What on Earth is Jesus Doing? Part 2Matt 3:11-17: Jesus: Baptizer and BaptizedWe are continuing here a two-part series on Matt 3, in which we are beginning our investigation of the ministry of Jesus where it began—in the baptism performed by John. In part one, we set out the larger narrative in which John and Jesus found themselves and which enables us to understand their task on behalf of Israel (and through Israel for the world). We discovered that John was a prophet commissioned by Yhwh to bring an urgent message to Israel. The new exodus from slavery was on the near horizon, coupled with the terrible Day of the Lord. Repentance from sin was in order to escape the coming judgment and to participate in the reconstitution and renewal of Israel. To signify her re-birth, Israel was to pass through the waters of baptism, an action akin to Noah’s family’s deliverance from the flood and early Israel’s escape from Pharaoh and his army. In these cases, the water served as the vehicle for both destruction and liberation. As at the Red Sea, John’s repentance-baptism had the effect of separating the masses into two groups: those who opposed this new work of God and those who desired to participate. This preparatory work set the stage for the arrival of the coming one, whose activities we will now explore. OutlineA. Jesus as the Baptizer
B. Jesus as the Baptized
C. Reflections for Us Today _____________________________________ A. Jesus as the BaptizerA1. Who Jesus IsJohn realized that he was the prophet of the ‘last days’, preparing Israel for the coming judgment/restoration. But his task, though vital, was but preliminary. After him one was coming who would implement what John had announced. This one would inaugurate the Kingdom, bringing judgment on the unrepentant and liberation for the repentant. John proclaimed, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2) and spoke of “he who is coming after me…” (Matt 3:11). What kind of figure, in what kind of role, would be the bringer of the Kingdom? Indeed, the king.
In Old Testament (OT) expectation, God was to mediate his Kingdom through a loyal human king, in the pattern of David—hence the longing for the ‘son of David’ to establish God’s Kingdom. And Matthew has made it clear at the outset of his narrative that Jesus is the very king that Israel was expecting. His opening line gives Jesus the title ‘son of David’ (1:1; cf. also 2:2). During the first century AD, the expected king was referred to as ‘the messiah’. Messiah is a term that simply means ‘anointed’. The coming king was to be anointed by God for his position, just as David was anointed as Israel’s king with oil and with the Spirit of God, setting him apart and equipping him for this divinely-appointed role (cf. 1 Sam 16:13). The Greek word for ‘the anointed one’ is ‘Christ’, a royal title (not a last name) which Matthew ascribes frequently to Jesus (Matt 1:1,16-18; etc).
The coming king was to bring in the final age for his people. These ‘last days’ are described in the world of biblical studies as the eschatological age, where ‘eschaton’ means ‘last’, as this was the last age of restoration that formed the heart of Israel’s hopes. Speaking of this messiah, John explains, “He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will plunge [baptize, immerse] you in the Spirit of holiness and in fire” (Matt 3:11). Who was it that carried another’s sandals? This was the slave’s task. Yet John the prophet felt that even being the king’s slave was far too dignified a role for him. Not only is the coming one worthy, he also is mighty. Only a mighty king could liberate captive Israel from the strong grip of evil from which she was unable to extricate herself (cf. Matt 12:28-29). This powerful baptism would accomplish the transformative renewal of Israel that John’s baptism could only prepare for. “I plunge you into water for repentance,” John says, “but he who is coming after me is mightier than I…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matt 3:11).
A2. What Jesus DoesJesus was to baptize Israel in holiness and fire. What does this mean? To understand Jesus as baptizer, we first will unpack John’s explanatory metaphor, then cite a couple images from the OT that anticipated this purging separation that Jesus was to perform. a. John’s Explanatory Metaphor “He will immerse you (plural; that is, Israel collectively) into the spirit of holiness and fire” (Matt 3:11). John is quick to explain this baptism with a metaphor from the lived experience of his audience in that day. John’s agricultural metaphor of separation was as familiar to them as a story of cracking peanuts at a baseball game would be to us—the nuts are eaten while the shells are discarded. “His winnowing shovel [often translated fork] is in his hand, and he will clear the threshing floor and gather the wheat into the barn, but the stubble [often mistranslated as chaff] he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Matt 3:12).
