The Rev. Paul J Cain
Mark 1:1-14
Baptism, John, Jesus
Baptism of Our Lord, First Sunday after the Epiphany, 08
January 2012
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
To many, Christianity is complicated. A person, a non-Christian,
for example, may be frustrated by what they see as a disconnect, a gap between
the professed beliefs and actual lives of Christians they know. Others may be
frustrated by what some perceive as “minor” or “major” differences between
Christian groups. Still others may be frustrated in an attempt to read the
Bible. Beginning with Genesis, they may become frustrated with the names,
genealogies, and ancient laws and may well give up reading long before they get
to the New Testament and the life, ministry, death, and Resurrection of Jesus
Christ. More important than the confusion, is that many fail to hear of comfort
in Christ. The Holy Gospel for today
gives us an opportunity to address a few of the sometime confusing parts of
Christianity: Baptism, John, and Jesus.
First, Baptism. 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
What is Holy Baptism? Who is it for? What does it do? How
long does it last? We are given some answers here. In the Gospel according to
St. Mark, a baptism is mentioned as early as verse four. John is the one doing
the baptizing. More about him soon. His baptizing is done with water—no
surprise there. Yet he is far from the cities and towns of the Holy Land. He is
in the wilderness, a desert east of the Jordan River.
What are we told this baptism is like? It has two parts. It
is a baptism of repentance. Repentance is the Bible’s word for sorrow and
contrition for sin, and turning completely away from it. The Holy Spirit brings
about repentance. It is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Let no one, let no “study notes” from a bad study Bible deceive you. When Mark
says this is a baptism for the forgiveness of sins, do not doubt that the Lord
has chosen to forgive sins through this baptism administered by John.
Is this baptism the same as Holy Baptism? No. This is
confusing point #1. Let’s clear it up. Has Jesus given the command to “go and
make disciples baptizing in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit”? No, he hasn’t said that yet as of Mark Chapter One. Baptisms done
with water in the Triune name according to Jesus’ institution begin only after
His death, Resurrection, command to baptize in this new way, and His ascension
into heaven. Does that make the difference more clear? God told John to
baptize. John even baptized Jesus! More on that soon, too. And then, after Good
Friday and Easter had been completed, Jesus gave us Christians a new baptism.
Today we celebrate “The Baptism of Our Lord.” That phrase
can have two meanings. First, Jesus was baptized by John according to Mark
chapter 1. Second, this reminds us that we receive the benefits of all that
Jesus has done and who he is in the one Holy Baptism we received “In the Name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The baptism Jesus
received and the baptism Jesus said to do are different, yet they are both “of
repentance” and “for the forgiveness of sins.” John’s is a baptism that
prepares the way for Christian baptism, just like John prepared the way for
Christ.
Second, Who is John? The name “John” is common today, just
as it was in Jesus’ day. We know about John, the brother of James, one of the
twelve disciples. This John wrote the Gospel according to John. We’ll listen to
a portion of that next Sunday. He also wrote three brief letters we call 1
John, 2 John, and 3 John, in addition to the book of Revelation at the end of
the New Testament. Ancient historians tell us that this John was the only one
of the Twelve disciples to die a natural death. All the others were martyred.
And then there is John Mark. John Mark was a student of St.
Peter and recorded the Gospel according to Mark. There are so many Johns we
call John Mark simply Mark.
And then there is John the Baptist. No, he’s not a Southern
Baptist! The congregations and groups with the name “Baptist” are called that
because of their unique baptismal practices. They came out of the Church of
England about four hundred years ago. John the Baptist is called “the Baptist”
because he carried out what the Lord gave Him to do.
Mark explains, using a prophecy from the Old Testament: 1
The beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the
voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight,’ ”
4 John
appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins.
John appeared. If all we had was this one Gospel account, we
wouldn’t know about his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. If we didn’t have
Matthew and Luke, we wouldn’t know the details behind the Christmas story. Mark
is a briefer Gospel account. Some think it was the first one written. Others
say it is a great re-telling of Holy Week with a short introduction. Our Holy
Gospel readings for 2012 will largely come from the Gospel according to St.
