Luke 3:15-22 At the public examination I will ask the children these questions: What is the difference between the Old
Testament and the News Testament? And
they will answer: The Old Testament
tells of the coming of Christ and the New Testament tells of his life and
promise to return. And then I will
ask: What is the key to understanding
the Holy Scriptures? And they will
answer: Jesus Christ. And they will be correct.
The whole Bible—from Genesis in the beginning to Revelation at the
end-- tells but one story and that is the story of Jesus Christ.
He is the Offspring of the Woman who will crush Satan that God
promised to Adam and Eve. It is his
sacrifice on the cross that all of the animal sacrifices pointed to. It is his saving work that is revealed as the
children of Israel are shielded from death and set free from slavery in Egypt
and delivered safely to the Promised Land.
It is his final judgment on the Last Day that is shown in the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it is his baptism
that is revealed in the waters of the flood of Noah’s day which both buried and
lifted to safety.
The Bible tells just one story—whether it is the promise in the Old
Testament or the fulfillment in the New Testament-- and it is the story of
Jesus. The exact point where promise and
fulfillment come together is revealed in our text today as Jesus is baptized in
the Jordan by his forerunner John the Baptist.
St. Luke writes that:
…when all the people were baptized, and
when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the
Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from
heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
That Jesus is the subject of all
Scripture—that the Bible tells just one story that is his story—that the only
difference between the Old Testament and the New is where they stand in
relation to Jesus- is not just a pious opinion—it is the testimony of the one,
true Triune God.
When Jesus was baptized, the heavens
were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove and the heavenly
Father publicly testified that Jesus was his Son. It’s like a big neon Trinitarian arrow in the
sky above Jesus’ head that shines so brightly that it lights up the past and
the future and says: this is the
One! This the one I promised!
This is the one I have chosen to accomplish my saving work. That is why the Holy Spirit was there: to anoint Jesus as prophet, priest and king
for his saving work.
In the Old Testament God’s servants were anointed with oil to set
them apart for their work: prophets to
speak God’s Word- priests to offer sacrifices to God for man’s sins-and kings
to rule God’s people—all of them pointing to various aspects of the work of the
Messiah.
In Jesus Christ these three offices came together. Oil was wholly insufficient for this
anointing and so he was anointed with the Spirit. When Jesus began his ministry he said:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor…to proclaim liberty to the captives…to give
sight to the blind”
This
was the work of the Messiah and as Jesus stood in the waters of the Jordan River
Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled and Jesus was publicly set aside for that
saving work.
That
is what God wants us to know and believe and so heaven is opened and we see the Spirit’s anointing and hear the Father’s testimony that this
Jesus is wholly different than every servant of God who has come before--
because he is God’s Son. St. Luke writes
that:
…the people were in expectation, and all
were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the
Christ, John
answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier
than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.
God
appointed Noah as a preacher of righteousness before the flood. He made a covenant to bless the world through
Abraham. He raised-up Moses to set his
people free. And the foundation of the
church is built upon the apostles.
John
the Baptist stood among these great servants of God (and indeed was the
greatest of all by Jesus’ own testimony) but none of them compared to Jesus for
he was God’s own Son. John recognized
this about himself—that his one purpose was to bear witness to Jesus Christ.
Here
is the key to humility! Here is the key
to understanding our purpose in the world!
When we are focused on Jesus and when we find our meaning in him--
genuine humility and clarity of purpose cannot help but follow.
To
know Jesus for who he is—God in flesh—is to know the truth about
ourselves: that the greatest honor on
earth is to count ourselves his servants who are content with the lowliest
tasks so long as they are directed towards Jesus.
We
see that humility throughout the Bible in those who had faith. Elizabeth was honored to have the pregnant
Mary come to her home. Mary praised God
because he looked upon her humble estate and blessed her with a child. The kings knelt in worship beside Jesus’ bed.
Only
when we know Jesus and what he has done for us can we have a proper view of
ourselves and our own place in the world and our purpose in life.
John’s
work was important: to call sinners to
repentance and faith in Jesus--and that work of the pastoral office is still
important and necessary. But it pales in
comparison to what Jesus would do in his work as the Savior of the world. John the Baptist said that Jesus would:
…baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in
his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So with many other exhortations he preached
good news to the people.
John
was already looking forward to Pentecost when the ascended Savior would pour
out his Spirit (just as he had promised) on the young and old—on men and
women—so that all people could hear and believe and bear witness to his saving
work.
Sins
had been paid for on the cross. Life had
been promised at the empty tomb.
Eternity in heaven was guaranteed by Jesus’ ascension to the right hand
of God.
All
that was left was the gift of the Spirit for faith and proclamation and so on
Pentecost Jesus sent the Spirit as a mighty wind and tongues of flame above the
heads of his disciples and the message of salvation went forward and thousands
came to faith in Jesus that day and are still coming to faith in Jesus in a
great harvest of souls.
This
is the best possible news for us and for all who are being saved by faith but
it is also a warning to those who do not believe. The same Jesus who entered the Jordan River
and identified with our sin—the same Jesus whose blood has washed away those
sins—the same Jesus who has given the Spirit so that we might believe this and
be saved—is also the same Jesus who will judge the world.
The
wheat—that is those believers who produced the fruit of faith will be gathered
safely into their eternal home with God—but the chaff, those who did not bear
the fruit of faith because of their unbelief will be burned forever in the flames
of hell.
Many,
even in the church, deny hell and deem it unworthy of a merciful God. But the Bible is perfectly clear that hell
exists and that Jesus himself will send people there to be tormented forever by
fire.
Eternal
salvation was what was at stake there along the Jordan River and that is why
there was the heartfelt plea of John to repent of sin and look to Jesus as the
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Eternal
salvation is still at stake here at this font and pulpit and altar. That is why we baptize and commune and preach
and absolve. That is what this place
exists for no less than the banks of the Jordan River and the Upper Room and
the mount where Jesus preached. That is
why we generously support the mission and ministry of this congregation—because
eternity itself is at stake—and there is plenty of opposition in the world
around us. St. Luke wrote that:
…Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved
by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod
had done, added
this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
Many, many people are confused about what to
expect from the Christian life. Their
own flesh wants them to believe that it is about getting what you want in this
life and having eternity thrown in as a prize at the end and there are plenty
of false prophets in the church today who will tell them just exactly what
their itching ears want to hear.
But the Christian life is actually a
battle and the Bible never hides that truth.
Jesus said that we are to take up our cross and follow him. Peter said that we shouldn’t be surprised at
the fiery trial we undergo. Paul told us
that there is a battle within us between what our flesh wants to do and what
the new man in us wants to do as a child of God.
The
Christian life is a battle against the world, our flesh, and the devil and it
has always been! John the Baptist was
the greatest man who ever lived and yet the end of his life of service to the
cause of Christ was persecution, imprisonment, and martyrdom. How can it not be so!
In
Holy Baptism we are crucified with Christ and raised with Christ and called to
walk in newness of life. This newness of
life is a rebuke of the ways of the world and a denial of that all that they
value. How can the world not be opposed to Christ and his people!?
But
those who are baptized into Christ Jesus and walk in his ways know that the
words spoken about Jesus by his Father:
“This is my beloved Son. With him
I am well pleased” are also spoken about us and we too have the presence of the
Holy Spirit in our lives and that gives us the strength we need to carry on as
his people. Amen.
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