Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Mark 1:9-11
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  January 10, 2021

John was a busy man. Hundreds came every day to see him, to hear him, to be baptized by him. You can picture the scene, can’t you? John, standing in the shallows of the Jordan River, a long line of people waiting to join him. All around that scene, crowds are gathered–some there just to observe, some having just come out of the river. And there, standing in line, waiting his turn, like just another man, was Jesus. It’s telling that we don’t hear anything about the crowds recognizing him as he stood there, before his baptism. Jesus wasn’t “from there,” Mark tells us he came from Nazareth to where John was. Perhaps a few had seen him before, in passing. Perhaps they had heard the rumors about him, about some Wise Men coming to see him when he was a young child–but that was nearly 30 years ago. Maybe they had heard the stories about the boy from Nazareth who came to the temple and had dazzled the teachers of the law with his knowledge and understanding. But, that too, was so long ago. Yet, when people looked at Jesus, there was nothing that stood out about him. He didn’t look any different than anyone else. There was nothing about him that made people stop or pause to look again. 

That is, until he gets into the river. Then we see the first hint that something is different about him. It’s then that people might have started to notice–not because of Jesus, but because of how John reacted. John recognized him. John was shocked to see him. But it wasn’t simply a familia recognition, like seeing some long lost cousin. John was shocked because he knew who this was. He knew that the Messiah, the Promised One of God, God’s Son was standing in the river. Naturally, he’s flustered; he balks, he hesitates, he tries to switch places with Jesus because he knows that Jesus doesn’t need to be baptized. He knows Jesus is without sin. He knows that Jesus doesn’t belong in a line full of sinners. Matthew shares the brief conversation Jesus and John held. “You don’t need this from me,” John said, “I need it from you.” In other words, “You’re God, without sin. You don’t need to repent of anything. You don’t need to be forgiven.” And John was right. So why was Jesus standing there in the waters of the Jordan, in a line full of sinners, waiting to receive the sinners baptism?

Every year on this first Sunday after Epiphany, we ponder the Baptism of Jesus. There are so many things happening in this rather brief episode that it’s hard to wrap our minds around them all, Yet, this lesson is most appropriate for this season of Epiphany, this season where the Hidden Glory is Revealed. So what do we learn about Jesus this morning? What Hidden Glory is Revealed? Let’s look at these verses again.

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.”” 

One of the reasons we focus on this story during the season of Epiphany is actually what happened after Jesus was baptized. In view of John and all those at the Jordan that day, the heavens were torn open and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove. And the voice of the Father boomed from the heavens–“You are my Son.” With one fell swoop, we see all three persons of the Triune God at work. In one act, we see that what Jesus is doing here has the full approval and involvement of the Trinity. John’s hesitation to baptize Jesus disappeared when God appeared. Clearly, baptizing Jesus was God-pleasing. But what was the point? First, this baptism marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, of Jesus’ public work of fulfilling God’s plan of salvation. With the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of the Father, Jesus was inaugurated as our Prophet, Priest, and King.

Listen again to what the Father says from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.” These words are significant! Remember, for Jesus to be our Savior, he had to be perfect. He had to live according to the Law and not break it, even once! The Father’s words assure us that Jesus has done just that. God would not be pleased if Jesus had sinned. God would not be pleased if Jesus had in any way violated one of God’s commands. “I am well pleased with you.” Everything to this point was just as God had planned. Jesus was ready to officially put the public part of the plan into action–perfect in the Father’s eyes. 

And while all of that is extremely important and significant, and while we could spend countless sermons examining the details and the full meaning of what happens here, there’s still a lingering question, isn’t there? Why here? Why baptism, and not just any baptism, a sinner’s baptism? Why would the sinless Son of God be standing in line to receive a sinner’s baptism? Why would the Holy Spirit and the Father make this the time when they revealed their approval and support of what Jesus is doing? 

When Adam and Eve had sinned, when they had listened to and believed the lies of Satan, when they had rejected the truth of God, when they had eaten the forbidden fruit, God confronted them. He confronted them with their sin. But he didn’t wipe them from the face of the earth, he didn’t start anew. Instead, he gave them a promise. He promised them this: In speaking to Satan he said, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.”  The offspring of the woman would come and be their champion. He would crush the head of Satan and win their victory. God’s plan all along is that one of Eve’s descendants, a human being, would be the one to defeat Satan. One of their own would be the Savior.

Jesus didn’t need to be baptized by John because he was sinful. He didn’t need to confess or repent of anything. Yet, he stands in the line for the sinner’s baptism because he was one of them. In every way, Jesus took the place of you and me and all sinners. Even though he was sinless, by receiving a sinners baptism, he placed himself in the sinner’s place. But here’s the difference. When sinners came out of the water they were cleansed and freed from sin. When Jesus came out of the water, he was carrying the sins of the world. That’s the Hidden Glory Revealed today. Jesus was willing and able to be our substitute, to stand in our place, to carry our sins. And this pleased the Father. The Father told Jesus that he loved him because Jesus was willingly taking our place, willingly carrying our sins, our burdens, our cares, our worries. And Jesus would carry them all the way to the cross where he would pay for them, once for all, the sinless for the sinful.

By taking on human flesh, by living here on earth under the law, by receiving the sinner’s baptism, Jesus was demonstrating that in every way he had taken our place. In every way he had tied us to himself, so that what he did for us would apply to us. Paul so clearly makes that connection in Romans 6. “Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin. For the person who has died has been declared free from sin. And since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” 

That’s why we can say that Jesus’ baptism is our baptism. Jesus’ death is our death. Jesus’ burial is our burial. Jesus’ resurrection is our resurrection. Because of what Jesus does in the waters of the Jordan, we are intimately connected to everything else that happens to him. And we receive the blessings of that connection through our own baptisms. Again, Paul says,  “Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.” At our baptism, our sinful nature was drowned and buried with Jesus. All of our sins were taken away, paid for by the death of Jesus. And in the same way, just as Jesus rose from death, a new man in us rises too. A new man who loves God, who wants to do what God wants, who hates sin and loves the good. That’s the new life we live. That’s the righteousness of Jesus wrapped around us like a baptismal gown. That’s how the Father sees us now!

God’s baptismal declaration to Jesus, what God says to Jesus at his baptism, he says to you at your baptism! “You are my son, my daughter, whom I love, I am well pleased with you!” That’s God’s baptismal declaration to you ! Because of your connection to Jesus, because you wear the robe of his perfection, his righteousness, because you cling to Jesus in faith, God declares his love for you, his pleasure in you.

Friends, I know that there are times for all of us when we miserably fail to live as God’s children. We let the old man rise up and lead us away from God. And it’s at those times especially when Satan will whisper in our ears that we don’t deserve God’s love. He’ll try and tell you that your sins are too great, that there can’t possibly be forgiveness for you, that you can never be with God in heaven. It’s at those times especially, that we can remember this Hidden Glory Revealed. You can say to Satan, “I have been washed, I have been cleansed, I have been baptized. I’m connected to Christ. Satan, you can’t touch me!” Satan no longer has any claim on you because of God’s baptismal declaration upon you. 

Right now I want you to close your eyes and just listen. Listen to what God says, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you.” Listen again, only this time, put your name first. “You are my child, whom I love. I am pleased with you.” No go and live by the power of God’s baptismal declaration! AMEN.