Luke 3:21-22 * Epiphany
2007 * Pastor Leyrer
Dear Friends in Christ,
A new movie came out last month called “The Nativity Story.” If you saw it you know that some of the dialogue and events were manufactured for the purpose of keeping the story line going, but by and large the film attempted to authentically and accurately portray the simple truths surrounding the birth of Christ as we find them in the Bible.
The film included the coming of the Wise Men. They were cast about the way we usually imagine them – three men, all of different nationality, in richly ornamented robes riding on camels, and bearing the traditional (but not Biblical) names of Caspar, Melchior and Belthazar.
The movie has them arriving to adore the Baby Jesus the same
time as the shepherds. This is really an
exercise in “historical compression,” since the Bible says they came to
The coming of the Wise Men is a fascinating account and always serves as the Gospel lesson for the Festival of Epiphany, which we are observing today. For good reason. The word “Epiphany” comes from a Greek word that can variously be translated as “an appearance” or “a manifestation” or a “shining forth;” and the overarching message of Epiphany is that Jesus Christ appeared as the almighty Son of God and Savior for the entire world.
The worshiping Wise Men and the distant lands they represent perfectly captures the message and meaning of Epiphany. Because this is a truth worth remembering year after year, this is also a Bible reading worth hearing year after year.
But you’ll notice that a different Gospel lesson serves as our text for today. That’s because we’re doing a little compressing of our own. Epiphany is a set date – the Twelfth Day of Christmas, January 6. Because of its importance we observe Epiphany on the Sunday closest to actual date.
There is only one negative to this. In the process we often skip over the lessons for the First Sunday after Epiphany, which has its own Epiphany related theme and focus. And it is this we will focus on today, as we consider an event in the life of Christ which had great significance for Him and continues to have great significance for us. That event is
THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD
1. What it meant for Him
2. What it means for us
“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Let’s set the stage. John’s baptism and preaching activities were at their height. He had preached the law of God in all its severity, making people aware of their sinfulness, followed by the Gospel in all its sweetness, pointing them to the Savior whom God was about to be ushered onto the scene. That time was now.
Jesus comes to the
An ancient Christian writer named Maximus of Turin very eloquently summed up John’s dilemma: “What sort of baptism is this, when the one who is dipped is purer than the font, and where the water that soaks the one whom it has received is not dirtied, but honored with blessings? What sort of baptism is this of the Savior, I ask, in which the streams are made pure more than they purify?”
We can understand John’s dilemma. Matthew also records Jesus’ response to
John’s hesitation. “‘Let it be so now; it is proper
for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented.”
What does Jesus mean when He says He did this to “fulfill all righteousness”? Jesus simply told John that He was doing what the Father wanted Him to do, and that was good enough for John. But by submitting to baptism Jesus also did something else: He identified Himself with the world of sinners He came to save.
And by His baptism He was also identified for who and what He is. The approving voice of God the Father and the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove – in addition to being the clearest Biblical illustration of the fact that God is triune – publicly identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sin of the world.
If anybody on the banks of the
From here He would go into the wilderness where He would be unsuccessfully tempted for forty days. From there He would arrive on the scene, choosing disciples, preaching and teaching throughout the land, all the while perfectly keeping every single one of God’s commands in our place as mankind’s sinless substitute.
Then, after three years of public ministry He would walk the way of sorrows, suffering and dying on the cross for us and in our place, so we might never have to. Three days later He bursts forth from the tomb guaranteeing eternal life for all who embrace Him as their Savior.
That the world might know this chain of events was about to
be set into motion and that Satan himself might be served notice that his doom
was soon at hand, Jesus comes to the
But that’s not all it reminds us of. With His baptism Jesus also clearly put His stamp of approval on and reminds us of the blessings of our own baptism.
“The three handfuls of water that were poured over my head in Holy Baptism,” said Louis the Pious of France, a son of Charlemagne and a king in the early middle ages, “are worth more to me than the crown that I am wearing.” Considering who he was, that’s a pretty strong statement. Was he right? On what basis could he make such a pronouncement?
On the basis of the Word of God, which tells us that through
baptism we receive and are assured of an everlasting crown of glory. Writing to Titus, the Apostle Paul refers to
baptism as a “washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul matter of factly tells us that “all of you were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.” This reminds us of that glorious hymn: Jesus, your blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress. It also calls to mind the picture of the saints in the Book of Revelation whose white robes were washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.
In the Book of Romans, Paul thoroughly identifies our baptism with what Christ accomplished for us through His death and resurrection and asks: “Don’t you know that all of who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” That is, a new life of forgiveness and reconciliation before God.
All of which is to say that baptism is more than just an act of obedience or a church ordinance or a rite of passage. It is a “means of grace” – an instrument through which God takes the initiative and pours into our hearts the forgiveness of sins. Through the waters of baptism the Holy Spirit applies the saving work of Jesus Christ to our lives and we become members of His forever family. And it just doesn’t get any better than that.
Let’s think of our baptism in the framework of Jesus’ baptism. When you were baptized, did you hear the voice of God? Maybe not like Jesus did, but it was there. And what He said is “you are my beloved son or daughter.”
When you were baptized, did you see the Holy Spirit come floating down in the form of a dove? Maybe not like Jesus did, but He was there, applying the saving work of Christ to your heart.
When you were baptized, did the clouds break and did heaven open up for you to see? Maybe not like it did for Jesus, but it opened up all right and it showered grace all over you. In fact you got soaked.
But that was then. What does our baptism mean to us now? It means regardless of our outward circumstances, regardless of whether we’ve got the right connections, regardless of whether we are considered to be movers or shakers, regardless of how we are perceived by the world around us, regardless even of how we sometimes think of ourselves, we are special. Because we are God’s, claimed by Him through baptism – at which time He put His name upon us.
The story is told that Martin Luther once visited a friend by
the name of Jerome Weller and found him in a very depressed spirit. Asked for the reason behind his sorrow,
Weller answered that he really wasn’t able to articulate what made him so
sad. Luther then asked him this simple
question: “Don’t you know that you have
been baptized?” Weller would later say
he found more comfort from Luther in those words than from one of his
sermons. Maybe because there was a short
but powerful sermon in that simple question – reminiscent of God’s statement to
us in Isaiah 43: “I have summoned you by name; you
are mine.”
The point is that it is good for us to reflect on our baptism (which brings to mind another quote attributed to Luther: “Do not say you were baptized, but that I am baptized.”) The words of one of the hymns in the baptism section of Christian Worship put it well and make it personal…
Baptized into your name most holy,
O Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
I claim a place though weak and lowly,
Among your saints, your chosen
host,
Buried with Christ and dead to sin.
Your Spirit now shall live within.
Epiphany is the season during which we reflect on the
greatness of Christ and the greatness of His mission. Today we see Him at the
And as we reflect on His baptism and what it meant for Him, we also reflect on our own baptism and what it means to us. So on this Epiphany let us praise God for the blessings He has brought us through Christ, and through Christ the blessings He has brought us through baptism. Amen.