“Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mat 3:15).

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

If you were a first-century Jew,

then John the Baptist would have been preaching exactly what you had been waiting to hear…

Because these folks were in a world of hurt!

They were suffering under terrible oppression and sickness and heartache,

and they were absolutely helpless to save themselves from their demons, their illnesses, their oppressors, their shame, their guilt, their failures, their sin…

just like you and me.

But God had promised a solution for their problems, and for yours as well –

literally, a Savior who would come and make everything right.

A King would come with power to bring salvation and judgment –

a baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

He was coming with His winnowing fork in hand to cast out the bad guys and to establish His Kingdom of peace forever and ever.

And now, according to John, that King had come, and the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand!

Indeed, God’s promised Savior had come in flesh and blood, exactly as promised –

born of a virgin, just as God has said –

delivered out of Egypt, just as it was written –

known as a Nazarene, just as it had been foretold by the OT prophets.

And now, taking the Divine Initiative, Jesus, the Savior of Promise, had come “from Galilee to the Jordan to John” (Matt 3:13) –

to the Jordan river – that historic threshold of God’s promised Kingdom –

that watery point of entry into the Promised Land…

Jesus came to meet His people in that very place where they had once been gathered to new life as God’s people and were now gathering to confess their sin and their need for a Savior.

And in this person of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven – the Rule and Reign of God, had now broken into history-and-time-and-space.

And as this King of Glory walks up to John and says, “Baptize Me,”

John’s brain explodes…

Well, not exactly… But think about it: John is the last of God’s appointed OT Prophets –

So he KNOWS what he’s talking about!

And here he’s been proclaiming the salvation of God in Jesus who would come in POWER –

a Jesus so superior to and mightier than himself that he was not worthy to perform even the most menial service for Him (Matt 3:11) (Gibbs 178).

And yet, this Savior of the World, this King of Kings and Lord of Lords comes to John,

NOT wielding His axe or His winnowing fork,

but requesting a Baptism of repentance…

Is it any wonder John starts asking questions?

“What’s the deal, Lord?

If anything, I should be baptized by YOU –

I must decrease and you must increase –

You’re the sinless Lamb of God… and you come to me?  For baptism? For repentance?

You want to take your place in the water?

You want to get in the mud with us?

You want to associate Yourself with our SIN?

To which Jesus basically responds, “Yeah… that IS the plan for now.”

Now, the language here is very interesting,

for Jesus actually uses the word Matthew has been using over and over to refer to God’s plan of salvation according to the OT Scriptures.

Jesus says, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to FULFILL all righteousness” (Matt 3:15).

And this word FULFILL actually means “to enact the Divine Scriptural plan of salvation (Gibbs 179).”

It means sticking to the Script and getting the job done according to the plan foretold by the prophets.

And here, Jesus is the One who FULFILLS that plan exactly the way it’s been spelled out in the Scriptures!

True, Jesus IS the Mighty Savior and Judge who will come in power on the Last Day.

But for now, He is the Suffering Servant who does not cry aloud or lift up His voice (Isa 42:2).

For now, the Script calls for something entirely different, and for now, this mind-bending idea of Jesus – Immanuel –

God with us humbling Himself and submitting Himself to a baptism for sinners IS the way that “all righteousness” will be fulfilled.

In other words, as the rule and reign of heaven breaks into time and space for us and for our salvation,

it looks like Jesus submitting to John’s Baptism.

Why? Because it shows you exactly how Jesus saves you from your sins.

It shows you exactly how God’s Kingdom comes, how God’s will is done, and how His righteousness, His plan of salvation has been fulfilled for you.

Jesus fulfills all righteousness by taking your humanity unto Himself –

by taking your sin upon Himself –

by taking your place in the water of repentance, and ultimately by taking your place on the cross.

Jesus took your place under God’s wrath to suffer and die and pay the price for your sin.

But of course, He rose again from the dead, for He had no sin of His own,

and therefore death had no claim on Him.

And soon He will come again in power to judge the living and the dead.

And you may rest assured that on that great and terrible Day of the Lord,

He will indeed come with His Holy Spirit to gather His saints, and with the fire of His wrath to destroy His enemies.

But for now?  For now, the sinless Lamb of God has taken your place in sin and offered up His life as the ransom for you.

And THAT is the journey we see beginning at His Baptism.

Our Lord’s Baptism appoints Him to the cross where His reign and rule,

where His glory and His love,

where His righteousness and His plan of salvation are fully revealed.

Which is why, when John starts to short-circuit, Jesus simply says, “Let it be this way for now,

because this is the way to fulfill all righteousness– to get the job done according to the Script.”

And when John hears this Word of our Lord, what does he do? He consents (v15).

He relents and turns away from his own expectations to go the way of Christ according to the Script – according to His Word –

just like Mary who said, “Let it be to me as You have said…”

Faith simply nods along and receives God’s salvation the way He provides it,

no matter how strange or improbable it may appear.

And how do we know this is how God’s salvation has come for us?

We know, because the moment John consents and baptizes Jesus,

the heavens open and God basically says, “That’s what I’m talking about!”

The Father shows up with that part of the “Script” that we read from Isaiah this morning that says, “Behold My servant, whom I uphold…

I have put My Spirit upon Him… (Isa 42:1)” –

The heavens open, the Spirit of God comes down like a dove, and a voice from heaven literally proclaims,

“This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (v17).”

And in that moment, God not only verifies that Jesus is in fact His Son,

but that He is now bringing His salvation to the world exactly according to plan–

a plan that calls for Jesus to take the sin of the world upon Himself and pay the price on the cross –

a plan that unfolds in the water of the Jordan and now continues in the water of your own baptism where YOU receive the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom 6:5) for yourself.

And perhaps you, like John, may be a little puzzled by God’s plan… especially if things are still going poorly in your life.

You may wonder why things aren’t going the way you’d expect if God had really come and rescued you…

But for now, everything is going according to God’s plan –

For now, Jesus has united you with His death through Baptism and has promised that you will also be united with Him in His resurrection (Rom 6:5-11).

For now, He comes for you in the most strange and unexpected ways – through Words spoken, through His Body and Blood given in bread and wine.

For now, He comes for you in this place where WE gather in repentance like they did at the Jordan to confess your sins and receive Him who comes in flesh and blood to take away your sin, to open your eyes,

and to rescue you from your prison of sin and death (Is 42:7).

And when you, like John, simply consent to receive Jesus on His terms and to have His rescue according to His Script –

when you simply nod along with God’s plan for now and trust in the promises of your Baptism, then you may rest assured that all righteousness –

Christ’s righteousness for your life and salvation – will be fulfilled.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Preached by Pastor Holowach

Sermon Text: Matthew 3:13-17.