Baptism of the Lord
Matthew 3
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
John 1
15 (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”)
Psalms 29
1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
worship the LORD in holy splendor.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over mighty waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl
and strips the forest bare,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Isaiah 42
The Servant, a Light to the Nations
1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out or lift up his voice
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth,
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
5 Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.
New Moses (Matthew 1-5)
- survives a murderous king’s rage.
- comes out of Egypt
- Jordan River
- passes through the waters of baptism
- will soon go up on a mountain
- new covenant
Baptism:
Like Sabbath, baptism trains us to trust:
- Gift over scarcity
- Belonging over productivity
- Faithfulness over fear
It is hope enacted in advance.
When we are baptized, the church does not declare:
“You are now morally pure.”
It declares:
“You belong to God in a world that will try to tell you otherwise.”
"Before the system defines you, baptism does.
Before captivity claims you, God does."
“We may still live under the system, but the system doesn’t own our souls.”
“We work in the grind, but we don’t worship the grind.”
“We navigate the chaos, but we don’t let chaos write our story.”
“We may pay the bills of the world, but we don't bow to its boss.”
“We may live in the empire, but the empire does not have the last word on who we are.”
“We endure the pressures of the system, but we recognize who truly holds our identity.”
“We deal with life’s demands, but we don’t let them dictate our loyalty.”
“We survive in the world, but we know the world is not our God.”
“Baptism doesn’t fix the world. It fixes you in it—and makes you dangerous to injustice.”
"Resist-stance"
- "To fulfill all righteousness"
- Declaration - "The LORD is my God"
- "This is my Son..."(3rd Person)
Matthew isn't telling us that Jesus needed the encouragement from the Father.
He is telling us who Jesus is so that we will listen when Jesus tells us who we are.
The Baptized
Baptism declares who we belong to and reminds us who we are,
even as we live and work in a broken world with courage, hope, and faithfulness.
Remember
Every time we remember our baptism,
we rehearse an alternative imagination:
- We belong before we achieve
- We rest before we prove
- We receive before we produce
Questions to Consider:
- Have you been baptized?
- What does that mean to you?
- How are you living in accordance with your baptism?
- Are you facing any deep waters that you need God to see you through?
- Do you know anyone who is facing deep waters?
- How can you help them seek God's deliverance this week?
