St. John Lutheran Church

HE DIDN’T HAVE TO DO IT, WHY DID HE DO IT?

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS CHRIST

Preached on January 10, 2010 in the Contemporary Worship Service at St. John Lutheran Church, Roanoke, VA

Main Text: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Supporting Texts: Isaiah 42:1-7, Psalm 29, Acts 8:14-17

Introduction

Today we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many of us have been baptized. And if we were baptized as Lutheran, the following words were said right at the beginning of the sacrament: In Holy Baptism our gracious heavenly Father liberates us from sin, death, and the devil. If being liberated from sin, death and the devil is what happens at baptism, then why was Jesus baptized? Did he need liberation from sin? I thought he was God, therefore sinless.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was sinless. John tells us concerning Jesus:

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! [John 1:29]

Again John tells us in 1^st John 3:5:

You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

Moreover, in his first epistle, Peter says of Jesus:

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. (1^st Peter 2:22}

In the Old Testament, Isaiah testifies concerning the sinlessness of Christ when he says:

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9)

These plus other scriptures testify to the sinlessness of Jesus Christ. So we are back when we began. Why was Jesus baptized?

Answer

1. His Humility to God

Imagine being at the airport and there comes President Barak Obama through the doors into the main terminal and proceeds to check in at the counter. Then he makes a beeline to security screening. He does everything everyone else is doing. He takes off his shoes, his belt, and his jacket. He empties his pockets into a small plastic container. He takes his laptop out of the bag and places it onto a plastic tray and runs everything through the x-ray machine. He then goes through the metal detector and on the other side, he is made to spread his legs and a wand is run up and down his sides and between his legs. Having been cleared to proceed, he fumbles around with his possessions wondering if he collected everything and in which order.  Would you see this scenario to be odd? That is what happened to Jesus at baptism.

In Matthew’s account, John is perturbed by the unusual request made by Jesus to be baptized by John. He searches his mind to see if there would be reason why Jesus should need to be baptized and he finds none. He vehemently protests until Jesus says something that John finds no way to resist.

Mat 3:14-15 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 thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.

It is humility that makes Jesus willing to fulfill all righteousness. As human, Jesus embraced the law in the same way everyone did. Remember that in order for salvation to be according to God’s plan, Jesus had to be fully man. To fully man he had to be willing to leave the glories of heaven and be born as man. As fully man born in a Jewish setting, he had to fulfill all righteousness including: circumcision, dedication, and now baptism. Jesus did not want anyone to dismiss his authenticity as a man. So in humility and submission to the Father, Jesus insisted on being baptized. Although he did not need to be baptized because He had no sin, He chose to be baptized because the law demanded so.

2. His Affinity with Man

In His baptism, Jesus makes a very important statement about his affinity with the humanity that he came to save. His interest in man’s salvation was such that he would lead man in doing what is essential to his salvation even though it is not required of Jesus. When you come broken before the Lord and ask to be baptized, it is not only the pastor and congregation that welcome you into the Lord’s family. Jesus leads the congregation in affirming what had happened to you in baptism. In his baptism, Jesus provides us opportunity to do one tangible thing that communicates our oneness with him.

Rom 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:4  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:5  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Rom 6:6  We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Rom 6:7  For one who has died has been set free from sin.

Rom 6:8  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Illustration

Hello,
I am lost.
I lost my husband on April 27th even though we have been together for 5 years and married for 2 I feel I have lost my everything. He was only 42 years old and was working out in the yard and wasn't feeling well so he came in and laid down, 10 minutes later he was dead.
I don't know what to do, most of the day I just go through the motions not really knowing or understanding what I'm doing. Just when I think I have a handle on my emotions, a smell, a sound, a memory brings back the tears that won't stop and it usually happens when I least expect it. Time is going by and I am standing still.

Sorry for the rambling.
Mary

Reply by Rose on July 17, 2009 at 11:33am

I understand what you are going through. I lost my Anthony one month ago today. He died the day after our daughter was born. I was still in the hospital and knew something was wrong when he didn't answer the phone. I can only say that I know things will get better but not right away. Right now, I cry each and every time I see a commercial we use to laugh at, or see something on T.V that we use to watch together. I lost my sister to cancer 4 years ago and it took time. This will also take time. Just like your husband it was sudden and a shock. I think it's ok to cry. If you didn't that wouldn't be normal. I'm really sorry about your husband. He was young just like mine. Anthony was 36. The only thing that gets me through the day is by thinking about all our "happy" days. I have to admit, I yell at him sometimes because I'm alone with a one month old and it can be hard. Maybe this would work for you... If you are home alone, just talk to him... I know he is around you. As many have told me he is a perminate Angel.

Jesus entered into the waters of baptism pure and undefiled; the same water that had been awfully stained by everyone who will ever be baptized as long as the earth will stand. When he came out of the waters of baptism, all the dirt and filth that we left there had been soaked up by this sacrificial lamb, as a symbol unto the Father that he was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for all men. So, the baptism of Jesus was the initial phase of the atoning sacrifice! Jesus did not take our sins upon him at his baptism, but at his baptism he completed the symbolic contract between men, the Lamb, and the Father;

Men were baptized as a contract with the Father to start a new life, accepting Jesus to be their Sacrificial Lamb;

Jesus was baptized to make the contract between men and the Father possible, by becoming the Sacrificial Lamb.

3. His Divinity as God

In His Jesus was revealed as God. So the person who chose to have affinity with us was and is God after all. Therefore He continues to have that relationship with us who believe and He will never leave nor forsake us.

AMEN!