The Holy Spirit - God's Spirit
E-book and Audio series
PART 2 - The Roles and Activities of the Holy Spirit
Chapter 18 - Christ's Baptism and the Spirit's Role
Summary: A study of when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus Christ at His baptism in the Jordan River.
| |||
Study Notes - No.18 Christ’s Baptism and the Spirit’s Role
In the previous study, we considered a number of OT prophecies, especially from Isaiah, which prophesied of the Holy Spirit’s role in the Gospel period. Most of these prophesied that the Holy Spirit would come upon the promised Messiah, both during His first advent, and also when He comes a second time to establish His future kingdom. We saw how portions of those prophecies were indeed fulfilled in the life of Christ during His earthly ministry.
This study, we will continue to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels. God's Spirit came upon the Lord Jesus at His baptism, so this week we’re going to take a closer look at that particular event.
Matthew 3 describes how John was baptizing, and then how the Lord Himself was baptized. There’s quite a few threads which are brought together in this passage, and in these events, and we won’t go through them all tonight, as that would take four or five studies. Rather, we’ll restrict ourselves to the events which include the Holy Spirit coming upon the Lord.
Let’s READ Matthew 3:1-6 to get the context.
Apart from performing a ceremony invloving water, John the Baptist’s primary ministry was that of preaching, and his messages to the people were: "repent”, "be baptized", "kingdom is near".
In a moment we’re going to read about the Lord being baptized by John. Often it is said that a person should be baptized because it is following Christ’s example. We will see that this is impossible for us to do.
The Baptism and the Spirit
Now let’s READ Matthew 3:13-17
v.16 – After the baptism, the Spirit descends upon the Lord – this is the focus of our study tonight.
Now, Christ was sinless and had no need to repent of anything. John recognised His greatness, yet notice the Lord's insistence that His baptism was necessary in order "to fulfil all righteousness" (v.15); to do all the things it was right to do. Being baptized was one of the "right" things that had to happen. But why be baptized, and how was this fulfilling all righteousness?
Two Reasons for the Lord's Baptism
At least two things are happening here in terms of the coming of the Spirit upon the Lord. Let's deal with the easier of the two first.
(1) READ John 1:29-34, which takes place some time after the Lord’s baptism, almost certainly after He had spent 40 days in the wilderness.
One reason for the Lord being baptized was so that the exact identity of the promised Messiah would be revealed to John, in order that he could bear witness about Him. As a result of observing that the Spirit had descended AND THEN REMAINED UPON HIM, John now knew that the promised Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth.
READ John 1:6-8 … 14,15
READ John 3:28…30 - "he must increase, but I must decrease". Soon after this, John was thrown in prison and his own role really did decrease from this point onwards.
So, that was one reason why the Lord was baptized: in order that the exact identity of the promised Christ would be revealed to John. John now knew that the promised Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth, and could bear witness about Him to others.
(2) The second reason is a little more complex. The Lord was baptized in order to do what was required of Him in His role as High Priest. It's a little complex, but let's read a number of passages, to get a sense of what else is happening here at Christ’s baptism regarding the role He was to play as the High Priest.
A lot of side issues will be touched upon in these verses, but let’s focus on the issue at hand. We won't stop and pore over every detail, but just try to get a feel for what the High Priest did, and a sense of some ways in which Christ fulfilled that role.
READ Hebrews 9:6,7
v.7 - the high priest would eneter the holiest part of the sanctuary once a year to make sacrifices on behalf of the people.
v.11,12 - however, Christ enetered the holiest part of God's greater sanctuary only the ONCE, "having obtained eternal redemption".
In this passage, Christ is called a high priest (v.11). Some other passages make reference to Him in this role:
READ Hebrews 7:26-8:2
READ Hebrews 10:19-22a
Under the law given to Moses, a priest was a mediator between the people and God. The place of most of the priests' activity was the sanctuary (i.e. the temple/tabernacle). Priests could only minister if prepared correctly. Amongst other things, as part of their consecration, first they had to be washed, and then they had to be anointed with oil (a symbol of holiness) … always in that order.
This was also true of the High Priest - he had to be washed, and then he was anointed.
Instructions from the Law about the High Priest
READ Exodus 29:1a (Aaron – high priest, “to hallow as priests”)
v.4 washing
v.7 anointed with oil, symbolizing being set apart from uncleanness, and set unto God’s service.
v.9b consecrated – set apart
Notice the parallels with the event of the Lord Jesus' baptism. He was ceremonially washed (baptism - Matthew 3:16a), and then anointed with holiness (not oil, but the Holy Spirit - Matthew 3:16b).
