Joshua 3:1-3, 7-8, 13-17/1 Corinthians 1:26-31/St Matthew 3:13-17
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
St John is confused. He doesn’t understand. Why would Jesus come to him for baptism? His was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Why would the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world need such a baptism? St John called Israel back to the wilderness, that is, out of the darkness of slavery and her bondage to sin and all its dread oppression. Jesus is the Holy One of Israel; born to set His people free. Why was He here?
Yet there Jesus stood, on the banks of the Jordan, among the cheaters, the liars, the adulterers. He stood with the thieves and manipulators; with all the parents who lost their tempers at their kids, and the kids who grumbled about their parents. For these all came to be baptized by John. This is who his baptism was meant for. For folks just like you. And here stands the Son of God in the flesh, as if He’s one of them. He removes His clothing and stepped down into the water to receive this baptism of repentance, just like any other sinner. He, the Sinless One, submitting to a sinner’s washing! “Me next.”
In his ignorance, John would have prevented our Lord. “This is a sinner’s bath, Jesus. This isn’t for You. This is for those who need their lives turned around and transformed. I need You to administer this to me.” But Jesus answered, “Allow it at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
“Was is das?” Or, as you have been taught, “What does this mean?” What does it mean for Jesus and John to fulfill all righteousness? St Matthew has repeatedly used the phrase “to fulfill” throughout the Christmas narratives. He continually points to the fact that events in the life of Jesus are not coincidence, but are done in such a way as to fulfill the Old Testament prophets. He is conceived of a virgin. He is born in Bethlehem. He sojourns to and is called out of Egypt. He grew up in Nazareth. All aspects of His life fulfilled the Law and the Prophets.
And He is called Jesus. A name mentioned earlier, but not used by Matthew since the birth. He is called “the Child” from that point until now. It is important. Matthew again uses the name given by God the Father through the angel to Mary and Joseph. And he uses it here in connection to our Lord’s baptism and His fulfilling all righteousness. (Bear with me.)
Elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel he uses the word “righteousness” in reference to human conduct. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (5:20); and Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven (6:1). Is this the righteousness to which Jesus refers? The moral actions of hypocrites and the proud? Not likely.
Jesus has in mind a whole different kind of righteousness; not only differing in quantity, but quality. St John had been preaching, Repent, for the reign of heaven is at hand. Jesus is that reign of heaven. Though the service was canceled, have we not celebrated the Epiphany? The visit of the Magi, who come to worship the King of Israel? He is Jesus. Remember His name means, YHWH is salvation, or even, The Lord God who acts to save His people. In Jesus God has broken into this fallen creation. This is the celebration of Christmas. And even more, here, at His baptism, God’s righteousness will be fulfilled when John baptizes Jesus.
And this righteousness of God is not His unapproachable holiness or His righteous wrath and anger. Rather, this righteousness of God is His salvation, as the Psalm sang: Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away Your indignation toward us! Show us Your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation (Ps 85:4, 7).
When John consents and baptizes Jesus, He fulfills all righteousness; that is, He enacts God’s saving work on behalf of the people. He stands among sinners, taking the place of sinners, receiving from John the baptism that they receive. And whereas Israel received the forgiveness of sins in their baptisms, Jesus, in His baptism, takes upon Himself all sin. His Baptism sets Him apart as the Sin-Bearer.
For what happens immediately after Jesus was baptized? He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him. In the account of Jesus’ baptism from St Mark the language is more graphic, literally, the heavens were ripped/torn/rent open (Mk 1:10). An image that comes back around in the crucifixion, when the curtain in the Temple, separating the Ark of the Covenant from the people - a symbol of God’s unapproachable holiness - was torn/rent in two from top to bottom! (Jesus fulfills all Scripture!)
And here now, in the Jordan stands the Ark of the Covenant in the flesh. And just as Joshua led Israel over the river into the Promised Land, passing from death to life, so too the new Yeshua, the new Joshua, the One who comes after Moses, Jesus, comes to ferry His people safely from death to life through the waters of baptism.
Not only does the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus in the gentle form of a dove - a clear allusion to the Ark and salvation by and through water - but, behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, My beloved, in whom My heart rejoices.” Now we missed the Feast of the Three Kings, but here is the true Epiphany of the Three Kings - God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, breaking into creation to manifest the work of salvation on your behalf.
