Matthew 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from
Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John
would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do
you come to me?" 15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us
in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. 16 And
when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the
heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and alighting on him.17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with
whom I am well pleased."
But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness."
·
Why was John the Baptizer at the Jordan?
The answer is simple: he was using the waters of the Jordan River to baptize
people who came to him to express their desire to leave behind their sins and
follow a new way.
·
The next question comes naturally:
Why is Jesus there? If Jesus has no sins to repent of, why be baptized by John?
·
This is a very real question. As far
as understanding this goes, Jesus’ own words to John don’t really help much - "Let
it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all
righteousness."
·
We could say that Jesus had do to
this to look like a good person in the eyes of all who were present, almost as
if it were done for show. This does not match up with what we know of Jesus.
After all he was known for not caring what others thought about him.
·
As far as sin goes, the church holds
that Jesus was without sin all his life long. The Letter to the Hebrews put it
this way: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we
are, yet without sin. Sin here means turning away from God
rather than some of the things we might consider sinful now. For example, it
doesn’t mean that Jesus’ words did not offend some people. To be without sin
doesn’t always mean the person is “unfailingly nice” or “perpetually sweet.”
Prophets can be a pain and they have always been so, even the prophets of our
own time.
·
The real reason for Jesus’ baptism is
simply and at the same time, very deep. Jesus was baptized to show his
commitment to the ways of God, the ways of his Father. It was a very public act
that indicated to any who would see it that Jesus was thoroughly committed to
what his Father wanted for him – his life – and what his Father wanted for the
entire world – his mission.
·
Seen in this light, the baptism of
Jesus has meaning for us as well. As Jesus dedicated and committed himself to
the will of the Father, so can we. Our own baptism – whenever and where-ever it
may have taken place puts us on that same path.
·
Whenever we celebrate a baptism here
in the sanctuary, we all renew our baptismal vows with the family of the newly
baptized and with that person if they can speak for themselves. At the Easter
Vigil and on Easter Sunday, we say again our baptismal vows as a way of
celebrating the Resurrection and the new life that comes with it.
·
We began our worship today with what
is called “the Thanksgiving for Baptism”, a rather new prelude to the Worship
Service done as a reminder of what Baptism means to the Church and to
individual Christians.
·
It is worth remembering our
confirmation lessons when considering what Baptism means for us each day. The
Small Catechism puts it this way when teaching about what our Baptism means: What does such baptizing with water
indicate? It indicates that the
Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die
with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and
arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
·
Most certainly, our own Baptism is a
gift of grace and although our baptism is different from John’s baptism, it
sets us on a path to do what God asks of us. We will do this imperfectly and
this is why we return to our Baptism that the new life we were graced with at that
first pouring of the water will daily
emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness - to use again the
words of the Small Catechism.
·
There is another layer to this that
must be added. At the Jordan, Jesus was proclaimed to be the Son of God, “the
Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." In our Baptism,
possibly in this very font, we are made children of God and are called to be
just that every day of our lives. Our new life calls us and empowers us to live
before God and in God’s grace, fulfilling all righteousness, because of the
grace of God that fulfills all righteousness.
·
Such righteousness then is not perfect
and immaculate behavior, but a life lived in the grace of God whose
righteousness is mercy and faithfulness to his Word.
·
This is what we trust in and depend
on as we live out our lives. We also hope that our lives will reflect and show
the presence and grace of God to the world around us. We may not hear a voice
from heaven speaking to us, but the small, still voice of God within our hearts
will speak and remind us that we are His children and have become His voice and
hands in the world today.
But Jesus answered him, "Let it
be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all
righteousness."
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