Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Matthew 3:13-17
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  January 5, 2023

All the good stories have a secret or two. The only question is when it will be revealed. Mystery writers like to hold the secret until the very end so that when that final plot twist comes you fall out of your chair and you say, “I can’t believe it! I never saw that coming!” But other stories are better told when you find out the secret at the very start. The audience knows the secret from the beginning and then they get to watch as the characters of the book or the movie find out the truth. From a young age these kinds of stories thrill us. Think about the fairy tales you heard as a child. “My what big eyes you have, Grandma.” says the little girl in the red hood… We know there’s a wolf in the bed, but when will Little Red Riding Hood figure it out!? We love these stories because we are in on the secret.

It’s why I like this story about Albert Einstein that involves knowing the secret of who he was. Albert Einstein liked to think as he walked, you know, unraveling the mysteries of the universe on a daily stroll. Well, one day as a younger man, he was walking and he happened to be passing a hotel and a wealthy woman mistook him for one of the bellhops. The lady said, “You there, take these bags up to room 214.” Albert Einstein shrugged his shoulders and carried her bags up to the room. He set them down and she gave him a tip and some unsolicited advice. She said, “Son, you are getting too old to be a bellhop. You ought to consider going to school and getting an education.” We smile at a story like that because we know what that woman didn’t. We know the secret of who Einstein was and think of how he must have laughed to himself as he went on his way pondering the theory of relativity.

Matthew’s gospel is like that story about Albert Einstein in a way because Matthew’s gospel is all about the world finding out the secret of who Jesus is, the identity of Jesus Christ. And when Matthew starts, he tells us the secret right up front. Just in chapter one, he reveals to the readers that Jesus is a descendant of King David, that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that he would save his people from their sins, that he is Isaiah’s Immanuel—“God with us”. He tells us that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s anointed Son! 

That’s not something that we find surprising today, but remember Jesus didn’t look like anything all that special. Jesus looked for all the world just another Rabbi from Nazareth in Galilee. You probably couldn’t have picked him out of a crowd. Isaiah said that there was nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. But Matthew tells us the secret behind Jesus’ normalcy. He lets us know right away that this man who walked like us and talked like us was, in fact, divine—the very Son of God. And then the rest of Matthew’s Gospel is, in a way, the story of how the rest of the world finds out about his true identity. We get to watch and see what happens as the kingdom of God draws near to people who had no idea who Jesus was. 

If you remember a month ago we were in Advent and we talked about that special prophet, the forerunner of Christ, named John the Baptist. John’s job was to prepare people to understand the secret of who Jesus was, to ready the road for Jesus’ public ministry. And the way in which God wanted him to prepare people for Jesus was to preach a message of repentance and to give a baptism of forgiveness of sins. People flocked to him in the Jordan river. Now, this is a little surprising at first, because you wouldn’t expect him and his message to be all that popular. But it isn’t all that crazy that God’s Word would work in people’s hearts, is it? And it isn’t too surprising that sinful people would be thankful for a baptism of forgiveness, is it? But what is surprising is what we see happen in our reading today. What is surprising is when Jesus of Nazareth shows up and gets in line to be baptized. 

That’s surprising because we know the secret! We know that this man who looks like one of us, is in reality the sinless Son of God! He’s got no reason to be standing in a line full of sinners to be baptized! John the Baptist was in on the secret too. In fact, John isn’t sure this is even a good thing because he knows who Jesus is. He says to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” 

Now, the words that Jesus speaks to John really contain the secret of Jesus’ baptism. Listen to what he says: Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now (i.e John, this is a concession and know it will not always be this way. But let it be so now…), because it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness.” He says, John, you and I both have a part in something here. A part in God’s plan to bring righteousness to a world that desperately needs it.” You see if you don’t know the secret of Jesus’ baptism, you might miss out on what’s happening here. The purpose of Jesus’ baptism is an integral part of his role as Messiah. Jesus in essence said to John, “I’m the Lamb of God on whose shoulders God is going to place the sins of the world. And I’m standing here because today is the day that I stand in those shoes and take on my role as God’s Son.” This was the reason he came to earth, to stand in the place of sinners. On that day, waist-deep in the Jordan river, Jesus let everyone present know exactly who he was.” Jesus’ baptism shouted the secret from the rooftops! Listen to what happened when Jesus was baptized: Suddenly, the heavens were opened for him! He saw the Spirit of God, descending like a dove and landing on him, and a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him.” This was the moment Jesus’ identity was revealed and, accordingly, his mission. This was the first step in a mission that culminated three years later when he hung on the cross and God the Father did what he had promised to do. He made that great exchange: He took our sins and laid them on his Son, and he took his righteousness and gave it to you and me. “Let it be so now, because it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness.” This is the secret of Jesus’ baptism that day in the Jordan. And if you fail to understand it, you might miss the secret of your own baptism as well.

