Matthew 3:13-17; 1
Corinthians 1:26-31; Isaiah 42:1-7
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
“Behold my Servant, whom I uphold, my
Chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon Him; He will bring
forth justice to the nations.” These words the LORD spoke through His prophet
Isaiah, but they describe His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is not only God’s Son,
but He is also God’ Servant. This is not a matter of inequality. Jesus is not
inferior to His Father in any way, but He is fully God, “the only-begotten Son
of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the
Father.” Jesus is God. Yet, Jesus is God’s servant. There is no shame in being
a servant. Rather, being a servant is something that is characteristic of our
God Himself. God upholds His servant. He has chosen Him, and His soul delights
in Him.
When the Son of God became flesh, in the
Incarnation, which we just celebrated at Christmas, the Son of God became the
Servant. “Though He was in the form of God, [He] did not count
equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the
form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human
form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death
on a cross.” Jesus was obedient to His parents and to His governing
authorities. Jesus was obedient to His God and Father. And Jesus was obedient
to His Father’s will and Law. Though He was righteous and holy, having no sin
of His own, but was perfect and pure in every way, Jesus humbled and submitted
Himself to be circumcised in obedience to the Law. And, just before He began
His ministry, which would culminate in His Passion, death, and resurrection,
Jesus humbled Himself once again and He submitted Himself to be baptized by
John in the Jordan. He was baptized, not for His sins and unrighteousness, for
He had none, but for your sins, and for my sins, and for the sins of the entire
world.
John knew this very well. He resisted
Jesus, insisting that it was necessary rather that Jesus should baptize him.
Jesus did not disagree, but He answered John saying, “Let it be so now, for
thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” It was fitting, it was
necessary, that our righteous Lord step into that river like a common sinner
and be washed with its filthy water, for it was fitting, it was necessary, for
righteousness to be fulfilled for you, that Jesus become a sinner for you. Yes,
all the crowds of repentant sinners came to John at the Jordan to be baptized
and to have their sins washed away by water and the promise of God’s Word.
However, when Jesus entered those waters, He had no sins to be washed away, but
instead, He took upon Himself all sins, all uncleanness, all unrighteousness,
and He became the One Sinner for all humanity. “For our sake [God] made Him to
be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of
God.” O blessed exchange! Or holy cure!
Through the prophet Isaiah, God had
promised of His Servant, “I have put my Spirit upon Him.” And, what happened
when Jesus came up from the water of His baptism, but the heavens were opened,
the Father spoke, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” and
the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus and remained with Him, fulfilling this
Word and Promise of God. This was the moment that Jesus became in the flesh
what God’s holy angels had declared Him to be at His birth: The Messiah, the
Anointed One, the Christ. Jesus was christened with the full approval and
blessing of the Father, and God’s Holy Spirit came upon Him and remained with
Him as a flesh and blood man. He with whom, as the Son of God, the Father was
already pleased, secured the Father’s favor for your flesh and blood bodies as
well. God was well pleased with Jesus as a human man, thus His Spirit was
pleased to dwell with Him. And, because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God is
pleased to dwell in your flesh and blood bodies as well.
That is why Jesus was baptized. He was
baptized for you. Jesus was baptized so that He could suffer and die for you,
and for the sins of the entire world, upon the cross, and that would actually
mean something, would actually count for something, would actually do something.
For, if just any man were to die, it would mean nothing at all. All men are
sinners, and the wages of sin is only and always death. If just any man were to
die, he would only be receiving what he had earned, what he deserved. But, if
the sinless Son of God dies as a man, in the flesh, then the curse is broken.
Both flesh and spirit are redeemed. Jesus did this for you. Everything was for
you.
