Luke 3:15-17, 21-22, Acts 8:14-17
Of all the festivals and scheduled services held within the Lutheran Church, in fact within all of Christianity, the one that brings me the greatest joy, is the celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Today’s Gospel tells us the story of Jesus’ baptism, a story that rather than bring joy, has confused Christians from the day that it became known. Why was Jesus baptized? If Jesus was without sin and baptism is for the forgiveness of sin, why would Jesus need to be baptized and why do we need to be baptized only once? Shouldn’t we be baptized whenever we sin? If baptism is not for the forgiveness of sins, why do we get baptized? A lot of questions!
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
To understand why Jesus was baptized and why we ourselves are baptized we need to first understand that our baptism is very different from the baptism as understood by John the Baptist, when he baptized Jesus. John the Baptist baptized people again and again, so that the people he was baptizing may receive God’s forgiveness after falling into sin, again and again. The people who came out to him were burdened by their sins, they listened to his words, John called them to repentance and promised them God’s forgiveness, the people repented their sins and then they submitted to John’s baptism. John washed away all of their sins, by a simple dunking in the Jordan river.
But as our questions made it so very clear, Jesus didn’t need God’s forgiveness, so why was he baptized?
Jesus’ baptism was a part of God’s plan. Something very different happened when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist; Jesus didn’t need forgiveness but he did need God’s blessing; Jesus did need to be anointed with water or oil and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, just like all the prophets and kings of old. And the story of Jesus’ baptism tells us that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove. And the voice of God was heard in blessing, acknowledging Jesus as God’s Son, of which God was well pleased. This event, Jesus’ baptism, could be described as Jesus’ consecration, or ordination, or installation.
There was just one more thing that Jesus would have to do before he would begin his public ministry. Jesus needed to go out into the wilderness and confront his demons, confront Satan himself. It is important to understand that Jesus went out into the wilderness with all that he would need, in order that he may stand up against his greatest enemy, Satan. That story is for another day, but Jesus’ baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and God’s word all made it possible for Jesus to defeat Satan’s temptations.
While Jesus may not have needed a baptism for the forgiveness of his sin, we certainly need God’s forgiveness for our sins, and Jesus, though we know him to be God’s Son, surely did not presume to be sinless before God. And while Jesus alone could have stood before God and defended the purity of his actions, as being without sin, Jesus freely humbled himself before God, as though a sinner, acknowledging the authority of God.
And, Jesus’ baptism, we understand, was needed to establish a process by which all people could receive the blessing of God’s forgiveness and adoption into the Body of Christ. We who are baptized, some of us as infants, some as children, some as teens and some as adults, have been baptized by a baptism that is very different from the baptism performed by John the Baptist on the masses of people seeking God’s forgiveness and different also from the baptism received by Jesus. (And I am not talking about the differences of dunking a person in a river or sprinkling water on a head. The “how” of the baptism is not the issue.) The fact is our baptisms contain elements of both kinds of baptism, forgiveness and anointing.
So, what are the benefits of baptism that we receive?
According to Martin Luther, as he wrote in the Small Catechism, “It (baptism) brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare.” The author who added a longer ending to the Gospel of Mark made it clear that those who are baptized and believe will be saved. In the section of Matthew’s Gospel known as the Great Commission, Jesus said to his Disciples, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” All of these writings suggest that baptism is very important and somehow linked to our salvation, in fact our Service of Baptism describes baptism as dying to the world and being reborn a child of God.
It is definitely the will of Jesus that we all be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist, in his baptisms, directed his request for forgiveness only to God the Father. But in Jesus’ baptism we hear, not only, God’s word of praise, but also see the Holy Spirit descend upon him as a dove.
And in our reading from Acts, it seems the baptisms received by the Samaritans did not include the mention of the Holy Spirit, and so they had not received the Holy Spirit. The Disciples in that story laid their hands upon them so that they might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and they did. Jesus’ baptism was about his being anointed to stand as the Messiah of God, to become the Savior of humanity. And Jesus’ baptism was to be an example for all who would follow Jesus. It may, in fact, be a condition for salvation. It is certainly something that is recommended, for with baptism we are forgiven of our sins, we receive the promise of salvation and we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, to guide, comfort, protect and advise us. In our baptisms we are called to faith and consequently led to ministry in the name of Jesus Christ. So important is baptism that we, as the Lutheran Church, define church membership in terms of baptism. Everyone is welcome to attend our worship services and welcome to participate in the Church and its activities and their participation is appreciated, but only those who are baptized may be considered Church members.