janauary 8 2023
2023 Epiphany 1; January 8th Baptism of Jesus
Old Testament: Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm: Psalm 29
Epistle: Romans 6:1-11
Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17
Sermon Text: Matthew 3 and Romans 6
Sermon Title:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Then Jesus came to John to be baptized by him … and when Jesus was baptized, immediately … the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove … and a voice from heaven said, this is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. (Matthew 3:13b-17) “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death”. (Romans 6:3) “So, you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”. (Romans 6:11)
Other than the passion accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection, there are very few events in His life spoken of in all four Gospels. Jesus’ baptism is one of those few events; and because of that we recognize its importance; both as a beginning of His earthly ministry and with regard to our own baptism. Therefore, every year in the lectionary, we hear one of these accounts on the first Sunday after Epiphany. This year it is from the Gospel of Matthew who begins;
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan (river) to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented Him saying, I need to be baptized by You, and do you come to me”? (Matthew 3:13-14) Knowing who Jesus was, the sinless “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b) John didn’t understand why Jesus was coming to him. We might wonder the same thing; if Jesus was perfectly sinless, having no need to repent of anything, why did He want to be baptized by John?
“Jesus answered him; let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then John consented”. (Matthew 3:15) But what does it mean to fulfill all righteousness? In His baptism, Jesus is anointed as the Messiah; He identifies with us poor, miserable sinners by becoming sin for us. As the Son of God, He came in the flesh to bear our sins, and the sins of the whole world, on the cross; to suffer the punishment that we deserve. Jesus also kept the law of God perfectly, in our place. At His baptism, Jesus begins His journey to the cross to redeem us. Almost immediately afterwards, Jesus was tempted for 40 days by the devil.
In our own baptism, all the benefits that Christ won for us by His perfect life, atoning sacrifice and bodily resurrection are given/applied to us. In baptism, we receive Christ’s perfect righteousness, the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life. In our baptism, the Holy Spirit comes to us. In our baptism, the Lord put His name on us saying, “Fear not. I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine”. (Isaiah 43:1b)
Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ instituted baptism saying, “Go … make disciples … baptizing them, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them”. (Matthew 28:19-20a) The Apostle Paul describes baptism this way, “He saved us … by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit”. (Titus 3:5)
“We were buried 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. 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”. (Romans 6:4-5) Baptism is all God’s work, not ours, and what He does is sure and certain. (# 314)
This newness of life that Paul speaks of is what Luther also teaches in the Small Catechism under baptism. “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 sin and evil desires and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever”. This is the daily battle with sin that every Christian is to be engaged in for the rest of their lives; “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2nd Corinthians 5:17) therefore, “put off the old self … and put on the new self”. (Ephesians 4:22, 24)
“Now when Jesus was baptized, immediately, He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the (Holy) Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest upon Him; and a voice from heaven said; This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. (Matthew 3:16-17)
In Jesus’ baptism we have a true picture of the triune nature of our God. As Jesus, the Son, is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove, and the Father speaks His approval from heaven. This is one of the clearest of the many Scriptural revelations of the fact that our Lord is One God, in three (distinct) persons, as we also confess in the Creeds. We see this trinitarian reference also in the reading from Isaiah, as the Father declares, “behold My servant (the Christ) … I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations”. (Isaiah 42:1)
We already spoke of the baptismal formula that Jesus spoke, which is clearly trinitarian; “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. (Matthew 28:19b) There are also two benedictions that we use in our various liturgies, both of which are trinitarian and both of which come straight from the Bible.
In the book of Numbers Moses wrote; “thus you shall bless the people … you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace”. (Numbers 6:23-26) At the end of his second letter to the Corinthian churches, the Apostle Paul also speaks this benediction, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God (the Father) and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”. (2nd Corinthians 13:14)
There is also the account of the creation in Genesis 1 where it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth … and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters”. (Genesis 1:1-2) While the Son is not mentioned here, the New Testament frequently speaks of Jesus as being there at the creation.
We heard this on Christmas Day as John wrote of Jesus, the Word, “all things were made through Him and without Him was not anything made that was made … the world was made through Him". (John 1:3, 10) In all, there are over 20 biblical passages that refer to the three persons of the Holy Trinity. For example, Jesus’ teaching about the Holy Spirit in John 14 and 15 speaks of “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name”. (John 14:26a) The Apostle Peter wrote of “God the Father … the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit … and obedience to Jesus Christ”. (1st Peter 1:2a)
The Apostle Paul wrote “Though Christ, we both have access in one Spirit to the Father”. (Ephesians 2:18) The author of the Hebrews proclaims Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God”. (Hebrews 9:14a) These are just a few of the examples of the three persons of the Trinity mentioned in Holy Scripture.
All this to show that the events (and doctrines) recorded in our Gospel text this morning are in accordance with what is taught in the rest of the Bible. We believe, teach and confess these truths because they are clearly taught in God’s Holy Word. This is how God revealed Himself to the world. All three persons of the Godhead are involved in our salvation.
We see in Christ’s baptism, that “the entire Holy Trinity … Father … Son … and Holy Spirit … directs people to Christ … for the Father wills that all people would hear this proclamation (of the Gospel) and come to Christ … and that we may come to Christ, the Holy Spirit creates true faith through the hearing of the Word … when it is proclaimed purely and clearly”. (Solid Declaration, Article XI, par. 68-69)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Baptism of our Lord is one of the most significant events recorded in all the Scriptures. It tells us much about our Savior, Jesus Christ, His person and work for us sinners and also how the entire Trinity is at work in our redemption. What great comfort this is to all who trust in Christ alone; who are baptized and gladly receive His gifts in Word and Sacrament. Amen.
The peace of God ….