the baptism of our Lord

eliciting God’s word of pleasure

summary

God pours out his unconditional love and Holy Spirit on Jesus and, thus, equips him for ministry in the world; through water and the word we are made children of God. What needs to occur in our life for God to say of us that he is well pleased?

introduction

There are a lot of things that we do as Christians that seem rather odd to our friends and neighbours:

A Baptist minister tells of how he can still see the shock on the face of a woman when he explained to her that his tradition required immersion for baptism. She had been baptized as an infant in another church. But now she wanted to join the Baptist church.

“Isn’t there some other way?” she asked. “Dunking is so ... so ... inelegant!”

Why would this lady consider baptism to be, of all things, inelegant? Not to mention the other oddities that Christians practice, perhaps the inelegance of baptism is the point.

To find out, let’s take some time this morning to reflect on what we might learn from Jesus’ own baptism.

the baptism of Jesus

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And 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. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17)

The first thing that we can notice is that Jesus’ baptism was by no means elegant. There was nothing elegant about Jesus’ baptism: it was done in dirty water, by public full immersion, and humiliatingly unnecessary.

When one imagines Jesus’ baptism, like most religious fantasies, it is quite natural to conceive an idyllic scenario in our mind’s eye. But, since the Jordan river coursed windingly through a fertile valley, it picked up a lot of dirt along the way. So, at the very least, the water in which Jesus was baptised was running and would have been a dirty brown. Baptism is supposed to wash us clean — “whiter than snow”, as the hymn states — but not during Jesus’ baptism.

Jesus’ baptism was performed by John. While Jesus’ cousin, he had chosen a rather strange lifestyle, the kind that would make any passerby take a second, sideways-glance of sceptical regard. The Bible says of him, “John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins [...] clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:4-6). Surprisingly, he developed a following, with people seeking him out for religious instruction and ritual. So, when Jesus came to him, there would have been many people about to see him submit to this wild man.

Jesus’ baptism by John would also have been by full immersion. No nice little sprinkle, but a full body soaking because John, and many like him, took such spiritual commitments very seriously. For John, this period of history was witnessing a great change, with the return of the Holy Spirit and the arrival of the promised Messiah. All focussing on Jesus. He was not baptised quietly, with a few friends and family looking on, after the main service, when everyone else has left the building. Jesus’ baptism was public, to the full extent of that term.

To top it all off, Jesus’ baptism was completely unnecessary — John admitted this himself (Matthew 3:14). Jesus was holy and righteous and pure and certain not in any need of cleansing and forgiveness. So, while his baptism was necessary “to fulfill all righteousness” (:15), it certainly had all the elements of a painful and inelegant process.

Yet, something rather remarkably supernatural occurred.

It is important to also note about Jesus’ baptism the wider cultural and religious context. This was a rather critical period of the history of Israel. Many were losing hope of God’s promises, spoken by the prophets of old. Many believed that the Spirit of God was no longer present in human history. That the Spirit descends upon Jesus, and the voice speaks from Heaven, is an indication of the arrival of the longed-for Messianic age and that Jesus was indeed that hoped-for and promised Messiah.

The water and the word operate as symbols of a deep spiritual reality. The penitent comes forward, in humility, and the word is spoken by God. In this moment, the natural and supernatural come together — Heaven and earth ‘touch’, as it were — in a great pronouncement that confirmed the earlier announcement that salvation had come to those “upon whom God’s favour rests” (Luke 2:14).

But do not make the mistake of presuming that the ritual itself is in some way magic, that certain words and elements must be present for the hand grace to be forced on behalf of the baptised. On the contrary, in every sense of this scenario, the word is an instance of God’s grace. Without the word, the grace has not been imparted, notwithstanding the state of the water.

What was it about Jesus that elicited God’s word of pleasure? Yes, Jesus was God’s Son, but he still represents humanity in toto (1 Timothy 2:5; cf. John 1:14; Heb. 2:9-18). His baptism was unnecessary insofar as he was without sin, yet, in his humanity, his baptism was completely necessary as a demonstration of his obedience. His obedience serves as an example to us.

Jesus’ obedience would be fully tested and revealed in his willingness to accept death on the cross for our sakes, but that obedience was perfected in all the little obediences to which Jesus’ submitted himself (John 6:38).

In his baptism, Jesus perfectly reflected the two greatest commandments, identified by him:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”. (Matthew 22:37-39)

By submitting to John, in such a manner, Jesus was demonstrating his total love and submission to God, as per the first great commandment. By submitting to baptism, when it was essentially unnecessary, Jesus was demonstrating his total love for all people, as per the second great commandment. His humble submission elicited the Father’s word of pleasure: "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 317).

It is no coincidence that love of God and love of one’s neighbours is united so. Salvation is not, nor has it ever been, primarily and only for the benefit of individuals. Let us recall the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14:

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

While the individual’s sin is forgiven, it results necessarily in the healing of the land, for the benefit of their neighbours as well. In all times and in all ways, the love of God and love of neighbours always results in benefit for an individual and for his or her neighbours. Because Jesus so willingly accepted and epitomised this fact, God was pleased to speak his grace into Jesus’ life, in the hearing of many.

Baptism is more than a command. It is certainly not a magic ritual with any salvific power inherent in itself. What it is is an opportunity for you and I to humble ourselves — and, yes, perhaps even humiliate ourselves just a little bit — so that we might demonstrate our heart-felt belief, make our confession (Romans 10:9), thus inviting God’s good pleasure and reconciliation (John 3:16), and enter new, abundant, and eternal life (John 10:10, 28), as we embark on a glorious journey of love and service (2 Corinthians 5:18), all for the sake of God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:7-13).

conclusion & response

All of this, of course, begs the following questions: Have you accepted Jesus into your heart? Have you been baptised, with water and, more importantly, with spirit? Have you humbly committed your life to not just believing about Jesus, but making him the centre of your life and obeying him above all else? Have you thus heard the Word of God spoken into your life, that he is God pleased with you?

If you have answered, “No”, to any of these questions may I implore you deal with the barriers that separate you from God — perhaps I can help — and to not waste another minute apart from God. While faith and the whole Christian lifestyle can seem a little quirky and inelegant at times, that hesitation cannot account for the joy in my heart and the daily experience of ‘walking with Jesus’ that I enjoy. That abundant and eternal life can be yours, truly. You too can hear and know God’s word of pleasure both for and in your life.

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