Come And See His Baptism

No single person has ever had the impact on humanity as that of Jesus Christ.

Without technology, political power, or military assets, Jesus altered the direction of history, living a perfect life and then becoming the perfect sacrifice for the sins that separate us from God. From Chicago, this is The Moody Church Hour, a weekly service of worship and teaching with Pastor Erwin Lutzer. Today we begin a series on Come and See Jesus, pictures of the Savior that teach us about His mission on earth. Later in our broadcast, Erwin Lutzer will speak on Come and See His Baptism. Pastor Lutzer comes now to open our service. We hope that you have come with hearts that are unified, hearts that have put aside all of the stresses of today and yesterday and of tomorrow so that we can concentrate in our worship of the Lord our God.

Our scripture reading today is going to be by Pastor Andrew Lindquist, our youth pastor, and you'll notice that we will have the opportunity also to participate. So let's pray together. Let's invite the blessed Holy Spirit of God who's been poured out upon His people to cause us to worship acceptably as we bring ourselves into His presence.

Would you join me as we pray and then we shall listen as the choir sings. Our Father, we ask today that your Holy Spirit might lead this service. We pray for a sense of renewal, for a sense of concentration, joy. Grant us, O God, hearts that are open to you, hearts that are worshipful. And we ask, O Lord God, that we shall accept the invitation to come and to praise the Lord. Grant that, O Lord, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Come praise the Lord with me, come praise the Lord. Early is he to be praised and adored.

Let us together his worries proclaim, Joining our voices to honor and display. To us the death he died, when he was crucified. Harder he did provide, harder he did provide. Oh, in a tomb he rained, death could not hold his grave. He tore the bars away, he tore the bars away.

Oh, in his body he carries the scars. He is alive, he can shout to the stars, shout to the stars. Someday, he's coming from heaven's right lawn. The leader's kingdom to plainness is home. Rowing in glory with banners of power. Oh, I shall see him through the world. Come praise the Lord with me, come praise the Lord. Come praise the Lord.

You can join me on the bold print and I will read the standard print. They will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty. And I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works. And I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. Come praise the Lord with me.

Then let your hands not match your skin through all eternity. I am the Lord of God, in all his hands and side. Praise to the death, his good will now come, in beauty and glory come.

The waves will make the sky, and through the air and sky. But now, there is no freedom, and this will be so prime. I am the Lord of God, whose I adore and praise. The world sings my praise to the Son, all those he gave to save. His glory's now received, who died and rose from death, who died in the light of death, when his death may come.

I am the Lord of God, in all his hands and side. But now, there is no freedom, and through the air and sky. But now, there is no freedom, and through the air and sky. But now, there is no freedom, and through the air and sky. But now, there is no freedom, and through the air and sky.

But now, there is no freedom, and through the air and sky. Amen! Hallelujah!

I think more than one of us should say something, right? How about Amen together? Amen! We're so grateful for all that's in this beautiful hymn. We're also grateful for scriptures which remind us of who God is, knowing him so well. I'll read this passage from Romans 6, 1 through 5. Listen to Romans. What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means. We died to sin.

How can we live in it any longer? Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Does that deserve an Amen?

I think so. Amen! If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. Let's sing together. All I once thought came, I have come and have lost.

Spent and worthless now compared to this. Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you, there is no greater thing. For I, all the plans were right by my righteousness, and I love you at all.

Now my heart's desire is to hold, to be found in you and always close. To cause as I did what I could not earn, a surpassing gift of righteousness. Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you, there is no greater thing. You're my all, you're the best, you're my joy, my righteousness, and I love you all. Oh, to know the love of your risen life and to know you in your sufferings. To be loved by you, may you live by love.

So loving you, you live and never die. Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you, there is no greater thing. You're my all, you're the best, you're my joy, my righteousness, and I love you all.

Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you, there is no greater thing. You're my all, you're the best, you're my joy, my righteousness, and I love you all. Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here. Come bow before him now with reverence and fear.

In him no sin is found, we stand on holy ground. Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here. Be still for the glory of the Lord is shining all around. He burns with holy fire, with splendor he is crowned.

How awesome is the sight, our radiant King applied. Be still for the glory of the Lord is shining all around. Be still for the power of the Lord is moving in this place. He comes to cleanse and leave to minister his grace.

