“Jesus Is God’s Beloved and Well-pleased Son”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord [Amen.]
“These truths on Jordan’s banks were shown By mighty word and wonder.
The Father’s voice from heav’n came down, Which we do well to ponder:
‘This man is My beloved Son, In whom My heart has pleasure.
Him you hear, and Him alone, And trust in fullest measure
The word that He has spoken.’”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
407:3)
Gospel
Reading...................................................................
St. Matthew 3:13-17 (esp. 17)
… and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I
am well pleased.”
Prologue: The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther wrote that “Since
Baptism is a divine act in which God Himself participates and since it is
attended by the three exalted Persons of the Godhead, it must be prized and
honored. One must agree that Baptism was not invented by any man but was
instituted by God. It is not plain water but has God’s Word in it and with
it; and this transforms such water into a soul bath and into a bath of
rejuvenation.” (Martin Luther in Luther’s Works Volume 22: Sermons on the
Gospel of St. John: Chapters 1-4. Copyright © 1957 Concordia Publishing
House, Saint Louis, MO. Page XXX.)
Today is the “First Sunday after the Epiphany of Our Lord” on
which we celebrate “The Baptism of Our Lord” in the course of the Christian
liturgical church year. It gives us an opportunity after the stress-filled
busyness of the recently-past Christmas season to relax, reflect on, and
rejoice about the single-most important event in our own lives, namely, the
Blessed Sacrament of Holy Baptism. We do so in the context of Jesus’
Baptism and by first of all reviewing the important truths about our own
Baptism as set forth in Luther’s Small Catechism. So, please turn to page
325 in your Lutheran Service Book hymnal … page 325 … and read aloud the
answers to the questions about Baptism as I ask them. Page 325.
“The Sacrament of Holy Baptism as the head of the family should
teach it in a simple way to his household.
“First: What is Baptism? Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the
water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word.
“Which is that word of God? Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of
Matthew: ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ Matthew 28:19
“Second: What benefits does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins,
rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who
believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.
“Which are these words and promises of God? Christ our Lord says in the
last chapter of Mark: ‘Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but
whoever does not believe will be condemned.’ Mark 16:16
“Third: How can water do such great things? Certainly not just water, but
the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the
faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word
the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a
Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the
new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three: ‘He
saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom
He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that,
having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of
eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying.’ Titus 3:5-8
“Fourth: What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that
the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and
die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge
and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
“Where is this written? St. Paul writes in Romans, chapter six: ‘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.’ Romans 6:4” (Lutheran Service Book. Page 325.)
Now let’s return to today’s sermon text. When Jesus came up from
the water after being baptized Matthew reported that a sequence of
astoundingly amazing things happened: the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit
descended on Jesus in the visible physical form of a dove, and the Father
spoke His absolute approval of Jesus with verbal words that everyone heard.
He declared that …
“Jesus Is God’s Beloved and Well-pleased Son.”
Now note well that what He said about Jesus applies to all who,
having been baptized into the Triune God, believe in Jesus by Spirit-given
faith. More about that later. But for now, the time had arrived. Jesus’
public ministry was about to begin. His preparation was complete ... well,
almost complete. You see, proper preparation precedes successful activity.
Jesus’ initial preparation included being circumcised when He was eight days
young and gaining Bible knowledge through conversation with the priests and
rabbis when He was twelve years young. We don’t know the details of His
development for the 18 years between then and now at age 30. But we do know
that one more significant event remained that would precede and even begin
His public ministry and prepare Him for His trek to Calvary’s cross, namely,
...
I. Jesus Had to Be Baptized in Order to Fulfill All Righteousness.
(13-15)
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
14John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and
do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus
it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
The first Epiphany event and this liturgical church year following
its formal celebration on January 6 were and are all about revealing,
manifesting, and making known who Jesus is and for whom Jesus came. He is
the divine Savior of sin-stricken mankind. He entered this sin-infested
world to atone for the sins of all sinners … Jews and Gentiles … you and me.
Yes, Jesus invaded this world to redeem us “with His holy,
precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that [we] may be
His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting
righteousness, innocence, and blessedness ... .” (Lutheran Service Book.
Page 323.) Saint Paul said it this way in today’s Epistle Reading, part of
which we spoke together earlier and appears in our hymnal’s Funeral Service
liturgy, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by
baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we
have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united
with him in a resurrection like his.” (Rom 6:3-5 ESV)
Jesus broke and hindered every evil plan and purpose of the devil,
the world, and our sinful nature. He did so by living the holy life that
God demanded of us but we’re unable to do, suffering the agonizing torment
of crucifixion death on Calvary’s cross that we deserve because of our sins
but desire to escape, and triumphantly rising from the dead thereby sealing
Satan’s defeat together with sin and death itself. He now gives us His
gracious gifts of forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life through
His Holy Word and Blessed Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. He
thereby equips and motivates us to thank and praise Him by obediently
serving Him by serving one another.
You see, God’s will for Jesus was that He reconcile us with the
heavenly Father thereby restoring our sin-broken relationship with Him.
