Mark 1:4-11; Acts 19:1-7
Be
Silent and Receive the Gift
Sermons
are supposed to answer questions, not ask them.
But I have a question for you this morning, “Why was Jesus
baptized?” He was not baptized in the
same way that you and I are baptized.
Our baptism is into the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are baptized in the name of the LORD
Jesus - thus the necessity (pointed out in our second lesson for this
morning) for those in Ephesus to receive the lying on of hands. Their baptism, John's baptism, was in
some way different from the baptism practiced by the Christian community.
So
why was Jesus baptized? Especially since
the baptism he received was John's baptism.
I
hate to ask questions and then fail to provide an answer but I have to tell you
now that I am not going to come up with one any time in the next eleven
minutes. There are theories and explanations;
there are doctrines and theological justifications - but there is not a final
answer to the question of why Jesus was baptized. It is one of those things which just
happens. We are at a loss to explain it
- but somehow it speaks to us and Jesus’ baptism becomes an important part of
our experience of God.
But
we are rational people. We like
explanations. Many of us are
academicians. We spend our lives looking
for answers. So it bothers us, not
knowing why was Jesus baptized. Why did
he receive John's baptism?
Our
Gospel lesson for this morning is very clear what it meant by John's baptism,
it was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mk
1.4). John's baptism was offered to that
brood of vipers, who had somehow been
warned to flee from the wrath to come.
It was a ceremonial bathing associated with one's decision to turn
their life around.
The
people who came out to John, listened to his sermons and became aware of how
far they had drifted from the places God wanted them to be. Those who entered the waters of the Jordan
River had come to realize their sinfulness and they were acknowledging their
desire to do better.
I
do not mean to minimize the importance of a baptism of repentance - but it is
not the same thing as the baptism we celebrate in the Christian church. a baptism in the Christian Church is a
baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We baptize one into the death and
resurrection of Christ.
The
story in Acts 19 exposes this difference.
Paul is passing through Ephesus when he encounters some disciples. He asks them if they had received the Holy
Spirit. Actually he asks them if they
received the Holy Spirit when they became believers - a subtle comment perhaps
- but one that does raise the question of what is absolutely essential for one
to be considered a disciple of Jesus.
Here is a group whose theology did not even include the Holy Spirit yet
Paul addresses them as brothers and sisters in the faith. Sometimes we get awfully picky about what one
has to believe or confess or do before we will consider them a part of the
community of Christ. Paul seems much
more willing to accept these folks - even though there is a gaping hole in
their theological fabric.
Paul
encounters these folks in Ephesus and asks them if they had received the Holy
Spirit. As he tries to understand why
they haven't even heard of the Holy Spirit, he hits upon the symbol of
baptism. These believers had received a
baptism of repentance - they had come to an awareness of their sinfulness and
their need to turn to God. But they had
failed to receive the gift of baptism into Jesus - they had not experienced the
confidence associated with the Spirit's coming to dwell in the very midst of
their lives. Their baptism was all about
what they had decided to do – the baptism to which Paul wished to expose them
is all about what God intended to do.
If
we accept the Biblical witness regarding Jesus, then we must admit that he had
no need for John's baptism. Scripture
speaks of him as one who knew no sin. So
why would scripture include this story of his baptism (a baptism for
repentance) at the hand of John?
Again
– I have no final answer. I will
acknowledge with you that Jesus’ baptism by John seems to be a way to link his
life with the lives of those who would later be baptized in the name of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. His
baptism unites him with those who are being baptized. His baptism yokes him with the baptism of you
and me.
It
is not that Jesus needed to be or had to be baptized – he wanted to be. He wanted to share our life and our
experience and he wanted to give us hope and promise. And so, Jesus was baptized. And in so doing, he transforms baptism.
After
his baptism, after his death, after his resurrection; baptism became a way of
experiencing this desire on the part of our Messiah. Baptism became the way that we could once
again acknowledge that a God who didn’t have to do something, did do
something. Did it because God wanted to
be a part of our lives and our world.
Did it, so that we might never again have to bear the weight of our sin. Did it, so that having been set free from the
burden of our transgressions we would be free to love and serve God. God didn’t have to do this; God wanted to do
this.
We
baptize, not as some outward sign of an inward change of heart. We baptize, in order to provide physical
confirmation of a spiritual reality.
The
Church has never doubted that God may be found along a stream or in a baby’s
cry or in the midst of a beautiful piece of music. We may experience God in any number of
settings. What we believe and teach is while
God may be present to you in those places, there are two places where God
promises to be present. One is at the
table where we share The Eucharist and the other is in the baptismal
waters. God’s desire to enter our world
is made real in God’s promise to enter our lives through baptism.
By
now you have caught on that I am really not all that interested in an answer to
the question, “Why was Jesus baptized?”
The answer toward which I move is “Why are we baptized?” True, there a number of writings, and
scripture itself speaks of our baptism as a baptism of cleansing. But Christian baptism is not John’s
baptism. It is not a baptism of
repentance. It is a baptism into the
death and resurrection of Christ. Whereas
John’s baptism looks at the change of heart made by a sinner, a Christian
baptism has God’s activity as its focus.
The
baptism of John addresses what we plan to do.
The Baptism of Our Lord speaks of what God is doing.
Amen.
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