Matthew 3:13-17
“And the Heavens Were Opened”
March 9, 2003
Why was Jesus baptized? Our Christian faith tells us that Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God and that he lived a life without sin. Baptism is a call to the confession and repentance of sins. This was especially true of the baptism called for by John the Baptist. John was a wild and wooly evangelist who continually stoked the fires of damnation in the absence of repentance. This is why John is so surprised when Jesus comes to him asking for baptism. John is thinking, along with the rest of us, “What sin are you confessing?” This is why John hesitates and says, “No, I need to be baptized by you,” but Jesus responds, “It is proper for us in this way.”
Matthew’s Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus. He tells us of his birth, his flight to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod, and his subsequent return after Herod’s death. He then fast forwards over 25 years to the ministry of John the Baptist, and Jesus’ request for baptism. No information about his life as a young boy or even a young man, for Jesus is about 30 years old when he requests baptism. Why? Why now? What brought Jesus to the point that he sought out his cousin, John, and requested baptism? Why did Jesus need to be baptized?
For thirty years Jesus has been in Nazareth, faithfully performing the duties of the home and of the carpenter’s shop. All the time he knew that a world was waiting for him. All the time he grew increasingly conscious of his waiting task. The success of any undertaking is determined by the wisdom with which the moment to embark upon it is chosen. Jesus waited for the hour to strike, for the moment to come, for the summons to sound, and when John emerged, Jesus knew that the time had arrived. We’ve heard it said, “Timing is everything,” and the time was now for Jesus to come forth for the task that awaited him.
The same can be said for the three who were baptized this morning that the time has now come for them to come forth for the task that awaits them. They may or may not know exactly what that task is, but that’s the beauty of being part of a faith community. Coming to this place, being part of this fellowship isn’t a proclamation of having all the answers or a statement that one’s life is completely together. Coming to this place and being a part of this fellowship indicates a desire to join fellow-believers in determining the task to which we’ve been called.
Jesus knew the task to which he had been called. His task was to show the unyielding love of God, personified in His life and ministry, and exemplified through his sacrificial death on a cross. Jesus was 30 years old when his moment arrived. Our challenge is to recognize the moment in which God calls us forth, and once we step forth, to seek out and fulfill the task to which we’ve been called.
So why was Jesus baptized? Jesus was baptized to show that God calls each of us forth. Jesus was baptized to show that a task lies in front of each of us. Jesus was baptized to show that there comes a moment when we each have to step forth to accept the task to which we have been called, but we must remember that there is more than that singular moment of being called forth in baptism. If we ever quit asking, “To what task have I been called?” we’ve quit stepping forth, and when we quit stepping forth, we’ve separated ourselves from God.
As individuals and as a church, the Christian journey is recognizing those many moments and stepping forth. What if Noah hadn’t stepped forth and built the ark? What if Abraham hadn’t stepped forth and left his homeland to become the father of the Israelite nation? What if Samuel hadn’t stepped forth in the middle of the night and said, “Here I am Lord?” What if young David hadn’t stepped forth with a sling and five stones? What if Katie Alfano hadn’t stepped forth to her ministry as Music Director? What if Bert Young hadn’t stepped forth five years ago to follow God’s calling into full-time Christian ministry?
The journey of faith is full of moments in time where we are called to step forth as individuals. The journey of faith is full of moments in time where we are called to step forth as the body of Christ. These three who were baptized this morning have done just that. Our church is in the midst of one of these times. We have been called forth to the mission field of Earlysville. The moment is coming where we will be called forth in commitment to the expansion of our ministries in the mission field of Earlysville.
So why was Jesus baptized? He was baptized so we could see that timing is everything. He was baptized so we could understand that God places a task in front of each of us. He was baptized so we would be willing to step forth at that moment to accept the calling that God has placed in front of us. Dawn, Ben, and Tim have just experienced one of those moments of being called forth, and I am sure they will experience many more.
In that moment when Jesus stepped forth, the heavens were opened to him, the spirit of God descended upon him like a dove, and he heard the voice of His Heavenly Father, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” I believe the same thing happens when we step forth. I believe the heavens open up, God looks down upon us and says, “This is my child, with whom I am well pleased.”
Isn’t that awesome? Isn’t it incredible that God is that concerned? Isn’t it incredible that God is that interested? Isn’t it incredible that God holds that type of love? Far too often, we hold a view that God is a far away, uninvolved, judgmental being, but he’s not.
I had an experience this past Wednesday where I gained a very real understanding of God’s concern and interest. A friend that I play basketball with celebrated the birth of his first child a week ago Friday, only to endure an agonizing weekend, which culminated in his son’s death early Monday morning. I don’t know of any deeper sorrow than the death of a child, and when I attended the funeral at 2:00 Wednesday afternoon, I hugged my friend and said, “My heart aches for you.” He wept and said, “Thanks.” The funeral service was one of the most powerful services I’ve ever attended. The chaplain did an incredible job of acknowledging the anger, the questions, the pain, and the sorrow that we all felt, but she also told us of the comforting grace of our God, who could handle it.
A friend of this young couple, who herself was pregnant, spoke, expressing the pain she felt for her friend. She said she felt like Job’s friends, who came to visit him after the death of his children, sitting in silence with him for seven days, because they didn’t know what to say. She really didn’t know what to say either, but she was willing to sit and cry with her friends. The silence was okay, because of God’s unyielding love for them and their son. How right she was!
My friend’s father shared some family stories that made us laugh and cry. He spoke of his own pain, but also of the incredible strength that his son and daughter-in-law had shown. He spoke of his love and commitment for them during this time of tremendous struggle. He spoke of the gift he had received by being able to hold his first grandchild before he died. He spoke about broken dreams, but he also spoke of recovery, hope, and grace for the future.
And the young couple spoke. They were eloquent in expressing their thanks to the doctors and nurses. They were courageous in acknowledging their pain and sorrow. They were vulnerable through the questions they asked, yet powerful because of their desire to find a higher purpose for their lives through this crisis. They comforted us through their strength and resolve.
It was a service of great pain and many tears, but also a service of laughter, hopefulness, and joy. It was a service where you knew the heavens opened up and the Spirit of God came down upon us.
I was overwhelmed when I left that service, and I went to the hospital to check on Laura and Marty Shifflett, who were expecting the birth of their first child that day. A son, Elijah Paul had not yet arrived, but he was on the way. I left a place where pain and anguish were overwhelming, and entered a place where expectation and happiness and dreams were just as overwhelming, for the heavens opened up and the Spirit of God came down and resided with the Shifflett family during the birth of their son.
As I left the hospital, I couldn’t help but think of the overwhelming presence of God, who opens up the heavens, descends upon us and cries with a family grieving the death of their son, but who also opens up the heavens, descends upon us and jumps for joy with a family celebrating the birth of their son.
Our God is an awesome God, who loves each one of us so much that he ripped open the heavens and sent his son to earth so we would know how much he loves us. Jesus understood this. Jesus knew that there was a time to step forth. Jesus knew that there was a calling from God lying out in front of him, and Jesus knew that God would rip open the heavens and be there.
So why was Jesus baptized? He was baptized so we would be more in tune and recognize those moments in life; that we would be fully aware of his continuing claim on our lives. He was baptized because of the moments, and it will be moments, when we are called to step forth and discover the calling God has laid in front of us. We will then experience the opening of the heavens and be greeted by the words of our Heavenly Father, “This is my child with whom I am well pleased.”
My prayer for each of you is that you recognize those moments, step forth, and see and feel the opening of the heavens. Amen.
