Baptism of Our Lord - Video and Sermon Text
First Sunday after the Epiphany
The Baptism of Our Lord
Isaiah 42:1-9
Romans 6:1-11
Matthew 3:13-17
The Exchange
O Lord, Your Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer.
Eighteen years have passed since we last saw Jesus in the gospels. When Jesus was twelve years old, he remained in the Jerusalem Temple talking with the Rabbis, priests and other educators of the faith. After that episode, all we have is a great silence. So, what was he doing all that time? We do not have any divine revelation on which to say for certain, but I wish to offer a conjecture. During those undocumented eighteen years, Jesus finished growing up. He played with his cousins and friends in the neighborhood. Then, the play turned into work as He matured. He was a great friend to everyone. He joined in the rhythm of communal prayer and study of God’s Word. He seemed to have an uncanny insight into the Bible stories that they studied together. He worked with Joseph, his mother’s husband, as a carpenter. He repaired and built buildings in addition to smaller projects. For eighteen years, Jesus lived a normal life. As most of us are, Jesus was anonymous to the larger world, but tremendously important to those nearest to him. None of his work projects are noted. There are no plaques on buildings that state, “Jesus built this.” But I choose to speculate that he offered the finest craftsmanship possible. The homes and buildings that he built, the repairs that he made, all held remarkably well. As the seasons and years unfolded, people felt like they got a good proverbial bang for the buck.
Whatever memories people had of him during these eighteen years have long since passed along with those who held those memories. The Holy Spirit determined that it is not necessary for our salvation that we know about those mysterious years.
What is necessary for us to know is that Jesus steps into the public sphere through His baptism. His anonymity disappears as his purpose is declared.
We do not know what kind of relationship that Jesus and John had in their youth or adulthood. John knew Jesus as Lord when he was in his mother’s womb. We are told that when Mary and Elizabeth met while they were both pregnant, John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb. But that was then. What about the time since? We do not know. What we do know is that all four gospels record Jesus’ baptism. In John 1 the baptizer is reported to say, “I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel. And John bore witness: ‘I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but 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.’ And I have seen and have born witness that this is the Son of God.’ ”
In today’s gospel we heard additional details. We heard John’ reluctance to baptize Jesus. John instinctively knew that Jesus ought to baptize him. Before Jesus, John is the sinner. Jesus is not. Despite John’s exemplary life, his devotion to God, his simple life, his denial of life’s comforts and pleasures, John is not righteous before Jesus. Jesus is already righteous. Jesus has no sinful nature or sinful thoughts and acts for which he needs to repent. Jesus does not need God’s grace because He is God’s grace. But Jesus insists. His stated reason is essential for our salvation: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
In receiving John’s baptism for the repentance of sins, Jesus is entering further into our spiritual state. The Son of God became human in the Incarnation. Jesus is conceived. He is born. He grows up. When he becomes a man, he is according to outward appearances, just like everyone else. Now, through his baptism, Jesus further humbles himself by identifying himself with our sinfulness. Jesus is called Immanuel, God with us. He is with us in our humanity. He is with us in the humbled state we must be in so that we can recognize, confess, and repent of our sin.
In this posture of humility, an epiphany occurs. The presence of God is seen and heard. The Holy Spirit visibly descends upon Jesus. God the Father reveals through his own voice, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This humble, ordinary looking man, is God. He is God with us. He is God for us.
In his baptism, Jesus begins his journey toward the cross. Martin Luther says that in Christ’s crucifixion, there is a blessed or happy exchange. From the cross, Christ’s righteousness is exchanged for our sin. On the cross, Jesus dies on the cross for our sin. He bears our sin upon his own body. He dies the death we deserve so that we can receive Christ’s declaration: You are forgiven for your sins. You are righteous before my Father and Your heavenly Father. You have peace. The words that Jesus spoke to the thief on the cross, he speaks to us, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
The beginnings of this happy or blessed exchange go back to Jesus’ baptism. Jesus enters our sin, receives a baptism of repentance, so that he can save us. His righteousness is our righteousness.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment