Inside Out
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward decision.
Acts(3), Luke(2), Matthew(3) (Part of the Special(6) series)
by Stuart Johns(53) on August 17, 2025 (Sunday Morning(67))
BAPTISM SUNDAY
Inside Out
(Matthew 3:13-17; Acts 8:26-38; Luke 23:32-43)
INTRODUCTION
As a teenager, Keith had been hit in the head by the rearview mirror of an SUV that had crossed the centerline. He was riding his bike home after dropping off another teen at her home. It took the EMT’s several attempts to stabilize him, before he could be flown to the hospital by helicopter. By God’s grace, Keith survived this serious head injury. The Lord had been pursuing him and had saved his life for a reason. Years later, he finally gave his life to the Lord.
After his conversion, he was ready to be baptized, but the church where he attended did not have a baptistry. His pastor shared with him that the church usually did baptisms once a year, but the pastor would be willing to call a fellow pastor to see if they could use the baptistry at his church. Keith said he would wait until the church had their annual baptisms to be baptized
A week later, Keith told his pastor that he couldn’t wait. So, the pastor said he would call the other pastor to set up a time to use their baptistry, but Keith said he had a place in mind where he wanted to be baptized. Keith enjoyed hiking on the Appalachian Trail and had frequented a deep hole in a creek that flowed beside it. So, a couple of days later, the pastor and his wife and several of Keith’s friends hiked up the Appalachian Trail and celebrated with Keith as he got baptized. [#1 – Young people, where was Keith baptized at? (creek)]
There are a couple of bits of information that have been left out of this baptism experience:
The baptism took place on December 12, 2020 (in the winter, in the creek beside the Appalachian Trail).
I was the pastor who baptized him.
BODY
ME
I was baptized at years old by my father at Rhodes Grove Camp
I had the privilege of baptizing my two oldest sons in the Pacific Ocean when we lived in Southern California
WE
Take a moment this morning to remember your baptism experience
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward decision.
GOD
Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:13-17)
John the Baptist
We know from Luke 1:5-25 that John’s parents were Zechariah and Elizabeth
His birth was miraculous, because Zechariah and Elizabeth were old
Gabriel told them what to name him, even though this was not a family name
Gabriel also told them that he would to be a Nazarite – someone set apart for the Lord who would never take wine or other fermented drink
He was tasked with preparing the way for the Lord as a prophet
He understood who Jesus was and the power that He had as God the Son
He knew, that as God the Son, Jesus was perfect/holy
So, when Jesus arrived from Galilee to be baptized by John, he resisted
Jesus understood the importance and significance of His baptism
Jesus
Jesus did not need to be baptized for the repentance of sin, because He was perfect, without sin
His baptism was, to fulfill all righteousness
This means that He was being baptized to accomplish God’s mission
He was baptized because [NIV Life Application Bible, footnote for Matthew 3:13-15, pg. 1647]
He was confessing sin on behalf of the nation, as Nehemiah, Ezra, Moses, and Daniel had done
He was showing support for what John was doing
He was inaugurating His public ministry
He was identifying with the penitent people of God
“The need for Jesus to be baptized, and thereby to serve as our representative and model, was not optional for him . . . Jesus’ baptism was unique. It was not a ‘baptism of repentance’ (as John’s was) nor was it a ‘Christian baptism’ (as ours is today). But it was an identifying step of obedience at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus would not have been fully obedient if he had bypassed this step that seemed to John to be unnecessary for the Holy One (3:14).” [Weber, Holman New Testament Commentary, Matthew, 39]
Jesus’ baptism was an outward expression of an inward decision to be obedient to God’s mission for Him
God the Father
We know that John submerged Jesus in the Jordan River, because Jesus went up out of the water [#2 – Young people, who baptized Jesus? (John)]
As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, heaven was opened and two things happened
The Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) descended like a dove
It is important to note that the Holy did not take the form of a dove, but rather that He descended like a dove
We are not told how the Holy Spirit manifested Himself
The Holy Spirit rested on Jesus, which “alludes to the anointing of the Servant of the Lord by the Spirit in Isaiah 42:1,” [Wilkins, The NIV Application Commentary, Matthew, 142]
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1)
“…the descent of the Spirit in the baptism is a formal anointing that inaugurates Jesus’ public ministry. John the Baptist declares elsewhere that the Spirit’s descent on Jesus is what confirmed for him that Jesus was indeed the Son of God (John 1:32-34). This is the visible, confirming sign that Jesus is the long-expected Messiah, the One for whom John has been preparing the way.” [Wilkins, 142]
God approved of Jesus’ baptism by sending the Holy Spirit
God the Father, spoke from heaven
Matthew stated that a voice from heaven was heard
We know whose voice it was by what He said, “This is my Son…”
God expressed His incredible love for Jesus
God approved of Jesus’ baptism by stating that He was well pleased with Him
So, we see Jesus’ outward expression of His inward decision to be obedient to God’s mission on earth
Let’s look at another baptism that took place after Jesus ascended to heaven
Ethiopian eunuch’s baptism (Acts 8:26-38)
Instructions
An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip
The angel told him to go south
Philip did not receive any other instructions from the angel except to go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza
This was the 60 mile stretch of road from Jerusalem to Gaza and it extended down into Egypt
“There were two roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, and the Spirit commands Philip to take the one that was seldom used.” [MacArthur in David Guzik Commentary]
It is the desert road, so it would have been desolate
Philip’s trip
He left immediately
Get up (NASB) is in the aorist tense of immediate action
And go (NASB) is the imperfect tense of continuous action
On his way he met the Ethiopian eunuch
This is not modern day Ethiopia, but would have been south of Egypt, which is now Sudan
