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Baptism of Our Lord, 01/13/2008
Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17, by Walter W. Harms
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."
THE JESUS WE WORSHIP
Were you in worship about six weeks ago, on the first Sunday in Advent, the 4th Sunday before Christmas Day? That was December 2nd. If you were, you heard the words of the prophet, the spokesman for God named Isaiah. Like many of us today, Isaiah didn't exactly know what to make of the times he lived in and how God was operating in those times.
He wrote: "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down!"
Today God answered this prayer. Jesus goes to the Jordan River where John the Baptizer was preaching and baptizing to be baptized himself.
After the baptism of our Lord, the heaven opened and we hear the voice of God saying to us, now, today: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." God had indeed come down!
Who is this Jesus we worship? As we read the life of Jesus as told by the writer Matthew, here are a few of the names this Jesus had already received by the time he was baptized: he is son of David, the son of Abraham. The angel told Joseph that the child "conceived by the Holy Spirit" in the womb of Mary was to be named "Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." The Magi called him "king of the Jews."
The Jewish leaders knew that this king was the Messiah, the anointed One. He is the Son called out of Egypt and the Nazarene.
Good names, meaningful names, but here at his baptism we hear him called the name above all names: he is the one and only Son of God.
God the Father adds which would seem somewhat strange to us: "with whom I am well pleased." He says this before Jesus does anything, but get baptized. We shall have to look into this Jesus we worship. We shall have to see what he does that pleases God.
What does this Jesus come down from God, God's Son do in our Bible reading? He has himself baptized. John who was baptizing said that the kingdom of God was at hand, that is, that God was near and they had better get ready to meet him. He said the people were to repent, confessing their sins and be baptized as a sign that the old was washed away and that they were going to live new lives dedicated to the service of God so presently near.
Now Jesus comes from Galilee south to the Jordon River close to Jerusalem specifically to be baptized. John the Baptizer immediately senses that this Jesus is the one greater than he was, who was to come would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. This one so great that John didn't consider himself even good enough to be the servant to carry his sandals was going to clear his floor, separate the wheat from the chaff, burn the useless in a fire that wouldn't ever go out. Strong stuff, this John expected from Jesus.
No wonder that John didn't want to baptized Jesus but wanted Jesus to baptize him. He couldn't understand why this Jesus wanted him to baptize him. It was a puzzle that has not eluded us many centuries later.
Why would this Jesus, the sinless son of God, yes, God himself while also being true man, of course, why would Jesus need to be baptized?
What was the meaning of this baptism for Jesus? And what had that all to do with us sitting here (or standing) now in this new year of 2008?
After they had argued back and forth for a time, Jesus finally replies with this: "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." And John then consented and baptized Jesus.
What does Jesus mean by "fulfill(ing) all righteousness"?
It appears that we have to think through what righteousness is. In Matthew's Gospel we already have a righteous person. Joseph wants to do the right thing which was quietly as to avoid any scandal to Mary or himself end the contract of marriage between the two. He is called righteous. He wants to do the right thing. That is one kind of righteousness.
It can be kind of pious obedience in God's people, this righteousness.
Is Jesus saying that he has come to be the perfect model of doing things right in the sight of God? Is this baptism simply Jesus happily
following John's summon to be baptized? Certainly John's call to repentance was from God!
There is a another possible meaning to all of this. Jesus will, of course, be perfect in his obedience to God his Father. But more than that. Jesus will be God's instrument to bring righteousness to everyone in the whole world. He will by his entire actions be bringing to you and to me all the goodness we need to be in this "kingdom at hand" which John is proclaiming.
It is for this reason, I believe, that the Father is pleased with Jesus at his baptism, not only recognizing him for what he is, his true Son, but that he is pleasing to him. Jesus is on his way to "save his people from their sins." He is beginning the walk to lead all his people to the promised land of God's eternal presence.
There was another "Jesus" in the Old Testament. His name was "Joshua."
He led God's people through this same Jordan River into the promised land. So Jesus, the embodiment of God's new people leads his people by all his actions to the promised land.
He leads us. He gives us all the connections we need to be God's people. He supplies us with the robe of righteousness so that we can join the eternal banquet which his Father, our heavenly Father has prepared for the marriage of his Son Jesus to his bride the church.
All righteousness means that through Jesus alone, through faith in
Jesus alone as our robe of righteousness, are we in sync with God and can be in the wedding blanket.
Only with Jesus getting rid of our sins by taking the punishment for them on the cross do we become righteous.
There is no righteousness in ourselves ever unless it is God the Spirit given in our baptism at work in us.
Never let your sins, your failures to be what we should be in God's sight ever destroy the joy of salvation. Recognition of sins should lead us to the cross and there is our righteousness, brought to completion. We can rejoice always in that salvation.
The story of the prodigal son always tells it like it really is with God. Here home comes this comedian who thinks he is smarter than his father. No sackcloth and ashes for his returnee. He gets the treatment of a true son. He doesn't get it because he is good, but because the father is loving and good.
I don't care how many times this son relapses. The father's righteousness will always cover the son.
That is what Jesus is beginning to do here in this his baptism-beginning to be the instrument that will bring salvation to the ends of the earth.
You see we are not righteous because of all the "right" things we do.
We are not good in the sight of God because we don't indulge in the destructive behaviors of famous and the unknown persons on TV.
We are not good in God's sight because we worship him, pray, give, or even help others in need.
We are good because Jesus came and fulfilled all righteousness, giving us all we need for this life and the life to come.
Think of this Jesus and his life. He went to give salvation to that notorious cheating tax collector Zaccheus. It was not Zac's giving half of his goods to the poor and returning stolen goods that gave him salvation. It was Jesus giving it to him.
He associated with known people whom the religious persons scorned and avoided. He was crucified with murderous robbers at his death. He came to fulfill all righteousness in each and every one of those acts.
This is the Jesus whom we worship, adore, praise and honor.
Are we to follow in his path? Are we to treat people as he did? Are we to bring the joy of salvation, the righteousness of God to others?
Finally, today remember that through Jesus' fulfilling all righteousness at this baptism in the Jordan River, we are led into the promised land, a land of milk and honey. So the sweetened dairy foods such as cheesecake and eggnog traditionally Christmas delicacies, remind us that this is just a foretaste of the eternal banquet where we will eat and drink from the river of his pleasure forevermore.
This Jesus we worship is no one else than God. Bishop Maximus of Turin in the 5th century wrote that we should celebrate the baptism of Jesus as much as we celebrate Christmas: At Jesus' birth his mother Mary held her child close to her heart. So today the Father holds his beloved Son for all people to adore. Jesus is baptized so all Christians may follow him with confidence."
This is the Jesus we worship. May it be with confidence of being right with him always.
Amen
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