15 January 2006 St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
The Baptism of our Lord (transferred) Vienna, VA
Jesu Juva
“ ‘Mark’ these words!”
Text:
Mark 1:4-11
Grace, mercy, and peace to
you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
St.
Mark is a man of few words. He wrote the
shortest of the Gospels. He’s one of
those people who’s probably difficult to have a conversation with. You ask him a question, and he gives you one
of those real short answers. But just
because St. Mark is a man of few words doesn’t mean he has little to say. On the contrary, when he speaks, his words
are loaded. They are dense and packed
with meaning. He wants to make you
think.
And
so it is with the Holy Gospel for today.
Mark tells us of Jesus’ baptism using only three short verses. That might lead some to believe that it must
not be very important. But with Mark
that’s not true. He tells us because it
is important. He puts it right at the
beginning of His Gospel. And the words
that He uses are words packed with meaning.
It is as if Mark is telling us, “He who has ears to hear, let him
hear.” So today, let us hear.
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee . . .” Jesus came. Simple words, but with meaning. They tell us that Jesus was there
intentionally. He didn’t just happen to
be in the vicinity, see some ruckus going on by the Jordan, and wander over to
see what was going on. Jesus came. For this very reason He came. The journey was not short, not was it easy. He left mother and family behind. He came in order to begin His work of
salvation; to deliver all people from the bondage of sin. Jesus came. He didn’t have to. He wanted to.
. . . What do you do when
you don’t have to do anything? What is
on your mind? What do you want? Jesus came to be baptized. Because that is what He wanted. Because we were on His mind. And so He came. Willingly.
Purposefully. Intentionally. Good news for us.
“ . . . and [He] was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Mark makes it
sound like Jesus was baptized just like everyone else. No difference. He does not include the objections of John,
like Matthew does. But it was not the
same. Everyone else, we heard earlier in
the Gospel, was baptized by John as they were “confessing their sins.” But Jesus did not have any sins to
confess. He did not inherit any sin, nor
commit any sins. In fact, He should have
been repulsed by that water! Talk about
a cesspool! That water was filled with
just about every sin imaginable. Sins
washed off the multitude of sinners. You
name the sin, and Jesus is hip-deep in it.
Idolatry, adultery, sexual immorality, murder, theft, hate, prejudice,
lying, selfishness, coveting, pride, greed, lust – and Jesus jumps right into
that putrid, toxic water! And lets it be
poured all over Him. All the filth. All the sin.
It’s disgusting. Even worse than
anything you’ll see on Fear Factor!
No wonder His family thought He was crazy. (Mk 4:21)
But
His Father’s not disgusted, but delighted! So is the Holy Spirit! The First and Third Persons of the Holy
Trinity are thrilled that the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of
God, receives John’s baptism. They’re elated that He’s drenched in
this sin-infested water. And so the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus, and
the Father speaks His approval: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am
well pleased.” He doesn’t say
(as we probably would): Get out of that disgusting water! Go clean yourself up! No, this is exactly right. This is the will of God. For Jesus to stand with sinners. For Jesus to be washed in our sin, to take
our sin, to become the sinner.
For Jesus to take our place.
“And as [Jesus] came up out of the water, immediately He saw the
heavens opening . . .” Actually, a literal rendering of that verse
would read: “He saw Heaven being torn open.” Now that’s quite an unusual word to use
there. But remember, Mark, the man of
few words, chooses his words carefully, and so here uses a word he uses only
one other time in his whole Gospel – right after Jesus dies on the cross, when
Mark reports, “the curtain of the Temple was torn in two, from top
to bottom.” (Mk 15:38) And so Mark
connects the beginning of His Gospel with the end. He connects Jesus’ baptism with His
crucifixion. That we may know that in
Jesus taking our sins upon Himself in His baptism, and taking them to the
cross, that the division that separated God and man, that divided Heaven and
earth, is abolished! With our sin on
Jesus, and with His death for our sin, Heaven is open again! We are right with God. Our sins are forgiven, washed away.
And
so no wonder the Father is pleased! And
no wonder that “the Holy Spirit descend[s] upon [Jesus] like a dove.” For in, with, and under the baptized body of
Jesus, the world is being re-created.
For remember, the Holy Spirit hovered over the water in the first
creation in Genesis 1. Now in Mark 1 the
Holy Spirit is again over the water. It
is no coincidence. For just as in
the beginning the Word of God spoke and brought life and light to all,
so now the Word of God made flesh acts to bring life and light to all. In Him
is a new beginning, a fresh start, another Genesis. A resurrection. In Him everything is again very good,
for He is taking away the sin of the world.
And
all of this He now gives to you. Did you
hear? It is what John said right before
he baptized Jesus: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Again, do not let the brevity of the words
obscure their importance for you. For
they tell us that just as Jesus came to the Jordan to be baptized, so He comes
here, and to every place where His Word is combined with water, to baptize
you. The hand may be mine, or that of
another equally unworthy pastor, but it is your Saviour who baptizes you. He is still in the water with sinners,
for sinners, saving sinners.
With you, for you, saving you. Not ashamed of you, but washing your sins off
of you, and giving you the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit who descends on sons of God, which by virtue of your
baptism is what you are. Through the
heavens torn open at Christ’s baptism, the Father looks upon you and sees not
the sinner, but a forgiven, resurrected, dearly loved son, with whom He is
well-pleased. Not because of anything
you have done or will do, but because of what Jesus did for you. Because Jesus in the water means that this
water is for us a life giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new
birth in the Holy Spirit. (Small
Catechism) And so here we are a new creation. By water and the spirit, the old has gone,
the new has come. (2 Cor 5:17-18)
Such
an honor we do not deserve. The Father
has every right to look down from Heaven and say to us: Get out of that
disgusting water! Go clean yourself up. But not only couldn’t we do that, we wouldn’t. For on our own, we cannot see ourselves for
who we are; we cannot see Jesus for who He is.
And so we either think our sin is not so great and so of course
we’ll be saved! Or we think our sin is too
great for us to possibly be saved.
Today, God sets the record straight.
Yes your sins are great, they are plenteous, and they are serious. Deadly serious. That’s why God sent His Son to deal with
them. No angel, no man could! Only His Son.
To atone for them. To take them
off of you and put them on Himself. To
die for them in your place, that you may live.
Just as He lives.
But
not just any ol’ life do we live, but a new life. His life.
A Christ life. Not because we
have to, but because what do you do when you don’t have to do anything? For, child of God, you do not have to do
anything! You are forgiven. Your salvation is secure. Jesus’ death and resurrection is your death
and resurrection, and there nothing you can add to that! Nothing.
So what do you do when you don’t have to do anything? You live the Christ life. For that is who you are. Confessing your sins and receiving your
Saviour’s forgiveness. Eating not
locusts and wild honey, but the true body and blood of your Saviour, given and
shed for you. And living for others as
Christ lived for you. Such an honor we
do not deserve. But what a privilege has
been given to us. To serve, to speak, to
live as the new creation that you are as a baptized child of God.
Perhaps
others will think you crazy. No
matter. Your Father is delighted, for
[baptized into Christ] you are His beloved son, and with
you He is well-pleased.
In
the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now
the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus our Lord unto everlasting life. Amen.
(Thank to the Rev. Brent Kuhlman for some of the thoughts contained in this sermon.)