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EPIPHANY
Micah 5:1-5a
Matthew 2:1-12

BAPTISM OF THE LORD
January 13, 2008
Isaiah 42:1-4
Matthew 3:13-17

     One of the difficulties of following the Church Year is getting from Christmas to Easter in a very short time.  Two weeks ago Jesus was a newborn infant.  Last Sunday, when the Magi arrived, he was a two year old.  Today, Jesus is 30 years old and embarking on his world changing ministry.  The four gospels tell us about that ministry.  Some of the events of Jesus’ life appear in more than one gospel.  Other than the crucifixion of Christ, the Baptism of the Lord is the only pericope that appears in all four gospels.  What about his resurrection?  Even very conservative scholars will admit that the resurrection narrative in Mark (16:9-20) was probably added at a later date.   The fact that this story appears in all four gospels tells us that the writers considered it a crucial and hallmark event. 

     The story begins with John the Baptist in the river Jordan, baptizing Jews.  Next week we’ll take a closer look at John and examine his beliefs and eccentricities.  For now you need to know this, baptism was not for Jewish people.   Baptism was for Gentiles who wanted to convert to the Jewish faith.  Israel considered itself the holy people of God, “God loves us just the way we are.  We don’t need to change a thing.”  Which is why when the Pharisees come to the river, and see what John is doing, they have a very harsh exchange of words (Matthew 3:5-7).  John stands in the river with the heartbroken, unloved, outcast people of the land telling them, “Repent of your sin, the Kingdom of God is near.” 

     Everybody is sorry when they get caught doing something wrong.  I’ve spent the last nine years working with the prisoners in the Denton County jail.  Every one of those guys was really, really sorry they got caught.  A few of them were sorry they had committed a crime in the first place.  John the Baptist tells the people, “God isn’t just looking for a little sin sorrow here.  He wants to see a complete change of heart, a heart that is disturbed by the sin that drives a wedge between you and Him.  God is preparing to completely change the world we live in.  He wants you to have a heart that will embrace this new thing.”   John’s message is severe.  “If you can’t embrace this change, there will be judgment and punishment for you, no matter how Jewish you are (Matthew 3:9-12).” 

     The Old Testament does not have the books in chronological order, that is they do not appear in the order in which they were written.  However, having said that, the last book, Malachi, probably was the last book chronologically – written somewhere between 450 and 400 BC.   After that, prophecy goes silent.  For 400 years Israel does not hear from their God. 

     When John the Baptist appears, his message picks up exactly where Malachi left off.   They deal with the same topic, and they use the same words (compare Malachi 4:1-3 with Matthew 3:12).  Jesus would later identify John the Baptist as the fulfillment of the Malachi prophecy concerning Elijah (Malachi 4:5/Matthew 11:13-14).  Through John the Baptist God finishes a sentence he began 400 years earlier, “I am about to change the world.” 

     And there stands Jesus, in the water next to John, asking to be baptized.  Now, why does Jesus need to be baptized?  Of the four gospels only Matthew records John’s hesitation to baptize Jesus.  The other three imply that Jesus asked to be baptized, and John went straight to it.  The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus was perfect and without sin (Hebrews 4:15).  But, nowhere in his recorded words does Jesus ever refer to himself as sinless.   Is that why he came to the river? 

     In 1907 Albert Schweitzer (noted humanitarian, intellectual, and theologian) wrote a book that shook up the academic world.   In it he said that Jesus never knew that he was deity.  He knew he had a unique relationship with God, and he believed God was about to change the world.  But, he never saw himself as the Messiah.  He came to be baptized because he thought he was just another guy. 

     A man named Martin Dibelius picked up on Schweitzer’s theme and took it a step further.   He said Jesus never saw the cross coming.  He believed God was about to change the world, and he was going to have a front row seat to watch it happen.  Dibelius believes that Jesus’ last recorded words, such as, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children (Luke 23:28),” or “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me (Matthew 27:46)?”, show a bitter and angry Jesus who cannot believe that God didn’t save him in time.  This is a very popular position which is taught in many seminaries today. 

     Now, we can say that Schweitzer and Dibelius are idiots (and I frequently do).  But, if we’re going to refute them we need to have a good answer for why Jesus was in the river asking to be baptized.  Let’s start with this.  Does baptism wash away our sin?  No, it does not.  Is baptism necessary for our salvation?  No, it is not.   Both Peter and Paul make it abundantly clear that only faith in Jesus Christ will result in salvation – not faith and something else, including baptism (Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Peter 3:21).  Is baptism a public act that symbolizes our sin having been washed away?  That is probably the answer that most Christians would give when asked, “Why baptize?”  But, that is not strictly true either.  Let me quote from a theology text on the function and purpose of baptism.  “Baptism is an inward, spiritual transaction between God and the individual.”   Baptism is a declaration which says something significant is happening between God and me.  Jesus identifies what that something significant is.  He says to John, “You need to baptize me so that righteousness can be fulfilled.” 

