From the Miracle of Christmas to Baptism in the Jordan
The Confirmation of Christ’s Identity
Text: Luke 3:15-22 The First Sunday after Epiphany
The Rev. Ross M. Wright Church of the Good Shepherd
Today, we move from Christmas to Epiphany, from Jesus’ birth to his baptism, from the cradle in Bethlehem to the anointing by the Holy Spirit in the Jordan River. Jesus’ birth and his baptism stand by side.[1] The miracle of Christmas is that the child in the cradle is God – fully God. Jesus’ baptism is a confirmation of that miracle. When Jesus was baptized and was praying, “the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form as a dove. And there was a voice from heaven: You are my beloved son, the one in whom I delight.” The Father confirms the identity of this man through the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the voice from heaven.
It is important to note that Jesus did not become the Son of God at the point of his baptism. This event confirms what was announced about him at his birth. Why does this matter? If Jesus is the Religious Man, the founder of a new religion, the pinnacle of humanity, then we are sunk. We are left in despair, because his life is a standard which we can never attain.[2] This understanding of Jesus leads to teeth gritting Christianity: “If I can just try a little harder, if I can just get my act together, if I can just be like the pictures of Christians in advertisements in Christianity Today . . .” But if the man Jesus whom we meet in the New Testament really is the Christ, the Word of God, then we are encountering the living God. He meets us as we are – in sorrow as well as joy, humiliation as well as success, when we are completely fed up with ourselves as well as when we are confident.
So let us look more closely at his baptism. Here is John the Baptizer, the last of the prophets in the tradition of Isaiah and Jeremiah. In the remote areas along the Jordan River, John leads a renewal movement [presides over repentance movement]. People publicly acknowledge their sins by stepping into the waters of the Jordan River. Listen to how Luke summarizes the impact of John’s presence:
The people were filled with expectation and were all wondering in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.
One of the things which Christians share with Jews is that we are both waiting for the coming of the Messiah. The difference is that we are waiting for the return of the one who has already come. Jews have kept alive for centuries the hope that one day, the Messiah will come and establish his kingdom of Shalom on the earth. One day, God’s servant will appear and restore Israel to its vocation to be a light to the nations. What will the Messiah be like? What will the in breaking of the Messianic age look like? Jews, like Christians, disagree about these things. But we have a good description of the coming Messiah and his ministry in our reading from Isaiah. He will establish justice. He will open blind eyes. He will bring freedom to the captives. When John the baptizer presided over this renewal movement in the desert, people began to ask: Is John the long awaited Messiah? Is he the one who comes to restore Israel?
At Jesus’ baptism, we hear a definitive answer to this question. First, there is the witness of John himself. He points to the one who comes after him with a superior baptism. “I baptize you with water; he will baptize you with Holy Spirit and with fire.” So John says unequivocally: I am not the long awaited Messiah. Second, there is the voice of the Father in heaven, speaking at the point that Jesus comes out of the water. In this event, the Father confirms the identity of Jesus. Heaven is opened. There is concourse between the Father and Jesus of Nazareth. The baptism of Jesus confirms that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah.
As we listen to this text, God confirms his identity to us. How else can we know Christ as he really is and not just an historical figure? We can know certain things about him by reading the New Testament, just like we can know something about any other person or figure of history by observing the person, what he does. But looks can be deceiving. People’s actions are often ambiguous. We cannot really know a person simply by observing his works. It is only as we know the innermost thoughts, only as the person chooses to reveal himself to us, that we can know him. And we cannot know who Jesus is simply by observing his actions in the pages of the New Testament. We can know the person of Jesus only as God reveals him to us. This explains why two people can read the same description of Jesus, can read the same New Testament, but for one, Jesus emerges as the Son of God, for the other, he is simply a an inspired prophet, the epitome of the best in humanity. To paraphrase the poet, William Blake, the same tree which to one person is a source of beauty, joy and life is to another, simply a green thing in the way.
Jesus’ baptism reveals who he is for us: the Son of God, the lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world. The loving relationship expressed here between the Father and the Son continues. And we are drawn into a relationship with God as they are in relationship with each other. Finally, we too have been baptized. We are united to him in his death and resurrection. Martin Luther, when attacked with despair and doubt, used to say out loud: baptizatus sum: I have been baptized. And so have you. We have been united with Christ in his death and we will be united to him in his resurrection. So the baptism of Jesus is not only about his identity – it is a confirmation of your identity as well. In Christ, we hear the Father say to us: You are my son, you are my daughter. With you I am well pleased.
