Through Baptism

This Is My Son, Whom I Love

1.11.26 [Matthew 3:13-17] River of Life (The Baptism Of Our LORD)

Php 4:23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. 

Raise your hand if you personally cook meat in your home. Nothing wrong if you’re on the Daniel diet, but I can see there are a good many of us who cook meat. Keep your hand in the air if you wash your meat before you cook it. Some of you do wash your meat. Others of you are looking at me like I grew a second head. 

People who do wash their meat typically do so for a number of reasons. It might be that they only wash certain meats—perhaps raw poultry when it has a kind of gooey texture. Others wash meat because they always have. Maybe they grew up on a farm. Or they’re used to open-air meat markets. Still others wash meat because it’s a family or cultural tradition. Washing meat has always been part of the slaughtering process. It’s an effective way of removing dirt, debris, and the inedible parts of an animal. 

Today, in our country, we buy meat that has already been washed. In fact, the USDA advises people not to wash their meat. It’s actually worse for you to do so, because the running water from the faucet spreads harmful bacteria all around your kitchen.

Now, whether you wash your meat or not is not my concern. But I think it offers an interesting parallel to the practice of Baptism. Today, in our country, when you tell someone you were baptized as a child, they might look at you like you’ve grown a second head. 

Less than two weeks ago, I was talking with a complete stranger about Christianity and the Church. When he found out that I am a pastor, he was eager to talk spiritual shop. He told me that his in-laws go to one of those crazy churches that baptizes infants. I let him go for a long time—maybe longer than he would have liked—before I told him that I was one of those crazy pastors who love to baptize infants. He was stunned. You don’t believe that they're sinful, do you? I mean they’re babies! They’re innocent. They can’t do nothing wrong yet. 

There are many people in our world today who see some value in Baptism for some people—but they would not declare with Peter that 1 Pt. 3:21 baptism saves you. They claim that Baptism is proof that God has already saved you and that in Baptism, you are the one doing the important work. You are publicly committing yourself to live the way God wants you to live. Baptism is you dedicating you. 

Would you know how to answer him? Would you know how to defend your faith? Or would you find yourself kind of explaining it the way a person might talk about why they choose to wash their meat before they cook it? 

There are very good reasons we practice Baptism the way we do. Jesus commands us to Mt. 28:18-20 go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything he commanded us. Peter, 50 days after Jesus’s resurrection, told the crowd to Acts 2:38-39 repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, every one of you, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children, and for all whom are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. We baptize sinners of all stripes and ages because in Baptism, God saves. God washes the wicked clean. 

But that framework leaves us scratching our heads when we read our text from Matthew 3, today. Today, it is not a hardened criminal or a cuddly little infant that is being baptized. It is the Son of Man. 

1 Pt. 2:22 He committed no sin. No deceit was in his mouth. Heb. 4:15 He was tempted, like any other man, yet he was without sin. Jesus was so righteous that John the Baptizer was convinced there was no reason for Jesus to be baptized at all. You heard him. Mt. 3:14 I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?

John had spent his ministry making two things clear. People are sinful and God’s Messiah is coming. John is talking up Jesus when he speaks about his power and his baptism and his winnowing fork. To John, baptism was just for repentance. Just for sinners. 

But Jesus’ response indicates that God does more through Baptism than even John realized. Mt. 3:15 Let it be so now. It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. 

Jesus is assuring John that his being baptized fits with God’s plan of justification and sanctification. Not only that, but Jesus’ baptism is necessary. It is mission-critical. It isn’t just nice. It’s necessary.   

Look at what happens Mt. 3:16 as soon as Jesus was baptized. Heaven was opened. The Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove. The Father declared in no uncertain terms: Mt. 3:17 This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased. Baptism does no less for God’s children today. Baptism saves through Jesus. 

As soon as any person is baptized, heaven is opened for them. Jn. 3:5 No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. And that is what God gives in Baptism! 

As soon as any person is baptized, they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit—faith in Jesus as their Savior. That faith may be made obvious—declared publicly as they approach the font. In Baptism, God claims sinners as his own. He changes them. Gives them a new, cleansed heart. He gives them a clear conscience towards God that assures them of their holy status. We ought not be surprised that where sin is seen readily and regularly, faith ought to be confessed, expressed, and put into practice just as readily and regularly. But when sin is harder to see, like in the case of an infant, it should be no surprise that faith is hard for us to see, too. Yet that does not mean that neither exist. In Baptism, God saves the grizzled sinner and the gentle infant through the same water & Word. 

As soon as any person is baptized, God declares publicly, this is my child, whom I love, with him or her I am well pleased. This is not because God is pleased by our promise to live right. God is pleased because he has made us his children. In Baptism, God adopts us. In an adoption, the child does not convince prospective parents of their value or worth. Most often, they do almost nothing.  Yet the gift of belonging and family, support and love are theirs all the same. In Baptism, God opens heaven; he gifts his Holy Spirit; and he declares his connection and affection. 

But why did Jesus need to be baptized?

Heaven was already his home. He was always the Triune God and knew the Spirit’s power. He had no reason to doubt his status as God’s Son or his Father’s love and pleasure. 

Jesus was not baptized so that he could have anything that wasn’t already his. He was baptized so that he might share these blessings with his bride. 

In Ephesians 5, Paul is writing to husbands and wives. And he says to husbands Eph. 5:25-27 Love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

The picture Paul uses to explain the impact of Baptism is one of a wedding. It helps us understand why Jesus was baptized. In passing through the waters of the Jordan River, he was uniting himself with his bride, the church. For years, God had given us his Word that he would do this—pledging himself much like people pledge to get married. But when you are engaged, it is proper to also get married. By being baptized, when and where and how all Lk. 3:21 the other people were being baptized, Jesus was being publicly united with his bride that she might share in his life and his blessings. In his Baptism, Jesus joined with sinners like you & me.

Rom. 6:3 All of us who were baptized have been baptized into his death and resurrection. Rom. 6:4 Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we have been raised from being dead in our transgressions to live a new and holy life with him. God the Son gave himself up for us. God the Spirit washes us with water through the Word. God the Father declares us holy and blameless and welcomes us into his family. 

Why does God do all this? Because he loves us. That’s why a good man marries his bride and that’s why Jesus was baptized. Because he loves us. That’s why he lived a life of humble obedience on earth, as our servant. Because he loves us. That’s why he died a shameful death on the cross, as our Substitute. Because he loves us. That’s why he rose powerfully from the grave as our Conqueror and Christ. Because he loves us.

Because he loves us, heaven has been opened for us. Because he loves us, we have been gifted his Holy Spirit to support, encourage, and train us in righteousness. Because he loves, the Father beams with pride as he declares us his own, in whom he is well pleased. This is why Baptism is so precious to us. And our God.  

Baptism is not merely a historical or cultural practice. It is the Gospel embedded in Water. We do not baptize just because that’s what our forefathers did. Baptism is how God shows us he loves us. We do not baptize for superstitious reasons. Baptism is how God saves and sanctifies. Baptism is not the place where a person makes promises to live more faithfully and righteously. Baptism is where and when and how God does his work.  Baptism is how God has chosen to open heaven, to gift us his Spirit, and to assure us of his love. Baptism joins us with Jesus. Amen.