Harvested wheat included different elements: grain, stubble, stems, straw, and chaff. Farmers in the ancient Near East would recover edible grain from the harvested wheat through a standard series of steps. After crushing the wheat by a process called threshing, the farmer would separate the various components from each other by a process called winnowing. Using a wooden threshing fork the wheat was tossed into the air where the blowing wind would divide the components according to their respective weight (and value). The heavier grain would fall to the ground nearest the winnower, whereas the lighter stubble, straw, and stems would be carried by the wind a little further away. The very light chaff would be blown away altogether (cf. Psalm 1:4 for a similar use of this metaphor). After the process of winnowing, roughly two piles would have been grouped on the threshing floor: the grain and the stubble. The farmer would then employ a threshing shovel (in appearance like our wide, flat, light snow shovel) to move the products to their respective destinations—the stubble to the fire and the grain to storage.
How does this relate to the work of John and Jesus? John’s teaching and baptism had a winnowing effect on the nation, dividing two large groups from each other. After John performed the winnowing of Israel, Jesus found the nation relatively divided. The repentant were prepared for his arrival and welcomed into the Kingdom. Those who resisted John’s baptism also resisted Jesus’ gracious invitation. This group, by opting-out of the renewal of Israel, consigned themselves to the stubble group, which within a generation was to meet its fiery destruction.
John’s Use of Fire Imagery
Some think of this ‘baptism in fire’ as a beneficial activity for the repentant whereby they are cleansed from sin or maybe even empowered for service. Some equate this plunging into fire with the baptism in the Spirit of holiness, based on their reading of renewed Israel’s immersion in the Spirit. A cursory reading of Acts 2:1-4 might suggest this: “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they [Jewish followers of Israel’s messiah] were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” This passage is using the image of fire in a different way than John is. Notice in Acts that they are not plunged into fire, but are immersed into the Spirit from heaven. During this baptism they each see something that has a fire-like appearance (“as of fire”).
John, however, uses the image of fire in quite a different way. In his teaching the fire is not something good to be welcomed, but is something awful to be avoided, for his imagery points to destruction and consuming judgment. Working within the immediate context of John’s proclamation we find two uses of fire that should govern our understanding of how John here uses this image. “Every tree therefore that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matt 3:10). “…but the stubble he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Matt 3:12; an allusion to Isaiah 66:24, which describes the death of rebels, shut out from the renewed heavens and earth). Since fire in verse 10 destroys the fruitless and fire in verse 12 destroys the stubble, it seems reasonable to assume that fire in verse 11 serves a similar function to a similar group of people. Context is the best guide to interpretation.
Confirming our interpretation of John’s ‘fire baptism’ is the theme of separation that characterizes this passage. The explanatory metaphor refers to two disparate groups with quite different ends. “His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear the threshing floor and gather the wheat into the barn, but the stubble he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Matt 3:12).
With this analogy as our guide, we can understand Jesus’ baptism of Israel as follows: Those Jesus will immerse in the Spirit are analogous to the wheat waiting to be stored, the fruit-bearing ones, the repentant within Israel who, “confessing their sins,” were baptized by John. Those who will be baptized in fire are analogous to the stubble waiting to be burned, the presumptuous ones who failed to bear fruit, those who declined John’s baptism and refused to confess their sins and turn back to God.
b. OT Anticipations of Israel’s Eventual Reconstitution So much of what transpires in the work of John and Jesus is but the outworking of long-held expectations developed from the Scriptures of Israel. Isaiah had anticipated the purging and separation of the nation when God came to set things right. Notice the two groups and their respective fates as described here in Isaiah 4:2-4. The faithful will be made holy, set apart and empowered for God’s saving purposes: “In that day…the survivors in Israel … will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem.” But the rebels will be cleared away by fire: “…when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.” Jesus’ one baptism of Israel will accomplish both the judgment and restoration of Israel.
In Malachi 4:1-2, Israel’s reconstitution is again anticipated. There will be wrath for the stiff-necked rebel: “Count on it: The Day is coming, raging like a forest fire. All the arrogant among my people who do evil things will be burned up like stove wood, nothing left but scorched earth and ash—a black Day.” But there will be mercy for the repentant. For the humble and faithful, sunrise! “The sun of righteousness will dawn on those who honor my name, healing radiating from its wings. You will be bursting with energy, like colts frisky and frolicking.”
c. Locating this Baptism in God’s Unfolding Story 1. Plunged into the Spirit that Makes Holy
Israel’s pattern of recurrent disloyalty had made it clear that the problem with the nation was one of character and capacity. She needed a renovation of the heart, wrought by God himself, that would enable a whole new way of living. It was this re-creation of his people at their core that formed the essence of the renewed covenant anticipated by the prophets. Listen to God's promise in Ezekiel:
Being re-created by the Spirit and empowered to live faithfully characterized God’s holy people in the age to come. In this regard, the Spirit that will transform Israel is best described as a Spirit of holiness, not just because this Spirit comes from God, the Holy One, but also because this Spirit causes holiness. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit that makes people holy, separated for God’s purposes from the unholy world that it is called to infiltrate and bless (for more on this distinctive kind of holiness, see our discussion of "holy intermediaries" in Exodus 19). It was this very Spirit, anticipated by Ezekiel, that Jesus himself promised to bestow on the newly reconfigured Israel that gathered around him. “After I go to my Father, I will send you the Spirit” (repeated in various ways throughout John 14-16).
