January 8, 2017
Baptism of Our Lord

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17

“Apparently, baptism was always a problem. The first time it was a problem was when Jesus came to be baptized by John. After all, if Jesus was the Messiah, why in the world would he need to be baptized by John? While you can sense that each evangelist struggled with this question, Matthew’s discomfort is perhaps most palpable. He solves his dilemma by two deft additions to the tradition he inherits from Mark:

1. John protests: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” In his incredulity you sense Matthew’s.
2. Jesus grants the awkwardness of the situation and gives both of them an out by saying a) that this is a temporary condition (“let it be so for now”) and b) that in this way they “fulfill all righteousness.”

But while Matthew and his colleagues solve this initial problem of Jesus being baptized by John, Christians ever since have struggled with a second question: Why is Jesus baptized at all? Given that we typically connect baptism to forgiveness of sin, if Jesus is the sinless Son of God, in what way does he need baptism? Or, more broadly, how does baptism benefit him at all? On this point, all the evangelists agree: Baptism is not a simply a mechanism for forgiveness but rather announces God’s favor and establishes Jesus’ identity. For example, in Matthew’s account the voice from heaven announces that Jesus is God’s Son, the One with whom God is well pleased. Baptism, for Jesus, was less about forgiveness than it was about commissioning, the inauguration of his mission and ministry and assurance of God’s presence.” (David Lose, working preacher website, January 5, 2014)

I know, from my youth, that I was always happy when my parents gave me some affirmation – told me they were pleased with me, pleased with my behavior – certainly I was told too many times to remember when they weren’t pleased with me. I think we all are happy when someone says to us “well done”. But, Jesus gets affirmation from G-d his Father without doing anything – there was nothing that Jesus had done to please G-d. G-d it seems is pleased simply because Jesus has come – come to the Jordan – come to be baptized. He is doing what G-d would want him to do. It is important for us to take note of this for two reasons. First, there is nothing that we can do to earn G-d’s favor – because all righteousness has come through Jesus – he fulfills all righteousness in his baptism. Second, G-d is pleased because in Jesus being baptized, G-d now has turned the world upside down. Everything is turned upside down according to the world’s standards. Jesus, the Savior, is being baptized by John the Baptizer. The superior is being baptized by the inferior. The Son will be a servant. The world’s expectations of a Savior is now redefined – it is not about the powerful defeating the weak – power now is shown as emptying the self – and through it all, G-d is present in and through the ministry and mission of Jesus.

Pastor Dave