Epiphany Week 2

Epiphany #2- Baptism of Christ; the Fulfillment of God's Law

Matthew 3:13-17

Baptism is a setting apart as unique and to be used by God. The washing goes back to the priest washing before the sacrifice. 

New creation established

1) Christ is identified as their sin bearer. It was for a remission of sin. Jesus identifies with sinners, He is their represented head of His people, sinners. He had no sins, but He was made sin for our behalf that we might have salvation. He is standing in the place of the Church and taking the role of chief sinner so that though He was blameless throughout His life, He might take all sins and crucify them with Him on the cross. Christ is our righteousness to God. 

2) The Lord identifies as our chief High Priest. He fulfills all righteousness. We as sinners cannot bring about any righteousness. We are brought into that righteousness as we follow the Law, and because Christ came to fulfill the Law, He also fulfills the righteousness demanded. Through baptism He goes from a private person to a public person who fulfills the ultimate will of His father. He provides sacrifice to the Father for the salvation of sin. 

3) Christ is our sacrifice. Christ is taking upon Himself the role of sin bearer, the priest who petitions the Father, and the lamb who is the sacrifice for sins. The Father is well pleased with that sweet smelling sacrifice. In Him, He is well pleased. The sacrifice has pleased Him to look past our sins. God is pleased with Christ and has turned away His wrath so that now He is pleased with us. Christ is the suffering servant for His people. 

4) In Christ is found the new creation. In Genesis 1:2 we see the Spirit hovering over the earth, God's creation. And now in this Matthew passage we see the Spirit again hovering over this new creation of God, the fulfillment of the new creation. The promised new kingdom. In Christ the new kingdom and creation have come. Christ is now anointed for His public, taking on our federal headship. Christ took up our burden and now we take up our own burden to follow Him. He bore our burden then, and now we take up His burden of following Him, a much lighter burden by any means. Bear one another's burdens is a theme that runs through Scriptures and now displayed through the cross. We like Ch