Not coincidentally, Acts 4:27 refers to this Jesus specifically as being “anointed”. In fact, this is the real meeaning of the Hebrew word "Messiah" which crosses over into the Greek as "Christ" (literally "Christos"). We may view it a bit like this:
The name “Christ”
= christos (Greek)
= “messiah” (Hebrew)
= “anointed”
= “appointed”
Looking again at Exodus 29:7, especially about the oil, we read something of its purpose and symbolism in the following chapter. READ Exodus 30:22-26 …29-31 for sanctifying, setting apart.
Note also that, in the instructions on how to make the items of the tabernacle, the item for washing comes first (bronze laver – v.17-21), and then is immediately followed by the holy anointing oil (v.22-33). This is carried out in Leviticus 8:1,2a … 6 (washed) … 12 (oil). Washing and then anointing - that was the designated order for the priesthood and the items of the tabernacle.
It was also the designated order in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ before He commenced His public ministry; this was the order and process so as to "fulfil all righteousness"; i.e. to do what was right and fitting (Matthew 3:15). Amongst other things, Christ’s symbolic washing and subsequent anointing by the Spirit was to fulfil what was required of a priest, who was a mediator of sorts between God and man. Specifically in Hebrews, Christ is often referred to as the High Priest. This is one reason He was qualified to enter the Most Holy Place of God's greater tabernacle, with His own blood (cp. Hebrews 9:11,12).
Summary
So .. again, there’s more to the Lord’s baptism, but there are at least two things happening with the Holy Spirit’s descent upon Christ at His baptism:
(1) The exact identity of the promised Messiah was revealed to John, who could then bear witness to Him. He now knew it was this Jesus of Nazareth who would fulfil that role.
(2) The Lord’s baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit was, among other things, a preparation for His ministry as the High Priest who would shed His own blood and offer it up as a pure sacrifice on behalf of His people.
The Lord's baptism marks a significant turning point regarding the activity of the Holy Spirit. It’s after this event of the Spirit descending upon the Lord Jesus, that He begins His earthly ministry, and it’s then that we start to read of extraordinary things brought about by the Holy Spirit being upon Him.
In the previous study, we considered a number of OT prophecies, especially from Isaiah, which prophesied of the Holy Spirit’s role in the Gospel period. Most of these prophesied that the Holy Spirit would come upon the promised Messiah, both during His first advent, and also when He comes a second time to establish His future kingdom. We saw how portions of those prophecies were indeed fulfilled in the life of Christ during His earthly ministry.
This study, we will continue to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels. God's Spirit came upon the Lord Jesus at His baptism, so this week we’re going to take a closer look at that particular event.
Matthew 3 describes how John was baptizing, and then how the Lord Himself was baptized. There’s quite a few threads which are brought together in this passage, and in these events, and we won’t go through them all tonight, as that would take four or five studies. Rather, we’ll restrict ourselves to the events which include the Holy Spirit coming upon the Lord.
Let’s READ Matthew 3:1-6 to get the context.
Apart from performing a ceremony invloving water, John the Baptist’s primary ministry was that of preaching, and his messages to the people were: "repent”, "be baptized", "kingdom is near".
In a moment we’re going to read about the Lord being baptized by John. Often it is said that a person should be baptized because it is following Christ’s example. We will see that this is impossible for us to do.
The Baptism and the Spirit
Now let’s READ Matthew 3:13-17
v.16 – After the baptism, the Spirit descends upon the Lord – this is the focus of our study tonight.
Now, Christ was sinless and had no need to repent of anything. John recognised His greatness, yet notice the Lord's insistence that His baptism was necessary in order "to fulfil all righteousness" (v.15); to do all the things it was right to do. Being baptized was one of the "right" things that had to happen. But why be baptized, and how was this fulfilling all righteousness?
Two Reasons for the Lord's Baptism
At least two things are happening here in terms of the coming of the Spirit upon the Lord. Let's deal with the easier of the two first.
(1) READ John 1:29-34, which takes place some time after the Lord’s baptism, almost certainly after He had spent 40 days in the wilderness.
