Jesus and John at the Jordan
Sermon
The View from the Cross
Cycle B Gospel Text Sermons for Lent and Easter
Beginning in verse 9 Mark goes out of his way to communicate that Jesus quite literally went out of his way to seek the approval of John. Jesus understood that John was a well-established and important figure to the wider populace and receiving John's blessing would go a long way in Jesus himself establishing much-needed credibility. In a way, having John who was already recognized as God's prophet baptize him was a visible reminder to all that God would welcome all who came to be baptized. We can see just how important this action was. We see Jesus' actions certified when God descends as a dove and says, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22 NRSV).
In the final verse in today's reading we see that the age of God's eschaton has come and the journey into Lent and into the Easter season begins.
This gospel reading is all about the baptism of Jesus. This is one of the events that all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) describe and so was obviously an event that the early church saw as of great importance.
Mark's gospel gives us the facts, straight and clear but gives little else in terms of a description of the event. We must always remember that Mark is most concerned with communicating exactly what happened and is often brief on details. This is also one of the few instances where the great church historian Luke doesn't give us much more than Mark, but Saint Matthew takes up the slack. In Matthew's account we hear:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
-- Matthew 3:13-17 NLT
There is an ancient story that comes to us from the fifth century AD and it concerns Saint Patrick baptizing King Aengus. The baptism was by full immersion.
During the baptismal ceremony, so the story goes, Saint Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king's foot.
After the baptism was over, Saint Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness.
"Why did you suffer this pain in silence?" Saint Patrick asked.
The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual."
In truth there just may be more to this little story than first meets the eye. People will often put up with a loss of comfort if they believe that doing so will bring about some sort of personal gain.
Scripture is pretty clear that John the Baptist had been doing all he could do to get people to come into the Jordan and in that act, finding the repentance they all so badly needed, even if they didn't know they needed it. One can just see the people gathering, listening, and wondering what this desert prophet was all about. Just what was he saying and exactly how was walking into the Jordan River going to accomplish what John promised?
The natural extension of this question would be to ask why on earth did Jesus find it necessary to go into the river to be baptized by John in the first place. I think the question we need to ask this morning is pretty clear and that is why Jesus needed to be baptized?
Was Jesus in need of repentance? For some people, even asking the question raises more questions than answers. In fact, for some people asking the question is about like questioning the validity of Jesus himself.
However, let us not forget that one of the most essential qualities of Jesus is his humanity. So the question is not out of place, it is just not needed. Jesus was without sin, period! That being the case, why did he go into the river to be baptized by John?
It is helpful at this point to look at the other accounts of this baptism. Much like the Christmas story we need the input of the other synoptic gospels to help us better understand what was going on here.
One of the things that stands out to me is that, at least initially, John himself did not think Jesus needed to be baptized. In point of fact, John thought Jesus ought to be baptizing him! "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
It is pretty clear that John had the same question as all of us. He needed to understand why Jesus felt any need to be baptized at all. The answer to that question comes in Jesus' response to John's dilemma, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness."
What did Jesus mean? I think Jesus wanted John and all of those gathered on the shore to see and witness what was happening and in doing so learn that by coming to John in the River Jordan, Jesus was acknowledging the wonderful claim that God had on his life and through him in all of our lives.
In Jesus' submission to John the Baptist, we see a sign of the humanity of Jesus and his complete submission to God the Father. Jesus' visual submission gives us a visual picture with just as much importance as the picture of the dove descending while Jesus was still in the water.
All who witnessed this act could see that Jesus had taken a courageous stand by bringing himself into the everyday life of the shopkeeper, the farmer, and the shepherd. He was showing forth the grace of God to all who saw and then to all who heard what had taken place at the hands of John.
Jesus' example showed people that when they themselves took that walk into the waters of baptism, their lives would never again be the same. They would be changing the direction of their lives and in so doing would be clearing away the old life and bringing in a new one filled with hope and renewed possibilities.
In Jesus' submission to John in the river he showed just how much he loved God and just how much God loved him. As John poured the water on Jesus, all could see that Jesus was following the will of God in his life and that those who followed Jesus would be doing the same.
Indeed this demonstration of Jesus' devotion to the will of God conjures up images of another scene of submission and humility when at the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing that he was going to die on the cross, he prayed: "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done" (Luke 22:42 NRSV).
