Over the past few weeks, we have knelt with the shepherds to worship the Infant in the manger. We’ve traveled with the Persian astrologers who followed the star to praise the Christ Child. Today we take a huge leap – 30 years later. We are on the banks of the Jordan River with John the Baptizer to celebrate the Baptism of our Lord.
Until his baptism, Jesus was recognized and worshiped only by a handful of people. Shepherds at his birth. Simeon and Anna in the temple when he was 40 days old. Magi from the East when he was a toddler. The neighbors in Nazareth probably didn’t have a clue. To them, Jesus was the carpenter’s son, working in his father’s shop.
And then one day, Jesus stood in the Jordan River, shoulder to shoulder with the people he came to save. What a day this is! Christmas joy becomes baptismal joy. No longer do we celebrate the birth of a baby, now we rejoice in his baptism. Our hymn for this Sunday focuses on Jesus’ baptism.
Verse one: To Jordan’s river came our Lord, the Christ, whom heav’nly hosts adored, the God from God, the Light from Light, the Lord of glory, pow’r, and might.
Jesus is the long-awaited Christ. That title means he is anointed. He will be anointed with water and the Holy Spirit. He comes to the Jordan River as we confess in the words of the Nicene Creed: “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.”
Verse two: The Savior came to be baptized—the Son of God in flesh disguised—to stand beneath the Father’s will and all his promises fulfill.
As Jesus is standing in the water, God’s Son is standing in solidarity with sinners. God is standing in the river on the edge of the desert and he is not ashamed to be counted among the same people who rejected him in the lush Garden, thus turning this world into a desert. Jesus is fulfilling all righteousness in this water, so we might be made righteous ones through that same water. Jesus is baptized in our sewer, to put our sins upon him, so that with that same water, we might be cleansed. He takes the filth, stench, and sewage upon himself so we might be purified, rinsed, and restored.
Verse three: As Jesus in the Jordan stood and John baptized the Lamb of God, the Holy Spirit, heav’nly dove, descended on him from above.
When he sees Jesus, John objects and tries to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” Don’t step in this water, Jesus! It’s filthy! It’s full of sins! But Jesus steps right on in. It’s where he wants to be. It’s where he needs to be! The Holy Spirit descends upon the Son in the form of a dove. Just as Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil, so the Father sends the Holy Spirit to anoint the Son for His office as Prophet, Priest, and King.
Verse four: Then from God’s throne with thund’rous sound came God’s own voice with words profound: “This is my Son,” was his decree, “the one I love, who pleases me.”
Matthew writes that “suddenly the heavens were opened.” Such a small sentence. It’s easy to miss. But do not take this phrase lightly. When this happened before “when the floodgates of the heavens were opened,” (Genesis 7:11) God sent a flood to destroy the sinful humanity with whom he was displeased. He sent down judgment. He commissioned his wrath upon the world. He deluged the world with the waters of absolute annihilation. But now God opens the heavens to announce his pleasure, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him.” He sends down the Holy Spirit with power and peace. He commissions his love upon the world in the form of his Son. He deluges the world with the waters of pure grace.
Verse five: The Father’s word, the Spirit’s flight anointed Christ in glorious sight as God’s own choice, from Adam’s fall to save the world and free us all.
The Spotless One was washed in Jordan’s baptismal water so you might be spotless in your baptismal water. Jesus’ work at the Jordan River was not in power, but in weakness. Not by force but in love. Not by separating himself, but by joining us in our cesspool. So that, through faith in him, we might be saved, freed, and join Jesus in the heavens.
Verse six: Now rise, faint hearts: be resolute! This man is Christ, our substitute! He was baptized in Jordan’s stream, proclaimed Redeemer, Lord supreme.
When Jesus stepped into the Jordan River that day, everything was changed. Not for him, but for you. Not for him, because he came for this; but for you because he came for you. Because you have been baptized, you don’t need to fear or faint. You can be strong. You can be resolute. You no longer live a life that will end in death, but you will die a death that will end in life. You no longer live a life under the condemnation of sin, but under the forgiveness of sin. For in Jesus’ baptismal river and your baptismal font, with Word and water, heaven has been opened to you … and it shall never be closed again.