Matt. 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" ¹⁵ Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. ¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Getting started isn’t easy. Wouldn’t you agree? How did it feel to get back to work or back to school after that nice vacation? Hopefully you started out slow and worked your way back to regular pace. Today, we’re going to look at Jesus’ first day on the job. Although Jesus’ life to this point was no vacation, and although he had already been keeping God’s laws in our place, Jesus’ baptism marks the official beginning of his work. With his baptism Jesus prepares to take the journey to Calvary, to his death on the cross. All of Jesus’ work has one goal, our salvation. So today, let’s see how SALVATION BEGINS WITH BAPTISM. It is I) a proper beginning and II) an approved beginning.

When starting a new job, it’s good to do something useful. Most people don’t like busy work. Who wants to work on a useless project, a project that doesn’t benefit anyone? Jesus’ work was far from useless. The King of Creation did not come to this earth just to keep himself busy. He came to do some very necessary work, the work of salvation. Matthew tells us, "Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John," to begin that necessary work.

But why baptism? Why start with baptism? That’s the question John was asking, "But John tried to deter him saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’" John was astonished. What would you do if your teachers asked you to teach them for the day? John didn’t think he had anything to offer Jesus. Jesus did not need baptism. Sinners need baptism. John’s whole message was directed at sinners, "Repent!" Jesus had nothing to repent. He had not sinned – ever!

John was right. Jesus did not need baptism for himself. But Jesus had not come to John because he needed baptism; he came because baptism was a proper beginning. At another time John would have been right to protest. At this time, Jesus calmly said, "Let it be so now." Let it go John. This is a proper beginning, a proper beginning for my necessary work.

Jesus did not need the forgiveness of sins offered in baptism, but we do. Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of work that we need, that sinners need. If we could do this work ourselves, there wouldn’t be a problem, but we can’t. Our work is to please God. Our jobs are one way to do that, but we fail. We complain about our bosses; all they do is order us around. They never do any work themselves. We complain about our co-workers, those lazy bums. I’m tired of picking up their slack. Wah-Wah! As if we are the only ones who always do our work faithfully.

Thankfully, Jesus picked up our slack. While we were busy complaining, Jesus was busy working. Jesus never complained, but "like a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." Instead, Jesus put up with the people around him. He did not resist arrest in Gethsemane. He did not return insults to the soldiers who mocked him. He did not gossip about those who were falsely accusing him. He even asked God to forgive those who nailed him to the cross. All of this started when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan.

We received all of the benefits of this work when we were baptized. Jesus’ perfect life, his life of obedience without complaining, earned us the forgiveness of sins. Through baptism we receive the forgiveness of sins. God’s powerful word empowers that small amount of water to wash away all of our sins. No scrubbing. No elbow grease. Nothing from our own power. Just water and the Word and all of our sins are washed away. SALVATION BEGINS WITH BAPTISM.

Through baptism we also begin a new relationship. "Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’" Although Jesus did not need baptism for himself, Jesus was baptized in order to please God. After Adam and Eve sinned, humans were no longer able to please God themselves. Our relationship with God was destroyed; we became his enemies. In order to live with God in heaven, we needed a new relationship. Jesus created that relationship with his baptism.

When John baptized Jesus, Jesus publicly identified himself with sinners. Jesus had already identified himself with us when he was born; he became one of us. However, until now Jesus quietly lived in Nazareth. Now Jesus was about to begin his public work. To identify with the public, with the sinners, Jesus did what they did; he asked John to baptize him. Jesus showed his willingness to become a sinner though he himself was sinless. He showed his willingness to bear our sins. Through his baptism Jesus connected himself to us.

Through our baptisms we are also connected to Jesus. Jesus’ baptism was just the beginning of a long road leading to death. Jesus literally worked himself to death. "The wages of sin is death." By becoming a sinner Jesus willingly subjected himself to the end of all sinners, death. Our baptisms also lead us to death, to Jesus’ death. Paul asked the Romans, "Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" Through baptism it’s just as if we died upon the cross. It’s just as if God punished us for our sins.

As a result, our baptisms give us life. Paul answered his own question. "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that…we may live a new life." With our sins removed through death, we live. Salvation begins with baptism.

Baptism was a proper beginning to the work of salvation; it was also an approved beginning.

After Jesus was baptized, God showed his approval of this beginning in a number of ways. Let’s start with what he said. "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

If the boss has a special job, he wants to pick the right person to make sure the job is done well. God chose his Son for this tough job, and Jesus was willing to do it. After Jesus came forward and was baptized, God wanted him to know that he approved. He simply wanted to say, "I love you," to his Son.

God does the same for us at our baptisms. First, he assures us that we are his children. The pastor says, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." God puts his name on us. He says, ‘you are my children, whom I love. You are my sons and daughters. I have adopted you. You are mine.’

All of this pleases God. He is pleased with his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only one who can please God with his work. We try, but we just don’t have the qualifications. Even if we keep from doing wrong, we just don’t do all of the right things. We don’t actually steal our neighbor’s car, but we want it. We look at their brand new vehicle; it starts in the winter; the four-wheel drive never gets stuck in the snow. Then we look at our ten-year-old beater. If it starts, it’ll stall. If it gets out of the driveway, it’ll get stuck. I want a brand new four-wheel drive. I want that one. That doesn’t please God. Jesus pleased God.

God was pleased with Jesus’ work because he was pleased in our salvation. "This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." God does not want to give us an F for our work. He does not want to send us to hell for the pitiful work we do. That’s exactly why he chose his Son for this work. That’s why he was pleased to approve the beginning of Jesus’ work. God knew that Jesus would complete his work. Then God could give his approval to all people and take them to heaven.

In addition to speaking, God also showed his approval for Jesus’ baptism by sending the Holy Spirit. After Jesus was baptized, "heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him." With approval God sent his Spirit to prepare Jesus for the work ahead of him.

Jesus’ work was not going to be a Sunday walk down Calvary lane. Jesus’ work was going to be very difficult. He would be alone. His friends couldn’t help him; most of the time they would leave him. In Gethsemane all of the disciples ran away. While on trial, one of Jesus’ closest friends, Peter, totally denied knowing him. No one could ease his pain on the cross. Even his Father left him alone, "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" This is the difficult work Jesus set out to do at his baptism.

However, with the help of the Holy Spirit Jesus would complete his work. More than once Jesus went to the Spirit for help. While being tempted in the desert, Jesus fasted and prayed, surely asking the Spirit for help. Jesus used the words of the Spirit, the Word of God, to fend off Satan’s temptation. We also hear of many other times Jesus went off by himself to pray. In the Garden of Gethsemane, after one of Jesus’ last prayers as he waited to die, the Spirit sent an angel to strengthen him. Shortly after that, Jesus completed his work, all with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will also help us complete our work; he helps us live our new lives. At our baptisms we all received new lives. God made us his children, forgave our sins, and gave us the power to once again please him. Yet, it still isn’t easy to please God. The new man inside of us really wants to please God, but the sinful man can’t stand the thought of it. Unfortunately, it’s a lot easier to side with the sinful man.

But there is help. Even after our baptisms, the Holy Spirit continues to help us through God’s word. The more we read, study, and learn God’s word, the more power we have to please God. As we continue our struggle we thank God that he was pleased to send his Son to complete the difficult work of salvation. We thank Jesus that he was willing to do that work. It wasn’t easy to start such a tough job; it never is, but our salvation depended on it, and it all began with baptism.