Bible Text: Matthew 3:13-17 | Preacher: Pastor Christian Preus | Series: Epiphany 2021 | Jesus teaches us to value Baptism above everything in the world. It may seem silly, to so value water and words, to put so much stock in it, but then again, look at what the world values, look at what it puts so much stock in, look at what people occupy their minds with and torture themselves obsessing over, put it all next to Baptism, compare the two, and then you’ll see what’s really silly. Jesus doesn’t despise the water. He walks right into it. John objects. Jesus insists. What Jesus thinks of Baptism isn’t hard to figure out. He trumpets it. He tells his apostles to go into all nations baptizing. He wants it for everyone. He promises that it will give eternal life: whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. But it’s not simply what Jesus says about Baptism; it’s what he does. He goes into the water. He gets wet himself. He insists on connecting himself and his righteousness and everything He will do, His love, His suffering, His blood, His death for sinners, everything, with this water. And the whole Trinity approves. The Father confirms it from heaven, the Spirit comes down as a dove and rests on him. So there is no despising this water. To despise it is to despise God. Let the heathen do that. Let us adore Him.
Jesus says, come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. So we come to Him. And He gives us rest in our Baptism. The world around us rages. If you aren’t wearied from it, you haven’t been paying attention. The new Congress bans the mention of mommies and daddies, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, in its official documents. That’s where we are. Leading politicians advocate for the deconstruction of the family and find words like mom and dad offensive. Anti-Christian zealots are eager to impose their will on our schools, homes, churches, and children. And people don’t even realize it. Because most are too addicted to porn and drink, too terrified of a virus, too thirsty for money, too self-absorbed, too busy fighting with family and judging one another and gossiping, to think about our cultural woes. This should weary every Christian, besides being weary from the sin in our own hearts that puts so much stock in this failing world. Jesus says come to Me, and I will give you rest. So come to him. Follow him into the waters of Baptism and find your peace here.
And don’t think this is some sort of escape from the world. Jesus doesn’t preach escapism. He tells us Christians, people who care about our Baptism, that we are the lights of the world, cities set on a hill, the salt of the earth. If there is any upside to where our culture, our society, our country is heading, it’s that Jesus and his Church and His Baptism are put in bold relief, if only we’d see it and realize the treasure we have. Where else will you find a sure foundation for your life? Where else will you find truth without propaganda and spinning? Where else will you find judgment of this world’s insanity and the power to stand above it and laugh with God at the devil? Here. With Jesus. In His Baptism. And so Jesus continues, “Take my yoke upon you, for it is easy and light, and you will find rest for your souls.” His yoke is His word, his teaching, what your Baptism gives you as your inheritance. Take it on you. Care about it. Far more than you care about the nightly news or election results or problems at work. Those yokes, if you let them, will weigh you down with care. But Jesus’ yoke, living your life by His Word, caring about it, this will lift you up, make you realize that the eternal life Jesus promises in your Baptism starts right here on earth as you live as baptized children of God, as Christian mommies and daddies, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, and learn to care about what really matters.
So why talk about Baptism today when there are so many more important things going on in our country and in our lives? What a silly question. No. You have no bigger thing to talk about, to care about, to think about, than your baptism. In fact, if we want a renaissance, a rebirth, of Christian culture in our midst, it doesn’t begin with elections or political theatrics in congress or storming the capitol and rioting in its halls. It begins with us, with our families, our homes, our church, what God has actually given us to do in our daily lives, and your Baptism is the foundation of all of this. So take seriously what Jesus takes seriously. He will not fail you. He is the author of happiness. He is the institutor of marriage. He is the blesser of family and work and country. He is the discusser of everything important, beautiful, virtuous, and worthy of praise. He is the conqueror of hearts addicted to secularism and weighed down by burdens. So watch Him go into those waters of Baptism, hear Him say, This is how we fulfill all righteousness, and listen as the Father calls Him His beloved Son.
So we have three things to discuss this morning. The first is Jesus’ Baptism. The second is yours. The third is how you live it.