One reason for the Lord being baptized was so that the exact identity of the promised Messiah would be revealed to John, in order that he could bear witness about Him. As a result of observing that the Spirit had descended AND THEN REMAINED UPON HIM, John now knew that the promised Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth.
READ John 1:6-8 … 14,15
READ John 3:28…30 - "he must increase, but I must decrease". Soon after this, John was thrown in prison and his own role really did decrease from this point onwards.
So, that was one reason why the Lord was baptized: in order that the exact identity of the promised Christ would be revealed to John. John now knew that the promised Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth, and could bear witness about Him to others.
(2) The second reason is a little more complex. The Lord was baptized in order to do what was required of Him in His role as High Priest. It's a little complex, but let's read a number of passages, to get a sense of what else is happening here at Christ’s baptism regarding the role He was to play as the High Priest.
A lot of side issues will be touched upon in these verses, but let’s focus on the issue at hand. We won't stop and pore over every detail, but just try to get a feel for what the High Priest did, and a sense of some ways in which Christ fulfilled that role.
READ Hebrews 9:6,7
v.7 - the high priest would eneter the holiest part of the sanctuary once a year to make sacrifices on behalf of the people.
v.11,12 - however, Christ enetered the holiest part of God's greater sanctuary only the ONCE, "having obtained eternal redemption".
In this passage, Christ is called a high priest (v.11). Some other passages make reference to Him in this role:
READ Hebrews 7:26-8:2
READ Hebrews 10:19-22a
Under the law given to Moses, a priest was a mediator between the people and God. The place of most of the priests' activity was the sanctuary (i.e. the temple/tabernacle). Priests could only minister if prepared correctly. Amongst other things, as part of their consecration, first they had to be washed, and then they had to be anointed with oil (a symbol of holiness) … always in that order.
This was also true of the High Priest - he had to be washed, and then he was anointed.
Instructions from the Law about the High Priest
READ Exodus 29:1a (Aaron – high priest, “to hallow as priests”)
v.4 washing
v.7 anointed with oil, symbolizing being set apart from uncleanness, and set unto God’s service.
v.9b consecrated – set apart
Notice the parallels with the event of the Lord Jesus' baptism. He was ceremonially washed (baptism - Matthew 3:16a), and then anointed with holiness (not oil, but the Holy Spirit - Matthew 3:16b).
Not coincidentally, Acts 4:27 refers to this Jesus specifically as being “anointed”. In fact, this is the real meeaning of the Hebrew word "Messiah" which crosses over into the Greek as "Christ" (literally "Christos"). We may view it a bit like this:
The name “Christ”
= christos (Greek)
= “messiah” (Hebrew)
= “anointed”
= “appointed”
Looking again at Exodus 29:7, especially about the oil, we read something of its purpose and symbolism in the following chapter. READ Exodus 30:22-26 …29-31 for sanctifying, setting apart.
Note also that, in the instructions on how to make the items of the tabernacle, the item for washing comes first (bronze laver – v.17-21), and then is immediately followed by the holy anointing oil (v.22-33). This is carried out in Leviticus 8:1,2a … 6 (washed) … 12 (oil). Washing and then anointing - that was the designated order for the priesthood and the items of the tabernacle.
It was also the designated order in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ before He commenced His public ministry; this was the order and process so as to "fulfil all righteousness"; i.e. to do what was right and fitting (Matthew 3:15). Amongst other things, Christ’s symbolic washing and subsequent anointing by the Spirit was to fulfil what was required of a priest, who was a mediator of sorts between God and man. Specifically in Hebrews, Christ is often referred to as the High Priest. This is one reason He was qualified to enter the Most Holy Place of God's greater tabernacle, with His own blood (cp. Hebrews 9:11,12).
Summary
So .. again, there’s more to the Lord’s baptism, but there are at least two things happening with the Holy Spirit’s descent upon Christ at His baptism:
(1) The exact identity of the promised Messiah was revealed to John, who could then bear witness to Him. He now knew it was this Jesus of Nazareth who would fulfil that role.
(2) The Lord’s baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit was, among other things, a preparation for His ministry as the High Priest who would shed His own blood and offer it up as a pure sacrifice on behalf of His people.
The Lord's baptism marks a significant turning point regarding the activity of the Holy Spirit. It’s after this event of the Spirit descending upon the Lord Jesus, that He begins His earthly ministry, and it’s then that we start to read of extraordinary things brought about by the Holy Spirit being upon Him.
