Set Apart for Mission

Set Apart for Mission

Text: Matt 3:13-17

I want to open with the true story of Howell Harris (1714-73). He was a Welsh school teacher. I want to tell the story of and how God set him apart for a life of ministry.

Three weeks after his conversion in 1734, he was praying and reading his Bible in the tower of a local church when the Holy Spirit came upon him in a unique and powerful way. So sacred was the event that he was almost unable to speak of it in later years. Here is how he describe it in his journal.

“Suddenly I felt my heart melting within me like wax before a fire, and love to God for my Saviour. I felt also not only love and peace, but a longing to die and be with Christ. Then there came a cry into my soul within that I had never known before—Abba Father! I could do nothing but call God my Father. I knew that I was His child, and He loved me and was listening to me. My mind was satisfied and I cried out, “Now I am satisfied! Give me strength and I will follow Thee through water and fire.”[1]

This experience filled Harris with a flaming love for lost souls. Not knowing what else to do, he just began to visit people who were sick and read to them out of spiritual books.

“But he read with such power that people where profoundly affected.” “After a while, whenever it was heard that he was going to read out of a book in any sick room or anywhere else, people crowded together to listen to him; and this went on in a cumulative manner until eventually the crowds became so great that he began to preach to them in the open air. Great crowds began to gather, and large numbers of people were brought under conviction, and many were brought to conversion. [2]

The Holy Spirit came to Harris and set him apart for ministry. The proof was the spiritual power that attended his attempts to help others.

The same thing happened on the Day of Pentecost.

(Acts 2:2–4) "2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

The 120 experienced a transformation similar to Harris. The Holy Spirit changed weak, fearful, powerless believers into bold, effective, witnesses to Christ and the reality of spiritual things. In other words, the Holy Spirit’s anointing set Harris apart for ministry. The HS’s anointing set the 120 apart for ministry. In the same way, in today’s text, the Holy Spirit sets Jesus apart for ministry.

This text is about Jesus’ baptism. Here is the main point. God set Jesus apart for his life mission by anointing him with the HS and power.

A.Set Apart By Testimony

In this passage John the Baptist testified to Jesus. The Father testified to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit testified to Jesus.

1.John’s testimony.

John the Baptist was a prophet. That means the people trusted and listened to him. In addition, the people knew that a prophet was a seer. That means he had the power to see into the inner reality of things. All of this meant that John’s testimony about Jesus was very important.

14b “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

John’s entire ministry pointed others to Jesus. We saw this last week when we discussed his ministry on the River Jordan. Pointing others to Christ’s was part of the Baptist’s message.

(John 1:29–34) "29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!…33b he 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.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

First of all, John the Baptist sets Jesus apart with his testimony. But the Father and the Spirit also conspire to testify to Christ. This is the first Trinitarian passage in the New Testament.

2.The Father’s Testimony

God is a Father, and the concept of “fatherhood” is a symbol of benevolent authority. As such the Father speaks from heaven audibly—

17b “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

God the Father will repeat these words a second time on the Mount of Transfiguration.

(Matthew 17:5) “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

These words are important because they confirm the ancient prophecies that the Messiah will be God’s Son.

(Psalm 2:7) “I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you."

God is a father. He loves his children. The Father loves his Son above all things.Like us Jesus was fully human. When theFather spoke these words, in the words of Rom 8:15-16,Jesus “received the Spirit of [sonship], by whom [he cried] , “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with [his] spirit that [he was the Son] of God."

With these words God the Father confirmed his love for Jesus. Note: these are the same words Howell Harris heard. In addition, these words also confirmed Christ’s identity for those who heard.

They set Jesus apart for the work to which his Father called him.

3.The Holy Spirit’s Testimony.

16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;

Doves are symbols of peace. Like lambs they are the ultimate non-threatening bird. Because Jesus was sinless the Holy Spirit came upon him as a dove. In other words, on the basis of his own merit, Christ was completely and totally reconciled to God the Spirit.

(Isaiah 42:1) "1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations."

B.Set Apart by Obedience

15 But Jesus answered [John], “Let it be so now, for thus it [my baptism] is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Although sinless, Jesusconsented to baptism. Why? His baptism “fulfilled all righteousness.” The word“righteousness”representsobedience to God’s will. In other words, Jesus obedience set him apart for his unique work of ministry. God the Father wanted him to submit to baptism, so he did. In this context, “fulfilling all righteousness”was more than baptism. It meant several things.

It meant that, on our behalf, Jesus fulfilled the OT law perfectly. In that sense he was the Israel of God.

It meant that Jesus was the fulfillment ofall the OT prophecies about the Messiah. He was the Son of David and the Son of Abraham. He was the anointed One. As we go through this gospel, Matthew will point out many ways that Jesus’ life fulfilled OT prophetic predictions.

It meant that Jesus fulfilled the OT sacrificial system. Because he fulfilled them, his sacrificial death on the cross ended all of the OT animal sacrifices.

He was the perfect High Priest.

He was the perfect Sin and Burnt Offering.

Last, it meant that he fulfilled the prophetic system. He was the Word of God (Jn 1:1) “In the beginning as the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

In summary, although he was in no need of repentance, to please the Father he humbly submitted to John’s Baptism.

This obedience was a first step in his work of“fulfillment.”It set him apart for the greater ministry of fulfillmentthat would come later.

C.Set Apart by Spiritual Power

Now we come to that sign of his set-apartness that was most obvious to the Jewish people.