No work too hard for him, in faith received from him. Be still for the power of the Lord is moving in this place. I'd like to tell you that in my own personal life, one of the things that God is teaching me is stillness. And as we were singing this chorus together, I'm reminded of the fact that we do have to be still and know that he is God.

If there's not a time in your life during your devotional time, or maybe you have signed up for that time of prayer on our prayer watch, if there's no time in your life for complete quietness before God, where you maybe recite a stance of a hymn or a passage of scripture, but allow God by his Spirit to point out things in your life that need to be confessed or issues that need to be given to God, I personally at this point don't know how you can make spiritual progress without it. Be still, we have just been singing, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place and anywhere he will move, where he is appreciated, yielded to, and worshiped. Let's join together as we pray. And our Father, today we want to thank you for your wondrous love to us. We thank you that you did not abandon us.

We thank you that your word does say, if God be for us, who can be against us. We thank you today, Father, that you are able to meet each individual need of those who are listening to this prayer. And you can do so according to your will with specificity, because some do need you today as a refuge in a time of storm.

Some need quietness, some need the assurance, Lord, that you care about them. Others, having gone through temptations this week, some have survived the temptation and become stronger as a result of it. Some have given in to temptation. And therefore, Father, we pray for cleansing. We thank you today that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And then, Lord, there are those who have decisions to make.

Young women wondering whether they should marry a specific man or the other way around, and all kinds of decisions regarding careers and futures, all of which are incredibly important. Father, in the name of Christ, help us to submit all those decisions to you and then abide by your decision. And we pray that you will lead us, make it plain, Lord God, we pray. And for those, Father, who have never known the warmth of the Father's heart, they've never received Christ as Savior, though they are good people, we pray today that you will help them to see the beauty of Jesus and why faith in Him is so critical. Our Father, this planet that you created is full of sin. It's full of pain.

It's full of brokenness. And we pray that you will help us to see our part in what you are doing in the world. Therefore, we pray for our missionaries. We pray for wherever the gospel is preached today. We pray that multitudes will believe it.

In Jesus' name, amen. I think it is a scandal beyond irony that the two ordinances that Jesus Christ gave to the Church, namely baptism and the Lord's Supper, which were intended to unite the Church, would be the ordinances that would so strongly divide the Church. Today we're speaking about baptism, specifically Jesus Christ's baptism. This is a series of messages entitled, Come and See Jesus. And we're going to be looking at various incidences in the life of Jesus Christ, particularly from the book of Matthew, so you can be reading the book and anticipating them, just picking and choosing some of the most important events in the life of our Lord.

And the purpose of today's message really is the purpose for the entire series, namely that we will appreciate Jesus Christ more, but specifically today, so that we might better understand and appreciate baptism. Matthew chapter 3 is the text, and I encourage you to turn there, third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, and we're going to pick it up at verse 13 in a moment, except to say that John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River. And in doing that, he was calling people to repentance. We read in chapter 3 verse 1, in those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And then he goes on to quote Isaiah, that I am in a voice crying in the wilderness, make way the name, the path of the Lord. What John was saying is this, Jesus is coming, the Messiah is coming, let's repent of our sins, and let us therefore indicate our repentance through our baptism, and let's get ready because Messiah is on his way. John the Baptist did not read Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. When the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to him, he said, you brood of snakes, you generation of vipers.

Wow. And I don't think he baptized them because he says, you have not brought forth fruits, meat for repentance. All right, then we get to verse 13, and Jesus makes the journey of maybe 50 or 60 miles, depending on where John was there at the Jordan River. But Jesus comes from Galilee to the southern part of the Jordan, so far as we know, and it is there where John is baptizing, and Jesus comes and says, John, baptize me. Have you ever been troubled at the baptism of Jesus? Have you ever read this and thought, my goodness, in context, it doesn't seem right that Jesus should be baptized. If you've ever thought that, I want you to know today that you're in very good company because that was John's problem too.

He didn't understand it either. He tried to prevent Jesus and said, no, you'll notice. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

So John was having a problem too. He's saying, you know, you could baptize me, but how can I baptize you? Interestingly, John did not baptize the Sadducees and the Pharisees that came to him.

