Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, [2] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, [3] with whom I am well pleased.”
Grace Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text today is from the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Dear friends in Christ, those of you who have had children, or maybe even those of you who have ever known children, know that they can be quite the messier eaters. You can give them carrots, and they will put the carrots in their hair, and on their faces. You give them banana and rather than putting it in their mouth, they squish it between their fingers, only to wipe it on every square inch of baby not covered with a bib. And what’s the worst? That first piece of birthday cake that usually covers the entire baby, and possibly even covers some of the surrounding people. Babies eat messily, and when they are done, there is only one solution. When they have finished, there is only one thing you can do, plop them down in the bath, and scrub them until they are clean.
WHEN YOU ARE DIRTY, YOU MUST BE WASHED.
The same thing is true for you and for I regarding baptism. Those who are dirty with sin, those who are dirty with unfaithfulness and unrighteousness, enter into the waters of baptism. They are washed, and every day for the rest of their lives, their filth is washed away. In baptism, the ugly sinner, is made a holy, precious, clean child of God.
So why is Jesus being baptized in our text today? Why is Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, The one born of a virgin a few short weeks ago. The one who for whom the angels shouted, Glory to God in the highest, the only man who will ever lead a sin free life, desires to be baptized. Doesn’t he get it? Doesn’t he know that he doesn’t need baptism, since he has no sin? Jesus, what are you doing?
Even John the Baptist wonders what is going on. Look at our text, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan 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?’” John says, “Jesus, I need to be washed by you, not the other way around. I need you to cleanse me, I need you to make me whole. John knew who needed to be washed. John knew who needed cleaning. He had been baptizing people in the Jordan river, while preaching a message of repentance. “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
John was calling people to turn away from their sins, and then was baptizing them. John knew the people were dirty, and that they needed to be washed. John could see their sin and unrighteousness. These people who were coming to John, were not any different from you and from me. These people had broken families. They had loved ones who would no longer speak to them. They had committed adultery; they had committed murder, hating their brothers and sisters. They had divorced and remarried. The list goes on and on and on. These people were dirty, and they came to John to be washed, they came to John, to be baptized.
You and I have come to be baptized as well. We have come for the same reasons. We are guilty. We are grimy with sin. We stink with the smell of death and the devil. And so we have come to be washed. We have come to have that sin washed off us, and taken away. Just as John was washing away sins with the message of repentance, so too have many of you been brought to this font, and been washed.
Can you imagine how filthy that water was? Can you imagine how disgusting that water was? You have all seen bath water after someone very dirty has been washed. The once clear water, is now a filthy muddy color. The once clear water is thick and brown. There is some speculation that is where the idea behind the phrase, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” comes from. The water in baptism has taken away your sin. It has washed it away. And daily, we drown our sins, washing them again in the baptismal waters.
So the water is dirty. The water is mucky. In it floats our sin and sickness. And that dear friends is why Jesus comes to be baptized. Jesus comes to John, asking to be baptized, “Because it is necessary to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus comes, and he gets into the dirty water, the water polluted by your sins, and like a sponge, he sucks up all your sin upon himself. Jesus the spotless lamb of God, enters the water of baptism already clean, and leaves it bearing the sins of the whole world. “Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”
Friends, as Jesus comes out of the waters, having been baptized by John, he is the greatest sinner that has ever been. Not because he himself has done anything wrong, not because he himself has actually committed a sin. But rather because he carries upon himself the sin of all. To understand the scope of the sin Jesus is carrying, look at your own life. Any time, EVER, that you have broken one of the ten commandments, Jesus is carrying that sin for you through baptism. Any time, EVER, you have thought a bad thought, sworn, cursed, skipped church, committed adultery, hated, fought, shouted, anything, Jesus is carrying that sin for you through baptism. Jesus has sucked up the dirt and the grime of our sin, the dirt and the grime that made us unclean, and now he bears it.
As Jesus comes out of the water, the heavens are open, and we see a picture of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit descends as a dove upon the Son of God, who is bearing the sins of the world, and the Voice of the Father says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” God is pleased with his Son, because his son now carries your sin and mine. All sin is upon Jesus, and Jesus now will suffer the punishment for sin for you. Jesus carries that sin throughout his entire ministry, until finally, he puts that sin to death, and suffers the punishment that sinners deserve. Jesus will suffer and die. He will be nailed to the cross, thus suffering for you the wages of sin, death. So God is well pleased, because Jesus rescues you from your sin. Where you have sinned, Jesus has suffered. Where you fell short, Jesus has suffered. Jesus takes your sin away from you, and suffers in your place.
Dear friends, those who are dirty must be washed. And so you and I have entered the waters of baptism, for forgiveness life and salvation. And as we entered those waters, we were washed in the blood of the lamb. The book of Revelation gives a great picture of baptism, saying, “These are they who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.” IT is almost like one of those commercials for laundry detergent isn’t it? “This soap can get out even the toughest grass stain.” The difference being that you are what is stained, and the detergent is the blood of Jesus. In baptism your dirty grime sinful self is washed, and made clean, whiter than snow.
Jesus has been baptized to fulfill all righteousness, not just for himself, but also for you and for me. Jesus has been baptized, so that as you are baptized, you receive God’s holy precious gifts of eternal life. Jesus is baptized, and now your baptism also has meaning. In Jesus, you are, and always will be clean. Amen.
