Ask any parent of an adult child and they will tell you that children grow up so fast. However, none it seems grow up faster than Mary’s child. Three weeks ago, we gathered to sing silent night to Mary’s newborn baby boy. Today Mary’s baby boy stands on the banks of the Jordan river a full-grown man.
The gospels record very little information concerning the childhood of Jesus. After the visit of the Magi Joseph is warned in a dream to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. There they would be safe from the murderous intentions king Herod had for the one the Magi said was born “king of the Jews”. After Herod died, an angel appeared yet again to Joseph in a dream and directed him to return with Mary and Jesus to the land of Israel. The family settled in the village of Nazareth in region of Galilee. There, with the exception of a memorable pilgrimage to Jerusalem when He was 12 years old, Jesus grows up in relative obscurity. Matthew simply tells us, “Jesus came from Galilee”. With these words the now adult Jesus steps back into the salvation narrative.
He steps to the bank of the Jordan river. The Jordan river is the longest river in Palestine. It is fed from three streams that flow from the foothills of mount Herman. The valley through which the Jordan flows is overgrown with thick vegetation and is full of wildlife. The Jordan is setting for numerous events in Scripture. At the Jordan Abraham and Lot are separated. Under the leadership of Joshua, the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground. The waters of the Jordan are miraculously parted twice more by both Elijah and Elisha. The Jordan is mentioned in the Old Testament 180 times, but in the New Testament the Jordan is mostly known as the place where a man named John performed baptisms.
In his day, John the baptizer was bigger than Bieber. Matthew tells us, “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.”[1] What the crowds saw when they arrived at the Jordan was not your typical Rabbis. John was the last great Messianic prophet. He wore clothes made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist – just like the prophet Elijah. He worked on the east side of the Jordan river, opposite Jerusalem – just like the prophet Elijah. But more than anything else, it was John’s message that showed he had the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah. John’s voice called out from the wilderness, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.”[2]
John’s message spread throughout the land. It eventually made its way to the village of Nazareth. John’s message concerning the coming kingdom was the invitation Jesus had been waiting for. As his mother had done 30 years before, Jesus left the village of Nazareth and headed south through the land of Samaria to the land of Judea. There, Jesus presented Himself to John to be baptized. “14 But”, Matthew tells us, “John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” John had baptized countless numbers of people. Some of them, humanly speaking, were no doubt more powerful and more influential than Jesus, many likely had more wealth than Jesus. John had baptized all of them without hesitation. But this was different. Jesus was different. You see, John knew who Jesus was. In fact, the two of them were cousins. Now, we have no way of knowing how much time the two of them spent together as children. Personally, I am of the opinion that they had at least met. If I were Zechariah and I knew my wife’s cousin had miraculously given birth the Son of God, I think I would make it a point to attend at least one family reunion. At the very least I am sure Elizabeth told John how, filled with the Holy Spirit, he leapt for joy in her womb the first time he met Jesus. John had been telling the crowds of people that gathered around him at the banks of the Jordan river that “one who is more powerful” [3] than he was coming. Either from personal experience, or from the lips of his parents, or from divine inspiration John knew who Jesus was.
That’s why it did not make sense to John that Jesus would subject Himself to being baptized by a man like John. You see, John knew who he was. Compared to the brood of vipers; those pompous Pharisees and self-righteous Sadducees that surrounded him John seemed to be a saint. But John was held accountable by the same set of commands that hold you and I accountable and when John looked into the mirror of God’s law, he saw what you and I see. He saw pride and envy, gluttony and greed, he saw jealousy, lust, and laziness. He saw these things where you and I see them, he saw theme in the way he treated people, he saw them in the way he spoke to people, he saw them in the way he thought about people. John knew what you and I know, what deep down inside really everyone knows, John knew he was a sinner. John had been telling the crowds of people that gathered around him at the banks of the Jordan river that, he was “not fit to carry the sandals”3 of the one who was to come. You and I know from personal experience it only takes a moment standing before the mirror of God’s law to show a person who they really are. Well, John had stood before that mirror; John knew who he was.