It was considered ancient Nubia
The Ethiopian had gone to Jerusalem to worship
He was either a convert to Judaism or was seeking out religious truth by going to Jerusalem
He was willing to travel over 200 miles in order to find the truth
He left Jerusalem disillusioned because he did not find the truth in the rituals and worship at the Temple
On his way home he was reading Isaiah
He was still searching while he was returning home
We realize the importance of his search when he purchased a hand-written scroll of Isaiah the prophet [#3 – Young people, what did the Ethiopian buy in Jerusalem? (hand-written scroll)]
These scrolls were very expensive
“This Ethiopian represents many people today who are religious, read the Scriptures, and seek the truth, yet do not have saving faith in Jesus Christ. They are sincere, but they are lost! They need someone to show them the way.” [Wiersbe]
We may be doing all the right things, but still be lost. You can go to church every Sunday, read your Bible every day, pray to God throughout your day, and still not have a personal relationship with Him. This personal relationship is what is required to enter heaven. It is only through asking Jesus to come into your life and be your Savior that you can be saved
We will be talking more about this in just a moment
Holy Spirit spoke to Philip
Go to that chariot and stay close to it
Philip eagerly obeyed
He heard the Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah the prophet
Philip Taught
Philip broke the ice
He asked a question
Do you understand what you are reading?
I can only imagine that Philip was excited at this point, because he knew exactly who Isaiah was talking about
He now knew this was his divine appointment
He anticipated the answer
Ethiopian official was teachable
This powerful man admitted his ignorance to a complete stranger – How can I, unless someone explains it to me?
“This answer indicates the eunuch’s awareness that it takes God’s full provision to make Scripture clear through teachers that He raises up.” [Steadman]
He would have been very knowledgeable and yet he invited Philip up into his chariot
He was reading from Isaiah 53:7-8 (read the passage again)
The Ethiopian asked a question
He wanted to know if the prophet was talking about himself or someone else
He was eager to learn and wanted to be able to understand the prophecy that was being spoken here
“How can we get more understanding from our own time in the Bible? To get anything from our Bibles, we must plunge in. Butterflies wander over the flowers in the garden and accomplish nothing, but bees plunge right down into the flower, and carry away essential food. We won’t get anything if we just hover over our Bibles; we have to dive right in.” [Guzik]
Philip shared the Gospel (vs. 35)
He used the Old Testament to share with him about Jesus
Philip started with the Scripture that the Ethiopian official was reading (Isaiah 53:2b, 3, 5-8)
Philip probably used additional Scriptures and personal testimony to share the Gospel with this man
Philip Baptized
The Ethiopian understood the Gospel
He was the one that recognized the water and the fact that he could be baptized
How did he know about baptism?
Perhaps Philip shared with him about baptism and its meaning
Perhaps he had seen it practiced in Jerusalem
He gave the order to stop the chariot
He and Philip went into the water [#4 – Young people, where was the Ethiopian baptized? (water beside the road)]
Philip baptized him
The Ethiopian eunuch did not have to wait to be baptized
Immediately after believing and receiving the Gospel, he was baptized
Jesus modeled baptism for us and the Ethiopian eunuch helps us to understand that we can be baptized immediately after believing and receiving the Gospel
The final historical narrative will help us understand that baptism is not what saves us
The criminal on the cross (Luke 23:32-43)
Jesus had been handed over to be crucified
They led Him to the place called the Skull along with the two criminals
The rulers sneered at Him and the soldiers mocked Him
The two criminals that were crucified with Jesus, had opposite reactions
One was angry and insulted Jesus
The other one was humble and asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom
Jesus’ response
We are not told if Jesus responded to the criminal that insulted Him
However, He told the humble criminal that he would be with Him in paradise that very day
We are not told how the humble criminal heard, understood, and accepted the Gospel
We can have confidence that he did, because Jesus said he would be with Him in paradise
Obviously the humble criminal would never have the opportunity to be baptized [#5 – Young people, was the humble criminal baptized? (No)]
Baptism is not what saves us, but a personal relationship with Jesus
Gospel
“The Gospel is the good news that the just and gracious God of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful people and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to bear His wrath against sins on the cross and to show His power over sin in the resurrection so that all who have faith in Him will be reconciled to God forever.” [Dr. David Platt]
We are all sinners
Romans 3:9-12, What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Romans 3:23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
The Good Person Test (lied, stolen, cursed, lusted, hated)
Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God loves us
Jeremiah 31:3, The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
Christ died for us
Romans 5:6, 8, You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly . . . But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4, For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
God’s free gift
Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 10:9-10, But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Baptism
Believers baptism can only take place when there has been a transformation on the inside as a result of confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart
Only then can you share an outward expression of your inward decision
You can take care of the inward decision today and join others in an outward expression through baptism
ME
If God is calling you to receive His free gift of salvation by confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in Him with your heart, then I want to invite you to come to the altar this morning
We have individuals who will talk with you about your inward decision, so you can be baptized today
CONCLUSION
As Pastor Greg sings, I want to invite to come forward.
