Sermon Tone Analysis

Today’s sermon is about the baptism of Jesus.

My goal is to answer the question, “Why was Jesus baptized?”

Before I answer that question, I want to ask a related question.

Why were you baptized?

If you were baptized in a confessional Lutheran church the answer should be this.

You were baptized because your parents believed the teaching of the Bible that you needed it.

You were born spiritually dead, an enemy of God, and outside of the Christian community even though your parents were Christian.

You needed baptism to bring you to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the word, to forgive your sins by connecting you to the work of Jesus Christ, and to bring you into the family of God as his own dear child.

In the past many infants were baptized soon after they were born so that they would receive these blessings as early as possible and because parents were uncertain as to what would happen to an infant’s soul who died before they were baptized (although the Bible does not definitively answer that question.)

In other Christian faith communities people are baptized for different reasons but that is because they do not agree with what we believe is the biblical teaching of baptism.

It may be a ceremonial way of bringing a child into the faith community or an outward sign of God’s covenant promises.

It is usually not regarded as a means of grace.

Some questions come up as to the benefits of “when all the people were being baptized” in our text.

Some believe that the act of baptism conveyed the forgiveness of sins.

Others believe that it only symbolized the washing away of sins.

(Research).

These are reasons why sinful human beings are baptized.

But this is not why Jesus was baptized.

He was not a sinful human being.

He had no sins to be forgiven.

He also did not need to be brought into God’s family.

He is the Son of God from all eternity as God himself confirms at Jesus’ baptism when he spoke from heaven.

So why was Jesus baptized?

Luke doesn’t tell us explicitly.

But we are told elsewhere in the Bible.

“To fulfill all righteousness.”

“To mark the beginning of his public ministry.”

“To anoint him with the Holy Spirit.”

The first part of our text should sound familiar since it is from a sermon in December in which we heard about how John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus.

People were looking for a dramatic change as had been promised by God.

The history of Israel shows a very close relationship between God and this nation.

We may debate whether or not the United States is or every really was a Christian nation and some people get upset when new members of congress are sworn in by a sacred book other than The Holy Bible, but for Israel, there was to be no doubt as to which God they were to worship, obey, and trust in his promises.

The problems came when the people were unfaithful to the Lord God.

Nevertheless, he did not forsake his people or his promises and the faithful in the land believed that God would send the one they called “The Christ”.

Since John met most of the criteria, they asked the legitimate question.

“Are you the One?”

John quickly pointed out that he was NOT and pointed them to someone else.

But he did not know 100% for sure who it would be as he himself explains in John.

(NIV)