The baptism of Jesus signals the end of the Christmas season. It is celebrated as a great feast because it is the first public revelation of a Triune God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. On this particular moment, heaven and earth, the human and the divine are reunited. Heaven is opened, the Holy Spirit descended, and the voice of the Father is heard.
In her famous book and film, “The Hiding Place” Corrie ten Boom tells the story of a Dutch Christian family, her family, who had a heart for the Jewish people. Corrie tells a curious story about her father Caspar ten Boom.
When the Jews were forced to wear the “Star of David,” Casper lined up for one. He wore it because he wanted to identify himself with the people for whom he and his family had been praying all those years. He was prepared to be so completely identified with the Jews that he was willing to wear a sign of shame and suffer persecution for the sake of the people he loved. He didn’t have to wear the Star but chose to.
And in that story, we find a clue in this as to why Jesus felt the need to be baptized.
He didn’t have to get baptized as a sign of repentance and turning from sin – because he was sinless. He didn’t have to be baptized as a sign that he was now leaving his past behind and following God – because his life was already totally in tune with His Father’s.
But like Caspar ten Boom, he was baptized to identify with us, a fallen people – a people that he loved.
Why did Jesus need to be baptized by John? Baptism was the outward sign of repentance from sin, and Jesus was sinless. His baptism was the assurance that He is like us in every way except for sin. That’s why He submitted to baptism at John’s hands. He is like us and not like us at the same time. His identity came from God, but His role was confirmed by John the Baptist as He began an earthly phase of His life. Although John’s was a baptism of repentance, Jesus did not need to repent. For Him, baptism was a means to identify Himself with sinners in order that they might identify with Him in His life.
The baptism of John is that of repentance, meaning it is intended for sinners. That is why in the other accounts, John initially refused to baptize Jesus because He was not a sinner. However, Jesus insisted He be baptized for the reason that He identifies Himself with the sinners. By embracing humanity, God became like us except sin.
After Jesus was baptized, the Father’s voice was heard that He was indeed the beloved Son with whom the father is well pleased. In faith, we also believe that after our own baptism – especially in infant Baptism – we become sons and daughters of God and we become heirs of the Kingdom. It is for us that Jesus came to earth because God loves us so much.
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Isn’t it wonderful therefore that whenever we feel hopeless and abandoned, we always remember that have a Father who will never leave us and who will always love us despite our sinfulness? Shouldn’t we also wish to love Him back and to strive to make our lives pleasing to Him?
God came down from highest heaven as one of us – not to condemn, but to save.
There are times in our lives when we need someone to encourage us and reassure us. We need someone to tell us who we are, why we matter, and why they have high hopes for us. Jesus needed reassurance and encouragement at this time when His life would take a new direction. He knew that He would need resources beyond His human abilities and wisdom.
When God said that Jesus was His Son and He was pleased, He was telling us the same thing. If all we ever do in this life is exercise our primary calling – that of being His child – we have fulfilled our primary purpose and God will be pleased with us. Having God’s approval isn’t easy because He demands complete and perfect obedience in everything we do, say, and think. We can’t obey God perfectly on our own. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. He teaches us to know God, and truth, and things hidden from wise people.
His touch glows inside us and lights a fire within us.
–Dcn. Terry Murphy