And, because of His baptism in the
Jordan by John, Jesus has provided for you a sign and a seal in Holy Baptism
marking you, preserving you, and bestowing upon you the benefits of His
righteousness, obedience, and holiness in His death and resurrection. By
stepping into the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus “sanctified and instituted
all waters to be a blessed flood and a lavish washing away of sin.” Therefore,
it doesn’t matter if you are sprinkled, washed, or dunked, but what matters is
the Word and Command of Jesus and the application of water – period. Your
baptism is a sign of God’s promise kept and fulfilled for you in Jesus, but it
is not merely a sign. Your baptism gives to you everything that God promises in
His Word: “It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and
gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the Words and Promises of
God declare.”
You have been baptized into Jesus’ death
and resurrection. Jesus’ death is your death, and Jesus’ resurrection is your
resurrection. “For if [you] have been united with Him in a death like His,
[you] shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like His.”
Everything that belongs to Jesus He shares with you who are baptized into Him.
Your baptism makes you a Christian, because you are baptized into Christ. Your
baptism weds you to your Bridegroom, for you are joined with Him in a one-flesh
union. “Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” Only
you can end this marriage. Divorce is not of God.
Jesus was baptized for you. Jesus was
baptized so that you could be received into Him: “God became man so that man
might become God.” The LORD demands that you be holy as He is holy. You
couldn’t make yourself to be holy, so He has made you holy Himself. Your
baptism bestowed this upon you. Because of your baptism, you need never fear
that God’s forgiveness is not for you. It doesn’t matter how you feel. It
doesn’t matter what you experience. It doesn’t matter how many works you
perform. It doesn’t matter if you still sometimes fall and sin. All that
matters is that you believe, and by believing I mean that you fear, love, and
trust in God and all that He has done for you in Jesus Christ His Son.
Remember your baptism. That’s good
advice. That’s what it means to be a Christian. My family has been blessed to
spend a few different summer vacations at an old home on Kelly’s Island in Lake
Eerie of the coast of Sandusky, Ohio. A Lutheran pastor and his wife owned the
house and they used it as a retreat for members of their congregation and for
other pastors and their families. It was called St. Timothy House. One of the
quaint things I remember about my visits to St. Timothy house is that the
pastor had placed little encouraging spiritual signs in various places around
the house. Wherever there was a source of water – a faucet, shower, spicket,
etc. – there was a little sign that read, “Remember your baptism.” Remember
your baptism when you are feeling down and depressed. Remember your baptism
when you are afflicted by illness, depression, or doubt. Remember your baptism
when you realize that you have fallen into sin. Remember your baptism when you
don’t feel very fruitful. Remember your baptism when some pietistic Evangelical
Christian brother or sister tells you that you do not believe enough, pray
enough, read the Bible enough, do enough good works, repent enough, go to
church enough, evangelize enough, or whatever enough, etc. You are not
justified by your works, by your feelings, by Bible reading or prayers, or by
ANYTHING that you do, but you are justified by Holy Baptism, because Holy
Baptism puts upon you Jesus’ righteousness, obedience, and holiness. That’s why
St. Peter writes, “Baptism now saves you.”
For,
consider your callings, brothers and sisters: not many of you are wise
according to worldly standards, not many of you are powerful, not many of you
are of noble birth. But God consistently chooses what is foolish in this world
to shame the wise; God chooses what is weak in this world to shame the strong;
God chooses what is low and despised in this world, even things that are not,
to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human beings might boast. And,
because of Him, you are in Christ Jesus.
Even now, God has chosen these foolish things, sinful flesh and faltering
speech, ordinary water, tasteless bread, and inexpensive wine to which He has
attached His Word of Promise that you may be forgiven anew, strengthened in
faith, and equipped for every good work. Remember your baptism. Remember that
you are clothed with Christ’s righteousness that covers all your sins. Remember
that all this comes to you as a free and perfect gift, from outside of you,
bearing not the corruption of your sin. Therefore you can receive it, you can
trust it, and you can have peace with God, and you can have peace with man,
just as the angels proclaimed at Jesus’ birth.
In
the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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