The season before Lent normally begins and ends with two Scripture accounts that serve as bookends around important portions of the gospel. Specifically, these portions of Scripture show Jesus, the man, as the Savior in whom the fullness of God dwells. Interestingly, both of these bookend passages (the Baptism of Jesus, and the Transfiguration) include an audible hearing of the Voice of the Lord. Today’s blog is about the first of these, the baptism of Jesus.
The thing that strikes me about Jesus’ baptism (look in Matthew 3, Mark 1, or Luke 3) is that it was a sinners’ baptism. People who needed a fresh start were coming to John the Baptist to be washed in the Jordan River as a sign of their need (and desire) to make a clean, new beginning. John called them to repentance of their sin--a turning of their lives away from whatever in their life had left them lost or broken and onto God’s path of right relationship and right actions.
Yet, according to the Scriptures (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15) Jesus was a sinless man. Even so, as Jesus watched the people going to John for a fresh start he made the decision to join specifically with those people.
Surely this act of joining with sinners in their baptism was a powerful way of showing Christ’s intention as Savior. In Jesus’ baptism, we see that Jesus insisted on identifying himself with us, the sinners, and with all creatures that suffer from the brokenness of this fallen universe. In his baptism Jesus was declaring himself a full human being—a true part of the created order of the universe. For us humans, who were created with a need to understand, this was as if God were telling us that God was taking action by sending us salvation through a human Savior—that God was identifying us completely, even with our human DNA. I am hoping that we will truly get what this means: God will not let us be lost forever but will reach out with real salvation that will make a difference. Indeed, it was at this very moment, when Jesus came up out of the waters of a sinner’s baptism that the Voice of God spoke, letting us know: This (this creature, this man that absolutely insists on being related to all of you) is my son, with whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).
For Christians this should have two powerful messages which we need to grasp with all our might. The first is that we are beloved by God. Not only did God somehow become fully a creature in the birth of Jesus, but God joins with us even in our sin, and calls us to repentance and new life. For people who don’t know hope, this is a powerful message. If we don’t know how to save ourselves, somehow God is coming for us and we need to watch and be ready. But in the meantime, we need to hear the message—God joined with us in the coming of Jesus, in the baptism of Jesus, and God will find a way of joining with you (us) today, wherever you are. Don’t listen to those who say you are beyond hope. Don’t listen to those who say you are not worthy of help. Listen to the Voice of the Lord: this Savior comes to bring real, life-changing salvation. Be ready and don’t lose hope.
Second, if we are followers of our Savior, we need to see that Jesus demonstrated what faithful human life looks like. This means that we Jesus followers need to ask how we can embody that hope that Jesus showed us. Specifically, if Jesus was willing to join with us and with the brokenness of creation, who are we called to join with? Where do we see creation broken and failing? Where do we see people burdened with their guilt or shame, or with their hurt from sin that has been committed against them? Where do we see people cut off from the hope that they had and in need of new hope? Where, in our own lives, are we in contact with those who truly need allies of hope? How can we join with them, as Jesus joined with us? How can we help people not to be alone, without hope, in their brokenness?
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