A good example of that is the story of St. Patrick. Most of you know about St. Patrick’s day and you’re thinking about shamrocks, green beer, corned beef, and stuff like that. But St. Patrick was actually a real person. He was taken as a slave from England at the age of 16 and  spent six years captive in Ireland. After 6 years he managed to escape back to England where he became a Christian missionary. Then he went back to Ireland, the place of his captivity, to share the gospel. And God used Patrick to evangelize the entire nation of Ireland, changing the course of that country’s history forever. Eventually Patrick even got to baptize the king of Ireland. In fact, I once read an account of the baptism of the King of Ireland by St. Patrick. And it made me think about what happens when you don’t understand your baptism. 

It was 450 A.D. and Patrick was going to baptize King Aengus at his own fortress, the Rock of Cashel. The baptismal rite began and the king was standing next to the font. And Patrick had this big staff called a crozier, sort of a fancy shepherd’s staff symbolic of the pastoral office, with an ornate top and a sharpened point on the bottom for walking. Well, at one point during the rite, St. Patrick was emphasizing something and he slammed down his staff and accidentally stabbed the king’s foot. But King Aengus was known as a warrior, and he didn’t even flinch!  So Patrick didn’t realize what he had done and finished the baptism. Afterwards, Patrick looked down and saw that the king was standing in a pool of blood.  He began apologizing profusely and asked him, “Why didn’t you say something!” And King Aengus told him that he thought it was just part of the ceremony, that just as Christ’s feet were pierced on the cross that he was being baptized into, his foot had to be pierced as well. If any of you are hoping to be baptized here at Eastside, please hear me, we will not stab your feet. (I don’t even have a staff.) This is not part of baptism at all. But it strikes me that this is still often how baptism is often misunderstood. 

Baptism is not a rite that you need to suffer through in order to show your dedication to God. The secret of baptism is not about how tough or committed you are to the church or to God. The secret of baptism is what God has done for you in Christ! Just as Jesus’ baptism told the secret of who he was and what he came to do, the secret of your baptism tells who you are—God’s beloved child—and what he has done for you!

I mean, I know it doesn’t look like much outwardly. A baby or adult comes to the font and a little water is poured on their head in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You could be forgiven for wondering if this is just an elaborate entrance ritual into membership, thankfully without getting stabbed in the foot. You could be forgiven for thinking this is just a symbol or picture. But the Bible tells us that what we see when someone stands at the baptismal font is nothing short of a miracle. What we are seeing is the Holy Spirit descending. What we are seeing is a new child of the Heavenly Father made, the voice from heaven thunders, “This is my child, whom I love, with them I am well pleased!” Now, the water is just water. And apart from God’s Word and promise that’s all it would ever be. But God says that when he ties his grace to this sacrament, the result is something else entirely. The apostle Peter writes in the Bible: “Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” We aren’t cleansed outwardly by this water, we are given a good conscience, i.e. our sins are forgiven because we are connected to the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ! Titus says that “[God] saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Baptism isn’t about what we do for God, it’s about how he washed us, how he claimed us as his children. The apostle Paul wrote: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, by cleansing her with the washing of water in connection with the Word. He did this so that he could present her to himself as a glorious church, having no stain or wrinkle or any such thing, but so that she would be holy and blameless.” Jesus gave himself for you, and through this beautiful, simple sacrament—the washing of water in connection with the Word—he presents you to God as holy and blameless. 

My friends, the devil can accuse you of a lot of things, but he can’t convince you that you weren’t baptized. What a comfort the secret of baptism is when doubts assail us and sin tempts us. We often live as if we are still waiting for God to do something for us, as if we aren’t forgiven, or as if we aren’t sure whether or not he would own us as his children. We often start to keep track of how much we’ve done for God, as if we could ever get him to love us more than he already does! We often give into sin so easily, thinking we have no power over it, as if we are slaves to sinful desire. But God, through our baptisms has connected us with Christ. We are forgiven! We have the Holy Spirit who promises strength in every temptation and trial. We have the love of the Father no matter what! because you know the secret. You may not look like much on the outside, but you know the secret. You are baptized!

Martin Luther said that a Christian should remember their baptism twice a day, upon waking up in the morning and going to sleep at night. In the morning a Christian can look in the mirror and say “I am baptized. I am holy and blameless in my Father’s eyes. I can live a holy life to his glory!” This is potent motivation for living in faith! It’s kind of like when a parent tells their child before they go out somewhere “Remember your last name.” Remember who you are in Christ! You are a baptized child of God. You don’t have to listen to sin and satan anymore. Live like you remember who you are. But then remember your baptism again at night for a different reason. When you think about the times you didn’t live as God would want. For the times you fell into temptation. Remember that in your baptism your heavenly Father promised you, by his Son’s death and resurrection, that your sins are forgiven, that you are right with him, and nothing will change that. Then close your eyes and go to sleep in peace. Maybe you could remember your baptism in the morning and the evening when you wash your face or hands. As the water flows into the sink, think about that water which once flowed over your head and connected you to your Savior. As that water flows, remember the secret of baptism: remember who Jesus is and who he has made you to be. Amen.