Mark.
John appeared. Not John the disciple and evangelist. Not
John Mark, though he’s the author of this book of the Bible. The John who appears
is John the Baptist, John the Baptizer. And the preaching and baptizing the
Lord gave him to do was causing a stir.
5 And
all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being
baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now
John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and
ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes
he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop
down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
You can buy a camel’s hair sport coat or top coat at a
department store, but it is nothing like the rough, probably smelly, untailored
garment of John’s. His leather belt and diet of honey and locusts make him
sound like an Old Testament prophet, say Elijah. And that’s precisely the
point. He is the “one like Elijah” who was to come before the Messiah, the
Christ. John isn’t pointing to himself. He isn’t preaching about Himself. He is
preparing the way for the Lord Jesus. “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am
not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The mightier one is coming. John points away from himself to
the one who will baptize with water AND the Holy Spirit.
Third, Jesus. 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John
in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately
he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a
dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well
pleased.”
Who is Jesus? Is He God? Is He merely a man? Is He just a
good moral teacher? Was He a liar? Was He a lunatic? Or was and is He the Lord
God Himself?
Jesus, born in Bethlehem, evacuated to Egypt, and raised in
Nazareth comes to John. He comes for a specific purpose. And in some ways, it
makes no sense. If Jesus is God and He, as a man, never sinned, why would he
submit to a baptism of repentance? Do you understand the question? If you have
sins, and we all do, we have sins to repent of. Jesus had committed no sin, not
even as a teenager! Therefore, he had no need to repent, no need to receive a
baptism of repentance. He had no sins in need of the forgiveness of sins.
But at the same time, heaven opens, the Holy Spirit descends
upon on him like a dove. And a voice came
from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Jesus being
baptized was pleasing to the Triune God. It was the right thing for John to do.
But Why?
Jesus is God with
us. And to be truly “with us,” He was born as a true man. That’s Christmas. And
He had to wait to grow up in order to begin His ministry. Thirty was the
typical age. But first He was born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those
under the law. He was circumcised on the eighth day and presented at the Temple
on the fortieth day, both according to the Old Testament law. By the time He
was two, wise men had sought Him as the one and only King of the Jews. By age
twelve He was acknowledged to be favored by God and submissive to His mother,
Mary, and earthly guardian, Joseph.
Why did He submit
to baptism? To be truly with us. To fulfill the law and redeem those under the
law as well as the whole human race, under the condemnation of the Law,
summarized in God’s Ten Commandments.
To better
understand the meaning and consequences of this day let’s talk about Jesus in
connection to two words: substitute and solidarity.
By submitting to
everything humans had been given to do, by suffering with those of His day, He
demonstrated solidarity with them and with us. This man is God with us and He
was actually with us. He is not unfamiliar with the trials and pains of life.
And Jesus is the
substitute. Where God’s ancient people (and all people) failed, Jesus is
faithful. We are well-familiar with Jesus dying in our place, dying for our
sins upon the cross. His work as substitute began far before Good Friday. This
baptism by John in the Jordan is but another example of Jesus acting as our
substitute. He has no sins but submits Himself to a baptism of repentance, a
baptism for the forgiveness of sins, to fully and completely do all that the
law of God requires.
And here we see the benefits for you. Jesus is fully your
substitute. He succeeds where you have failed, where you have sinned. His Holy
Spirit leads you to repentance and faith, turning from sin and idols to the one
true God and His straight paths of life in this world and in heaven. You are
forgiven. You are restored to God. And as John pointed to Christ, we point
others to Christ. And to baptism. In Holy Baptism, Jesus delivers the benefits
He won on the cross for you. He gives His gifts also in His Word, in His word
of Forgiveness, and in His Holy Supper. These are God’s good gifts for you,
here and now. Amen.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
