Memento Nostri

The words of the Introit are a prayer, imploring God to keep His saving promise: “Remember us, O Lord, with the favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people: oh, visit us with Thy salvation!” (Psalm 106:4) The collect echoes this plea, “Stir up, O Lord, we beseech Thee, Thy power, and come and help us with Thy great might…”

From the days of Adam until the present time, this prayer, in one form or another, has been on the lips of all faithful Christians. God has promised to deliver His people. And in our worship, as an act of faith and trust in God’s promise, we ask Him to remember what He has said and to visit us with His strength and salvation.

Not only had God promised to save His people from their sins, He had spoken through Ezekiel of the specific means by which He would do this: “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:25–28)

It is absolutely clear from this text that the baptism God has promised will be something significant. God Himself will do the baptizing. He will sprinkle the clean water. He will remove the filth of sin. He will create a new heart within us. And He will bestow His Holy Spirit upon all who receive this baptism.

For five hundred years after Ezekiel delivered these words, the people of God had been waiting for the promise to be fulfilled. They were eagerly expecting God to visit them with His salvation. They were ready to receive the washing of water that would forgive sins and bestow the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when John appeared, preaching a baptism for the forgiveness of sins, all Jerusalem and Judaea flocked to him to receive it. How big of a deal was this baptism? Big enough that the priests  and Levites assumed that John must be the Messiah!

How sad it is that in our day entire denominations of Christians deny the significance and power of baptism, when in John’s day, even the priests and Levites knew that baptism was so important it could only be done through the power and authority of the Messiah. So they ask John, “Are you the Christ? If not the Christ, are you Elijah, the greatest prophet of the Old Testament? And if not Elijah, are you the Prophet, the One spoken of by Moses, the One who will speak to us in the name of God?” John denies all this, and so they ask, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” (Jn 1:25)

You see, the priests and Levites know what the Baptists and Pentecostals of our day do not: Baptism is no mere outward sign. Oh, no. Baptism is the saving action of God Himself, just as He promised. Baptism is so significant that only the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, should be doing it. So how can John be baptizing if he is not the Messiah?

John’s answer is wonderful. “I baptize you with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.” (John 1:26) This is why baptism has the power to save, because Jesus stands among us, even when we do not yet know Him! The priests and Levites were not wrong when they asked, “If you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet, why then do you baptize?” They knew that baptism was tied to the coming of the Messiah. They knew that it was an answer to our prayer for God to stir up His great might and visit us with His salvation. And they were right to think so. Yes, it was John’s hands that were pouring on the water. But in truth it was God Himself who was doing the baptizing, just as He had promised in Ezekiel: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean.”

And how is it that sins are removed when sinful John pours on the water? Because of the One who stands behind John as he does so. There stands One among you whom you do not know. The priests and Levites were expecting to find the Messiah where baptism was being performed. How sad that when He appeared, He was not to their liking. But at the beginning they were right to look for Him. Where there is baptism, where God is performing His saving action, there we can also expect to find the Savior. For this is what the scriptures teach: Baptism saves, because baptism connects us to Jesus the Savior, even when we did not yet know Him.

Today, when the pastor baptizes, it is no less powerful and effective than the baptism of John. Yes, the pastor’s hands pour on the water, but it is not he, but God Himself who does the baptizing, according to His promise. You can only see the pastor, who, like John, is a sinner, but Jesus stands behind Him. This is why when the pastor speaks as he is commanded, you can be sure that his words are not his own, but are  in fact the words of God. The water of baptism is plain water, yes, but the promises behind it are backed with the saving action of God. Baptism connects you to the death and resurrection of Jesus. It delivers to you the salvation that He accomplished on His cross.

And perhaps one of the most wonderful things about baptism is that God keeps His saving promises to you, even if you don’t understand those promises. Were you baptized as a baby? Well then, it’s very likely that you had no clue about what was happening. Did you know Jesus when you were baptized? Probably not. Did you choose Jesus when you were baptized. Definitely not. But none of that matters. As John said as he was baptizing, “There stands One among you whom you do not know.” What you knew about Jesus when you were baptized doesn’t matter. It’s what He knew about you that counts. Remember, God is the one who makes all the promises in baptism. He knew you while you were yet unformed in the womb. He loved you while you were still His enemy. And He called you to Himself before you had learned to ask in prayer, “Remember us, O Lord, with the favor Thy bearest unto Thy people: oh, visit us with Thy salvation!”

 “Before you call,” God says, “I will answer. Before you cry out, I will hear you.” Listen once more to how God has already answered you and visited you with His salvation. Thus says the Lord God: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. Amen.