heaven's declaration

Baptism of the Lord

            The story is told about the young son of a Baptist minister.  He was in church one morning and witnessed baptism by immersion.  He had never seen one before.  So impressed was he that he decided the next morning to baptize his three cats.  The bathtub would have to do for a baptistery.  The youngest kitten bore it very well, and so did the younger cat.  But when it came to the old tomcat, that was a different matter.  He rebelled and struggled and fought.  But the boy was determined that this old cat would be baptized, and the old feline was brought once again to the bathtub.  But the cat mounted an even greater struggle, clawing and spiting and scratching the boy’s face.  Finally, after barely getting the cat splattered with water, the boy dropped him on the floor in disgust and said, “Fine!  Be a Presbyterian if you want to!”

            Another story allows us to listen in to a conversation between a Presbyterian minister and a Baptist colleague on the topic of baptism.  The Presbyterian asked the Baptist if he considered a person baptized if he was immersed in water up to his waist.  “No,” said the Baptist.  “Do you consider him baptized if he is immersed in water up to his neck?”  “No,” was the reply.  “Well now,” said the Presbyterian, “suppose you immersed him up to his eyebrows?  Would you consider him baptized then?”  “No,” said the Baptist.  “Well then, there you have it!” said the Presbyterian.  “It’s only the little bit of water on the top of the head that counts!”

            In the church calendar, today is known as “Baptism of the Lord.”  With the help of our gospel reading, we’re going to consider the meaning of Jesus’ baptism, and then we’re going to look at the meaning of our own.  During the service, we will all have the opportunity to renew our baptismal vows.

            Regarding Jesus’ baptism, let’s focus on four aspects.  First, at his baptism, Jesus stood with sinners.  Never in the Gospel of Matthew does the writer give us any reason to consider that Jesus needed to come to repent of any sins; none are ever mentioned.  Matthew seems to have that in mind when he notes that John said to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  Jesus is not being baptized because he has any sins of which to repent.  No.  And yet he does want to join those who are being baptized for that purpose.  Those coming to John for baptism are there to repent of their sins and to turn their lives in a new direction toward the will of God.  Jesus stands in the water of the Jordan in solidarity with those who are making a move toward God in repentance.

            The next aspect I want you to notice is that our gospel contains a lot of indications that Jesus’ baptism signals the beginning of the new age.  In other words, the end times have already begun.  The goal of God’s saving purpose is coming more clearly into focus with the baptism of Jesus.  What are the indications of this?  The heavens open.  A voice from heaven speaks.  The Spirit is given.  One commentator notes that these are the gifts that would reappear in the last days.  God’s recreating was beginning, and the open heavens, the voice from heaven, and the giving of the Spirit are the indications that the new age is underway.

            The third aspect I want you to see is at Jesus’ baptism his identity was revealed.  It came from heaven’s declaration.  What was it the voice from said?  It said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”  Matthew means for us to be aware of two scripture references in what the voice from heaven declared.  Jesus fulfills both of these scriptures, Matthew wants us to see.  The first one is Psalm 2:7, “‘You are my son; today I have begotten you.’”  This is a coronation psalm, sung at a king’s enthronement.  The voice from heaven is indicating that Jesus is God’s Son, in the sense that he is the Messiah, God’s anointed king.  Jesus’ anointing comes when the Spirit descends upon him.  But Jesus is not only God’s Son functionally.  He is also the unique and only Son of God in his identity as “Emmanuel,” God with us.   The second scripture reference is Isaiah 42:1, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.”  The voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”  Isaiah 42 is one of the Suffering Servant poems found in the book of Isaiah.  What’s so important about this declaration from heaven is that it tells us clearly how this Jesus the Messiah will carry out his ministry.  As the Son of God, he will bear the sins of the world.  Jesus will suffer on behalf of his people, dying for them on the cross, the innocent dying for the guilty.  The Messiah will serve God as the Suffering Servant of the Lord.  Jesus’ baptism is his ordination to ministry, the time and place where we see his life dedicated to God’s saving purpose.