He didn't do that because they were too wicked, and not because they were so wicked, but because they wouldn't repent. But now he doesn't want to baptize Jesus, but for the opposite reason. He knows that Jesus is the Messiah. Even though the two of them grew up independently, he has a good idea that Jesus is the Messiah. And so he knows that he's in the presence of divinity and humanity.

He knows that he's in the presence of a sinless Messiah. So he can't bear the thought of baptizing him. So if Jesus did not have to be baptized unto repentance, why then was Jesus baptized?

Two reasons that I hope will enlighten us today. First of all, Jesus was baptized to manifest who he was. To manifest who he was. You know, there's an interesting passage of scripture in Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21, where Jesus shows that he believed that John's authority came from heaven. They were pestering Jesus. By whose authority do you do these miracles?

By what authority do you teach? He answered them and said, I will also ask you one question. He says, if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John from where did it come?

From heaven or from man? And they discussed it among themselves, saying, if we say from heaven, he will say to us, why then did you not believe him? If we say from man, we are afraid of the crowd, for they hold, they all hold that John was a prophet. So they lied and they answered Jesus, we do not know.

And he said to them, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. They knew right well that John the Baptist was from God, but they wanted to hang onto their sins rather than confess them and forsake them. So Jesus is saying, the baptism of John was not something that John thought up. His authority came to him from heaven. And Jesus is saying, my authority comes from heaven, just like John's authority comes from heaven. But we know that the real reason why Jesus, one of the reasons why Jesus was indeed baptized was to reveal who he was, namely the Messiah, from John chapter 1. I want you to notice here in John chapter 1, John the Baptist is now giving his take on what happened. He's looking back in retrospect to this event, the baptism of Jesus. And he sees Jesus coming to him in verse 29 and says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And then he goes on in verse 31. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel. And John bore witness, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water, that's God. We could read, God who sent me to baptize with water said to me, he on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

And I've seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God. The baptism of Jesus was a public event. Wasn't just Jesus and John.

John was there, but there's no doubt that there was a crowd also that was there. And as they saw Jesus baptized, and if we were to read the rest of the text as we shall do in a moment, the heavens are opened and the Spirit of God descends like a dove upon Jesus. That was the sign, this is the Messiah. John in effect was saying now to the people, I'm the one who prepared you for the coming of the Messiah. And now the Messiah is baptized.

The heavens open, the heavens didn't open for anyone else. The dove comes, the voice says, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. This is the Messiah of whom I was speaking. First reason why Jesus was baptized was to reveal publicly now who he was. But there's a second reason why Jesus was baptized and that was to reveal his mission. And this gets to the heart of the text.

Notice it there. We're back in Matthew chapter 3 verse 13. John is saying I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me, verse 15. But Jesus answered him, let it be so now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

Pause there for a moment. Why that little word us in the middle of verse 15? Why didn't Jesus simply say it is fitting for me to fulfill all righteousness?

He says for us. Does he mean him and John? Is John the Baptist going to have a part in the fulfilling of the righteousness of God?

Of course not. To whom is Jesus referring by using the plural us? I believe that he's referring to the Trinity because the Trinity is present here.

We continue to read he consented. John did verse 16 and when Jesus was baptized immediately he went up from the water and behold the heavens were open to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold a voice from heaven said this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. The Trinity.

The sun is going down into the water. The heavens open when he comes up out of the water. The Holy Spirit is there descending like a dove upon him. And you have the voice of the Father giving his declaration that his son is beloved and greatly, greatly loved.

And so the Trinity is involved here and it is the Trinity that is going to fulfill all righteousness. And so Jesus here is baptized. Well you say well Pastor Lutzer that's all fine but what does baptism really mean?

Now we get to the nitty-gritty as we sometimes say. What does it mean? Well the Greek word baptism which is the word that is used here literally means to dip or to immerse sometimes to plunge. One writer used it of a ship that had gone down to the bottom of the lake. It was indeed baptized and it stayed baptized I'm sure. When Jesus was giving what we call today the Lord's Supper he said the one of you is going to betray me. One of you will betray me he said he it is to whom I will give the morsel after I have dipped it, after I have baptized it.