It was the ultimate submission to the Father's will -- to go to the cross for our sakes -- to reconcile us to the Father. But following the Father's will was painful.
But Jesus' baptism was more. It was also a way of Jesus announcing to the world that his ministry was about to begin. His baptism provides the portal through which his ministry begins to take shape. His baptism provides a consecration of his ministry and a visible reminder of what we all must do if we want to follow into that water and into the life that is promised in baptism.
Remember our account here in Mark is not the only time that we have heard some similar remarks about what God is thinking when we hear at the Transfiguration, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" (Mark 9:7).
Growing up in the American Baptist church, baptism by immersion was the only choice one had. Although I have long been a member of the United Church of Christ, I have never forgotten that Jesus was baptized as an example for us, all of us.
By coming to the River Jordan and by submitting to John, Jesus gave us all a beautiful, clear picture of what it is we are to do ourselves if we choose to follow in Jesus' footsteps. He exemplified the words from Matthew 28:19-20, commonly called the Great Commission "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20 NRSV).
Once again we remember God's response: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
As we enter into Lent we would do well to apply to our own lives what we have been witness to in Mark's gospel for today. It is one of the shortest and yet clearest accounts of what we can do in order to be a part of the ministry of Jesus Christ our Lord. When we do follow Jesus from baptism to ministry both individually and as a church, we just may hear God whispering "with you I am well pleased."
It reminds me of a story from Giants of the Missionary Trail (1954) that Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936), the great Canadian missionary in China, used to tell. Jonathan's father put him in charge of one of the family farms at the age of fifteen.
He drew special attention to one very large field that had become choked with weeds. His father told Jonathan, "Get that field cleared and ready for planting. At harvest time, I'll return and inspect it."
Jonathan put a lot of time in plowing and replowing, sunning the deadly roots and plowing again until the whole field was ready for seeding.
He then went and procured the best seed for sowing.
When all was finished, Jonathan invited his father over to inspect the field. When his father arrived, Jonathan led him to a high spot from which the whole field of beautiful waving corn could be seen. Jonathan didn't say a word -- he only waited for the coveted "Well done."
His father stood for several minutes silently examining the field for any sign of weeds but there were none. Turning to his son, he just smiled.
"That smile was all the reward I wanted," Goforth used to say, "I knew my father was pleased. So it will be if we are faithful to the trust our heavenly Father gives us."
In the final verse in today's reading we see that the age of God's eschaton has come and the journey into Lent and into the Easter season begins.
This gospel reading is all about the baptism of Jesus. This is one of the events that all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) describe and so was obviously an event that the early church saw as of great importance.
Mark's gospel gives us the facts, straight and clear but gives little else in terms of a description of the event. We must always remember that Mark is most concerned with communicating exactly what happened and is often brief on details. This is also one of the few instances where the great church historian Luke doesn't give us much more than Mark, but Saint Matthew takes up the slack. In Matthew's account we hear:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
-- Matthew 3:13-17 NLT
There is an ancient story that comes to us from the fifth century AD and it concerns Saint Patrick baptizing King Aengus. The baptism was by full immersion.
During the baptismal ceremony, so the story goes, Saint Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king's foot.
After the baptism was over, Saint Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness.
"Why did you suffer this pain in silence?" Saint Patrick asked.
The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual."
In truth there just may be more to this little story than first meets the eye. People will often put up with a loss of comfort if they believe that doing so will bring about some sort of personal gain.
Scripture is pretty clear that John the Baptist had been doing all he could do to get people to come into the Jordan and in that act, finding the repentance they all so badly needed, even if they didn't know they needed it. One can just see the people gathering, listening, and wondering what this desert prophet was all about. Just what was he saying and exactly how was walking into the Jordan River going to accomplish what John promised?
The natural extension of this question would be to ask why on earth did Jesus find it necessary to go into the river to be baptized by John in the first place. I think the question we need to ask this morning is pretty clear and that is why Jesus needed to be baptized?
Was Jesus in need of repentance? For some people, even asking the question raises more questions than answers. In fact, for some people asking the question is about like questioning the validity of Jesus himself.
