LenosOn: The Kingdom Comes

01 December 2016

Theme: Baptism of Jesus

Objectives:

Know: God confirmed Jesus's authority as His Son at Jesus's baptism.

Think: I should always be mindful that Jesus is the Son of God, and my Lord and King.

Do: Turn from all sin, be baptized, and submit completely to Christ as Lord of my life.

Scriptures: Matthew 3:1-17

Notes and questions:

B1 The baptisms in the New Testament. There are 7, perhaps 10 or more baptisms.

The Baptism into Moses (into Moses's authority) (1 Corinthians 10:1-5). Compare Exodus 14:29-31.
The Baptism by John (a baptism that is after you have confessed your sins) (Matthew 3:1-12, Mark 1:4-8, Luke 3:3-18, Acts 18:25, and Acts 19:3-5).
The Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-23).
The Baptism of suffering (also called the Baptism of the Cross) (Matthew 20:22-23, Mark 10:38-39, Luke 12:49-50).
The Baptism of The Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11, John 1:33, John 7:39, Acts 1:5, Acts 2:1-18, Acts 10:44-47, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Believer’s Baptism (Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:41, Acts 8:12-39, Acts 16:33, Acts 18:8, Romans 6: 1-7, Colossians 2:12, 1 Peter 3:21)
Baptism for the Dead (1 Corinthians 15:29)
Baptism of fire (Matthew 3:11-22
Ritual baptism of Jews before they ate (Mark 7:4, Luke 11:38, Hebrews 6:2).
Ritual baptism of utensils, tables, etc. (Mark 7:4, Hebrews 9:10).

B2 The word for baptize, etc. means to make fully wet, so dip, immerse, or wash.

B3 Matthew 3:1-3,

B4 Matthew 3:4-6,

Why did John wear the clothes that he wore and ate the type of food that he ate? Compare 2 Kings 1:8, Zechariah 13:4, Malachi 4:5, Luke 1:17, also Leviticus 11:22 (typically the food of the poor).
What motivated the people to go out to hear John the Baptist? Compare John 16:8.
Why did these people confess their sins, but others did not?
Why did John baptize? Does baptism take away sins? The Jews knew about baptism for proselytes. The idea of baptism for a Jew was rare. Confession of sin points to their acceptance of God's evaluation of them. God does not sin, people sin. We are not good people. Compare Acts 19:18, James 5:16, and 1 John 1:8-10. Note that the repentance came first, then baptism. Baptism is the sign of internal cleansing that God has done upon the heart.

B5 Matthew 3:7-12,

Why did the Pharisees and Sadducees come to be baptized?
Why did John tell them they were sinners?
What is needed with repentance to show we are serious? Do people get baptized only for show and not real repentance?
Does everyone go through the baptism of fire? Compare 1 Corinthians 3:11-15.

B6 Matthew 3:13-17,

He may have wanted to do this as our representative. He was the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. Here he made Christian baptism holy, that is, He sanctified it.
To show that baptism does NOT wash away sins. Jesus has always been sinless.
To show that John's baptism was authoritative, that is, from heaven. See Luke 20:4 and John 17:19.
To show that it was the time to begin His ministry, and that His ministry to be authorized by God. This would be the reason John saw the Spirit descend like a dove upon Jesus.

What is the significance of the Father saying that Jesus was His Son? Compare Hebrews 1:1-14, Isaiah 42:1-4.
How does this make Jesus special?

B7 Some questions from the study guide.

How do you think John and his message would be accepted in world today?
Why is there such a temptation today for churches and/or preachers to water down the message of repentance?
What excuses do people give for not being baptized?
What message does a new believer proclaim by being baptized?
What are some areas in which Christ-followers sometimes struggle with total obedience? Why?
What can a follower of Christ do in order to become more obedient to what he or she knows Christ wants?

B8 Next week: