Foretaste of the Sermon to Come
A little nibble of the Revised Common Lectionary
Sunday’s scriptures are Is 42:1-9, Acts 10:34-43, Mt. 3:13-17
The authors of all four gospels wrote about Jesus’ baptism, but in only one, Matthew, does Jesus speak. When John the Baptist balks at Jesus’ request to be baptized, Jesus enigmatically answers, “…it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”
Jesus’ baptism is hard to understand. Many wonder why a sinless Jesus would need a baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Some say that John’s baptism and “Christian” baptism are two different things. Some believe that baptism by water and baptism by the Holy Spirit are two different events. And what does Jesus mean when he says, “…it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness”?
“…it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” For us to do this. Jesus wants John to perform this baptism. The Second Person of the eternal Trinity wants a human to participate in his fulfilling all righteousness. How can this be when we confess we are saved by grace through faith ALONE? Because the First Century Jewish John sees righteousness as obedience to the Law, let’s equate the two for simplicity. Jesus will somehow be the fulfillment of the Law through this baptism. He says as much in the Sermon on the Mount and later Paul will write extensively on the subject. Humanity could not be reconciled with our holy God through our obedience to the Law because humanity could never perfectly obey the Law. So God became human as the first step in fulfilling all righteousness for humanity.
I read the significance of the incarnation into Jesus’ baptism. God came among us (Emmanuel) by being born fully human from a human mother. But he’s not just another man in the pool of humanity. Just as the three Persons of the Trinity are in complete union with one another while each retaining their distinct essence, so is Christ in complete union with humanity while retaining his deity. Christ the man, through John’s hands and water, joins with humanity and joins humanity with each other in this baptism — it’s like his inauguration into humanity before starting his mission amongst humanity.
Jesus’ baptism is God’s taking humanity into Godself. In his baptism, Jesus wades deep into humanity: into our sin and brokenness, into our sorrow and pain, into our rage and fear, and he takes it all into himself…fulfilling all righteousness by taking on our sin and gifting us his righteousness. Could he have done this without being baptized by John? Sure, he’s God — he can work however he will. But by joining with humanity in an earthy, organic way, through his incarnation and in the waters of baptism, he empties himself of his rights and position as a deity and gives us an objective way we can know we are saved. We don’t have to look around to try to see how God might be saving people and wonder if we are saved. In the tangible water of baptism, applied by a preacher speaking our Triune God’s word, God both promises we are saved and makes it so.
In his baptism, our Lord Jesus entered into the thick of humanity, took humanity into himself, linked us substantially with one another, and gifted us with his righteousness through our own baptism. And in our baptism, humanity enters into Christ’s death and into his resurrection. Thanks be to God!