However, let us not forget that one of the most essential qualities of Jesus is his humanity. So the question is not out of place, it is just not needed. Jesus was without sin, period! That being the case, why did he go into the river to be baptized by John?
It is helpful at this point to look at the other accounts of this baptism. Much like the Christmas story we need the input of the other synoptic gospels to help us better understand what was going on here.
One of the things that stands out to me is that, at least initially, John himself did not think Jesus needed to be baptized. In point of fact, John thought Jesus ought to be baptizing him! "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
It is pretty clear that John had the same question as all of us. He needed to understand why Jesus felt any need to be baptized at all. The answer to that question comes in Jesus' response to John's dilemma, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness."
What did Jesus mean? I think Jesus wanted John and all of those gathered on the shore to see and witness what was happening and in doing so learn that by coming to John in the River Jordan, Jesus was acknowledging the wonderful claim that God had on his life and through him in all of our lives.
In Jesus' submission to John the Baptist, we see a sign of the humanity of Jesus and his complete submission to God the Father. Jesus' visual submission gives us a visual picture with just as much importance as the picture of the dove descending while Jesus was still in the water.
All who witnessed this act could see that Jesus had taken a courageous stand by bringing himself into the everyday life of the shopkeeper, the farmer, and the shepherd. He was showing forth the grace of God to all who saw and then to all who heard what had taken place at the hands of John.
Jesus' example showed people that when they themselves took that walk into the waters of baptism, their lives would never again be the same. They would be changing the direction of their lives and in so doing would be clearing away the old life and bringing in a new one filled with hope and renewed possibilities.
In Jesus' submission to John in the river he showed just how much he loved God and just how much God loved him. As John poured the water on Jesus, all could see that Jesus was following the will of God in his life and that those who followed Jesus would be doing the same.
Indeed this demonstration of Jesus' devotion to the will of God conjures up images of another scene of submission and humility when at the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing that he was going to die on the cross, he prayed: "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done" (Luke 22:42 NRSV).
It was the ultimate submission to the Father's will -- to go to the cross for our sakes -- to reconcile us to the Father. But following the Father's will was painful.
But Jesus' baptism was more. It was also a way of Jesus announcing to the world that his ministry was about to begin. His baptism provides the portal through which his ministry begins to take shape. His baptism provides a consecration of his ministry and a visible reminder of what we all must do if we want to follow into that water and into the life that is promised in baptism.
Remember our account here in Mark is not the only time that we have heard some similar remarks about what God is thinking when we hear at the Transfiguration, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" (Mark 9:7).
Growing up in the American Baptist church, baptism by immersion was the only choice one had. Although I have long been a member of the United Church of Christ, I have never forgotten that Jesus was baptized as an example for us, all of us.
By coming to the River Jordan and by submitting to John, Jesus gave us all a beautiful, clear picture of what it is we are to do ourselves if we choose to follow in Jesus' footsteps. He exemplified the words from Matthew 28:19-20, commonly called the Great Commission "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20 NRSV).
Once again we remember God's response: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
As we enter into Lent we would do well to apply to our own lives what we have been witness to in Mark's gospel for today. It is one of the shortest and yet clearest accounts of what we can do in order to be a part of the ministry of Jesus Christ our Lord. When we do follow Jesus from baptism to ministry both individually and as a church, we just may hear God whispering "with you I am well pleased."
It reminds me of a story from Giants of the Missionary Trail (1954) that Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936), the great Canadian missionary in China, used to tell. Jonathan's father put him in charge of one of the family farms at the age of fifteen.
He drew special attention to one very large field that had become choked with weeds. His father told Jonathan, "Get that field cleared and ready for planting. At harvest time, I'll return and inspect it."
Jonathan put a lot of time in plowing and replowing, sunning the deadly roots and plowing again until the whole field was ready for seeding.
He then went and procured the best seed for sowing.
When all was finished, Jonathan invited his father over to inspect the field. When his father arrived, Jonathan led him to a high spot from which the whole field of beautiful waving corn could be seen. Jonathan didn't say a word -- he only waited for the coveted "Well done."
His father stood for several minutes silently examining the field for any sign of weeds but there were none. Turning to his son, he just smiled.
"That smile was all the reward I wanted," Goforth used to say, "I knew my father was pleased. So it will be if we are faithful to the trust our heavenly Father gives us."