Then, after his bodily resurrection, just prior to his ascension, Jesus specified the timing and location of the Holy Spirit’s arrival. Note how he links this infusion of the Spirit with the words of John the Baptizer that we have been studying. “And while staying with them Jesus ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the ‘Spirit that makes holy’ not many days from now’’” (Acts 1:4-5). These will be the days promised by the prophets of old, the days when the Spirit brings new life, new power, to make a new people for God. “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place….And they were all filled with the Spirit of holiness and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1,4). Peter, a disciple of Jesus who experienced this outpouring, described it as the fulfillment of ancient promises: “But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…” (Acts 2:16,17).
Since that day, the age of the Spirit has broken into human history—heaven has begun its transformation of earth. All who have embraced Jesus find themselves in company with the group at Pentecost, as those immersed in the Spirit that brings holiness. In the book of Acts and the New Testament (NT) letters we learn of the many things bestowed on God’s new Israel, the church, through the Holy Spirit: New life from above, a God-honoring character, an understanding of truth, wisdom for daily living, gifts for service, unity among the one people of God, strength for witness, power for obedience, power for endurance, and so much more…
2. Plunged into the Fire of Destruction
Jesus brought to the Israel of his day not only the Spirit but the fire. How would Israel in the first century AD have understood the warning of coming judgment and imminent destruction? Throughout the OT, judgment on the rebellious people of God involved the forfeiture of the Lord’s protective presence and the loss of blessings that attended covenant faithfulness (for more on this "relational dynamic" between God and his people, see our OT overview, part 1). Oppressive foreign powers often served as the agents of God’s wrath, bringing a tragic reversal of fortunes to Israel (cf. Deut 28:15-68 for the classic description of the curses associated with unfaithfulness). When John and Jesus warned Israel of the fiery judgment on the arrogant and the unmerciful within Israel, it was this kind of socio-political, military oppression the people would envision. These two prophets issued the classic warning that Israel’s waywardness was taking her headlong to destruction. The only way off this broad road was to follow Jesus along the narrow path of obedience that led to ‘eternal life’, understood in that day as ‘the life of the age to come’ (cf. Matt 7:13-14).
Jesus made it clear that the final collapse of apostate Israel would come by the hand of Rome through bloody swords and collapsing masonry.
Jesus exhorted his disciples to flee the coming catastrophe.
The baptism of fire is on its way. The only means of escape is to align with Jesus by doing as he bids.
O the grace of God that provides an open door for the wayward to return safely to his bountiful care (cf. the parable of the welcoming father, Luke 15:11-32).
B. Jesus as the BaptizedAs we have seen in Matt 3:11-12, Jesus was God’s agent who was to perform the definitive baptism on the first-century nation of Israel. Closely linked with his role as the baptizer, Matthew tells us, is his role as the baptized. Turning to verse 13 and following, we will examine the baptism that Jesus himself underwent, looking, in order, at John’s objection, Jesus’ explanation, the Spirit’s anointing, and the Father’s affirmation. 1. John’s Objection
I can imagine John’s reasoning: “Hey, I’m just the messenger. Compared to you, Jesus, I’m nothing. Why, I’m not even fit to be your sandal-carrying servant. I only immerse Israel into water. You, on the other hand, are Yhwh’s final prophet to Israel, the bringer of the Day of the Lord. I’m just the forerunner, but you are the anticipated king, bringing God’s Kingdom from heaven to earth. My baptism only signifies cleansing, whereas yours will really cleanse the heart. You are purifying Israel, clearing out the stubble, and gathering the wheat to yourself. Who here should be baptizing whom? I need your baptism, and can’t see any reason why you’d need mine!”
