Baptism of Jesus

Isaiah 42:1-9
Matthew 3:13-17

Remember John the Baptist whom we met during Advent of last year. He was that crazy guy dressed in camel’s hair, eating locusts and honey, telling everybody to repent because, “The kingdom is near! The Messiah is coming! Prepare the Way!” He was the Ancient Near East’s version of the bumper sticker, “Jesus is coming…look busy!” An important part John’s ministry was baptizing people in the waters of the river Jordan so that their sins may be forgiven. Through baptism the sinner is transformed to a disciple where they are inspired to turn away from their worldly desire and turn towards God’s desire for the world. To repent, which literally means to turn, is really all about re-orientation so that the baptized becomes open to God’s surprising will.


So imagine if you will John chest deep in the water, dunking people one by one in the river when suddenly he finds that the next man in line is none other than Jesus. This is the Messiah, the one whom John said he was not worth to carry his sandals. This is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and here he is, standing in front of John waiting to be baptized in the muddy waters of the Jordan. This is downright scandalous!

In her sermon on the Baptism of Jesus, Barbara Brown Taylor tells us that the Christian church has always had a certain discomfort with the baptism of Jesus. She says, “Compare the accounts of each of the four gospels and you cannot miss the un-ease of the authors.” (1)  “Mark tells it urgently: Immediately after Jesus came out of the water he saw the heavens torn open and the spirit, like a dove descending upon him.” (2) “Luke will not even come out and say it was John who did it. The fourth gospel [the gospel of John] is the most ticklish of all. In it, John bears witness that he saw the Spirit descend like a dove upon Jesus, but he does not mention anything about the baptism at all. Scholars ay all this embarrassment is our surest proof that John Jesus really was baptized by John, because when someone tells you something that is not in his best interest for you to know, then you can be reasonably sure he was telling you the truth.” (3)

Matthew’s version of the baptism story conveys the questions that many of us have regarding Jesus getting in line with the sinners to be baptized. Jesus is the Messiah, he is the one anointed by God to do the will of God. Jesus had nothing to be forgiven of. What is he doing getting chest deep in the muddy waters of the Jordan with John to be baptized? John discomfort shows as he tries to talk Jesus out of getting baptized, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matt 3:14) Jesus replies “Let it be so now” or some note what Jesus meant by this phrase literally was “permit it now…at this specific time—because it must be done under these circumstances and in this way ‘to fulfill all righteousness.’” (4)  Basically God was mandating that Jesus was to begin his ministry by affirming his humanness. That in act of getting chest deep in the water with John, Jesus’ baptism is as some note “a righteous act of solidarity with those to whom and for whom he has come. The one who is now being baptized by human hands, amid a call to repentance, is also the one who will usher in God’s kingdom and bring the good news of forgiveness to those same human hands.” (5)

We remember that Jesus’ baptism occurs at the beginning of his public ministry, in essence it was his coming out party. Echoing the words of Isaiah’s Servant Song which we read this morning, God presents Jesus to the world with the following words, “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (3:17) Hear again the words of the Isaiah’s servant song. “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1) Scholars have long debated the identity of the servant that Isaiah is singing about in this passage. Some believe that it was Cyrus the Persian king who freed the exiles from Babylon, others believe it is God calling the nation of Israel to be a servant to the other nations. (6) What is most important in this passage is what God is calling the servant to do which is “to bring forth justice to the nations.” The justice that the servant is called to bring forth is a fair distribution of the worlds resources so that all of God’s creation will have what they need in order to live whole prosperous lives. This passage has particular concern for the weak, “a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” (42:3) These very words shaped Jesus’ ministry. Jesus came to establish justice through being the embodiment of God’s grace and love freely given to all. Jesus was to carry out his justice making ministry through tenderness and not violence, through the care of the weak and not alliances with the strong. This is the same model of ministry that we are called to as baptized disciples of God in Christ.

Through the waters of baptism we are named as children of God, beloved and pleasing to God. In baptism, God works in us the power of forgiveness, the renewal of the spirit and the knowledge of the call to be God’s people always. Baptism with water and the Holy Spirit is the sign and seal of our common discipleship. Since baptism is God’s gift, the Holy Spirit is called to be upon the water and those being baptized. The act of baptism marks the beginning of new life of discipleship with Christ, the human response to the gift of God’s grace. In every Christian Church we share this sacrament of baptism within a worship service in order to welcome the newly baptized into our community of faith and vow to always remind them that indeed they are a children of God.

This indwelling grace, this beloved-ness comes to sustain us through the challenging and hard times that we encounter through life’s journey. Many of us know that the way of Christian discipleship can be difficult and at times can take us to places that we would rather not go. I know this has been true for me. I’ve faced trials and been in situations where I’ve been wounded while witnessing to Jesus’ message of peace and justice in this world. At times, I’ve lamented my call, knowing the difficulties I face as a Christ’s disciple. However in these dark times, I remember my baptism. I remember that with the water that was poured over my head oh so long ago that God had claimed me and named me as God’s beloved child.

At each of our baptisms we hear God’s voice saying, “This is my son, my daughter, my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” As well as being an affirmation of our worthiness, this is also our call to discipleship. This is our call to participate in the establishment of God’s justice in the world. This is our call to do this ministry with the same gentleness and endurance as Jesus did when he was among us. Some note that “His ministry did take care with the bruised reed; he cupped his hands around the dimmest wicks until they began to shine. The practices that the prophet Isaiah called the people to cherish captured Jesus’ imagination and ought to capture ours as well.” (7)

Jesus got chest deep into the muddy waters of the Jordan to be in solidarity with us in our humanness. When he emerged from these waters, he began his active ministry soaked in the vision of Isaiah given to him by God. Jesus ministry was “guided by mercy and a hunger for justice. Jesus’ whole life was a passionate response to God’s call for this new way of living. Let us hear this text as Jesus did, with our whole hearts and to respond as he did, with our whole lives.” (8)

May it be so. Amen!



(1) Barbara Brown Taylor. Home by Another Way. (Cambridge, Mass: Cowley Publications, 1999.), 34.


(2)  Barbara Brown Taylor Mixed Blessings. (Cambridge, Mass: Cowley Publications, 1998.), 55.

(3) Taylor Home by Another Way, 34.

(4) Troy Miller, “Matthew 3:13-17 - Exegetical Perspective.” Feasting on the Word. 239.

(5) Ibid., 239.

(6) Stephanie Paulsell, “Isaiah 42:1-9 – Pastoral Perspective.” Feasting on the Word, 222.

(7) Ibid., 222.

(8) Ibid., 222.