A, The First Sunday after the Epiphany, The Baptism of our Lord - Matthew 3:13-17 "The Appearance of Righteousness"
You have just appeared from the water, you
stand there fully undressed in your birthday suit, and ponder your existence.
But you appear not from the Jordan, it’s
the shower, or the bath! And you do not
appear before John the Baptist, nor the crowd looking on. No!
Just the mirror, and yourself looking back at you. What do you see, what is appearing before your
eyes? A blemish here, a lump there, not
enough hair, too much hair!
Now a very important question for all of
you, and I need a show of hands. Who
after emerging from the water has heard the words, “This is my beloved, with
whom I am well pleased”? Has anyone here
seen the heavens open, and the Spirit of God descend like a dove? I’m not speaking of the dove with one quarter
moisturiser or dove deodorant either!
Similarly, those who were going to the
Jordan did not hear these words either!
Well, not until Jesus appeared and was baptised by John in the Jordan.
So, what does God the Father see at the
Jordan and what appears before him when we stand in front of the bathroom
mirror?
What we see and what God sees are perhaps
very different things. Some of us might
lament our lumps and bumps. Some might
flex their muscles, or brush and pluck their hair and say, “not bad, not bad at
all!” Some might look deeper into their
being, into their position in life, their families, their work, their
heartache, their goodness, their knowledge, or their happiness.
But what does God look for? What disturbs or pleases God as he reflects
on your appearance?
As the Israelites reflect on their lives
and are baptised in the Jordan for the forgiveness of sin, Jesus also appears
so he can be baptised by John. What
Jesus saw and what John the Baptist saw is shown to be different through their
conflicting conversation as to who should be baptising who!
John has been preaching repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. John has been doing
so in preparation for the coming of he whose sandals John was not worthy to
carry! Now the “Mighty One” appears and
seeks to submit to this preacher of repentance in the Jordan.
John knows that Jesus does not need to
repent. Indeed, John reflects with
refusal, saying, “I need to be baptized
by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14 ESV)
We know too that Jesus is different, but
unlike John we already know that God said of Jesus from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased.” (Matthew 3:17 ESV)
Last week we heard that within the person
of Jesus the obedience of Israel is fulfilled.
Here at the Jordan this great exchange begins. The people of Israel come in repentance for
the forgiveness of sins, by being baptised by John in the Jordan. The child born in Bethlehem, whom Joseph was
commanded to name Jesus, now appears to save his people from their sins.
The perfect telephoto eye of God, saw the
full faithfulness and obedience of Jesus to save his people from their
sins. He also saw this perfect
faithfulness and obedience “zoom out” to include the gentiles, through Peter, who
said, “Truly I understand that God shows
no partiality, but in every nation
anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” (Acts
10:34–35 ESV)
God your Heavenly Father, saw you, when
Jesus came to the Jordan to be baptised, to fulfill all righteousness for you.
We now participate in this righteousness
of Jesus. Jesus has fulfilled all
righteousness, and now we please God by trusting the fulfilment of it. Like those who came in repentance and
received a baptism for the forgiveness of sins, we were brought to baptism by
the work of the Holy Spirit, so that baptised into Jesus’ death, the Holy
Spirit sifts and separates sin in us and fires it on the cross.
God could see all this reflecting in Jesus
when he rose up out of the waters of the Jordan. He could see Jesus’ perfect life, he saw his
sinless death, he saw the faithful atonement the Saviour made in becoming what
Israel could not be, what humanity could not be, what you and I could not be.
God saw your unrighteousness, my unrighteousness,
Israel’s, and humanity’s unrighteousness and sent his Son with whom he is well
pleased to fulfil all righteousness. He
saw the unrighteous made righteous in Jesus’ baptism into his ministry of death
and resurrection.
Like a scientist examining an atom under a
microscope, God telephotos in on humanity to the “…nth degree”. In doing so he saw what appeared and had to
save us from the shortness of our sight.
When we looked at ourselves, we saw any righteous gift from God as our
own righteousness. And when God caused
us to see our unrighteousness, we thought we could regain our righteousness
through our own ends.
God our Father had to chart and map a plan
of salvation for us. He looked forward
to the time when Jesus would fulfil all righteousness. God, like an explorer, beholding the horizon
of salvation with a telescope, prophesied through the prophets who saw, and
proclaimed salvation was coming.
And the prophets looked forward to this
happened till the last great prophet, John the Baptist, who baptised the
promised Saviour named Jesus when he appeared.
All the prophets bore witness to Jesus Christ, “that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through
his name.” (Acts 10:43 ESV)
So next time you appear having come out of
the waters of a bath or shower don’t just look at yourself in the mirror but
truly look! Behold! See that when God looks at you, he sees the
full scope of Jesus’ work for you and within you.
From his birth and baptism to his death
and resurrection, behold, see it was for you!
Behold, see his continual bestowal of the Holy Spirit into you!
Behold, see the Holy Spirit leads you from
the alpha to the omega of salvation perfected and finished only in Jesus
Christ.
Behold, see that having been made holy in
Jesus Christ, God’s word to him, is his word to you! To you a sinner whom the Holy Spirit leads to
reflect on God’s word and repent.
Because of Jesus’ faithfulness, now, God
is your Father in heaven! Because of
Jesus’ faithfulness, now, God shows no favouritism! Because of Jesus’ faithfulness, behold, now
God says of you! “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Amen.