And the Father’s declaration of Jesus as His Son is not only the revelation of His being begotten from all eternity, but it is a declaration that God the Father now sees Jesus as the New Israel. He not only stands with sinners, He takes the place of sinners. Jesus has come to do what Israel, God’s first son, could not and would not do. He will submit in obedience to the will of the Father. And more, He will innocently suffer the consequences of the disobedience of the first Israel. Meaning, here He does the Father’s pleasure - taking upon Himself the sin of the world, and then, immediately after His baptism, He’s driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days, corresponding to Israel’s forty years of wandering. And where they failed. He succeeds. Whereas they do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things, but grumble and complain and give into temptation, Jesus, the New Israel, the beloved Son, trusts His Father perfectly and withstands the temptations of the devil.
This is why He comes to the Jordan to be baptized by John; why He stands among sinners and takes their place - for you. For your salvation. To fulfill God’s righteousness on your behalf. As St Paul wrote, He became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
And thus you are given to do. You boast not in your strength, but in your weakness. You boast not in your own perseverance and determination, but in the steadfast love of the Lord and His faithfulness. You boast, as St Paul writes elsewhere, In the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to you and you to the world. For this Baptism of our Lord is cruciform harbinger, pointing forward to the hidden and the unexpected, to that which is epiphanied, revealed, in the shameful glory of the Cross. For there the Sin-bearer, Jesus, is working God’s salvation for you. As it is written, In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men’s trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19).
Again the Psalm, Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land (Ps 85:8-9). And this is precisely the Word that comes to you in preaching and in the Absolution. For this is the Word of reconciliation that actually gives you the peace Christ won and now delivers to you. To you in the Word that is joined to bread and wine in the Supper that forgives your sins. To you in the Word that is combined with and connected to the water in your baptism. There is an unbroken chain between our Lord’s baptism, His Cross, and your baptism: His Word and promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation
Water and the Word joined for your salvation. Is there anything more weak, more foolish int he world? And yet, it is just as you sang, “All that the mortal eye beholds is water as we pour it. Before the eye of faith unfolds the pow’r of Jesus’ merit. For here it sees the crimson flood to all our ills bring healing; the wonders of His precious blood the love of God revealing. Assuring His own pardon” (LSB 406:7).
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
St John is confused. He doesn’t understand. Why would Jesus come to him for baptism? His was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Why would the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world need such a baptism? St John called Israel back to the wilderness, that is, out of the darkness of slavery and her bondage to sin and all its dread oppression. Jesus is the Holy One of Israel; born to set His people free. Why was He here?
Yet there Jesus stood, on the banks of the Jordan, among the cheaters, the liars, the adulterers. He stood with the thieves and manipulators; with all the parents who lost their tempers at their kids, and the kids who grumbled about their parents. For these all came to be baptized by John. This is who his baptism was meant for. For folks just like you. And here stands the Son of God in the flesh, as if He’s one of them. He removes His clothing and stepped down into the water to receive this baptism of repentance, just like any other sinner. He, the Sinless One, submitting to a sinner’s washing! “Me next.”
In his ignorance, John would have prevented our Lord. “This is a sinner’s bath, Jesus. This isn’t for You. This is for those who need their lives turned around and transformed. I need You to administer this to me.” But Jesus answered, “Allow it at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
“Was is das?” Or, as you have been taught, “What does this mean?” What does it mean for Jesus and John to fulfill all righteousness? St Matthew has repeatedly used the phrase “to fulfill” throughout the Christmas narratives. He continually points to the fact that events in the life of Jesus are not coincidence, but are done in such a way as to fulfill the Old Testament prophets. He is conceived of a virgin. He is born in Bethlehem. He sojourns to and is called out of Egypt. He grew up in Nazareth. All aspects of His life fulfilled the Law and the Prophets.
And He is called Jesus. A name mentioned earlier, but not used by Matthew since the birth. He is called “the Child” from that point until now. It is important. Matthew again uses the name given by God the Father through the angel to Mary and Joseph. And he uses it here in connection to our Lord’s baptism and His fulfilling all righteousness. (Bear with me.)
Elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel he uses the word “righteousness” in reference to human conduct. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (5:20); and Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven (6:1). Is this the righteousness to which Jesus refers? The moral actions of hypocrites and the proud? Not likely.