     Righteousness is being in a right relationship with God.  What does that mean for us?  This means acknowledging that we cannot keep God’s laws.  So instead we will let him write them on our hearts and impress upon us our constant need for his forgiveness.  This constant encountering with forgiveness will change us so that we seek in all ways to be upright people.   The literal translation of righteousness in Matthew (dikaios) is, “The people who strive to live in conformity to the will of God.”   That is the purpose of baptism. 

     The washing away of sin is like this, when you buy a new car it comes with a radio.  The radio is nice, but it’s not why you buy the car.  You buy the car for transportation, so you can go places you could never reach on foot.  The washing away of our sin is nice, but it’s not the car, it’s the radio. 

     Still not convinced?  Listen to the words of the baptismal ceremony of the United Methodist Church. 

          “On behalf of the whole church, I ask you: Do you renounce the spiritual                         forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your              sin?  Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil,                     injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?  Do                  you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace,                 and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which                      Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?”

There is nothing in that exchange about having your sins washed away.  Instead, each of those questions asks if you will strive to live righteously, in a right relationship with God.  That is the purpose of baptism.  The Jewish men were circumcised to show that they were in a right relationship to the true and only God.  Paul says baptism is our circumcision (Colossians 2:11-12). 

     Jesus asks John to baptize him as a public declaration of his righteousness, his willingness to live according to the will of God.  For Jesus, that means accepting a responsibility that only he could shoulder.  Jesus’ baptism is his public declaration that he will go all the way to the cross.  Jesus will bridge the gap between God and mankind, he will fulfill the mission that was originally given to Israel, which they had failed to complete (Genesis 12:3, 22:18).  They were supposed to be the example that allowed the entire world to know and adore the only God.  They were supposed to be the instrument of salvation to the world.  Jesus will become Israel, to Israel.

     Jesus’ life is a mirror of Israel’s ministry to the world.  God sent the nation of Israel into Egypt, initially for their safety and protection.  We finished last week with Jesus and his family fleeing to Egypt for their safety and protection.  When the time was perfect God called his people to leave Egypt and come to Israel.  When the time was right God called Jesus to leave Egypt and return to Israel.  Israel passed through the water of the Red (Reed) Sea.  It was a defining moment, from which there was no going back. Jesus submits to baptism in the River Jordan.  It is a defining moment from which there is no going back.  Israel spent the next 40 years in the wilderness, becoming physically and mentally prepared for their ministry.  Jesus spends the next 40 days in the wilderness, becoming physically and mentally prepared for his ministry.  Israel was supposed to bridge the gap between God and all of creation, so that the world might know their Lord.  They failed.  “We’re not going to do that, we’re just going to keep that for ourselves.”  Jesus will bridge the gap between God and all of creation.  He will not be selfish.  He will go all the way to the cross. 

     Baptism is a public ceremony that says, “I am ready to go all the way for you.”  On that day, there in the river, Jesus joined the community of believers who were proclaiming their willingness to serve.   Before John baptized the people he told them, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”  God is about to change the world.  What happened next can’t leave any doubt that John was right. 

     Immediately, as Jesus steps out of the river, the Holy Spirit descends upon him and God speaks out loud.  What did the Spirit look like?  Imagine if you took the average Palestinian from Jesus’ day, and showed him the launch of the space shuttle.  How would he describe it?  There simply would not be any words in his vocabulary to tell you what he witnessed.  He would have to use similes, “What I saw was like …” And then he would do his best.  It was like a pure white dove flying down from heaven (Matthew 3:16), it was like a lightening bolt (Ezekiel 1:13,20), it was like heavenly tongues of fire that burned but did not consume (Acts 2:3).  We don’t know exactly what John saw that day, but it was shocking and amazing, and clearly from God. 

     And, lest there be any doubt, the voice of God himself is heard audibly, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”  God acknowledges that he is pleased with the decision Jesus has made.  Jesus, through baptism, has publicly declared, “I will go all the way.”  God speaks aloud and says, “That decision pleases me!”  God the Father, validates the decision of God the Son, and anoints him with God the Spirit.  

     On the day of our baptism we joined a community of believers, and we promised to go all the way.  If you were baptized as a child or infant, your parents made that vow on your behalf.  When you were old enough you were asked to agree with the decision they made, and accept that responsibility yourself.  Two thousand years ago, in the River Jordan, God changed the course of all history – he changed the world.  Our baptism should change our world.