2. Jesus’ ExplanationJesus replies by explaining why it was necessary for him to undergo John’s baptism. He overcomes John’s objection by saying, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” What might he mean by this statement? As we saw when trying to unravel the meaning of ‘fire’, it’s wise to let the literary context guide our interpretation. So let’s see how the terms ‘righteousness’ and ‘fulfill’ are used within Matthew’s narrative. Righteousness
"Righteousness" in this gospel refers to one’s moral and social conduct seen in relation to God’s requirements for his people. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 6:1). The adjective ‘righteous’ can be used favorably to describe those whose compassion for needy people reflects that of their Father and meets with his good pleasure. In the parable of judgment that divides Israel into ‘the sheep’ and ‘the goats’ (which, in fact, describes the climax of Jesus’ work of separating Israel), Jesus calls those who served the least of his family ‘the righteous’ and provides them with the life of the coming age, that is, eternal life (cf. Matt 25:31-46). When Jesus speaks of ‘fulfilling righteousness’ he may well be referring to conduct that is required of him and John by his Father, something that they have been called to do.
Fulfill
"Fulfill" is used throughout Matthew’s narrative in reference to OT expectation. It means bringing to pass something that was anticipated earlier in the biblical story but not yet realized. A vignette Matthew records from Jesus’ childhood will illustrate this concept of fulfillment and introduce us to the idea of Jesus as the embodiment of ideal Israel.
Who is God's Son?
The son originally called by God out of Egypt was the nation Israel in the second millennium BC. The son in the ancient Near East was expected to reflect the Father’s character, obey his word, and further his interests. God’s first son, the nation Israel, failed his vocation. “I had sons and raised them well, and they turned on me. The ox knows who’s boss, the mule knows the hand that feeds him, but not Israel. My people don’t know up from down…” (Isa 1:2-3). Inherent in this eschatological expectation (eschatological means looking forward to the fulfillment of God’s OT promises in the ‘last days’) that we have been exploring was the longing for a new son of God that would live up to his calling to be a faithful representative of his Father. To hope for a true son is to hope for a true Israel. For Matthew to tell us that Jesus “fulfills” the word of the ‘son’ in Hosea is to tell us that Jesus brings to life an unfulfilled expectation. Ever since the call of Abraham and Sarah in Gen 12, we see God working with his children to encourage their faithfulness. He provides for them, instructs them, disciplines them, forgives them, and rescues them. Despite his generous efforts, the nation as ‘God’s son’ failed to respond faithfully to him as Father.
But Israel in general is not the only OT son of God. The ascription ‘son of God’ also is given the king of Israel (cf. 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Psalm 2:6-7). As the leader and representative of the people, the king was to embody what was required of the nation. But just as the people at large failed to live as obedient sons of God, so too the many kings of Israel. Because David came the closest to being a faithful son, he became the pattern for a future faithful king—hence, the longing for a ‘son of David’, who would serve as the true son of God. Yet overall, after experiencing failure after failure after failure throughout Israel’s long history, the frustration continued to mount with the incorrigible sons of God and the expectation continued to rise for an obedient son. Then, finally, at the climax of Israel’s history, Jesus steps onto the stage and takes to himself this role that had never yet been adequately filled.
Jesus as the Embodiment of Israel
How are we readers of Matthew to know that Jesus is serving as Israel incarnate, taking on the responsibilities of Israel, God’s son? Matthew uses this concept of ‘fulfillment’ of unmet OT expectation to show us that Jesus is the long-awaited faithful son. When Jesus was taken out of Egypt, Matthew tells us “this was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’” (Matt 2:13-15). In this context, fulfill means bringing to pass something earlier in the biblical story that was anticipated but not yet realized historically. The thing anticipated earlier in the narrative was a faithful son through whom God could accomplish his will in the world. By taking on the role of Israel, the son of God, and by doing it as it was meant to have been done, Jesus fulfills this assignment from God, and thereby fulfills the righteousness that the former son of God (the OT nation of Israel) failed to do.
Matthew lays out his narrative in such a way that Jesus’ role as the righteous son of God, the embodiment of Israel, is portrayed by having him re-live (that is, recapitulate) Israel’s key experiences. The first Israel came out of Egypt, passed through the waters, was led by God into the wilderness, and endured trial and temptation for 40 years. Following this pattern, Jesus, the embodiment of Israel, also came out of Egypt (Matt 2:15), passed through the waters (Matt 3:13-17), was led by God into the wilderness, and endured trial and temptation for 40 days (Matt 4:1-11), akin to Israel’s forty years. By drawing these parallels so explicitly between the two sons of God, Matthew allows us to appreciate how much more faithful Jesus was to his calling than the first son. In fact, to alert the reader that Jesus is to be understood in the light of ancient Israel, Matthew opens his story by claiming that Jesus is the son of David and the son of Abraham (1:1). By calling Jesus the son of David, Matthew tells us he is functioning as the long-awaited faithful king. By calling him the son of Abraham, Matthew tells us Jesus is serving as the quintessential Israelite, the embodiment of what Israel was called to be and called to do. Both the son of David and sons of Abraham were considered the sons of God in the OT. In both cases Jesus will prove himself the truest son of God, and thereby comply with what God had required of him, which is just another way of saying that Jesus is “fulfilling all righteousness.”