Jesus has in mind a whole different kind of righteousness; not only differing in quantity, but quality. St John had been preaching, Repent, for the reign of heaven is at hand. Jesus is that reign of heaven. Though the service was canceled, have we not celebrated the Epiphany? The visit of the Magi, who come to worship the King of Israel? He is Jesus. Remember His name means, YHWH is salvation, or even, The Lord God who acts to save His people. In Jesus God has broken into this fallen creation. This is the celebration of Christmas. And even more, here, at His baptism, God’s righteousness will be fulfilled when John baptizes Jesus.
And this righteousness of God is not His unapproachable holiness or His righteous wrath and anger. Rather, this righteousness of God is His salvation, as the Psalm sang: Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away Your indignation toward us! Show us Your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation (Ps 85:4, 7).
When John consents and baptizes Jesus, He fulfills all righteousness; that is, He enacts God’s saving work on behalf of the people. He stands among sinners, taking the place of sinners, receiving from John the baptism that they receive. And whereas Israel received the forgiveness of sins in their baptisms, Jesus, in His baptism, takes upon Himself all sin. His Baptism sets Him apart as the Sin-Bearer.
For what happens immediately after Jesus was baptized? He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him. In the account of Jesus’ baptism from St Mark the language is more graphic, literally, the heavens were ripped/torn/rent open (Mk 1:10). An image that comes back around in the crucifixion, when the curtain in the Temple, separating the Ark of the Covenant from the people - a symbol of God’s unapproachable holiness - was torn/rent in two from top to bottom! (Jesus fulfills all Scripture!)
And here now, in the Jordan stands the Ark of the Covenant in the flesh. And just as Joshua led Israel over the river into the Promised Land, passing from death to life, so too the new Yeshua, the new Joshua, the One who comes after Moses, Jesus, comes to ferry His people safely from death to life through the waters of baptism.
Not only does the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus in the gentle form of a dove - a clear allusion to the Ark and salvation by and through water - but, behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, My beloved, in whom My heart rejoices.” Now we missed the Feast of the Three Kings, but here is the true Epiphany of the Three Kings - God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, breaking into creation to manifest the work of salvation on your behalf.
And the Father’s declaration of Jesus as His Son is not only the revelation of His being begotten from all eternity, but it is a declaration that God the Father now sees Jesus as the New Israel. He not only stands with sinners, He takes the place of sinners. Jesus has come to do what Israel, God’s first son, could not and would not do. He will submit in obedience to the will of the Father. And more, He will innocently suffer the consequences of the disobedience of the first Israel. Meaning, here He does the Father’s pleasure - taking upon Himself the sin of the world, and then, immediately after His baptism, He’s driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days, corresponding to Israel’s forty years of wandering. And where they failed. He succeeds. Whereas they do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things, but grumble and complain and give into temptation, Jesus, the New Israel, the beloved Son, trusts His Father perfectly and withstands the temptations of the devil.
This is why He comes to the Jordan to be baptized by John; why He stands among sinners and takes their place - for you. For your salvation. To fulfill God’s righteousness on your behalf. As St Paul wrote, He became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
And thus you are given to do. You boast not in your strength, but in your weakness. You boast not in your own perseverance and determination, but in the steadfast love of the Lord and His faithfulness. You boast, as St Paul writes elsewhere, In the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to you and you to the world. For this Baptism of our Lord is cruciform harbinger, pointing forward to the hidden and the unexpected, to that which is epiphanied, revealed, in the shameful glory of the Cross. For there the Sin-bearer, Jesus, is working God’s salvation for you. As it is written, In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men’s trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19).
Again the Psalm, Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land (Ps 85:8-9). And this is precisely the Word that comes to you in preaching and in the Absolution. For this is the Word of reconciliation that actually gives you the peace Christ won and now delivers to you. To you in the Word that is joined to bread and wine in the Supper that forgives your sins. To you in the Word that is combined with and connected to the water in your baptism. There is an unbroken chain between our Lord’s baptism, His Cross, and your baptism: His Word and promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation
Water and the Word joined for your salvation. Is there anything more weak, more foolish int he world? And yet, it is just as you sang, “All that the mortal eye beholds is water as we pour it. Before the eye of faith unfolds the pow’r of Jesus’ merit. For here it sees the crimson flood to all our ills bring healing; the wonders of His precious blood the love of God revealing. Assuring His own pardon” (LSB 406:7).
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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