was essentially and eternally could not enter into His human mode of existence. Humanly He was like men, but regarded with reference to His whole self, He was not identical with man, because there was an element of His personality which did not dwell in them – equality with God...” (Vincent’s Word Studies)
Jesus was made in the likeness of men. The word “likeness” comes from the Greek word, homoioma, which refers simply to His outward appearance. His true nature was that of God, but His appearance was that of a man. Jesus was made in the likeness of men similar to the way that man was made in the likeness of God (Genesis
In all ways, His manner of living reflected that of a humble and submission servant. We see that in His teaching He constantly stressed the need for His followers to serve. Half of the Beatitudes have to do with humility, meekness or servitude “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled...” (Mathew 5:3-6) He taught that greatness has everything to do with the service which one performs on behalf of his fellow man. “But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant...” (Matthew 20:26-27); ”But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted...”(Matthew
We see that in His actions He always demonstrated humble, submissive servitude in His life. We see it in His mission statement, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many...” (Matthew 20:28) We see it as He washed the feet of His disciples. (John 13:5-17) We see it demonstrated by His always doing the will of the Father. “And He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him...” (John 8:29) We see the zenith of His humble submission and servitude in His death upon the cross. His full submission to the Father’s will regarding His crucifixion is seen by His statement in the Garden, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt...” (Matthew 26:37-39) Again as Paul has stressed in Philippians 2:8 “He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross...” As the Hebrew’s writer affirmed in Hebrews 5:8, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered...”
Jesus teaches us that we must have the attitude of humble submission and servitude toward God. Jesus demonstrated that very attitude in the way He lived His life. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously...” (1 Peter 2:21-23).
Notice once more Philippians 2:6-8 and the descending action of Christ’s mission. First, He is God and He is a servant of both God and man (Son of God vs. Son of Man). He not only took upon Himself the form of a servant – He went further still and assumed the likeness of men. His true form was a Divine Servant, but he humbled Himself further still in that His outward appearance and manner of living was simply as a common man. He did not live as a king, a ruler or as a man of wealth, but rather as a common laborer – a carpenter – not a “blue blood”, but a blue-collar kind of man. Finally, the humility of His descent is seen in the fact that, “He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross...” Here we see the final phase of what has been termed “The Great Descent.” He died the cruelest death imaginable, crucifixion. It was a type of execution reserved for the basest of men and vilest of criminals, yet God came here in flesh and suffered this humiliation to save us from our sins.
The magnitude of this humiliation is hard for us to imagine and impossible for us to fully grasp, yet is still something that we need to consider. To illustrate this concept let us think about Christ being in the form of God, equal to Him. The Bible teaches that Jesus was instrumental in the creation of the universe and everything. John 1:3 states, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Colossians 1:16-17 reads, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
Jesus, in the form of God, was the creator and is the sustainer of all things. As God, He was omnipotent! Power, absolute power was inherent in His very nature. He was the force behind God’s creation. Imagine the power of the one who created our sun. The sun has the power to burn our skin from 93 Million miles away. At the core, its temperature exceeds 10 Million degrees F. That is power! But what is more powerful, a sun that was created or the One who created it? (See Hebrews 3:3).
The power of the sun, which is in the heavens, shows us something of the power of God and Christ. The beauty of the heavens themselves shows us something of the glory He had “in the form of God.” Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God...” Have you ever seen any of the pictures taken by the Hubble telescope? (hubblesite.org) Gloriously colored plumes of gas, magnificently arrayed nebulas and supernovas, galaxies beyond number, all beautiful beyond description. All of which declare the glory of their Creator!
Now try to imagine Christ, in the form of God a Being with omnipotent power and astronomical glory, purposefully humbling Himself to living as a man and dying in the same manner as the lowest of men. He set aside this immense power and glory to humbly serve the Father and to humbly serve man in dying for our sins.
If Jesus was willing to humble Himself to the degree in which He did. Humbly submitting to God and serving Him on our behalf, shouldn’t we be equally as willing to submit to His will in humble service to God? If Jesus Himself was, “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross...” shouldn’t this motivate us to, “be thou faithful unto death” and receive “a crown of life...”? (Revelation 2:10)
