Matthew 3:13-17

WHY???

There was an interesting article in US News & World Report a couple of weeks ago. It was entitled “A Return to Tradition.” 

It talked about how, in recent years, many people and churches are returning to older traditions and religious practices. 

For example, many of us who grew up Presbyterian, never heard much about the seasons of the church year, liturgical colors, the lectionary, etc. - Christmas and Easter were observed, of course, but Lent and Advent and so on were left to the Catholics and Episcopalians.

But all that has changed, hasn’t it?

In 2008, we take for granted that on Ash Wednesday we will have ashes on our foreheads, the color purple will appear on our pulpits, and the scripture lessons will begin to focus on introspection and repentance. Truth is, in the Presbyterian church we have been moving in this direction for years.

And today we observe another reflection of that movement. As a boy in the church, I never heard of a Sunday being set aside to remember the “Baptism of the Lord.” And yet every year around just this time we do just that.

Still I’ll bet many of you here today might wonder why all this fuss about baptism anyway.  First off, pretty much everyone assumes that Jesus didn’t NEED to be baptized – he was perfect, after all.

And we need to know that although we aren’t perfect, we don’t NEED to be baptized either.  There is nothing magic about it.  There was a time when people thought you needed to be baptized or you couldn’t be a Christian and therefore, of course, if you died you’d go to hell.

There may still be people who think that, but that isn’t why we baptize people.  You become a Christian by putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. 

Baptism is merely a sign that that new life has begun. As a matter of fact, baptism has absolutely nothing to do with salvation.

Sometimes, though, I think that people just don’t get it.  In a recent issue of The Christian Century, novelist and poet Kathleen Norris writes:

“I suspect that to many Christians baptism seems a curious and antiquated custom. People want their children baptized but can’t say much about why they want it, and what the rite is meant to signify.

“Many adults who attend church faithfully nevertheless would be hard-pressed to say what their baptism means to them.

“It might help to remember that in the early church the baptism of Jesus was a much more important feast than Christmas. Now that Christmas has become the year’s biggest marketing machine, we may count that as a good thing: just imagine John the Baptist in his animal skins as a singing plush doll.” Cuddly?  I think not!

So why the return of this focus on Christ’s baptism?  I mean, what’s the big deal, anyway?  It must have some significance – Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record this event.  It must be an important day in Jesus’ ministry, right?

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic gospels – meaning literally “with one eye” because of the similar way they record Jesus’ life and the similar sources they share.

Indeed, the three share a similar account of the baptism of Jesus – which most find most notable for its briefness.

Just four or five verses for the whole event. If today we view this as the commencement of Jesus’ ministry, which it is, his coming out party, if your will …why isn’t more written about it?

Frankly, I don’t know. We have to work with what we have, I guess – and all we have are these very few verses.

It is interesting, as I did my research for this sermon and realized the brevity of Matthew’s account – I thought that maybe I could get more insight from the other two gospels that talked about Jesus’ baptism.

I mean, didn’t Luke give more details? Wasn’t Mark’s account of this baptism more specific?

But I was surprised as I read through the texts to realize that Matthew’s five verses actually give us the longest, most detailed account of Jesus’ baptism. 

So I decided to go back a few verses to see if understanding the back story of our text would shed more light on what was about to transpire.  I read about John the Baptist and his revival type meetings at the River Jordan. 

You know the story:  Throngs of people from all walks of life making mini-pilgrimages into the countryside, coming to see this itinerant preacher who is more than just a bit strange:

See, John wasn’t the kind of guy who paid much attention to his outward appearance. “Camel’s hair with a leather belt around the waist” was not exactly the height of fashion, even then - certainly no model for a plush doll.

Many came because there was a sense that something was missing in their walk with God, so they were ready to listen to a new voice. And his was a mighty, powerful voice.

John spoke pointedly to others about their sinful ways, calling them to repent, and he pointed beyond himself to someone else.

“I baptize you with water,” he said, “but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

So here John is at the Jordan river, crying out as a voice in the wilderness for people to repent. Each person coming - out of their own needs, their own thoughts, their own desires - to hear what John has to say of God and then maybe be plunged into the water in response.

On this particular day, one person in particular then steps forward. According to Matthew’s gospel, John has never met this man before. In Luke’s gospel, they met while each was still in his mother’s womb.  Now I don’t think that happens every day.

