This is the season in the church year of Epiphany, which means coming in the flesh. It is the season where the scriptures focus on the life of Jesus starting with the beginning of his ministry when Jesus was baptized. So we are going to look at the passage where Jesus got dunked. The scriptures that we have heard tie into the passage that I will read from Matthew 3 beginning at verse 13.
Before I read as this is a new year, I wanted to share with you last year’s winners for the wackiest label contest. These are labels that seem the most ridiculous sponsored by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch. I’ll start with some of the honorable mentions.
Cyndi LaMonde of Traverse City submitted a label on a letter opener that says: "Caution: Safety goggles recommended."
Ann Marie Young of Fillmore, N.Y., submitted the warning that "The Vanishing Fabric Marker should not be used as a writing instrument for signing checks or any legal documents."
Third place went to Richard Goodnow of Lancaster, Mass., for a label on a baby stroller featuring a small storage pouch that warns: "Do not put child in bag."
The $250 second place was given to the Turin family of Greensburg, Pa., for a label they found on an iron-on T-shirt transfer that warns: "Do not iron while wearing shirt."
And the first place winner goes to Kevin Soave of Farmington Hills, a Detroit suburb, for submitting the tractor’s "Danger: Avoid Death" label.
Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
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. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
I want to begin by asking a question. It is a question that has been asked for centuries and one that I wondered about for a long time. If Jesus was God and completely sinful, why did he need to be baptized? This is especially perplexing when I read Jesus reply, “Let it be so now; it is proper for to this to fulfill all righteousness.” Does that imply that Jesus wasn’t righteous?
Let’s start by hearing some of the answers that you may have heard over the years.
The standard Church of God answer that I was given (in church) was that Jesus was giving a us example to follow. This may be true but I have come to believe that this is very simplistic and besides the scriptures do not really say this is the reason. This is theological deduction that has some merit. Jesus commands his disciples to make disciples by teaching them the ways of Jesus and by being baptized. Jesus’ disciples are shown in scripture as baptizing people. But I had always believed that there had to be something more because the scandal that Jesus might need to be baptized because of sin was too problematic for such a simple answer.
So what does this mean the Baptism of Our Lord.
The Baptism of Our Lord
• An example
It is an example for us to follow. There is merit in this understanding. This is a valid rationale as to why we need to be baptized. If we follow Jesus, we should follow his example. But there is more.
• A consolation
When Jesus was presented in the Temple, an old man by the name of Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. He was waiting for God to console or move into the pain of Israel through the coming of the Messiah. Jesus was the consolation of Israel as he moved into human form to enter fully into the pain of suffering of their sin.
Jesus would have been fully aware of the prophets, their tradition and their teachings. Often a prophet would not only pronounce the impending judgment that Israel’s sins would bring upon Israel but they would also recount the history of Israel including the previous sins of generations long gone and God’s saving activity. When doing so, the prophet would often identify himself with the sins and redemption of previous generations. He would use a first person plural, “we,” to claim that he was a part of this story and saving tradition of God.
When Jesus told John that he was to be baptized, Jesus was claiming in the tradition of the prophets that he was a part of the history of Israel. He was claiming partnership with Israel and Israel’s sins. He was taking responsibility for being a part of this sinful people even though he himself had not sinned personally.
In a sense, as the people were symbolically washing away their sins in the water as they were baptized, Jesus was taking the sins upon his body. He was identifying himself as fully human. He was taking our dirt and filth upon his body to eventually be born on the cross as his blood would cover and wash away our sin.
I find this a truly awe-inspiring revelation. I find a deep sense of gratitude and understand a greater depth of truth about what Jesus did when he was baptized.
• An inauguration
This was also an inauguration. It was a marker of a new beginning. Just as the people were symbolically reenacting the entrance to the promise land, Jesus was identifying the beginning of his ministry and the coming of God’s Kingdom.
The Jordan river was the barrier that the people of Israel had to cross after spending forty years in the desert to purify the nation of a disobedient generation. Now the impurities were being washed away and a new start had come to the people. Jesus was agreeing with the symbolic proclamation that enmity between God and his people would come to an end (at least for those who were baptized for repentance or turning from their old way of life to follow God’s ways).
Jesus was inaugurating a new era of peace, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. In a sense Jesus was symbolically showing us that barrier between God and the people was being parted by Jesus himself.
• A high priest
Lastly, Jesus was fulfilling the righteous requirements of the law. A priest would be washed or cleansed thoroughly before beginning his service before God. Basically, he was baptized or immersed. Each time he came into the Temple or Tabernacle to serve, there would be basin in which he would wash his feet and his head (from head to toe) to cleanse himself of any personal sin and to relive his initial baptism. In a sense he was renewing the baptismal covenant to serve the Lord in purity.
Jesus is known as the high priest in the order of Melchizedek in Hebrews. He would be our priest and our sacrifice. To fulfill or complete the law (as Jesus would), he needed to show that the requirements of the law were being filled completely. Nothing was left undone. Not even a simple thing as the cleansing of the priest. God himself was taking care of the requirements that would be needed to cleanse and forgive his people.
Ultimately Jesus was baptized not because he was sinful because we are sinful. I am utterly amazed at the attention to detail and the magnitude of God’s love for us. God left nothing open and nothing to chance. Every basis was covered so that we might be delivered from our sin, our transgressions, our mistakes, and our messes.
He did all of it so that we might not just know and learn his ways of living but that we actually might be able to begin living that way.
Honestly, when I was baptized, I never understood this. It was powerfully meaningful to know that I was being obedient by being baptized and that I was making an unashamed, public proclamation that I was now in the service of Jesus. But God has so enrich my faith over the years that I often times am just dumbfounded at God’s goodness.
He took care of every single detail leaving nothing to chance that might hinder us from being restored fully to God. Nothing was left undone. No loopholes. Every barrier removed so that we would have really no excuse or might slip through the cracks. In fact there is only one barrier for us. It is ourselves. We stand in the way of our obedience to God.
When Shane Claiborne was in Baghdad during the initial stages of the Iraqi war as a civilian and peacemaker, he attended a birthday party for a girl whose family he had become friends with. She was turning 13. (I told the story last week of Shane’s harrowing escape from Baghdad in the midst of bombs going off as they raced across the Iraqi desert).
The friends and family gathered in a nearby part where they had a feast. They played games and ran around in circles until they fell over. At one point, they began playing balloon volleyball when bombs began exploding in the background. The adults looked at one another with fear and uneasiness but not wanting to scare the kids, they kept playing. Then an explosion went off nearby. The adults huddled with the kids to protect them with their bodies.
Shane looked into the eyes of the young teenage birthday who told him with such an incredible amount of courage, “It’s okay. Don’t be scared.” Then she smacked Shane on the head with a balloon. These children were raised hearing bombs going still wanted to play with people whose country was destroying theirs. When asked what she wished for as she blew out her candles, she answered without any coaching, “Peace.” She hoped for and perhaps believed that maybe one day people would stop trying to kill each other. “And a little child will lead them.”
Jesus showed us the way. It is through his life and death. He showed us the way to peace is through him. Sometimes following Jesus means a series of small steps as you learn about him and his ways and what it means to be obedient. Sometimes it means making a big decision or choice to abandon the old land and enter into the promised land of peace, grace, and mercy. Perhaps you are at that place now and need to make that decision or maybe renew your decision to seek him with everything that you are. Then make it now.
If you are following him but have never been baptized, maybe God is calling you now to follow him to make that public proclamation that you are his. I encourage you to talk with myself or someone that you know has been baptized if you want to know more. It is truly a wonderful and powerful experience and can be a great marker in your life.