His Two Tasks
How can we relate what we’ve learned about Jesus as the embodiment of Israel to his participation in John’s baptism? We proposed in the first lecture that baptism signified for Israel her acceptance of “destruction deserved, and deliverance sought.” It was this combination of destruction and deliverance that was so well articulated by the Red Sea baptism, in which all opposition to God was drowned and the participants in God’s mighty rescue were brought through and out the other side to a new life of liberty, vindicated as God’s own children. It is not hard to hear these overtones from Exodus in John’s baptism of Israelites eager to drown their opposition and partake in the renewal of Israel.
If Jesus has come to assume the role of Israel, he will be taking onto himself not just (1) the responsibilities she failed to perform, but also (2) the liabilities she acquired along the way. Only in this way can Jesus, the true king, rescue his people from their sins. He must step into the shoes of the unfaithful (and walk in their sandals) if he is to liberate them from their predicament. And at this point in history, the people he has come to rescue stand under judgment for centuries of covenant disloyalty. In order to save his people from sin’s stranglehold, the king will step into their shoes, assume their place of liability in the drama, taking their consequences onto his shoulders, even if it leads to his death. By this means he will spare the repentant from destruction in the flood and the fire. And, by living a life of love to God and others, he also will discharge the responsibilities inherent in being the embodiment of Israel, and thereby secure the Father’s good pleasure, gaining life for himself and for those who have entrusted themselves to him. As the faithful son of God, in his own right, he would not need John’s baptism, for he had no sins to confess, no waywardness to repent of. But, in solidarity with the people he has come to rescue, he will undergo the baptism required of them.
Only in this way will he accomplish the vocation bound up in his name ‘Jesus’. Matthew tells us early on exactly what Jesus has come to accomplish. Matthew does so by explaining the meaning of his name. “You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). ‘Jesus,’ the name, means ‘Yhwh rescues.’ In order to rescue his people, Jesus must meet them in their plight, link arms with them, and lead them through the waters of judgment and out to restoration. In this way, as God’s agent of deliverance, he will demonstrate that God indeed is with us, at our side, the fulfillment of Isaiah’s Emmanuel (cf. Matt 1:22).
Connecting the Two Baptisms of Jesus
How are we to connect the two baptisms in this narrative, the baptism Jesus undergoes as the embodiment of Israel and the baptism of fire and holiness he provides for Israel? The baptism in water that Jesus underwent was but a picture of the greater baptism he would undergo several years later for Israel. “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50). This baptism on a Roman crucifix immersed him into the venom that Rome inflicted on Israel, a baptism that also was the judgment of God on his rebellious sons. But the baptism Jesus poured on Israel is one of both fire and Spirit. In taking on the liability of Israel, he endured the baptism of fire. But in taking on the responsibilities of Israel, and in discharging faithfully the Father’s will, Jesus is accorded the fullness of blessing, the Spirit himself (as we will see below). It is as thought Jesus the baptizer is baptized with his own baptism. In this way, Jesus the rescuer provides just what his people need to be saved from their sins. For their unfaithfulness to God, they faced a judgment they could not survive. In this regard, they needed deliverance from the consequences of wrongdoing. For the faithfulness they owed God, but could not produce, they needed a Spirit of holiness (as Ezekiel recognized). In this regard, they needed deliverance from the captivity to sin. Jesus meets both those needs, saving us from our captivity to sin and providing the Spirit to enable us to walk worthy of the Lord.
Paul articulates this well, “God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:3-4). What a beautiful description of the work of Jesus on our behalf: our sins have been condemned, thanks to his coming in our likeness and standing in our place. And, so that we might fulfill in our lives the righteousness required by the Law, Jesus has baptized us in the Spirit. In Jesus Yhwh rescues!
3. The Father Anoints Jesus with the Spirit
What happened here? Jesus’ assignment from his Father was to identity with the nation of Israel, take on her liability, take on her responsibility, and thereby liberate her from sin’s bondage and equip her for her mission to the world. With the baptism in the Jordan River he inaugurated his ministry ‘as Israel’ ‘for Israel’ and confirmed his commitment to the Father’s will. However difficult it would be to fulfill his divine calling, Jesus was willing to do it.