The word Christ means the anointed one. The OT prophet, Samuel, anointed Davidwith the HS. The outward sign was a flask of poured over David’s head. When Samuel did that the HS left King Saul and came upon the young David. Theeffect was immediate. The first sign of the HS’s anointing was great faith. David, a fifteen year old boy, killed the giant Goliath with a sling. God also gave him success on the battle field. David became more popular with the people of Israel than King Saul. “Saul has killed his thousands,” the people sang,“but David his ten thousands.” Because of God’s anointing everything that David did prospered. But eventually, even David failed. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and then killed her husband to cover it up. In other words, someone greater than David was needed.

Therefore, the prophets predicted that a “Son of David” would come. His anointing by the HS would be so great that his name would be Jesus the Christ—i.e. Jesus “the anointed one.” Here are some of the prophetic predictions.

(Isaiah 11:2) "2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."

(Isaiah 42:1) "1I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations."

(Isaiah 61:1) "1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;"

At his baptism the HS comes upon Jesus without measure. Unlike David, the Holy Spirit anointed Jesus directly, without the outward sign of poured forth oil.What was the result?

Jesus preached with spiritual power.

(Matthew 7:28–29) "28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes."

After listening to Jesus on the road to Emmaus the disciples said, “Did not our hearts burn within us?” “No one ever spoke like this man.”

Next week we will watch the HS lead Jesus into the Wilderness to be tempted. But unlike king David, the power of the HS will keep the sinles Jesus from failure.

Jesus healed the sick. Jesus raised the dead. Jesus cast out demons, many times quite dramatically.

(Matthew 4:23–25) "23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan."

How did Jesus do all of this? By the power of the Holy Spirit. He was the Christ, the “Anointed One.”Gerald Hawthorne a professor of Greek at Wheaton College in his study of the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life,The Presence and the Power, notes—

“Jesus, from the moment the Spirit descended to him, became aware of a new power within him, a power to save, to heal, to bind the strong man and overturn his evil designs. He became aware of a new authority to teach and preach, to release those held captive by sin, and to command unclean spirits to come out of tortured people…Thus the baptism of Jesus, the descent of the dove, the Holy Spirit coming upon him, into him, was of the utmost significance not only to the readers of the Gospel accounts but to Jesus himself.”[3]

D.Application

1.Rest in Christ’s Fulfillment

Jesus fulfilled all righteousness for us.

Because of that the Father looks at us and says“this is my beloved son/daughter in whom I am well pleased.” On the basis of Christ’s fulfilling work the HS, as a dove, rests upon us also.

2.Seek the Power of the Holy Spirit

We are in desperate need. If Jesus needed God’s power, how much more you and I. The Holy Spirit is the pre-requisite for all and any spiritual ministry.

All efficacious Christian ministry takes place by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, all spiritual work is heart work. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can change someone’s heart.

Our experience should never determine our expectations for spiritual power. The Bible should determine our expectations.

Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit.

Edwards: “Today we run our training courses in evangelism, telling people just what to say and how to present the gospel. These are all very necessary simply because we have no passion for evangelism. When we call for a door-to-door team in the church few come. When we say we are going down to the market place to do some witnessing only a handful follow. That is one test of the state of our churches. Another is the prayer meeting.

But when revival comes everybody follows. Everybody will be down in the market.”[4]

3.DiscernThose Whom God Has Set Apart

Today’s text is about God the Father setting his Son apart for his work. In the same way God sets his leaders apart today.

First, when God sets a man apart other godly men (preferably the church Elders)will testify to his calling. Don’t ever attempt ministry without this.

Second, the growing obedience (godliness, holiness) sets the person apart.

Third, the Holy Spirit gifting and empowering sets them apart.

4.Our Salvation is a Trinitarian Work

In today’s text the Trinity works together for our salvation. God the Father wills our salvation. He is the architect of our Salvation. He designed it. He designed it because he is the One we have offended. He is the One that is angry, but he doesn’t want to be angry. He is also the One who sent his Son on a mission to propitiate his anger.

The Son obeyed the Father and came.

The Holy Spirit empowered, motivated, and led the Son to accomplish the work of redemption.

5.Seek to be led by the Holy Spirit

We grow in holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit.

(Romans 8:4) 4 “The righteous requirement of the law [is] fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

(Romans 8:14) "14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."

Gal 5:16 “Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Those who are led by the HS grow in Godliness. Jesus was led by the Spirit to complete the work for which God called him. This is impossible apart from the leading of the HS.

Notice, Paul doesn’t say “pushed” by the Holy Spirit. Although the fear of God is real, the Holy Spirit does not primarily lead us into godliness with fear or an appeal to naked will-power.

Instead, he leads us with delight. He leads by appealing to our desire for happiness. He illuminates Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He illuminates Christ in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. By illumination heconvinces us that all of our joy and happiness are tied up in knowing Christ, and the more he does so, no force on earth can restrain our longing to know him and serve him.

Illumination comes to us through the normal means of grace.

In Summary, today’s text was about Jesus’ baptism. His baptism set him apart for his work of ministry. John the Baptist, the Father, and the Holy Spirit testified to his work and identity. Jesus obedience testified to his work and identity, and the new found spiritual power that came to him testified to his mission and identity.

Let us pray:

Father, We are thankful for the gift of your Holy Spirit.

Our need for your Spirit is great indeed. On the basis of your Son’s atoning work, send your Holy Spirit to us. Baptize each person here with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Fill us with love for the lost. Fill us with and an all-consuming desire to see them reached for Christ.

Holy Spirit, lead us. Help us walk in increasing godliness. We ask for the gift of illumination. Let us see Christ in a new way, and through him see God the Father. Drown out all of our lesser desires with a view of the riches of Christ.

Father, thank you for the work you have begun in us by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen!

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[1]Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Puritans, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1987) pg. 290

[2] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Puritans, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1987) pg. 286ff

[3] Gerald Hawthorne, The Presence And The Power, (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2003) pg 133

[4]Brian Edwards, Revival, pg. 152