Based on a Sermon by Kevin Judd
There’s a story about a pastor giving a children’s sermon. He decides to use a story about forest animals as his starting point, so he gathers the kids around him and begins by asking them a question.
“I’m going to describe someone to you, and I want you to tell me who it is. This person prepares for winter by gathering nuts and hiding them in a safe place, like inside a hollow tree. Who might that be?”
The kids all have a puzzled look on their faces and no one answers. So, the preacher continues, “Well, this person is kind of short. He has whiskers and a bushy tail, and he scampers along branches jumping from tree to tree.”
More puzzled looks until, finally, Johnnie raises his hand. The preacher breathes a sigh of relief, and calls on Johnnie, who says, “I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus, but that sure sounds an awful lot like a squirrel to me.”
Cute story from a Pastor’s perspective, and a Father’s perspective, when I am trying to get someone to answer questions in church which I think are simple, but which everyone is afraid to answer, for fear of looking less knowledgeable about a church thing. Which brings up a big question from our lesson today.
John is Baptizing at the Jordan River for the Forgiveness of Sins in preparation for the Messiah. John is preaching, as we have covered a few times, A Soon Coming Fire for all who don’t repent. Here comes the Messiah, the Savior. The Spotless lamb, without sin. But what does he do? Well, John has some ideas about what God should be doing, but being Baptized for the forgiveness of sin was not one of them.
In our Gospel reading we are at the waters of the Jordan River in Israel. It is this Jordan River which Joshua lead the Israelites across to enter into their Promised Land and establish a nation for God’s People. Now the new Joshua (Jesus and Joshua are the same name just in different languages if you didn’t know) comes to the Jordan, to establish the Kingdom of God.
Something big is happening here. But it is not big in the way that John the Baptist expects. John knows the sin and evil that is pervasive in the land. John has been preaching at the Jordan, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” People have been coming to John to repent and be baptized in the Jordan.
John sees Jesus coming near and must think that Jesus is going to do something amazing and powerful to stop all the evil in the world; he sees the sin. He knows how the Pharisees and Sadducees pretend to be such pious, religious people and yet use their positions to take advantage of the poor and needy and to make money for themselves. Those guys are around today, using the Bible to make themselves rich, and I constantly want Jesus to come with fire just like John did.
With that in mind, what does the Messiah do when he comes? Jesus humbly asks John to baptize him, just like a sinner would ask. Mark’s Gospel didn’t include this, but Matthew’s tells us that John tried to stop Him. “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But John did it.
Here’s the point. Jesus, like any of us, sees the evil and the sin in the world. He sees all the sinners gathered there by the Jordan, and knows the sinners who didn’t come. He knows that the wage of sin is death; eternal death in Hell, and his heart breaks for the people, even for the Pharisees and Sadducees and scammers, who think they are guides, but are sheep without a shepherd.
He sees the people and their sins, and He knows they stand under God’s judgment. And then He acts to fulfill all righteousness, Jesus immerses Himself in the sins of the people in order to save them from their sins. Jesus does not swing the axe of God’s wrath, but the perfect one identifies with sin and sinners.
Jesus takes ownership of the sin. Jesus goes down into the waters of the Jordan and takes upon Himself the sin of the world. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says
“for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Jesus takes ownership of our sin and comes up out of the water tainted by your sin and the sin of the world and what happens?
“immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
The dove is a small clue, because it points back to Noah and his family passing through the water in the ark and to safety. The dove was the symbol of new life. Instead of eliminating sin and sinners Jesus identifies with sin and sinners. All your sins are laid on Jesus and God says, “This is my beloved Son.”
It's easy to understand John wanting to see God’s Wrath. We see all of the sin and evil and suffering which is rampant in the world and in our own lives and we want things to be better right away.
We want Jesus to act with power and might and immediately eliminate sin and evil, all sickness, all death.
We want a shortcut to the last day when the creation will be completely restored. But we are not there yet.
Jesus humbles Himself to carry your burden and to carry it all the way to the cross. And Jesus calls you to lay your burden down and take up your cross and follow Him.
And still God today fulfills all righteousness in quiet, simple ways. He comes to you in the waters of Baptism bringing you to the banks of the Jordan River. He comes to you in His Word bringing you to sit at His feet. He comes to you in simple bread and wine bringing you to the upper room, and the cross and tomb. It is in such plain, simple ways that Jesus comes to you, but what He does is monumental. He makes you righteous. Jesus takes away the filth and the guilt and the punishment for all your sins. Jesus takes your sin upon Himself and, in exchange, gives you His holiness and righteousness.
You are holy and righteous not from anything you have done, but because of what Christ has done for you. In Christ, you have been brought through the water from the wilderness of sin into the Promised Land of the Kingdom of Heaven.
