Sermon - The Baptism of Jesus

All Age Service – 10th January 2010
The Baptism of Jesus. Luke 3.15-22

Intro
Story of baptism of Jesus reminds me of a little boy overheard complaining ‘my mum makes me have a bath every week, even if I’m not dirty!’

ONE way of understanding baptism is our sins being washed away by God, so we can live a new life as a christian. We ALL need this, even if we think we are not dirty. Nobody is too dirty for God to make clean, Good News!

BUT if baptism is about sins being washed away, why did Jesus insist on being baptized by John? In Mat’s version, even John the Baptist himself was shocked when Jesus came to be baptized by him. John knew that his cousin was not like other people, that he had come straight from God in a special way, that there was no sin in him at all.

Jesus was the only person ever born who did not need a bath! Actually I’m sure he did need an ordinary bath, but not the special bath of baptism. So WHY did he insist on going through with it?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Baptism is not only about sins being washed away, it is also about…

Belonging to a family
When Jesus was baptized, God’s voice was heard from heaven saying ‘you are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased’. A very special moment for Jesus, even though he probably already knew from his mother that he was God’s son. The Bible teaches that our baptism is just as exciting because it is the moment of our adoption as sons or daughters in God’s family.
Looking at it the other way round, Jesus, by insisting on being baptized, showed that he was part of the human family as well as being God’s son. Because Jesus was part of both families, he made it possible for us to be part of God’s family too.

Being equipped to serve God
John the Baptist had predicted that Jesus would be far more powerful than him and the Bible makes it clear that he was given special power by God at his baptism when the Holy Spirit came down to rest on him, looking like a dove. In many churches, including the Anglican church, this part of baptism has been separated into a separate service called confirmation. When we have a conf service, the Bishop lays his hands on the heads of the people being confirmed and prays that God will send his Holy Spirit into them, to equip them to do God’s work in new and special ways. Again, Jesus’ baptism sets an example for our baptism and confirmation, so we have faith in God’s power and his desire to equip us for his work.

A Public statement about who we are
The final thing I want to mention about Jesus’ baptism is that it was carried out in a public place, for everyone to see, including the eyewitnesses whose evidence is collected in our




Bible. God could have baptized Jesus in his own little private ceremony, with nobody watching, but he must have thought it was important to do it in public. This is also a model for our bap and conf. It is important that we make our promises and receive our adoption as God’s children in public. This makes a public statement about who we are, who we belong to, and how we intend to live our lives from now on. This might not make things easier for us, but the bap of Jesus in front of all the crowds at the river Jordan, sets the example for us and he promises his protection and his blessing to all who stand up in his name.

ConclusionsI don’t know what you think about your own baptism and your confirmation, if you’ve been confirmed. Perhaps these ceremonies were a long time ago, rites of passage which your parents put you through because it was tradition or the right thing to do. The baptism of Jesus encourages us all to take baptism seriously and suggests it has at least 4 meanings:-

• Washing away of sins
• Belonging to God’s family
• Equipping by the Holy Spirit to serve God
• Making a public statement about who we are because of what Jesus has done for us

We follow the example of Jesus in all these aspects of baptism and we pray for all people who are baptized or confirmed that what we celebrate in these sacraments will truly take place in their lives. If you want to know more about being bap or conf, do see me for a chat.

And for all of us my prayer is that the bap of Jesus will help us understand our own baptism and confirmation in a deeper way, so we can be faithful and fruitful disciples.