How does the Father respond? The Father is delighted. He endows Jesus with his own Spirit, anointing him for his role as servant-king (akin to David’s anointing, 1 Sam 16:13), and equipping him for the harrowing task ahead. We noted above that both "Israels" (the nation and her king, Jesus) have come out of Egypt, were taken through the waters, were attended by the Spirit, and were led into the wilderness. The first son, however, proved unfaithful. As Isaiah reiterates the story of ancient Israel, listen for those elements that Matthew has picked up and included in his telling of ‘the Jesus story’.
Jesus is re-enacting (recapitulating) the history of his people Israel, but doing so as a faithful son. Notice that in Isaiah’s telling of the salvation of Israel (above) Yhwh joins his people in the midst of their troubles and carries them through. This is the very thing he does when he comes among us in the person of Jesus. “In all their affliction he was afflicted… in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.” Hallelujah! What a Savior! Heaven is the dimension of reality where God dwells, the realm where God is honored, where he rules without rival, where his will is done without hesitation (cf. the pattern prayer Jesus gives us in Matt 6:9-13). Ancient Israel hoped for the day when the veil between heaven and earth would be torn, so that the realities of heaven would invade the earthly dimension and in so doing transform the world. Listen to the cry of Isaiah:
Matthew tells us that with the coming of Jesus, the veil has been torn; God from heaven is coming down to earth to rescue his people. “The heavens were opened to him and the Spirit of God descended and rested on him” (Matt 3:16). This must be the day of deliverance, the beginning of the remaking of earth.
4. The Father Affirms Jesus’ Role as Israel’s Servant-KingAs we have noted, Jesus is the Israel with whom God is delighted. After his baptism, the Father voices his affirmation: “…and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (Matt 3:16-17). Having seen the rich use of OT language and motifs in this gospel narrative, we should not be surprised that God’s words about Jesus echo earlier Scripture. In fact, God’s affirmation of Jesus cites two OT texts that became foundational for Jesus in understanding his role as Israel’s servant-king. Yhwh, in Psalm 2, is speaking to the rebellious among the nations: “As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” The king then describes his enthronement: “I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have begotten you’” (Psalm 2:6-7).
In citing this text, the Father announces at the baptism that Jesus is the king that he has anointed and enthroned. But Jesus is not a king like other kings, who are prone to abuse their royal prerogatives to indulge their pleasures and exploit those under their charge. The history of Israel is replete this kind of self-serving corruption of the throne. That Matthew has self-exalting and oppressive kings as the backdrop against which he contrasts the reign of Jesus is evident from the bulk of chapter two, which recounts the terror of Herod, “the king of the Jews” (cf. Matt 2:1-18). But Jesus is not that kind of king.
The text the Father quotes from Psalm 2 is linked in Matt 3:17 with a word from Isaiah 42, which speaks of the humble servant of the Lord, a role designated here for the nation Israel. But since the nation failed to live up to its role as Yhwh’s servant, Jesus adopts this role, as well, taking this task onto his shoulders. Yhwh, speaking of Israel his servant-son, says:
We are informed that Jesus is this very “servant of the Lord” described by Isaiah, because the Father says that he was “well-pleased” with Jesus, and because the Father endows him with “my Spirit”, both elements that describe the servant in Isaiah 42. To make the identification of Jesus as this servant unmistakable, Matthew cites Isaiah 42:1-3 in full further on in the gospel narrative, explaining to us that the activity of Jesus “was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah” (Matt 12:17).
Later in Isaiah we learn more of this servant of the Lord. In chapter 49 Isaiah realizes that only a portion of the nation is fit for the servant’s role, and, as servant, [1] will restore the unfaithful portion of the nation to God, and then, with the nation restored, [2] will extend Yhwh’s blessing to all the Gentile nations, as was promised to Abraham. “And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’ And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him…he says: ‘It is too light a thing that [1] you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; [2] I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth’” (Isaiah 49:1-13).
Here we find a summary of the work that God has been doing in the world since the baptism of Jesus. God recovered a portion of ethnic Israel to himself, reconfigured around his Messiah. Those Jews in the first century who entrusted themselves to Jesus constituted the hub of the new Israel. Since the days of the first apostles, Gentiles have been incorporated into this messianic community on equal footing with their Jewish brothers and sisters. In this way, Jesus and his ever enlarging community of followers serve “as a light for the nations.” We Gentiles who have been baptized in ‘the Spirit who makes holy’ participate in this expansion of God’s salvation “to the end of the earth.” His Kingdom comes!
In sumWhat on earth is Jesus doing?