And in the 16th chapter of Luke's Gospel you remember you have the rich man and you have Lazarus who's on the other side and he says to Abraham the rich man does because in those days they were able to talk to one another though they were in separate compartments. You'll notice he says he says send Lazarus that he may dip his tongue that he may baptize rather send Lazarus that he may baptize his finger in water and touch my tongue because I'm tormented in this flame. Baptism means to immerse and so Jesus here was immersed. But the question still is how else is baptism used in the New Testament?

Another meaning is used metaphorically of going under. You go under in calamity you can be baptized. Sometimes we use this when we say he was really baptized with fire or he's getting baptized into his new job. What we mean is he's in the middle of the swirls and the pushes and the pulls and the difficulties and the trials that came with his vocation. Now I want you to notice in Mark chapter 10, Mark 10 Jesus speaks of his coming baptism and he's using the phrase here now metaphorically. You'll notice Mark chapter 10 verse 35. And James and John the sons of Zebedee came up to him and said teacher we want you to do for us whatever we ask you. I'm always amused by this passage for a number of reasons. By the way they came with their mother and there's some indication here that they were actually the cousins of Jesus if Salome and Mary were sisters.

And so they maybe thought you know there's nothing like being a relative even if it's a shirttail relative to get a perk. And then they come just like school kids do if I ask you for a favor will you do it? Well tell me what the favor is first thank you. Jesus will you do whatever we ask you? They didn't really understand the cross and this really shows you the human nature of these otherwise very good disciples. So they're coming to Jesus and you'll notice that they ask him this question what is it that you are going to do? He says that rather verse 36 Jesus asks what do you want me to do for you? And they said to him grant us to set one on your right hand and one on your left in glory. Now Jesus had promised them thrones in his kingdom but they're saying it's not enough for us to just get a throne. We want to be to your right and to your left.

I want to be the prime minister and over here this other guy wants to be the secretary of the treasury right next to where you are. And Jesus said you don't know what you're asking because you don't understand the cross. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or to be baptized with the baptism by which I am baptized? And here again it shows that they didn't know what they were talking about because they said to him we are able. You see Jesus knew that his suffering was going to be totally unique.

His suffering was going to be for the sins of the whole world. Nobody could participate with him in that kind of a baptism but there is a sense in which yes they could be baptized. Jesus does go on to say the cup that I drink you will drink and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized.

In a secondary sense they could do that. James later on was slain with the sword and John endured a great deal of persecution before he died. But to sit at my right hand or my left is not mine to grant it but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. And of course the other disciples heard about it and they were angry getting to Jesus before they had a chance to get to Jesus to ask for the same thing. But notice Jesus says I'm going to go through a baptism. And in order for us to understand the baptism of Matthew chapter 3 we have to understand the baptism that took place later.

He's talking about the cross. He's speaking about a baptism that he will be going through personally where he is going to be under the water of God's wrath bearing our sin. In the Old Testament being underwater meant being overrun by calamity.

For example it says in Psalm 69 verse 2, I sink in the deep mire where there is no foothold I have come into deep waters and the flood sweeps over me. So Jesus is saying that as he's being baptized by water in Matthew chapter 3 which is our text today. This baptism is a preview of the baptism that he is going to endure in the future when he is going to be crucified on a cross when he is going to be buried and when he is going to be resurrected to new life. That's what the baptism really refers to. And that's why the Bible never refers and connects baptism to birth. Baptism is always connected to death. Therefore when we give baptismal instruction here at The Moody Church we point out Romans chapter 6. Being buried with him in baptism unto death that like as Jesus Christ was raised from the dead so also you should walk in newness of life. That is the meaning of baptism.

It is to identify with Jesus in his death, in his burial, and in his resurrection. Very interestingly in Matthew chapter 3 the heavens do not open when Jesus is under the water. When Jesus was there dying on the cross the heavens were closed. It's after the resurrection that the heavens open and of course he was able to ascend into heaven sometime later. But there is no voice from heaven while Jesus is dying and overwhelmed by calamity.

