Baptism of Our Lord
Joshua
3:1-3, 7-8, 13-17
1/8/23
I have said
on more than one occasion that Good Shepherd is a wonderful place to be a
pastor, and Marion is a great place to live.
My situation would be perfect … if it just wasn’t in the state of
Illinois. I’m not alone in feeling that
way. Illinois is the number three state
in the nation that people are leaving. The reason most often given for leaving
is the high taxes in this state, and I can’t disagree with that.
Certainly, Illinois
is a financial mess. The state currently has 107 billion dollars in debt. Every
single citizen of the state would have to pay almost $15,000 dollars to get the
state back in the black. The cost of
schooling is higher here. My brother in Indiana can send his children to Purdue
University in engineering for $7,000 less a year of in state tuition than I can
here in Illinois. And of course, as we move from financial matters to moral
ones, we find that Illinois is seeking to be the death capital of the Midwest
as it promotes abortion in every possible way.
I was struck
by this again during Christmas as I drove across the Wabash River into
Indiana. I like to joke that one crosses
over that river into the “promised land” – a land of fiscal responsibility
where taxes and tuition are lower, and where the state is seeking to ban
abortion. Back home again in Indiana – its sounds great if I could just take
Good Shepherd and Marion with me.
In our Old
Testament lesson this morning we hear about how Israel passed through the
Jordan River into the actual promised land – the land of Canaan. The Ark of the Covenant led them into the
water and allowed them to cross through.
On the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, this event causes us to think
about what Jesus Christ did for us through his baptism and the baptism that he
instituted for us. Jesus entered the
water of the Jordan in order to make it possible for the water our baptism to
give us forgiveness and eternal life.
In our text,
Israel was just about to enter into the promised land after wandering in the
wilderness for forty years. Moses had
died, and now Joshua was the leader God was using. Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all
Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with
you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant,
‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand
still in the Jordan.’”
Joshua
told the people to consecrate themselves, because the next day Yahweh would do
wonders among them. They were to follow the Ark of the Covenant into the Jordan
River. Keeping God’s command, Joshua had
told the priests carrying the ark that when they entered the Jordan they were
to stand in it. Then he announced to the people, “And when
the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord
of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the
Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above
shall stand in one heap.”
When the
priests entered into the Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant, the waters of the
Jordan were stopped north of the crossing and piled up in a heap. The people of
Israel passed through the Jordan River on dry ground while those carrying in
the Ark stood in the river.
By this
miracle God demonstrated to Israel that he was with Joshua, just as he had been
with Moses. Crossing through the Jordan
River on dry ground recalled how God had used Moses as Israel passed through
the Red Sea on dry ground in the Exodus. As Joshua declared to the people, this
event also showed the that God would in fact drive out the Canaanites and give Israel
the promised land.
The event in
our text this morning is a type – it is something in the Old Testament that
points forward to the greater fulfillment found in Jesus Christ. The Ark of the Covenant was Yahweh’s throne.
It was the place were the glory of God dwelt.
His located presence among the people took place through the Ark of the
Covenant in the tabernacle.
In our
Gospel lesson today we hear of how Jesus entered into the waters of the Jordan
to be baptized. The presence of God’s
glory through the Ark of the Covenant pointed forward to how the glory of God
was present in the incarnate Son of God. As we heard in the Gospel lesson for
Christmas Day, John tells us, “And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only
Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” God’s glory was present through Jesus Christ,
and once again it entered into the Jordan River.
John the
Baptist announced in his preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand.” He called people to repent
because the end time reign of God was about to arrive. Matthew tells us that people were being were baptized by him in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins.
Then, Jesus
came to the Jordan. John did not
understand. He said, “I need to be
baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Yet Jesus responded, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting
for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Our Lord said that this was proper for God’s saving action to put all
things right.
Jesus was
baptized by John, and then another miracle occurred that day at the Jordan that
was even greater than the stopping of the river in our text. We learn, “immediately
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; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is
my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The
Spirit descended upon Jesus and God the Father spoke of the words of Isaiah 42:1.
Through this event, God designated Jesus as the Servant of the Lord. Jesus had no sin. He didn’t fail to put God
first like we do, or covet what others have, or hurt their reputation. Yet he submitted to a baptism of repentance
because he was identifying himself with sinners. He was taking our place. He was the Servant of the Lord who had come
to be the Suffering Servant.
From
the moment of Christ’s baptism, his entire ministry was directed toward the
cross. Jesus was here in this world to
fulfill these words: “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed
for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us
peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid
on him the iniquity of us all.”
On
Good Friday Jesus accomplished this as he died crying, “My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me?” But God had not
forsaken his faithful Servant. On the
third day he raised Jesus from the dead. By his death Jesus won the forgiveness
of sins, and through his resurrection he defeated death forever. Because Jesus
has risen from the dead, you know that he will also raise your body from the
dead on the Last Day.
The
risen Lord appeared to his disciples on the mountain in Galilee. There he told
them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus took John’s baptism and transformed it
into his own. He instituted Holy
Baptism.
Through
this baptism you have received forgiveness, for as Peter proclaimed on the Day
of Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Through this baptism you have received the washing of rebirth and renewal
by the Holy Spirit. Through this baptism you have shared in Jesus’ saving
death.
In our text,
we hear about how the people Israel passed through the Jordan River as they
entered into the promised land. You have passed through the water of baptism
and this has become the means by which you have entered into the promised land
of salvation and eternal life.
This is true for you already now, and your
baptism is the guarantee that you will share in the consummation of salvation
when Christ returns on the Last Day. Because you have been baptized, you know
that your body will be raised. St. Paul told the Romans about baptism, “For if
we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be
united with him in a resurrection like his.”
The Spirit who worked new life through
water and the word is the One who raised up Jesus from the dead. You have received the work of the Spirit
through baptism. Because you have, the power of Christ’s resurrection is
already at work in you. St. Paul wrote,
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
we too might walk in newness of life.”
In the ongoing struggle against the old
Adam we confess our sin. We repent. And
in faith we return to what God has done in our baptism, for there we have the
source of the Spirit’s continuing work in our life. The Spirit enables the new
man in us to walk in newness of life.
What does this life look like? Paul
describes it later in Romans when he says, “I appeal to you therefore,
brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
We present ourselves as instruments of service to God.
Because we have been forgiven by God, we
now speak this forgiveness to others – even to those who speak ill of us. The apostle says, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse
them.” We do not respond in anger. Instead, as Paul tells us, “Repay no one
evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of
all.”
Especially
we seek to support those around us. Paul says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.” We rejoice in the blessings that others
receive. We weep with those who
experience hardship, for in this way we express our love for them, even as we
lift them up in prayer.
In
our Old Testament lesson today the priests take the Ark of the Covenant into
the Jordan River, and as a result the people of Israel pass through into the
promised land. In Jesus’ baptism, the
fulfillment of the ark – the incarnate Son of God – entered into the water of
the Jordan to be baptized by John. There he took on the role of the Suffering
Servant who died for our sins. By his
death he won forgiveness for us, and death was defeated when God raised him
from the dead. As the risen Lord he gave us the gift of Holy Baptism. You have
passed through that water and entered into the promised land. Already now you have forgiveness and eternal
life as God’s child. And because of your baptism, you know that Christ will
raise you up on the Last Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment