The Baptism of the Second Adam; Luke 3:21-38

Delivered during the Sunday morning worship service, 8/22/21. Luke's transition from the Nativity narrative to the beginning of Christ's ministry comes to its conclusion with an abbreviated version of Jesus' celebrated baptism performed by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. After noticing the brevity of Luke's handling of this hugely significant event, we will turn our attention to the lengthy and mysteriously-placed genealogy that immediately follows it. When we consider them together, we will find yet another clear affirmation that Jesus is both the divine Son of God and a bonafide human-- born of woman, born under the law. As such, we will consider Jesus as the "second Adam" who succeeded in His active obedience where the first Adam failed. With this in mind we will address the question of why Jesus was baptized and why it was so essential for the salvation and sanctification of His followers. Ultimately we will find that the baptism of the second Adam, and indeed His active obedience, was performed not for Jesus' sake-- but for ours!