Sermon for the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord

‘And straightway
coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a
dove descending upon him:’

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Christmas is over. No longer think of the time of Our Lord’s
birth. Think now upon his death.

It is in the Son that the Lord is well
pleased.

The Lord has approached the Jordan. Now the Lord has entered the waters. The
other Gospel writers speak of how St. John the Baptist tried to convince Jesus
to turn away from his baptism, for his baptism, John’s baptism, was one of
repentance. And Jesus had no sin, he had nothing of which to repent.

St. Mark does not record any account of Jesus and John bickering over whether
or not Our Lord should be baptized. He does not waste our time. Rather, it is
written: ‘And it came to pass in those
days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the
Jordan.’

Christmas is over. No longer think of the time of Our Lord’s birth. Think
now upon his death.

St. Mark need not waste his time recounting how John bickered with Jesus over
his baptism, so I need not waste time bickering with you over your
baptism. 

You know what your baptism is, it is a baptism into life out
of death. Even as God said let there be
light: and there was light, in the beginning, so God created light within
you in the sacrament of your baptism, and
there was light, and God saw the light, that it was good. In your baptism,
God separated whom you must be in him from whom you would be without him. He
separated the old hellish Adam from the new heavenly man within you. ‘And God divided the light from the
darkness.’  ‘And behold, the Lord
saw that it was good.’

You know what your baptism is, so you know what your Lord’s baptism is. If
you were baptized into life out of death, he was baptized into death out of
life.

Did you think that your sin was of no consequence? Did you think that you could
get away from it all for free? Nothing is free. Everything has a price.

I will not attempt to enumerate your sins. I will not count them. If man cannot
count the number of sand upon the shore,
or the stars in the sky, then I cannot count the sins that you or I have
committed; the lies, the shames, the guiles, the secrets, the hatred, the
bitterness. ‘If you, O Lord, should mark
iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?’

None shall stand, and so Our Lord shall not stand, but shall be beaten
until his legs have no need of breaking, his knees no need of shattering, and
his body no power of standing. For he too, is a thief on a cross. In his
baptism, he has taken that which was not his own. He took your sin. He took
your shame, and guile; your secrets and hatred; your bitterness, like a thief in the night. ‘O Lord, who
shall stand?’

Christmas is over. No longer think of Our Lord’s birth. But
think of his death. For in this, his baptism, he has married himself to the
death that you warranted; to the murder that you deserved; to the damnation you
demanded.

If you were baptized into HIS life out of death, he was baptized into YOUR
death out of life.

St. Mark does not waste our time in his account of Our Lord’s Baptism. And
neither will I waste yours. Before you get carried away, wondering ‘why Lord,
why?’ I will answer. It is simple: ‘that
you may live unto God.’

Think now upon his death.

Our Lord, your savior, was cursed and lied about. And why? That in you God may be well pleased.

Our Lord, your savior, was betrayed and handed over to the heathen. And
why? That in you God may be well pleased.

Our Lord, your savior, had his blood poured out like a choking lamb, he had
it cast upon the ground like a sacrificed beast. And why? That in you God may be well pleased.

Our Lord, your savior, was crucified upon a cross of wood. With his eyes
did he look up into heaven, even as his body sank in weakness; even as his arms
gave way in paleness. And why? That in you God may be well pleased.

Our Lord, your savior, died. ‘Then
the soldiers came to break the legs of those that were crucified. But when they
came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs.’
For ‘If you, O Lord, should iniquities, O
Lord, who should stand?’ For he did not stand, for he bore your iniquity,
the iniquity of all mankind, ‘knowing
this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not fear sin, for he that is dead is freed
from sin.’ That, being freed from sin, in you God may be well pleased.

Think now upon your death, and do not waste any time. Do not become
sentimental. Do not become nostalgic. Think like a Christian. Better yet, think
like Christ, and hear those words spoken of Christ, spoken to you; for he was
baptized that you might hear these words. For you he was crucified that you
might hear these words. Whether it is tomorrow, or in thirty years, you, in
your baptism will hear those words that Christ heard in his. The words which
for him spelled death; the words which, for you, spell life. Those words, that
in your death, spell eternity:

‘Thou art my Son, in whom I am well
pleased.’

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Preached by Pastor
Fields

Sermon Texts: Genesis
1:1-5; Romans 6:1-11; Mark 1:4-11.