United Through Baptism

Matthew 3:13-17

Imagine if you had been standing on the banks of the River Jordan that day, you might have been slightly confused. You see, John is there baptizing sinners. People are coming, confessing their sins, repenting of their sins, and being baptized. You know you belong in that line. You know all the other people in line with you also belong in that line, all because of our sinfulness. Then someone steps forward and gets in line. This one doesn’t seem to belong, though. This one has no sins to confess. He has no sins to repent for and no guilt to admit. John the Baptist sees the difference between himself and us, and this one who was about to be baptized. And so he says to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Now here’s the question: why did Jesus come to be baptized? It is certainly not because Jesus needed to be baptized. He didn’t do it because it was the latest or the greatest trend or fad, as John’s baptism seems to have been a new thing. Jesus tells us why he was baptized. He says he was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus was baptized, brothers and sisters, for you and for me. He was baptized so that all of us would know for certain that he had done everything needed for our salvation. In fact, he was baptized so that we would know that he did more than what was needed for our salvation. So Jesus came to the banks of the River Jordan to stand in the place of sinners like you and me. The whole reason for Jesus’ birth, his life and his ministry, his death on the cross, was to stand in the place of sinners like you and me. John’s baptism was for sinners, and Jesus stood in the place of sinners and allowed himself to be baptized. You see, Jesus was already beginning the saving work that he came to do by standing in the place of sinners and being willing to be baptized. And so Jesus says to John, “Let it be so. Everything for our salvation he would do, everything necessary for our salvation he was willing to do.” The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us.” The requirements for our salvation, everything, Jesus says, “I am willing to do, and in your place I will do it.” What grace, brothers and sisters, what mercy. And this ultimately is the gospel in a nutshell. As Jesus, after Jesus was baptized, we’re told that the heavens opened and the Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. And God the Father stamped this baptism with his approval by saying, “This is my son whom I love. With him, I am well pleased.” Now let that sink in for a minute. God the Father, who loves his own Son, is pleased that he is standing in the place of sinners like you and I. Not only does God the Father love his son, but by this action, he proves that he loves each and every one of us, sinners, though we are. And because God the Father loves us, and he publicly says to those present that day and to us today that Jesus’ work of salvation, his plan to save us, pleases him. Again, what mercy and what grace does the Lord have for you and me. So what does Jesus’ baptism mean for our baptisms? Our baptisms are not a pledge from us to God that we would do right. In fact, we know that oftentimes we fail to keep our promises to God. And you know, our baptisms are God’s wonderful promise to us. You see, your baptism is not the latest trend, but it is the coolest thing to do. It has real and everlasting saving power for you and for me. Just as God said to Jesus when he was baptized, “This is my son,” so he says to us, “You, we are God’s dearly beloved child. Our sins are forgiven, are forever washed away by the Word and the waters of baptism.” Just as Jesus belongs to the Father, so too through our baptism and through our faith do we belong to the Father. Through baptism, you have been brought into the family of God. And again, what grace and what mercy has the Lord lavished us with. In baptism, we are connected to Jesus in every single way. We are connected to the perfect life that Jesus lived. Through baptis,m we are covered in Jesus’ perfection. We are connected to Jesus’ innocent death as Jesus assumed the sin of every single person that has ever lived or will live. Jesus took all of our sins to the cross. And because he took all of our sins to the cross and because he became sin for us, we know that our sins are atoned for and completely forgiven. And we are connected through baptism to Jesus’ victorious resurrection from the grave. And that we know that one day we too will rise to be with him in eternity. So when we go through life, we know that we will still sin. We’re pretty much cognizant of that fact. At times, our guilt will seem more than we can bear. And in those moments, that’s when Satan comes to us, and he accuses us of our very sins. But also in that moment, at those times, we can remember our baptism, and we can look to the devil and say to him, “I am a baptized child of God.” Completely forgiven, sins atoned for. In a world that is looking and striving for peace and for unity, pretty soon, in about a week or so, we will celebrate Martin Luther King Day. And that was his goal. That was his goal: to bring about peace and unity among the people. And there’s no better way to do that than through baptism. We can be united with one another through baptism, even on this Sunday. As I look out, I see Bear fans, and I see Packer fans. And it’s amazing that we can come together in this congregation and be united. And that is because of our baptism and because of our faith in our Lord and Savior. So again, imagine you are at the banks of the River Jordan. And in line with you is to be baptized Jesus, your Savior, my Savior, and the Savior of the entire world. And you hear God from heaven say, “This is my son whom I love. With him, I am well pleased.” Dear brothers and sisters, he says that very same thing to you because of your baptisms. Through faith and through the power of baptism, God now says, “You are my beloved child whom I love. With you, I am well pleased.” And no, this is not because of anything that we have done. It is obviously because of Jesus’ perfect life and death, and resurrection. It is because we have been connected to Jesus and brought into God’s family through the powers of baptism, through the miracle of baptism. The latest, the greatest, and the coolest thing then and still is today is baptism. And so in a few short moments, in a very few short moments, we will witness this miracle as we baptize a young child into God’s family, a young child who will be baptized into Christ, sins forgiven, sins forgiven, and forever able to say with joy in his heart that I am a baptized child of God. How amazing is that? Amen?