Because of that Jesus desires that His will be our will, specifically, that
“... all people … be saved and … come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1
Tim 2:4 ESV) That truth, of course, is none other than what Jesus spoke
about Himself when He declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV)
In the context of all that, Saint Matthew recorded an essential
element for Immanuel and for us as well, namely that …
II. God’s Spirit Descended on Jesus through Baptism. (16)
16And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and
behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and coming to rest on him … .
This seemingly simple and perhapts-not-necessarily-so-important
statement about the Holy Spirit that all four Gospel writers reported is
actually extremely significant. First of all realize that “Matthew
emphasizes that the Spirit’s descent was for Jesus’ benefit.” (The Lutheran
Study Bible. Edward A. Engelbrecht, Gen. Ed. Copyright © 2009 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 1582.) Then remember what we read
earlier in the third part of Holy Baptism that’s loaded with Third Article
Holy Spirit stuff. “But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a
life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy
Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three: ‘[God] saved us through
the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on
us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been
justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal
life. This is a trustworthy saying.’ [Titus 3:5-8]” (Lutheran Service Book.
Page 325.)
In order to grasp the full meaning and impact of what happened
there, let’s review the work of the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther wrote in his
meaning to The Third Article that “the Holy Spirit has called me by the
Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true
faith. In the same way, He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the
whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one
true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my
sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and
all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.”
(Ibid. Page 323.)
Did you catch it? Do you grasp it? What this easily-overlooked
item did was to “emphasize the fact that God wanted to convey the idea of an
unlimited imparting of the Holy Spirit to His Son, according to His human
nature … .” (Paul E. Kretzmann in Popular Commentary of the Bible: The New
Testament Volume I. Copyright © Unknown Date Concordia Publishing House,
St. Louis, MO. Page 16.) Now listen very closely because this is supremely
important. “Jesus is now anointed with the Holy [Spirit] (Acts 10:38).
Jesus is not the person acting, but the One who is acted upon. He had the
Spirit, for He was conceived of the Spirit; and the fullness of the Godhead
dwelt in Him bodily. But nevertheless He … now [receives] the Spirit. …
Jesus had the Spirit of life, not only as God, but also as man; now He
received the Spirit as the Spirit of His office and as the Spirit of power,
without measure. Because Jesus was a true man, with the weakness and
frailty of human nature, albeit without its sin, therefore He was, as a man,
in need of the equipment and preparation by the Spirit for the duties of His
great work.” (Johann Ylvisaker in The Gospels: A Synoptic Presentation of
the Text in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Copyright © 1932 Augsburg
Publishing House, Minneapolis, MN. Page117.)
Rudolph F. Norden effectively captured that point in a devotion
entitled “The Voice of the Dove.” He wrote that “… in the Old Testament
doves were sacrificed as sin offerings and burnt offerings.
“These sacrifices pointed ahead to the perfect sacrifice for sin that
Jesus would bring when He would offer up Himself on the cross. As symbols
of this sacrifice to come, the doves in their innocence and gentleness gave
up their lives.
“As Jesus began His ministry after His baptism by John the Baptist, the
Holy Spirit descended on Him ‘like a dove.’ Thus was Jesus visibly anointed
‘with the Holy Spirit and power’ (Acts 2:38) so that He might fulfill His
mission as the Messiah.
“The Holy Spirit continues to descend upon God’s people in Christ [at
their Baptism and continues to do so through the proclaimed Gospel and
proper partaking of the Lord’s Supper]. Although we may not see it happen
visibly today, we are assured that it is happening.” (Rudolph F. Norden in
Each Day with Jesus: Daily Devotions through the Year. Copyright © 1994
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 219.)
In conclusion, therefore, “Jesus’ baptism identified him with the
world of sinners. Paul describes Christ’s substitution for sinners by
telling us, ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Corinthians 5:21). He certainly
placed his stamp of approval on John’s baptism and indicated that he also
wants us to receive the blessings of baptism. Jesus’ baptism and the
testimony of the Father and of the Holy Spirit publicly indentified Jesus as
the Lamb of God, who had come to take away the sin of the world.” (G. J.
Albrecht and M. J. Albrecht in People’s Bible Commentary: Matthew.
Copyright © 1996 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 42.) The
voice from heaven made that abundantly clear when it declared that …
“Jesus Is God’s Beloved and Well-pleased Son.”
The antiphon and another statement in today’s Introit gave further testimony
to that fact, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul
delights. I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.’” (Isa 42:1a & Ps 2:7 ESV) Today’s Old Testament
Reading also emphasized that with this additional statement, “… he will
bring forth justice to the nations.” (Isa 42:1c ESV) So it was then and
still is today that …
I. Jesus Had to Be Baptized in Order to Fulfill All Righteousness.
(13-15) Our appropriate response to that is what today’s Gradual stated,
“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his
steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.”
(Ps 117:1 & 96:8 ESV) For you see, not only did He fulfill all
righteousness … for us; but He was declared to be the Messiah and equipped
to do His Messianic bidding when …
II. God’s Spirit Descended on Jesus through Baptism. (16) Recalling
that the Holy Spirit also descended on us in our Baptism, let’s make today’s
Collect our daily prayerful desire, “Make all who are baptized in His name
faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of
everlasting life.”
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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