Jesus’ activities on Israel’s behalf are best seen in light of the work of his forerunner. John has come proclaiming the arrival of the long-awaited Kingdom, when God was to overthrow his enemies and vindicate his faithful subjects. In preparation for the Day of the Lord, John warns the people that the presumptuous and unrepentant will be cleared out. He summons Israel to turn away from her disloyalties and return to God. Those who signify their renewed allegiance to the Lord by John’s repentance-baptism will be counted among the reconstituted people of God when the blessed Kingdom arrives.
“A mighty one is coming,” John says, “who will immerse the rebels within Israel in a consuming fire and baptize the faithful with the Spirit of holiness.” Jesus, whose name means “Yhwh rescues,” comes not as an oppressive king, but as a servant-king. As the embodiment of Israel, Jesus assumes her liabilities and discharges her duties, leading the way through the judgment onto vindication for those who will follow. By undergoing John’s baptism ‘as Israel’ and ‘for Israel’ Jesus “fulfills all righteousness”, bringing to historical expression the long-unfulfilled expectations for a faithful son of God, a true king. At last, the heavens are opened, the Spirit descends, and the Father is well-pleased. With this man as God’s appointed king, the time is ripe for Israel’s restoration, and for God’s salvation to extend to the ends of the earth. Expect great and wonderful things in the following chapters of Matthew’s narrative as we watch Jesus the anointed bring the heavenly Kingdom to earth. Amen.
C. Closing Reflections for Us Today1. What do we learn about God?A. He pursues the wayward. In the words of the OT prophets we hear the anguished cry of God whose compassionate heart is broken for his wayward people. Though ancient Israel seems eager to throw off God’s beneficent care, and to hasten to her own self-imposed destruction, the Lord refuses to let his children go so easily. Over and over again, he sends them prophets to remind them of his goodness and to summon them to turn around, to repent. Jesus is not the first prophet God sent to Israel in order to call her back to her senses. But he was the last (cf. Matt 21:33-46). B. He stands by his purpose of transforming the world. Early in the biblical narrative God promised that he would overcome the curse wrought by the rebellion of Adam and Eve and that he would see to it that his goodness won the day. This resolution for restoration, first articulated in Gen 12 to Abraham, appeared to have been thwarted when his people, who were called to be part of the solution, become part of the problem. But God will stand by his purpose. In faithfulness to his gracious intentions he insures that he will have a faithful son who will bring his designs to pass, even if he must send his own Son from heaven to fill that role on earth. By helping ‘wayward Israel’ function again as ‘faithful Israel’, Jesus guaranteed that God’s saving (salvific) plans would not be forestalled. In Messiah, God “has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his merciful promises, which he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever” (Luke 1:54-55, from Mary’s song of praise). Paul concurs: “Messiah became a servant to the circumcised [ancient Israel] to demonstrate the covenant faithfulness of God, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob], that the Gentiles too might glorify God for his mercy” (Rom 15:8-9). Neither sin nor Satan can derail the sure and certain purpose of God to reclaim this earth and restore in it his just and peaceful reign. Hallelujah! C. He comes to our side to help us. Our God is not a distant, disgruntled landlord who peers down with disdain at us from afar. No, the Scriptures show his intimate, caring involvement with his people. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2). Though we pass through the waters that might drown us and the fire that might consume us, he is at our side, helping to preserve us. The comforting truth that God accompanies us is best seen in Jesus, who as Yhwh of old, was afflicted in all our affliction, undergoing the baptism at the waters and on the cross on our behalf. In this way, God “makes a way for us in the sea, a path through the mighty waters” (Isaiah 43:16). As “the pioneer of our salvation,” Jesus marched through our trials, endured our suffering, leading us out the other side, into his life, into his glory (cf. Heb 2:10-15). 2. What do we discover about Jesus?Understanding what on earth Jesus is doing is facilitated when his roles with Israel are appreciated. Jesus functions as the faithful son, assuming the responsibilities that our forefathers failed to accomplish. Jesus also takes on the liability of Israel, bearing the consequences of her sin, and breaking the bonds that held her. Jesus steps into the role of Israel’s king, the true son of David, serving as representative of his people. His role as king is linked to his assignment as the servant of God as described in Isaiah. Learning to see Jesus in his many historic roles gives us fresh insight into what the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) want to communicate through their narratives. By seeing Jesus through the eyes of these story-tellers, we will come to understand how the story of Jesus makes sense only as the continuation and climax of the greater story of Israel in the OT. Then we will see that the story of Jesus-as-Israel makes sense of the biggest story of all—what God is doing to recover the earth and its inhabitants to himself. Jesus came ‘as Israel’ ‘for Israel’ in order to function ‘as humanity’ ‘for humanity’ (cf. Paul’s discussion of Jesus as the true Adam in Rom 5:12-21). This larger plot links all the chapters from the Garden of Even to the renewal of the heavens and earth in the final chapters of Revelation. Grasping this comprehensive narrative helps us see where we fit and what roles we should assume to advance God’s story toward its intended consummation.
