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Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. Then Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”(Matthew 3:13–17)
Let's say that my left hand is covered with dirt and mud. Let's also say that my right hand is clean and pure. In order for me to wash my left hand, I will need my right hand. So, in the process of rubbing both hands together with soap and water, my left hand becomes clean.
We will learn today that, when Jesus was baptized, He took the dirt and mud of our sin upon Himself. He took our sin all the way to the cross. He rose from the dead and fulfilled righteousness for you and me. In our baptism, we could not clean ourselves, but God washed us clean. Sin and death were drowned, and we were covered with the robe of Christ's righteousness. Our baptism was an epiphany — a manifestation of God's love toward you and me.
One day, a man by the name of John came out of the wilderness and preached a message of repentance. He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He also pointed to a Mightier One whose sandal strap he was not worthy to untie.
John not only preached repentance and the forgiveness of sins, but he also baptized by the Jordan river. It was a baptism for repentance. It prepared the people for the coming Messiah. So, many people from Jerusalem, Judea, and the region around the Jordan went out to be baptized by John.
Standing in line, one day, was Jesus. “Next,” said John, and here comes Jesus walking into the water. John was surprised and shocked when he saw the Lord. John argues that this is upside down; this is backwards. He says, “I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
Who was John? He was a sinner, just like you and me. He was a child of Adam and Eve, just like you and me. John, the sinner, should be baptized by Jesus, the Sinless One, not the other way around. It's like the doctor asking the patient to heal him.
Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God. He had no sin to confess. He had no need for repentance. He had nothing to wash away. Yet, He says to John, “Permit this baptism to continue, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Sinners came to John's baptism to get rid of their sins; but Jesus came to John's baptism to take on our sins. He is the Lord of all, but He came to be the Servant of all. He is the Sinless One who came to take upon the sin of the whole world.
Imagine taking a bath in someone else's bath water. It's a rather disgusting thought. But that's what Jesus did. The water of the Jordan was filled with the greed of the tax collectors, the filth of the prostitutes, the gossip of the so–called sinners of the day. But our sin was there as well — our sin of immorality, drunkenness, deceit, pride, slander, greed, and the list could go on.
I've never had the opportunity to see the Jordan river with my own eyes, but I am told it isn't very clean. It never has been. Do you remember Naaman, the Syrian army commander who had leprosy? Elisha the prophet told Naaman to dip himself seven times in the Jordan river and he would be healed. Naaman refused, saying that the rivers of Damascus were cleaner than the muddy water of the Jordan. But, after a great deal of coaxing by one of Naaman's servants, he dipped himself seven times in the Jordan river and was completely healed. It wasn't the water, but the Word of God joined to the water that caused Naaman to be cleansed and healed.
So also, in our baptism, the significant thing was not where the water came from — honestly, it comes from the sink. The important thing was the word of God connected to water. The Small Catechism asks the question, “How can the water do such great things?” The answer: Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God's word, the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God, it is a Baptism, that is, a life–giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit. The power is not in the water, but in the Word attached to the water.
One person who had the chance to visit the Holy Land brought back some water from the Jordan to be used for a family baptism. The pastor looked at the water and was afraid to put his hand in the water let alone put it on someone's head. Is the Jordan river dirty water? Yes, it always has been.
But Christ was not afraid to step into this water. He stepped into a sinner's bath water. He stepped into the pollution of our idolatry and immorality. He stood in the water with the tax collector and the outcast. He stepped into our sin. He became the adulterer, the drunkard, the liar, the thief, the blasphemer, and the murderer. Jesus soaked up our sin and its death into His own flesh so that He might put it to death once and for all on the cross. That's what Jesus meant by “fulfilling all righteousness.”
Therefore, Jesus' baptism and His death upon the cross go hand–in–hand. They are both inseparably connected. In the Jordan, Jesus was baptized for sinners and, at Calvary, Jesus died for sinners. Both in the Jordan and at Calvary, Jesus was our substitute.
When Jesus died upon the cross, a great exchange took place. Second Corinthians 5:21 puts it this way: “[God] made Him [namely Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Galatians 3:13 says: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.” Jesus took up our sin, our guilt, our punishment; and we received from Him His forgiveness. It's like a beggar putting on the king's robe and the king putting on the beggar's coat. It's like the dirt and mud of my left hand being transferred to my right hand. Jesus gets treated like a sinner so that we would be declared saints. He was baptized into our sin, and we were baptized into His righteousness. He was baptized into the curse of the Law, and we were baptized into God's blessing and favor.
John was one of four participants chosen to represent his High School in the relay event at the state track meet. He was a key competitor for his team. But tragedy struck on the day of the state track meet. During warm–up, John pulled a muscle. John was very disappointed. Well, the coach chose an alternate member of the track team to take John's place. The relay team ran and won the race. John's substitute had led the team to an overwhelming victory. During the awards ceremony, the substitute placed the medal around John's neck, even though John did not run.
In our race toward heaven, we have all failed. We were injured in the Garden of Eden. But Jesus was our substitute. He took our place, and He won the victory. In our baptism, He placed the beneifits of His victory upon us. We are now clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
Jesus' baptism was like His ordination. From here on out, His ministry began. Jesus' baptism was an epiphany, marking Him as the Messiah promised by the prophets of old. Jesus' baptism marked Him as the One who would die for the sin of the whole world. It marked Him as the Father's chosen Servant, the Elect One. It marked Him as the Father's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased.
Just as, in the Baptism of our Lord, the Father was present speaking, the Son was standing in the water, and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, so also we were baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Just as in Christ's baptism, the heavens were opened, so also, heaven is open to us through faith in Christ.
Just as the Spirit hovered over the waters at the time of creation and the Spirit descended like a dove upon Jesus, so also, in our baptism, the Spirit gave birth to spirit.
Just as Jesus was declared to be the Father's beloved Son, so also, in our baptism, we are declared to be the Father's beloved through Jesus Christ — sons and daughter in His kingdom.
Just as the Father was well pleased with Jesus, so also, the Father is well pleased with us through faith in Christ.
Martin Luther writes in the Large Catechism, “Thus you see plainly that Baptism is not a work which we do but a treasure which God gives and faith grasps, just as Jesus upon the cross is not a work but a treasure offered to us in the Word and received by faith,” (Large Catechism IV:37). He also says, “No greater jewel, can adorn body and soul than Baptism, for through it we obtain perfect holiness and salvation, which no other kind of life and no other work on earth can acquire,” (Large Catechism IV:46).
Dearly beloved, your baptism is the foundation of your Christian life. Even on bad days, your baptism will be a source of comfort for you. Baptism is what being a Christian is all about. Your baptism took place in the past, but it is a present day reality. It isn't a memory of a past act, but a description of who you are in Christ.
So, when you are burdened by the weight of a sin that condemns you, when you are troubled that you are a sinner before God, when a voice within you causes you to doubt your belief in Christ, when life in general weighs heavy upon you, remember your baptism. Remember that, in baptism, you are now and always a child of God.
Who are you? You are a baptized child of God and dearly loved by Him. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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