Baptism of the Lord

Context

Christmas we celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ…the Son of God.

Over the past two Sunday, CRE Jean Meredith filled out the Christmas season by preaching on the two stories we have about Jesus childhood…the “hidden years.”

This morning we fast forward by about 30 years.

John the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, comes out of the wilderness where he had been growing strong in the prophetic spirit. He preaches a message of repentance from sin.

The crowds respond to his powerful preaching and they stream to him to be baptized in the river Jordan to be forgiven.

Pick up the story in Luke 3:15-22.

Text

Luke 3:15–22 ESV

As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Illumination

Glorious God, when Jesus was baptized for your healing mission the heavens opened in a flash of glory as vision and voice blazed upon the waters. May your Spirit so burn in us that we hear your word translated into deed and follow Jesus in paths of justice, right relationship, and peace. Amen. — Long, Kimberly Bracken. Feasting on the Word Worship Companion.

Introduction

Key documents. Driver license. Marriage cert. Social Security Card. These all describe who I am and what I can and should do.

Certificate of Baptism. One of my essential documents. Says something about who I am and what I can and should do.

Today we are going to talk about why our baptismal identity is essential.

Exegesis: Jesus makes his identity and mission visible

John is preaching at the Jordan river.

To the religious leaders: you brood of vipers; don’t rest on being “the children of Abraham”…produce good deeds!

To the crowds: share, and treat each other justly, meet each other’s needs!

To the tax-collectors: do not collect more than you are authorized to do!

Even to Roman Soldiers: do not extort or threaten people!

He even confronted the violent and vain “King” (tetrarch) Herod for stealing his brother’s wife and openly flouting the morals of the Jewish people.

People are responding to John because they sense the truth and boldness of God’s Spirit in him …and he was cutting through the social chaos around them with God’s clear Word: repent, turn from your evil ways, stop compromising, and make yourselves ready for the Christ.

In fact, so compelling was John, that the crowds began to wonder whether he himself was the Christ — the Chosen One of God who would bring the Kingdom of God.

But John was clear. He was not. There was yet another. The Christ is immanent and when he comes, he is not going to baptize with water…but with the Holy Spirit and with fire! He’s going to “clean house.” The good and faithful he will gather into the kingdom, the wicked and worthless he will scatter.

he said many such things. Many exhortations! This is described as good news!

Hope for righteousness to flourish, for God’s standards to prevail and be available to all.

A time of expectation, confusion, and great need: John where is the Messiah? When will he appears?

Always the answer: soon!

And Jesus did come.

but not exactly as John expected.

An example of prophetic time-lapse. John has been preaching the end-state of Jesus’ ministry: He is seeing the fire of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and the great judgment of the nations on the Last Day.

Jesus comes to the River Jordan not to end things, but to begin them.

He comes to make a change in his life. Like everyone else — getting baptized to make a change.

But Jesus is making a different kind of change than everyone else.

The crowds are getting baptized to make their sins known and to ask for a new life.

Jesus, in contrast, comes to make his holiness known and to offer a new life.

Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan and three things happen — visible and audible.

Jesus is lowered into the water and comes up and the heavens are opened. The glory of God shines around him.

This action reveals the meaning of what will happen at the end of Jesus’ ministyr.

He will be put to death and laid in a tomb. On the third day he is raised up by God into the glory of heaven.

Through his death — which is the atonement for all human sin — Jesus will open the heavens that were closed by Adam’s sin. The flaming sword that guards the way to paradise, will be extinguished by the flood of Jesus’ blood.

The Holy Spirit descends on him in bodily form, like a dove.

We associate the dove with peace. That association comes from the Bible.

In the book of Genesis we are told that Noah, after the great flood, sent a dove from the ark, which brought back an olive leaf. Then Noah knew that wickedness had been washed away and a new life was possible. The Holy Spirit comes to as a Dove because Jesus will establish peace between God and man and make a new righteous life possible.

The Holy Spirit takes this form to symbolizing the new life that Jesus would make possible. A life of peace and righteousness.

A voice from Heaven says, You are my beloved Son, with you I am well-pleased.

This is the voice of the Heavenly Father. The voice is affirming what Jesus knew. But this time is an audible for all to hear. Especially for Jesus to hear. That through all the challenges ahead he is unconditionally loved by the Father. His ultimate destiny then is not in the hands of those who will hate and mistreat him, but in the hands of God.

Jesus is beginning his ministry. It must be clear who he is and what is can and should do.

Baptism reveals the answer: He is the one who will atone for sin and open the way to heaven. Through him peace will be establish between heaven and earth. And even though these tasks will be accomplished at great cost to himself, he is the beloved of God.

Everything Jesus does in the rest of the gospel story is built on his God given identity which is revealed at his baptism.

Interpretation: Our vocation is built on our identity as children of God.

Good for Jesus. But how does that apply to us?

We have a God-given identity too.

Our identity is linked the identity of Jesus Christ.

When we place our faith and trust in Jesus, we are united to him so that what is true of him can become true of us.

We were not at the Jordan River that day, we were not on the cross or raised to glory. Or were we?

In fact, by the miracle of God, we were, in Christ.

When we place our faith in Christ and we are baptized into him and we share in his reality and identity.

Romans 6:3–5 ESV

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

United to Christ: Heaven is opened to us.

United to Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:5–6 (ESV)

He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage….

We draw from this reality ever morning that we share the peace of Christ with each other.

Lastly, just as Jesus was acknowledged as the beloved Son of God we too, in him, are recieved by God as his children.

1 John 3:1 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Joined to Christ, no matter what adversities we experience it is not an indication that God does not love us. But rather loves us as his own children. Unconditionally and absolutely in Christ.

Application: We choose to make the spiritual realities visible and audible

None of these certs do anything. They just say what I can and should be and do.

Driver’s license so I can drive.

Marriage license so I can love my wife.

Social Security so I can collect money.

I don’t use them, they don’t really have much value.

Baptismal certificate. The paper doesn’t do anything. The water, I was baptized in, doesn’t in and of itself do anything.

Have to put it into action.

We are in Christ when we live into our baptism identity. When we choose to make it seen and heard and felt.

Like Jesus did. Jesus did not remain hidden. He came to the river. He was seen by John and the crowds. He choose to be baptized. He chose to come up from the water in prayer. God chose to open the heavens and speak. The Holy Spirit choose to be manifest as a dove.

Made spiritual realities - atonement, renewal, and love visible and real.

Jesus spent his whole ministry showing these things.

We are called to do the same thing. To make ourselves seen and heard.

Baptismal identity is about making the invisible seen and heard and felt.

Living with openness to heaven. Heaven not too far out of sight.

BY: friend said, “When I die I am going to go to heaven. I would really like to see you there.”

Say to a neighbor, I’ll see you in heaven.

A new life in the spirit.

Peace be with you. Liturgical becomes real. Daily.

Love joy peace patience.

A life of love.

Conclusion

Vital documents. Life in this world.

Baptism. Vital. Life IN CHRIST.