The Baptism of Our Lord

St. Mark tells us that John “was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk 1:4). When we use the word “baptize” today, it’s always in the context of a religious ceremony. Baptism has become a very special word for a specific Christian ritual. Not so in John’s day. To baptize simply meant “to wash with water.” At that time one could have properly said, “I’m going to baptize the dirty laundry.” Children would have been asked to help baptize the dishes or the kitchen floor after supper. In chapter 7, Mark tells us how the Pharisees would not eat until they baptized their hands. They also baptized their cups, pots, and dining couches. To baptize simply meant “to wash with water,” something we do to many of our possessions and our own bodies day after day.

But then John the Baptizer, or we might say, John the Washer, appeared at the Jordan River preaching a washing that no one had ever heard of before. “Come wash away your sins.” John proclaimed a new kind of baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Soon all of Jerusalem and the surrounding area were flocking to John to be baptized. But I’m sure there were some skeptics in the crowd who asked, “How can water wash away sins?” That’s actually a good question. Certainly, we know water is good for washing away dirt from the skin. But how can water cleanse a heart made filthy by sin? Let’s set this question aside for a moment and turn to our Gospel text.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Mt 3:13). John is absolutely right – this doesn’t make any sense. I know why I needed baptized. I’m a sinner. The same is true for everyone here, in fact, for every person who has ever lived on earth. We are all sinners in need of baptism—every one of us, except Jesus. He alone was without sin. He became a man like us in every way. He was tempted in every respect, yet was without sin. Jesus was the only person on the planet who did not need to be baptized.

So John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you!” I’ve got lots of sin, and you are the sinless Lamb of God. Here, let’s switch places. You baptize me! Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for in this way it is fitting for us to complete all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). What do these words mean? Jesus is already righteous. He can’t be any more righteous than he already is. How can his baptism complete all righteousness? St. Paul gives us the answer, “For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). This is why Jesus must be baptized – not for his own sake, but for us sinners. We don’t have righteousness and we need it. This is why Jesus must go down into the water – for you, for me.

Let’s go back to the question I asked earlier: How can water wash away sins? Martin Luther answers, “Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is the Word of God incarnate. It was necessary that he be baptized. He had to go down into the water so that we could become righteous. If Jesus is not in the water of baptism, then, of course that water won’t cleanse your heart from sin. But when Jesus stepped down into the Jordan River, that muddy old water became a life-giving flood that drowns the Old Adam in you and gives birth to the new man.

When we have a baptism, we don’t use special holy water. Did you know that? We use plain old water, probably from a plastic bottle or else straight out of the tap. Why? Because we know that the power of baptism doesn’t come from the water. There’s nothing magical about the water. All the power comes from Jesus and his Word. We don’t have a special ceremony to bless the water and make it holy because Jesus has already made all water holy. We confess this in our Rite of Baptism: “Through his Baptism, our Lord Jesus Christ has consecrated and set apart the Jordan and all water to be a saving flood and a rich and full washing away of sins.”

When you were baptized, you brought all of your sins to the water – past, present, and future – and there a great burden was lifted from you. You went away washed clean of every wicked thought and desire, of every evil word and deed. A lifetime of sin and corruption as heavy as a thousand anchors around your neck was taken away in an instant, but where did it go? God doesn’t simply decide to ignore sin or pretend it didn’t happen. God is perfect justice. Justice demands payment for debts, punishment for sin, and restitution for transgression. Where did all that sin go? It didn’t just disappear. Through baptism it was taken from you, and it was laid upon Christ. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Jesus came to the water of baptism as that holy and spotless Lamb – without sin or blemish of any kind. He stepped down into the muddy Jordan, which now ran black with the filth and sin of the entire human race. John tried to dissuade him, but Jesus was resolute: “For this purpose I have come into the world.” He who knew no sin was plunged into that deathly water, taking upon himself the sin of the world. I wonder, if you’d been there as Jesus came up out of the river, would you have seen him stagger under that crushing weight?

When we are troubled by our sins, we hurry to hear the Absolution. We find refuge at our Lord’s Table, where that burden is once again lifted. But there would be no Absolution for Jesus and the burden he carried, no blessed relief from sin’s oppressive load. There was no forgiveness for Christ and the debt he had assumed; there was only the cross. Every last sin had to be paid for in full as justice demanded.

The baptism of our Lord was the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. It marks the moment when the Lamb of God became our Sinbearer. No one else could walk his road, or bear that burden. Yet Jesus bore it gladly. For the joy that was set before him, he carried each and every one of our sins to his cross. He came to earth to drink our bitter cup of death, so that we might drink from his blessed chalice here and in heaven. Nothing could dissuade him from this task, not the protests of John, nor the temptations of the devil, not even his own plea to let this cup pass if there be any other way. There was no other way. It was necessary to fulfill all righteousness. Such is the love of God toward us that he laid upon Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the Great Exchange, by which Jesus takes all our sin along with its punishment, and gives us his perfect righteousness and standing before God.

Does Baptism really take away all sin? Does washing with water actually give us a new heart, make us dear children of God, and give us eternal life? Yes it does. The gifts that God gives us through Holy Baptism are as certain as Christ himself, who became our Sinbearer at his own baptism. The forgiveness and mercy of God is as real and solid as were the nails that pierced Christ’s hands and feet. And the love that God bears for each of us, who have become his dear children through the water of rebirth, is expressed in the words that the Father spoke at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Now that you stand as one of God’s lambs, made spotless by the blood of his Son, now that you have been clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness, now that you have inherited everything that belongs to Jesus, you may dare to hear these words as spoken to you, “You are my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased.”