The baptism, the baptism of his tremendous unbelievable suffering. And so Jesus comes up out of the water and when he comes up out of the water it is then that the heavens open. And just like the veil of the temple which was rent in two the heavens are ripped open you know I can imagine that saints in the Old Testament sometimes prayed, Oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down. Well God rends the heavens here he opens them and and it shows the proximity the nearness of Jesus Christ to heaven and heaven to Jesus Christ. And the rest of his life is going to be lived out in the presence so to speak of an open heaven. Just like our lives are lived out in the presence of an open heaven. And when Stephen was being stoned you remember he already began to see the heavens open and Jesus on the right hand of God reminding him again of the proximity. The proximity that there is to heaven. This week I spoke to some people all of whom had something in common they were all grieving.

They were grieving the death of a child that was their commonality. And how wonderful it is that for those who know the Savior heaven is very very near. And so Jesus goes down into the water signifying his death and then he comes up out of the water. When we baptize you here at The Moody Church if you ever notice carefully we always bring you up out of the water.

And there's a reason for that. If we left you in the water it would be an awesome picture of death and burial. An awesome picture of death and burial but it isn't the complete picture. You're supposed to recognize that with Jesus you are rising to newness of life and that's why we always bring you up. After you've gone down into the water and like I like to say we've not lost anyone yet in the baptistry.

Yet in the baptistry. So Jesus here receives now the Spirit. The Spirit comes like a dove. You remember in the Old Testament this world was baptized.

It was baptized in the flood of judgment. And yet the ark rested on a mountain and Noah sent out a raven and the raven didn't return because there were plenty of carcasses. And the raven was a kind of bird that loved carcasses so it was able to live. But the dove returned he sent it out again this time it came back with an olive branch. Signifying peace and Noah knew that the earth was beginning to dry up and then later on he sent out the dove and the dove never returned. Well we don't know what happened to that dove but we do know that as the blessed Holy Spirit of God came upon Jesus.

The dove being symbolic of purity of sensitivity just like the Spirit. He's sensitive to sin that's why we grieve him when we sin. The Spirit of God comes upon Jesus and anoints him now for the rest of his ministry. Then you have the voice of the Father speaking.

This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. God was giving his approval to the silent years of Jesus. Jesus your member was brought up in a home and we hear nothing about him after the age of 12 until his public ministry now. All kinds of theories have arisen as to what Jesus was doing. I was reading some apocryphal scriptures perhaps two weeks ago in which it was says that Jesus was using his power almost like a little Dennis the Menace to do foolish things.

Like he would make little clay pigeons and put them in his hand and then blow and the pigeons would come to life and they'd fly away. Shirley MacLaine says that during this period of time Jesus went to India to learn from the gurus there. You know could I just simply say this if you're not interested in facts talk is cheap talk is cheap. We know nothing about Jesus Christ's silent years. I have a friend who was going to write a dissertation on the silent years of Jesus and his professor says great idea then you don't have to write anything. All that we know is that the Father now says behold my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. There are several lessons that grow out of what we've said today as Jesus here was predicting his mission.

What he was saying is is that the baptism that I experienced in the Jordan River is symbolic of the baptism that I am going to have when I face the cross when I die and when I'm raised again. And so Jesus is prefiguring his mission. Lesson number one the entire Trinity is involved in our salvation. The whole Trinity is involved in our salvation. The Father sends the Son for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son.

The Son dies on the cross the the Son goes through that baptism that baptism and ends up being glorified as a result of it. And then the blessed Holy Spirit of God shows us our need and gives us the ability to believe and and draws us into the blessings that come to those who trust Christ. But the Trinity works together.

You don't have one person doing this independently of the other person. The beauty is despite the mystery the beauty is that the Trinity is involved in everything in creation and most assuredly in the new creation giving you a new heart and a new mind. And the Trinity is here let us fulfill righteousness.

There's a second lesson. And the second lesson is that our own baptism identifies us with the death the burial and the resurrection of Jesus. That's why Romans 6 as we quoted before is so significant. We are buried with him in baptism unto death that like as Christ was raised from the dead so also you should walk in newness of life. Couple of comments first clearly your baptism does not save you. Jesus did not bring salvation by being baptized in the Jordan River.

He brought salvation when he was being baptized on the cross in the tomb and then came out of the tomb and was raised. That's how our salvation was purchased. Listen up those of you who are baptized maybe as infants and you have this little certificate that you can't quite find but you could if you needed it. That said with this water we make you a child of God. Listen nobody has the ability to use water to make anybody a child of God. You have to understand that. You could be baptized so often that every fish in Lake Michigan would know your name.

