Matthew 3 [when Jesus was baptized] behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (vs. 17).
You gotta know some stuff. You have to
learn. Most stuff, even if you have already learned, you gotta hear it again
every so often, else it gets lost to the fog of time and competing memories.
Christian faith is more than just knowing stuff, you gotta believe it, trust in
it make it yours for life. But never get to thinking that faith is completely
different than knowing stuff, or that knowing stuff is a hindrance to
believing. You have to know what it is you are believing. The baptism of Jesus
was recorded in the Gospel so Christians would know about God, and about Jesus
and about your life with God and with Jesus.
First, about God.
The Christian confesses, “I believe in
one God.” There is only one God. That’s made clear throughout all the Bible.
All the other supposed gods are made up in the imaginations of men and women,
or worse yet, are demons, masquerading as gods. God, the true God, is One a
complete and perfect unity.
The Christian says, “I believe in God
the Father and I believe in God the Son and I believe in God the Holy Spirit.”
God the Father, whom we pray to as we’ve been taught to say, Our Father who art
in heaven. God the Son, who was born at Bethlehem to be our Immanuel, our God
with us. And God the Holy Spirit whom we were given at our baptism and remains
with the believer lifelong comforting with peace, joy, faith, self-control and
all his other fruits. Three “Persons”, as the way we’ve come to talk about it,
while still One God.
That great moment at the Jordan River,
the One God showed Himself in three persons. The Father spoke from heaven,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Son of God was
standing in the water, being baptized by John. The Holy Spirit presented
Himself in a visible form, a dove.
We Lutheran Christians have benefited
from the insights of Martin Luther on lessons like this. He said, This shows
that baptism is no ordinary human custom and practice. It is a divine command
and promise. The Triune God Himself shows baptism to be a divine act when He, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit show up at the baptism John was doing in the old Jordan
River.
Now about Jesus, you gotta know
somethings about Jesus.
John was reluctant to baptize him at
first. By all rights he should have been. Just previously it is recorded that
John was preaching to the people of that time, “I baptize you with water for
repentance” (vs. 11). Jesus was sinless. He had nothing to repent. Repentance
was inappropriate for him. It’s for all the rest of us, including John. So John
says, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (vs. 14).
The Son of God humbled himself. He
with the Father and the Holy Spirit is forever one God, enthroned in the glory
of his heavenly home. He came down from heaven and became a man. Jesus, the
man, did all things that a man has to do, including submitting himself to
another, John the Baptist and preacher. He was “fulfilling all righteousness”.
Jesus is our Immanuel -- God with
us. He is with us in the waters of
baptism.
This passage is so helpful in teaching us about Jesus -- who He is
and What he does. The Father’s voice from heaven says, “This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus is the Man in the river. Jesus is the Son of God. Who is
Jesus? True God and True Man.
The Father tells what Jesus does when he says, “With whom I am
well pleased.” The Father is pleased. Without Jesus there is so much that the
Father is unhappy with. He had told the world what he wanted, the Ten
Commandments. But people did not do them, and today, even more so, the
Commandments of God are not honored or obeyed. The world is filled with
problems because of this. People get sick, get old, and die. So you might be
left wondering, what’s God think about me, a poor sinner?
What a happy sound to hear God the Father say He is pleased. Do
you know what will make God happy? There’s Jesus, doing all righteousness,
being born in humility, being baptized with us sinners, teaching the Father’s
word, dying for our sins and living again for our eternal life.
Now, you gotta know somethings about what the baptism of Jesus has
to do with you.
Romans 6 gives additional thoughts to this. St. Paul writes “We
were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just
as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may
live a new life.” (Rom. 6:4)
Right there in baptism, Jesus us Immanuel, God with us.
Jesus didn’t have to be baptized. You did.
Jesus didn’t need to repent of sins. You do.
Jesus didn’t need any forgiveness. You do.
Jesus didn’t need to die. You do.
There He is with you and you with him, buried with Him through
baptism into death.
Have that picture in mind of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, there on the banks of the Jordan River. It’s for you that they are
there. The Father is pleased with you, because you are baptized and given
Christ’s righteousness. The Son is there, Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. The
Holy Spirit is there, teaching you to learn and believe the love of Jesus and
your new life with God who is well
pleased.
Amen.
