“How Much Love?”

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17

Last week was Epiphany – the revealing of Christ to the Gentile world. Today, we consider another revelation – the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. This Second Epiphany, even though I have never heard anyone else refer to it as such (!), is just as important for us as was the first one. But if you think about it, scripture is full of epiphanies – of revelations – of God’s revealing Himself to the people of this world.

Before we begin to consider the impact of this particular revelation through baptism, let’s take just a minute to consider the significance of baptism itself. John Wesley wrote “that while baptism was neither essential to nor sufficient for salvation, it was the “ordinary means” that God designated for applying the benefits of the work of Christ in human lives.”
– “By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism” [Note: This document has generated some discussion and controversy in the church. However, Wesley’s thoughts are still firm.]

Baptism is not, in itself, evidence of salvation, and at the other extreme, baptism is not simply a dedication. For me, the sacraments of baptism and communion are personal acknowledgements of God’s presence in this world and our claim of the need for that presence in our lives. They are our outward admission and acceptance of the covenant offered to us by the Father through Jesus Christ – baptism for our life in Christ in this world, and communion for our life in Him in the next.

With this in mind, let’s go to the Word of God.

Read Matthew 3:13-15

For many, baptism is seen as a “washing” – a cleansing of sin. For others, especially those who subscribe to baptism by immersion, it is a sign of dying to the worldly self and rising again in Christ. But if these are the only significance, why should Jesus have needed baptism? He was sinless, and therefore had no need of “spiritual washing”. And as the sinless Man, He had no need to die to sin and rise in Himself.
I believe that for Jesus, it was a sign of accepting the charge that He had been given, that God’s desire was that He should be the physical presence of Divine Truth in the world, and that He would be the means of washing the world clean from its sinful existence.
John saw baptism as a sign of repentance, and in that regard, correctly believed that Christ had no need of the ritual, but actually should be the one administering it. And Jesus’ response to John’s concern is also correct – that it was right and proper for them to do this, that it was a sign of His commitment and acceptance of the mission and ministry that had been given to Him.

Listen to this prayer that was once offered as the consecration of the baptismal waters for a child:
O God, pour out your Spirit on us and on this gift of water. By your Spirit, help those who declare their faith in Jesus to believe that nothing bad will have power over them. May the gift of this water remind us of your love, make us happy and help us when things get hard or scary. Let the touch of your baptism bring us into the special circle and soft hug of your family, which is the Church. As we grow up, may our faith grow with us. Amen!
—Karl H. Duetzmann.

“May the gift of this water remind us of your love” – His is a love that doesn’t leave us alone, just as our human love must never leave us alone. “Let the touch of your baptism bring us into the special circle and soft hug of your family”. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a family like that?

Baptism – Jesus’ and ours - brings us to become part of the same family circle, and to know what God’s soft “hug” feels like in our lives.
It must, in the context of family, be the outward sign as to who we are and to whom we belong.

Read Matthew 3:16-17

This one Divine statement answers our question – we now know both who Jesus is – the “Son of God” - and to whom He belongs. Once again, Jesus is revealed to the world – the first time through the water of birth, and now through the water of baptism. One more true Epiphany for the world!
And when Jesus left the water, His first undertaking was a trip to the desert, where He spent 40 days in fasting and prayer and temptation. It was only after that experience that He began His ministry to the people of this world.

So what should baptism mean for us? It is our acceptance of the Lord’s covenant – that “He will be our God and we will be His people”. It doesn’t mean that the act has been completed – it means that it has only begun. Baptism was never meant to give us a free spiritual ride, it has never meant that we could now sit back and become complacent, it has never meant that salvation is now ours to rejoice over! And whether it is an infant, or a youth, or an adult who is being baptized, it means that we have made the commitment to follow the Lord wherever and whenever He may lead us. And don’t let anyone tell you that the Lord lead them to the golf course, or to the woods to hunt, or to stay home to watch the game, or to allow their children to participate in soccer, instead of going to church on Sunday!
If they worshipped the Lord on some other day, if they dedicated another day as their Sabbath, then it’s OK. If they claim that they can experience God without being an active part of a church, that’s true – they can experience God – but it isn’t ministry, it isn’t mission, it isn’t worship, and it definitely isn’t Christian community.

Since Jesus is our example of how to live in this life, consider what “baptism” required of Him, and where “baptism” lead Him. Consider what the apostles’ “baptism” did, and where it took them and who they ministered to.

Will Huff writes: When the apostles received baptism by the Holy Spirit, they did not rent the Upper Room and stay there to hold holiness meetings but went everywhere preaching the gospel.
--Will Huff

And Charles King writes - “We must remember that we are called by our baptism to community, not individualism. It’s not just about ME and MY calling, but about US and OUR calling, [with GOD].”

And 0ur baptism must also be an epiphany – to both ourselves and to others. It must, above all other things, begin to reveal a new life that will continue and grow in Christ.

Did Jesus run into a few road blocks in His walk? He sure did! They began during those 40 days in the desert, and continued for the next 3 ½ years, right up until the moment He submitted to the agony of Calvary.
Will our baptism lead us to the same road? It may not be quite as poignant as Jesus’ was, but we will certainly encounter many of the same people. We will be ridiculed, shouted down, ignored, friends will desert us, family will question our sincerity and sanity, but there will also be those moments when someone actually listens to us, who will want to hear more about our life in Christ, and there will be someone, someday, who will make the decision to take this walk for themselves.

Maybe baptism is about dying to the old self and rising up as a whole new being, as long as that newness never wears off, never gets old, never gets boring.
Christ’s baptism truly is about revealing a whole new way – an epiphany of how much God loves us and how much we want to experience His “soft hugs”. And it’s a great new beginning that will never end!