"Down By the River Side"

(Matthew 3:13-17)

Rev Billy D. Strayhorn

INTRODUCTION:

I know it's January 10th, but did you make any New Year's Resolutions? I did. I decided to make the same resolutions I made last year because I was able to keep every one of them. I made my list, printed them out and then kept every one of them . . . in a folder on my desk.

Part of our New Year's celebrations is about resolutions, isn't it. It's about making changes, starting over, going some new direction in our life. There's something exciting and almost adventuresome about getting a new calendar. The pages are clean and fresh; no scribbles, no scratched out appointments, no missed dates, no busy schedule. With a clean calendar you can start penciling in all that time for Church, that time for exercise, for the family, and for those hobbies you've wanted to start. It's a fresh start.

Today we look at a passage of Scripture that tells the story of a fresh start that Jesus made. Today we look at the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

In thinking about this I remember a story I read in the last issue of Dynamic Preaching by King Duncan. It's the story of William Lawrence Bragg. At age twenty-five, he was the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Prize in physics. He was also an avid amateur gardener. He spent years perfecting a beautiful garden in Cambridge but had to leave it all behind when he moved to London to head up the Royal Institution. Life in the city made him restless and unhappy until he found an ingenious solution to his problem.

One day he dressed in old gardening clothes, slung a shovel over his shoulder and patrolled the streets of a nearby wealthy area until he found a house whose garden tempted him. He rang the doorbell. When the lady of the house answered, he tipped his hat and introduced himself as "Willie," an odd-job gardener with one free afternoon a week. His employer found Willie to be the best gardener she had ever seen.

But then one day a knowledgeable visitor looked out her window, nearly had a heart attack and gasped, "Good heavens, what is Sir Lawrence Bragg doing in your garden?" (1)

As we look at this passage about Jesus' baptism, you and I might wonder, "What in the world is Jesus doing down by the river side being baptized by John." He certainly didn't need it. So, what was the Son of God doing in the water?

I. DETERMINATION:

A. First, Jesus came with determination. You see, Jesus chose to be baptized by John. And there wasn't anything anyone could do about it. He made up his mind and entered the water with determination. John was filled with Holy insight the moment Jesus showed up. He realized that Jesus was more than just his cousin. Before either one of them was born, John had already recognized who Jesus was. One time when Mary visited John's mother, Elizabeth, John leapt for joy at the presence of the Messiah. The same Spirit that filled John then caused John to try and stop Jesus by saying: "It is I who needs to be baptized by you."

As strong willed as John was, he probably would have talked anyone else out of being baptized. But Jesus' determination was such that there was nothing John could do but carry out Jesus' wishes.

That determination came from the fact that Jesus knew where he had come from; why he was here; and what he was going to accomplish. Jesus came down from heaven, not to do his own will, but to do the will of God. That determination controlled every decision he made. Including this one about baptism.

B. A little girl watched quietly and intently as her little brother was baptized. She watched as the preacher took water in his hand and began to place it on the boys head. Just then she scooted up to the baptismal font and exclaimed, "Don't forget to wash behind his ears, Preacher." (2)

We associate baptism with cleansing and washing away our sin. But Jesus was sinless, he didn't need to be baptized. He didn't need to be cleansed. He was the Son of God. Jesus didn't need it, but he chose to be baptized in order to align himself perfectly with us. Jesus entered the murky, muddy waters of the Jordan to be baptized for the remission of sin. But since he was sinless, what he was really doing was immersing himself in our sin. We come to baptism to be washed clean. John objected but Jesus came to show us the way and to take away our sin.

II. CONFIRMATION:

A. Second, Jesus came for confirmation. Commentaries have looked at Jesus' baptism in different ways. Some have said it was strictly symbolic. Others have said that it was Jesus' Confirmation. Some have suggested that it was Jesus' Ordination. I think all of those have merit. And there's probably a little of each one in Jesus' actions as he came to be baptized.

Scripture says that "when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.'" (Mat 3:16-17)

B. Jesus' Baptism was an Ordination of sorts. I can't think of a better Ordination event than having the heavens open like a window and the Holy Spirit descend like a dove. Better yet, the voice of God proclaimed Jesus the beloved Son. It is reminiscent of ordination. The Bishop, District Superintendent and sponsors lay hands on the Ordinand and the Bishop says: "Take thou authority . . ." That's exactly what Jesus did that day, He took authority for His ministry. And the only one qualified to give it, was God.

