The
Baptism of Our Lord (A)
January
12, 2019
Text: Rom. 6:1-11; Matt. 3:13-17
Jesus
Christ is the Gift given to us in our Baptism.
Jesus Christ and all that He is and all that He has, and nothing
less. John’s Baptism was a precursor. John’s Baptism was similar to Christian
Baptism, but not quite the same thing.
His was a Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as is ours,
but it was a Baptism in preparation for the coming of Christ. Now Christ has come, and our Baptism gives us
the whole Jesus Christ and His salvation.
We know that because Jesus steps into John’s Baptism and fills it with
Himself.
There
He is in the Jordan, the Son of God, to be baptized by John with a Baptism He
does not need, the one and only sinless Man for repentance and
forgiveness. John is rightly confused. But he doesn’t understand what Jesus is doing
there to fulfill all righteousness. He
is baptized there into us, so that we may be baptized ever after into Him. Like a divine sponge, He is soaking in all
the sins of the people who were baptized by John, confessing their sins. And He is soaking up our sins, and the sins
of all sinners of all times and places, to bear them in His body to the
cross. And He is leaving behind in the
water all His righteousness, His holiness, His life, to be received in Holy
Baptism. As we pray in Luther’s famous
Flood Prayer, in His Baptism, Jesus sanctifies and institutes “all waters to be
a blessed flood and a lavish washing away of sin” (LSB 269). It is a great exchange that now takes place
in the water, in Jesus’ Baptism and in ours: He takes our sin and death and
condemnation into Himself. He gives us
His righteousness and life and salvation as a gift.
And
we know that what happens to Jesus in His Baptism happens to us in ours, albeit
less visibly and audibly: Heaven is opened to us, the Spirit of God descends
upon us and abides with us, and the Father’s says of us there in the water with
Jesus, covered in Jesus: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased” (Matt. 3:17; ESV).
So
all our sins are forgiven. No more
condemnation. The devil and his demons
have been exorcized. Death itself can no
longer harm us. Not ultimately. And all of this by grace, because of Jesus,
the sure and certain gift of God. It is
at just this point that it occurs to sinners like you and me that this may just
mean I can go on doing all the sins I love to do, and do them with reckless
abandon, because even more than I love to sin, Jesus loves to forgive! Or as St. Paul puts it in our Epistle this
morning: “What shall we say then? Are
we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). His answer is immediate and forceful: “By
no means!” (v. 2). “God
forbid!” “May it never be!”
Why? Because in Christ and in His crucifixion, we
died to sin. You are baptized into His
death. And that is supremely good
news. For now you don’t have to fear
dying. You got your death over with at
the font. You died with Christ in His
crucifixion and death on the cross. Your
sinful nature is crucified. Old Adam has
been drowned. And that means you are
freed from sin. From guilt, also,
yes. Your sins are forgiven in the
sin-atoning blood of Christ. The Law can
no longer accuse you. But also from sin
itself. When a slave dies, he is no
longer enslaved. You were enslaved to
sin, bound to do its bidding, but no longer, for now you have died with Christ,
and therefore you are free. You don’t
have to let sin boss you around anymore.
You don’t have to give yourself into it.
And
not only have you died with Christ, and so died to sin, you’ve been raised with
Christ. Yes, raised from the dead,
already at the font, baptized into His resurrection. Now, of course, you still have to wait for
the resurrection of your body on the Last Day when Christ comes again in glory
to judge. But you’ve already been
raised, spiritually, in your Baptism.
You already have new and eternal life.
You are a New Creation. That is
what Paul says in our Epistle. “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 expect Him to say here how we’ll be raised
on the Last Day, and he will say that in a moment, but first this amazing
proclamation… “we too might walk in newness of life” (v. 4). Did you catch that? The sinner is dead, buried with Christ in His
death by virtue of Baptism, and baptized into Christ’s resurrection, we are
raised with Him now to walk in newness of life. It’s just what Luther writes in the Small
Catechism: “What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should
by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil
desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in
righteousness and purity forever.”[1]
Do
you see what this means? No, you’re not
going to go on sinning so that grace may abound. No, you don’t root around and revel in the
filth of your sins because you love to sin and Christ loves to forgive and you
can both be happy. By no means! God forbid it! See, that’s not who you are anymore. That you has died with Christ. The new you has been raised with Christ. Stop your sins. Whatever you are doing in rebellion against
God and who He has created you to be.
Knock it off. Repent. Confess.
Yes, of course, you are forgiven.
That’s the whole point of your Baptism.
But you’re not just forgiven from the guilt and punishment your
sins. You’re forgiven to be
raised to life, new and eternal, in the risen Lord Jesus Christ, to live with
Him in righteousness and purity forever.
You’re free. For the first time
ever, you’re not bound to sin and death and unbelief, to which you have
died. You are free to love and serve and
do good works and live and believe in Christ, your Savior.
You’re
free to love your spouse.
Faithfully. Exclusively. Devotedly.
Or if you’re single, you’re free to live chastely and in trust that the
Lord will provide companionship and joy and maybe even a spouse someday. You’re free to be patient with your
kids. You’re free to honor your
parents. You’re free to feed the hungry,
give drink to the thirsty, visit the widow, the orphan, the sick, the prisoner,
speak up for the unborn, give generously to the poor, give an offering at
Church, love and pray for all. You’re
free. Because you’re in Christ. Baptized into Christ. Baptism gives you Jesus Christ. Repent of all that is not Christ. That is all dead in Baptism. Rejoice in all that is Christ. That is the new life to which you’ve been
raised in Baptism.
And
there is no doubt that this reality is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3) for
as long as you live in this fallen world with Old Adam hanging on and weighing
you down. That is to say, you still
sin. Simul justus et peccator, at
the same time saint and sinner, 100% sinner in and of yourself, 100% saint in
Christ. When you look at you, all you
see is a sinner. But thanks be to God, He
doesn’t look at you as you are apart from Christ. He looks at you in your Baptism, covered with
Christ, dead and raised, righteous and holy.
Repentance is always a return to Baptism, for to repent is always to
die, and so to live. It is always a return
to Christ. When you have sinned, as you
do and you will, say to God, “I have sinned in doing this or that against your
Commandment. Forgive me for Jesus’ sake
and grant me the new life you have promised, for I am baptized into Christ!” If you don’t believe it (or even if you do),
go to your pastor and make confession, and hear it from his own mouth, from the
one God sent to tell you, “You are baptized into Christ, and I forgive you by
His authority and in the Name into which you are baptized, in the Name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Look not
at yourself or your own holiness or righteousness or goodness. That is always a dead end. Look to Christ. He is your holiness and righteousness and
goodness. And the end of Christ is
always resurrection and life.
And
it’s all right there in the Jordan where the Son of God stands, being baptized
by St. John. Heaven is opened, the
Spirit poured out, and the Father declaring Jesus, and you in Jesus, His
beloved Son with whom He is well pleased.
You’ve died with Jesus. Now live
in Jesus. Jesus is the Gift in the water
of the font. God’s own child, I gladly
say it. In Jesus, you have new
life. In the Name of the Father, and of
the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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