As a result, John argued with Jesus, “do you come to me”? Matthew tells us “15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” It is good for us to first take note of what Jesus did not say. Jesus did not say that He was in need of baptism; He did not say that He had sins that needed to be washed away. Jesus did not come to the banks of the Jordan river to do what everyone else needed to do; to do what you and I still need to do, Jesus did not come to the banks of the Jordan river to repent. So why did He come?
Jesus knew Who He was; He knew He was the sinless Son of God. He knew that He was more powerful than John. He knew that John was not fit to carry His sandals. Jesus confirms that He is very much aware of who He is and who John is with the words, “Let it be so now”. In English this sounds as though Jesus is making a request of John; it sounds as though He is asking for John’s permission. But this is no request; Jesus is not asking for John’s permission. In the Greek this is an aorist active imperative. This is a command given. Like a superior officer, Jesus has issued John an order and regardless of how unusual John might think the order to be it is an order that will be followed.
John’s understanding of Jesus’ order is not necessary for that order to be obeyed. However, Jesus wanted John and He wants us to understand. Jesus explained that He had come to the Jordan river to be baptized by John to “fulfill all righteousness.”
Jesus had already fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law. For the last 30 years Jesus had been actively living the kind of life, free from sin, that God’s holy law demands of all of us. As a child Jesus was tempted like all children are tempted with selfishness. As a teenager Jesus was tempted like all teenagers are tempted to be disrespectful. As a young adult Jesus was tempted like all young adults are tempted to be lustful. As a grownup Jesus was tempted as all grownup are tempted with envy. As the familiar passage says, Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”[4] In this way Jesus actively fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law.
Now, baptism was not and is not a righteous requirement of the law. Baptism is not a law thing. Baptism is a gospel thing. Through baptism God comes to sinners and on the banks of the Jordan river that is exactly what Jesus did. Though He was no sinner, Jesus declared himself to be one with sinners. By subjecting himself to baptism Jesus was saying to John and to all the other sinners gathered along the bank and to you and me, ‘I’m in this with you. I will carry your burden of sin upon my shoulders. I will see the heavenly Father’s plan through to the bitter yet victorious end.’ You see, in order for all righteousness to be fulfilled the sinner’s debt must be paid in full. On the banks of the Jordan river Jesus offered to make that payment in our place.
On Jordan’s bank Jesus announced that His ministry was transitioning from active obedience to passive offering and as Jesus went up out of the water the remaining two persons of the holy trinity expressed Their support. Matthew tells us “16… heaven was opened” and the “Spirit of God descended like a dove.” In Isaiah 61:1 the preincarnate Messiah prophesied, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me.” By descending on Him in the form of a dove, The Holy Spirit was showing that Jesus was the one who had been anointed, set aside for the specific task of saving us from our sins. The dove is a fitting from for the Holy Spirit to take when anointing Jesus. In Scripture the dove is a symbol of innocence and peace. The church father, Chrysostom, made a connection between the dove that returned to Noah in the ark and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove that descended at Jesus baptism. He observed that both doves symbolize that the deluge of God’s wrath over sin had ceased.
But the Holy Spirit was not the only person of the Trinity to express His support of Jesus’ baptism. Matthew also tells us that, “17 a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” The voice that spoke from heaven was none other than God Father. God the Father said of Jesus, Who had just aligned Himself with sinners, “This is my Son, whom I love”. With these words the Father verifies that Jesus is indeed more powerful than John and that John certainly is not fit to carry Jesus’ sandals. These words confirm that Jesus is the Son of God. But the primary purpose of these words is not to confirm the deity of Jesus. Rather, they have a meaning directly connected to the baptism Jesus just received. The Father loves that His Son was baptized by John. The Father loves that His Son was willing to actively and passively fulfill all righteousness in our place. The Father loves that His Son loves sinners as much as He does.
Through His active obedience that preceded His baptism and His passive offering that followed His baptism Jesus has fulfilled all righteousness. And through the work of the Holy Spirit and with the love of the Father, He still comes to sinners. He comes in the Word. He comes in the sacraments. He comes to you. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
[1] Matthew 3:5
[2] Matthew 3:2
[3] Matthew 3:11
[4] Hebrews 4:15