            And the fourth aspect I want us to notice is that Jesus submitted himself for baptism in order to be obedient to the will of God.  Jesus comes to John for baptism in order “to fulfill all righteousness,” in other words, to comply with God’s will.  Jesus’ entire life will be spent doing what God wants him to do.  Even in Jesus’ final act of his ministry, dying on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, this will be a supreme act of obedience to the will of God.  As he struggles in the garden with the decision whether to go to the cross not, Matthew allows us to hear Jesus pray.  “My Father,” he says, “if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.”  But that was not how his prayer ended.  Jesus added, “. . . yet not what I want but what you want.”  Jesus was obedient to the will of God to the very end of his ministry.  Jesus coming to John at the Jordan for baptism was in obedience to the will of God.

            Once again, these are the four aspects of Jesus’ baptism we’ve been focusing on:  At his baptism, Jesus stood with sinners.  His baptism signaled the beginning of the new age.  At Jesus’ baptism his identity was revealed as Son of God, and the Suffering Servant of the Lord; and his baptism was his ordination to this ministry.  Finally, we saw that Jesus submitted himself for baptism in order to be obedient to the will of God.

            Now let’s look at four aspects of our own baptism and see how it has parallels to the baptism of Jesus.

            Symbolically, just as Jesus did, we too stand with repenting sinners in our baptism.  When believers present themselves for baptism, the minister asks them, “Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?”  They answer, “I do,” acknowledging that they are sinners, standing, in a sense, with other sinners making that vow.  Of course, babies and young children do not answer that question, but their parents do.  In that case, the parents take responsibility, along with the congregation, to see that their children are brought up to make their own confession of faith, turning from the ways of sin and renouncing evil, taking their own stand with repenting sinners.  That’s where our baptism puts us, standing with others who repent of sin and are moving toward God.

            Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of the new age.  Our baptism shows that God’s saving activity in the new age has had its impact on us.  We baptize to show God’s grace working in our lives.  Our baptism demonstrates that we die to sin.  We die to all those things that would separate us from God and God’s will for our lives.  Then we are raised up by God to newness of life.  This is all enacted in the water of baptism, even if very little water is used.  We still “go under” the water and “come up” out of it.  This new life is like putting on a new, clean garment.  As the apostle Paul puts it, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”  In baptism, we take off the old life and put on new life in Christ.  This is God’s activity in Christ, making new life in us possible.  Our new life in Christ is evidence that the new age of God’s saving activity has begun.

            As Jesus’ baptism was his ordination to his ministry as the Son of God and Suffering Servant of the Lord, so our baptism marks us as being set apart for our ministry as Christ’s disciples.  Since we die to sin and are raised by God to new life in Christ, that reality calls us to a life of faithfulness and discipleship.  As Jesus was identified by the voice from heaven as the Son of God, so we, in our baptism, are shown to be God’s people.  In the baptismal service, the minister declares, “In baptism God claims us, and seals us to show that we belong to God.”  That’s our identity, and baptism is our ordination to ministry as Christ’s disciples.

            When we are baptized, as it was for Jesus, so also for us it is an act of obedience.  In the closing section of the Gospel of Matthew, the risen Jesus tells his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”  When we present ourselves or our children for baptism, we do so in obedience to the will of God as expressed in the risen Christ’s command.

            As with Jesus, we symbolically stand with sinners in our own baptism.  Our baptism also shows the beginning of God’s new age in that God’s grace has allowed us to die to sin and rise to newness of life in Christ.  As Jesus’ baptism was his ordination for ministry, so it is for us at our baptism.  We are set apart as Christ’s disciples to carry on his ministry in the world.  And as Jesus presented himself to John for baptism in obedience to the will of God, so we present ourselves and our children for baptism, obeying God’s will as expressed in the risen Christ’s command.

            In just a moment, I will invite you to renew your baptismal vows.  You made them when you were baptized as a believer, or you made them at your confirmation when you took the baptismal vows, first made by your parents, now as your own.  The renewal of our baptism vows will be done as a group; no one will be singled out.  This act is entirely voluntary.  It will be meaningful for you only if you are sincerely rededicating yourself to your ministry as Christ’s disciple.

            I recently read a story of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army.  It is an illustration of what the baptized life is like.  As the writer put it, “Baptism is giving everything we have to God.”  Looking back on his ministry, William Booth said, “God has had all there was of me.  There have been men with greater brains than I, men with greater opportunities, but from the day I got the poor of London on my heart and the vision of what Jesus Christ could do with the poor of London, I made up my mind that God would have all of William Booth there was.  And if there’s anything of power in the Salvation Army . . . it is because God has had all the adoration of my heart, the power of my will, and all the influence of my life.”