Jesus came to the water to fulfill all righteousness. That’s what he says. Jesus was already perfect, already righteous. He didn’t need Baptism. But you needed His Baptism. It was necessary to fulfill all righteousness, that means your righteousness, the innocence that Jesus desired to win for you. Jesus will refer again and again to His suffering and His death as His Baptism. I have a Baptism to be baptized with, he says, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished. Because this is what He commits to in His Baptism. He commits to bearing your sin, living your life, dying your death, to present you to His Father pure and clean and worthy of eternal fellowship with Him. This is why it is when Jesus comes to be baptized that John cries out, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” And this is the reason the Father says what He says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” What pleases God, the Father almighty? That His Son should die for you. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him, Isaiah says. That’s the love of God. That’s why the Father cries out from heaven with pleasure. Because your Lord delves into those waters to become the Lamb who takes away your sin. It is as if all your sin, every last thing that worries you and causes you to doubt that God could love you, every wicked thought and selfish desire, all of it were in that water, and Jesus soaks it up, places it all on his back, and carries it to the cross, to pay for it all with His blood.
And so when it comes to your Baptism, don’t doubt its power. If Jesus took all your sins on Himself in His Baptism, then know that He takes all sins off you in yours and leaves you with His righteousness. This is why Jesus and the Bible speak so highly of Baptism. If it were your work, Jesus wouldn’t praise it. But God’s work, this is marvelous in our eyes. St. Paul says in it you died with Christ and rose with Him. He says you were born again. He says you became a new creation. Jesus says it is entrance into the Kingdom of God.
So you have a life to live under Jesus. And this should put things in perspective. I would rather live under a totalitarian regime with all my rights stripped away and my money worthless, in poverty and oppression, and yet still have my baptism, than live in a constitutional republic with all its wealth and justice and freedom, and not have my baptism. Because with my Baptism I have Christ, I have God Himself as my Savior and my King, I have His love for me, I have His Word to me, I know what makes for my happiness, what to value in life, what to teach my family, how to love my wife, how to raise my children, how to treat others, how to suffer, how to forgive. And without it, well, I may have riches and security and freedom, but what good is all that if I don’t know how to use it to the glory of God and the help of my neighbor? What good is all that, and how long can it last, without the favor of God? So realize the treasure you have. It’s more consequential than all the wars and all the elections and revolutions the world has ever seen. It will survive all empires and political intrigues. So use it well. Build on it. Don’t dream of bigger things than living out your Baptism. Because there is nothing bigger. Don’t think life depends on what happens in some faraway city. It depends on your Baptism. And your Baptism gives you a beautiful, Christian life to live with those God has placed in your life right now. It gives you a Father in heaven who loves you. It gives you commandments to live out without fear of failure or punishment, because your Brother and your God has already taken away your failures and your punishments. So you’re free, as a child of God, and by His Spirit, to love and trust in your Lord, to commit all things to Him, to pray to Him, to hear His Word and eat and drink His body and blood, to honor authority, help your neighbor in need, lead chaste lives, love and honor your spouse, to be content with what you have, to always speak well of others and put the best construction on everything. That’s the good life. And it just so happens to be the life that is good for your neighbor and your community and your country. You have it all in your Baptism.
So remember your Baptism every day of your life. Every time you feel worthless, find your worth here. Every time you’re bored, find your excitement here. Every time you are burdened with your sin, ashamed at what you have done or thought or said, find your peace and your honor here in your Baptism. Every time you are weak and doubt, find your certainty here. Every time you look at the sad state of our culture, see that your Baptism gives you everything you need to lead the good life now. Your Baptism stands sure. It is God’s work, it’s Christ-crucified for you. It is as certain and sure as the Father’s declaration at your Lord’s Baptism, “This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased.” God’s own child I gladly say it, I am baptized into Christ. Let us pray:
With one accord, O God, we pray:
Grant us Thy Holy Spirit;
Look Thou on our infirmity
Through Jesus’ blood and merit.
Grant us to grow in grace each day
That by this Sacrament we may
Eternal life inherit.