An excellent book that examines Jesus in his context as an intelligible first-century Jewish prophet (and more) is by Tom Wright: The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1999).
3. How should one respond to the gracious work of the Messiah on our behalf?For our unfaithfulness, we faced a judgment we could not survive. For the faithfulness we owe to God, we need a Spirit of holiness we do not possess. In Jesus we find to our delight that Yhwh rescues! In the messiah God absorbs our sin and replaces it with his Spirit. This is the wonder of the re-creation of humanity.
How does one respond to such mercy? Worship, adoration, delight, as well as humility, devotion, and obedience are all fitting responses to such embracing grace. Moses says it well: It is only fitting that we "serve the Lord our God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits we have received" (Deut 28:47). And a recipient of blessing can’t help but become an instrument of blessing, sharing with others what God has shared with us. This is what Paul means when he enjoins us to "imitate God" (Eph 5:1-2).
4. What do the threshing fork and shovel teach us?The restorative ministries of John and Jesus have, as a necessary attendant, an aspect of judgment, for not everyone welcomes the repentance and deliverance they offer. As threshing fork and shovel, John and Jesus end up dividing Israel into two camps. The poor-in-spirit, repentant, and obedient are gathered to the Father. The unrepentant, disobedient, and proud reject the invitation and opt-out of God’s gracious provision. John the apostle describes how God’s loving pursuit of the world’s salvation has the effect of separation.
5. What can we learn about our Christian baptism from John’s baptism of Jesus?We have seen that both Peter and Paul interpret Christian baptism as in some ways analogous to the baptisms at the Flood and the Exodus, respectively. Following their lead, we can draw some instructive parallels between John’s baptism of Jesus into the Jordan River and our baptism into Messiah (into Messiah himself—that’s an amazing concept!) John’s baptism of Jesus spoke of his union with Israel. Our Christian baptism speaks of our union with Christ. In the waters he signified that he was joining Israel and participating in her experiences. In the waters we signify that we are joining Jesus and participating in his experiences.
In being baptized “into Israel”, so to speak, Jesus participated in the liabilities of her sin and the responsibilities of her vocation. In being baptized “into Messiah”, we participate in the benefits of his experiences on our behalf and join him in his vocation. We participate in his death that liberated us from the consequences of sin and our captivity to sin. We share in his resurrection that endows us with new life and ‘the Spirit that makes holy.’ “He was delivered up [in death] for our trespasses, and was raised up [in resurrection] for our justification” (Rom 4:25). Paul explains how our baptism into Christ has clear-cut practical consequences. Listen to his words to our brothers and sisters in Rome: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4). The whole of Romans 6 explores this ‘newness of life’ and merits a fresh reading in light of what we’ve discovered from Matt 3.
Here's a little review of the topic we gave on the occasion of the baptism of one of our small group members.
6. The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.This was the central message of John (cf. Matt 3:2), as well as the message of Jesus (cf. Matt 4:17). With the advent of the king, the Kingdom has arrived, but not completely. Its fullness awaits “the new heavens and the new earth.” What is the Kingdom? In part, it is God’s dynamic, transforming reign, manifest among a growing number of his citizens, who together in community live by Kingdom principles. Later in the Matthew’s narrative, Jesus tells us we should pray that “his Kingdom comes” (Matt 6:9-10) and should “seek first the Kingdom” (6:33). What does it mean to pray for the Kingdom’s arrival? To grasp this prayer, it’s best to understand the whole prayer that Jesus gave us, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name…” (Matt 6:7-15). Toward this end, I recommend an insightful paperback by Darrell Johnson called Fifty-seven Words That Change the World: A Journey Through the Lord's Prayer (Vancouver, BC: Regent College Press, 2005). Darrell is former pastor of Glendale Presbyterian Church, CA, who currently serves as associate professor of pastoral theology at Regent College, Vancouver, BC. Attuned to the way Jesus would have been heard in his day, this user-friendly guidebook is rich in content and full of application. And Darrell’s love for God and others is evident in every chapter. May the Lord’s Kingdom continue to come, now in part, and one day in its fullness.
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