Maybe I should change that. You could be baptized so often that both fish in Lake Michigan would know your name and still be eternally lost. It is not the water that somebody put on you it's not the water that you went under that is going to save you. It is the water that Jesus went under it is the baptism that he endured on the cross that saves us. The Bible says the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses us from all sin. How many sins therefore are left for water to take away?

You answer that question. But there are some of you God bless you. You're saved but you've never been baptized. Just imagine that now in the New Testament you didn't have that. I challenge you to read the book of Acts and find a believer who was saved who wasn't baptized. It always says and they believed and they were baptized why in the early church they understood. They understood that when you follow Jesus you want to be identified in his death his burial and his resurrection. And that's why the early church always used immersion sometimes pouring because of other circumstances.

And we can do that too for someone who for whatever reason physical reasons cannot go under the water. But why do you deny the privilege that Jesus gives us to be baptized? And therefore say I want to be identified with his death his burial and his resurrection.

There is a third and final lesson. Jesus died and now I'm talking about his baptism on the cross. Jesus died that the Father might be as pleased with us as he was with Christ. I want to say that again because it's so important and some of you are taking notes for which you will be especially honored in the day of judgment.

No pressure just tossing out all these interesting things. Jesus died that the Father might be as pleased with us as he was with Jesus his beloved son. Now you can read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and nowhere are we called beloved.

And the reason is because Jesus had not yet been baptized at the cross for us. But afterwards when you read the epistles it says in Ephesians chapter 1 that God has graced us in the beloved one. Paul the apostle talks about believers here's a quote now he says he says you are beloved to the Father. Beloved to the Father.

Why? Miserable wretched sinners beloved to the Father because we are accepted in Christ. What Jesus did in his baptism on the cross is so applied to us that God says I accept you as I accept him. That is the gospel. And therefore because of Jesus we can have that kind of acceptance. In the Old Testament sacrifices had to be approved. Oftentimes the process was done by priests it had to be an adequate sacrifice even though the sins of the Old Testament were not taken away by the sacrifices.

At least not permanently. But there had to be an approval process and what the Father does here. And what the Father does at the transfiguration and what the Father does just before the cross is to say in effect I approve of the sacrifice. Certainly the resurrection is the Father approving of Jesus as the sacrifice for those who believe in him. Could I ask you a question? I don't want to ask whether or not you're saved because you may answer that question too quickly.

I have a different one for you. Is there evidence that God has done a miraculous work in your life that can somehow be related to death to sin, burial, and newness of life? That in the Bible is the new birth without which you will not see the kingdom of God. It's the baptism of the cross that saves those who believe.

Let's pray. Our Father we thank you today for the willingness of Jesus to be baptized. To prefigure a baptism that will take place three years later. And he said in the Gospel of Luke I am to be baptized with this baptized and oh how my heart is strained.

Because he knew what that calamity would be like. We thank you. Thank you that today we're accepted in the beloved one. That thou can think so well of us and be the God thou art is darkness to our intellect but sunshine to our heart. Help us to walk in that today and for those who've never trusted Christ as Savior may they reach out even at this moment and say yes I believe. Oh grant that God we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. On today's Moody Church Hour Pastor Lutzer brought a message on come and see his baptism. The first of eight snapshots of the life of Christ in a series entitled come and see Jesus. Next week we'll relive the temptation of Christ in the wilderness and enjoy the ministry of the ring of fire handbell ensemble. Be sure to join us one week from today. Our eight part series on come and see Jesus can be yours on CD for a gift of any amount to The Moody Church Hour.

Our thank you to you will be a set of eight messages you can hear and then pass on to others. Just call us at 1-800-215-5001. Let us know you'd like to support Moody Church's ministry. Call 1-800-215-5001 or you can write to us at Moody Church Media 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60614.

Mention the series come and see Jesus when you write or call. Online go to moodyoffer.com. That's moodyoffer.com. Join us next time for another Moody Church Hour with Pastor Erwin Lutzer and the Congregation of Historic Moody Church in Chicago. This broadcast is a ministry of The Moody Church.