Anyway, Jesus steps forward for John to baptize him, and John stops as he recognizes the One for whom God had called him (John) to prepare the way.

In that moment he says to Jesus, “Whoa!  You want me to baptize you?  Hey, I need to be baptized by you...”

It’s an interesting statement that only Matthew’s gospel records. And I wonder, did an awkward pause follow? I mean, who should baptize who first?

Was it like two men trying to make their way through a hug? Probably not, but it’s sometimes fun reading between the lines of scripture at what isn’t said.

Okay, so we have this request for baptism. John’s initial reluctance, then acquiescence. Finally, the dramatic climax.

As our lesson has it: As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  End of story.

I wonder, along with John – why does Jesus need to be baptized? Today we celebrate baptism as an outward symbol of God’s grace that is already at work in our lives.

And indeed, Jesus being baptized today could accurately reflect such a meaning.

But when John the Baptist was baptizing, before Jesus began his ministry, the meaning baptism held was somewhat different, as John himself indicated.

When the crowds were coming to John, he told them, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one is coming after me who will baptize you with fire and Holy Spirit.”

John’s baptism has a different meaning – it is a preparation, a symbol of repentance, something John calls the people to do because he knows the kingdom of heaven – God’s reign on earth, has drawn near.

The word for repentance in Greek is metanoia. It means literally, “a change of mind” or “a change of direction.” John seeks people to come to him who need a complete change of direction, a total change of their mind.

Is this something that Jesus needs? Does Jesus need repentance? We immediately want to respond, “of course not!” because today we understand that repentance has the sense of asking for forgiveness. And we don’t believe that Jesus needs forgiveness – it is we who need forgiveness.

But Jesus doesn’t need to repent, does he? I think, though, if we turn back to this other meaning of repentance, this idea of a “change of mind or direction,” perhaps we can better understand why Jesus comes to be baptized by John.

Jesus is about to embark on something new – we’re not sure how he has been preparing for this day, what he’s been doing before this. But we can gather that he drew little attention, at least, before this moment.

So for Jesus, this was indeed a change of direction. It was a new beginning for him, a beginning of his public ministry, a beginning of the attention, good and bad, that would be lavished on him by friends and enemies.

A beginning of a time of hope and promise – his chance to reach out to people who felt rejected by God or who were rejecting God. Remember, this happened at the START of Jesus’ work. This was his commissioning service.

Now, 20 centuries later, when someone is baptized in the church, whether infants or adults, it is no different. We are receiving our commission.

As infants, our parents are commissioned on our behalf to raise us in the faith. As adults we are commissioned to be emissaries of the faith we hold dear.

 It is a starting place.  A beginning. A change of direction. A dying of the old and a raising up of the new.

Then, too, there may be another reason Jesus was baptized. Jesus says to John, “it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”

You’ll notice if you study the gospels carefully that Matthew is the one most often to talk about Jesus being the fulfillment of something.

Matthew quotes the Old Testament scriptures left and right, showing how Jesus fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others. He wants to make sure that his readers know who Jesus is, know that he is the one they’ve been waiting for.

But what of this saying – “to fulfill all righteousness”? What does Jesus mean by that? Righteousness is another word, like repentance, that is filled with meanings.

We hear the word righteousness, and we think of someone who is good and right. Or we think of someone who is pious and devout to the point of wanting to call them “self-righteous.”

After all, religious leaders like the Sadducees and the Pharisees were very concerned with righteousness, particularly their own righteousness and how that measured up against others.

But, what of Jesus? What is his righteousness?

For Jesus, coming to be baptized by John says loudly and clearly, “Here I am God – let it be with me as you would have it. I am your servant, your child.”

Jenee Woodard of The Text This Week writes, “JESUS is the one to watch to see how God works on earth. Not the political authorities, not the religious authorities, not the “experts”, not the Pharisees, not even John the Baptist. With the baptism of Jesus, the prologue fades and the story begins.”

We, too, have an opportunity to make a beginning every time we remember our baptism – to be obedient to God’s desire for our lives, to make a change of direction and turn ourselves toward God and God’s purpose.

We too, are God’s children, beloved. In that knowledge, may we seek to be like Jesus, to do and live and act and love in the ways that we know are pleasing to God, to receive the grace that God shows us in baptism, and to be gospel-messengers of this grace to others.

For Jesus, this baptism was the first step on a path that ended in the giving up of his own life. We aren’t promised an easier path. But we are always promised God’s love.

Amen.