C. Jesus baptism was a Confirmation of sorts, too. Confirmation is a time when youth confirm the vows made for them as infants and children by their parents. It's when they confirm what they believe. For all of us, Confirmation is a public statement of our private beliefs that incorporates us into the greater body of Christ. It is also a public statement of a turning point in our lives. We have professed our faith in Christ and because of that we begin to live differently.

A group of Methodist preachers were attending a conference in the Engand. Several of them decided to explore the countryside. It wasn't long before they came to a river that was spanned by a temporary bridge. Not seeing the notice that said it was unsafe, they started to cross. The bridge keeper ran after them. "It's all right," hollered their leader, not understanding the reason for the bridge keeper's haste. "We're Methodist preachers from the conference."

The bridge keeper hollered back, "I don't care about that. But if you don't get off that rickety bridge you'll all be Baptists!" (3)

I don't know if they obeyed or not but if they didn't, their lives would definitely be different. And that's exactly what happened to Jesus. From this point on his life was never the same. With this act Jesus proclaimed and accepted his mission and ministry. And that ministry was confirmed by God.

III. AFFIRMATION:

A. And because of His determination, His confirmation becomes our affirmation. An affirmation of God's unconditional love for us.

Do you remember the old Western "Rawhide"? One of the scenes you saw over and over again was the round up. The cattle were brought in. The calves were cut out of the herd and then they were branded. The branding iron left an identifying mark in the hide of the calves. From that moment on, even though the animal might wander off, the brand on its side told who the rightful owner was. That is what Baptism does for us: it brands us, it marks us with an invisible watermark. It tells all the world that we are Christians, that we belong to Christ. (4) And that's a great affirmation. One that people long for.

B. In October of 1990, I had the opportunity to hear Dr. David Kerr tell a story about one Sunday morning holding an infant baptism as part of the regular morning service. That morning he also chose to preach about baptism and how we are accepted by God's Grace and by God's unconditional love. At the close of the message he gave an invitation. No sooner had the invitation been spoken than a fourteen year old girl who had given birth to a baby boy just a couple of weeks before, jumped up, grabbed her baby, ran forward and said, "I want my baby baptized!"

Dr. Kerr paused in the story, looked at this group of preachers sitting there and said, "I know some of you shudder that this daughter of sin brought her child of mistake and out of control hormones forward for baptism that day. But she wanted that child accepted." He told us that he did baptize that baby. You see, that young girl and even her baby were alienated, excluded, cut off. She knew what her sin was. She had lived with it swelling within her for nine months. And she would live with it for the rest of her life. When she came forward that morning, though, it wasn't given in the proper ecclesiastical terms, she was making her confession of sin and a deep felt profession of faith. And when she cried out, "I want my baby baptized!" what she was really saying was "I want my baby accepted! I want my baby included! I want to belong! And I want my baby to belong!" And isn't that what the Church is all about?

That's what Baptism is all about. It's part of the reason Jesus was baptized and why he chose to die on the cross, so that we wouldn't have to be separated from God any longer? For the first time in her life, that young girl really felt the love and acceptance of God both for her and her son.

CONCLUSION:

That's the Good News that the Church proclaims every time there is a baptism. That's the Good News that Jesus proclaimed simply by doing what was "proper . . . to fulfill all righteousness." In doing so, the Spirit was poured out upon Him, and He immersed himself in our sin so that we might be cleansed and made righteous through God's forgiveness.

A six-year-old little boy told his mother that he had been baptized. Mom knew he hadn't been formally baptized so she asked him to explain what he meant by "baptized." The little boy explained, "Last night in the bathtub I put my face under the water and thought about Jesus." (5)

It takes a little more than sticking your face in the water and thinking about Jesus. But the boy didn't get it all wrong. Baptism should change the direction of our lives and help us think more about Jesus and more of Jesus than anything else.

When Jesus was baptized, He came with determination, for his confirmation because he knew the affirmation it would be for us. Make a new beginning. Think about Jesus, remember your baptism and think about what Jesus has done for you.

This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

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Bibliography

1. Dynamic Preaching, Oct/Nov/Dec 1998 Vol XIII, No. 4. (Seven Worlds Publishing, Knoxville, TN) p. 71

2. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), August 1989 Adapted

3. On Top of the World News, from The Catholic Digest, May, 1988 Adapted

4. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), August 1989

5. Mature Living, April 1994, p. 49

Other References Consulted

The Clergy Journal, May/June: 1998, Volume LXXIV, Number 7, (Logos Productions, Inc., Inver Grove Heights, MN)

William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, the Gospel of Matthew Vol. 1. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975)

Preaching Magazine, Nov/Dec 1998, Volume 14, Number 3. (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)