"GATHER AT THE RIVER"
Matthew 3:13-17
March 16, 2003

Lenten Sermon Series
The Seven First Words of Jesus

David W. Hull, Pastor
First Baptist Church
Huntsville, Alabama

Why was Jesus baptized? Think about that for a minute. John the Baptist was preaching a message of repentance and encouraging the Jews to turn from their sin. The water of baptism symbolized the washing of sin. Jesus came to John without any blemish of sin and yet he wanted to be baptized. John knew something was strange about that. In fact, John tried to talk Jesus out of being baptized. Surely the Messiah did not need to repent! In spite of John's protests, our Lord insisted on being baptized. Why?

Why are we baptized? Is that walk through the water that we witnessed a few moments ago what saves us? If not, why all the effort? Can't I believe in Christ without being baptized? Why are we baptized?

The baptism of Jesus signaled the beginning of his ministry. The cross of Jesus represented his death. These two events are like great parentheses which encase the earthly ministry of our Lord. Just like parentheses, Jesus' baptism and death are a matching pair. They fit together, as one sheds light on the other. Therefore it is appropriate during this season of Lent to focus our attention not only on the cross, where the seven last words were uttered, but also to examine the baptism of Jesus, where one of the seven first words was proclaimed. The answers to our questions about baptism may be found by studying these two pivotal events. The answer may be expressed in one word - identify.

I. JESUS IDENTIFIED WITH US

Jesus gathered with the crowd by the Jordan River not because he needed to, but because he wanted to. He came to identify himself with us. He had no sins to be washed away, but he chose to take the sins of all of us into the river with him. Look at what he said to John. "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." (v.15) In spite of John's protest, Jesus saw his baptism as an important symbol to express the meaning of his ministry on the earth. Jesus was not being baptized for his sake. He already was righteous, meaning he had a "right relationship" with God. Instead he chose to be baptized so that each one of us might be brought into that same right relationship. He was baptized in order to identify with us.

Jesus did not give up being God when he came to identify himself with our human experience. Throughout his earthly ministry, he was constantly blending the majesty and glory of his divinity and the humility of his human status. We talked about this during Advent. The first verses of the Gospel of John tell us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) This reminds us that Jesus has always been God and always will be God. However, John went on to say in verse 14 of that same chapter, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." The glory of God came and pitched a tent on the earth to identify with us so that we might experience the glory.

This combination of majesty and humility was illustrated at the birth of Jesus. The angels sang their heavenly declaration and the star pointed the way to the birth of a king. Clearly these were dramatic and glorious signs which heralded the birth of the Messiah. At the very same time, this birth took place on the back side of a small village in a smelly stable accompanied by simple parents. In the midst of the majesty of Christmas we also find the humble beginnings which Jesus continued throughout his life. The method of his birth allowed him to identify with us.

The same combination of divine glory and human humility was found at the baptism of Jesus. We need to examine the words from heaven in order to understand what I mean. Two scripture references were being used in this proclamation concerning Jesus. "This is my Son, whom I love" refers to Psalm 2:7 which was an "enthronement psalm" for Israel. It speaks of the Lord as establishing his King on the earth. This declaration at Jesus' baptism stated that God's Son would be a king. The words "with him I am well pleased" refer to Isaiah 42:1. This is the first of the Servant Songs of Isaiah. Throughout his ministry Jesus identified his life with the suffering servant as described in Isaiah. Do you get the picture? At his baptism Jesus was crowned a King, signifying his royal identity. But also he took on the role of a suffering servant, symbolizing his identification with us.

What began in the Jordan River was completed on Calvary's hill. We could ask the same question of the cross that we did about the water. Why Jesus? He was not guilty, not a criminal. The same answer blares at us. It is as if Jesus was saying, "I have come to identify with you, even to the point of death." The Son of God did not have to die - he chose to. It was the only way that he could truly be Immanuel - God with us. To be fully human meant to die. It was the only way he could really be like us. Thankfully, it opened the door for us to be like him.

Just as Jesus carried our sins into the river to signify a right relationship with God, he took our sins to the cross so that we might be granted new life. The response to both events was similar. The heavens moved and then the word was spoken. At Calvary the proclamation came from the Roman soldier instead of the voice of God, but the message was the same. "Surely he was the Son of God! (Matthew 27:54)

I said earlier that baptism and crucifixion were like parentheses enclosing the ministry of Jesus. Parentheses match - but they also face in opposite directions. So do the proclamations about Jesus being the Son of God. As our Lord's ministry began, the words of declaration descended from the glories of heaven. As Jesus' life came to an end, the proclamation rose from the foot of the cross. Same message - opposite directions! Do you see what happened? Because Jesus had identified with us, even to the point of death, he was able to get close to us. In fact he came so close that the man who was killing him could now see what only God could see at his baptism. He comes all the way down to where each one of us lives. He walks with us, sits where we sit, lives with us, even dies for us in the hopes that we will respond as the centurion did, "Surely he was the Son of God."

II. WE IDENTIFY WITH JESUS

How do we respond to the Jesus who identifies with us? The message of the Bible is clear. We identify with him. For us the order is reversed. Our pilgrimage begins with the cross and moves to the river.

By Christ's death on the cross we can know the freedom of being saved. Our walk of faith begins when we identify with the pain of Jesus on the cross. Our love for him grows as we understand what he did for us when he poured out his life. We are something like one of the disciples in Durer's famous masterpiece, "Descent from the Cross". The man is shown picking up the crown of thorns which had fallen off Christ's head and pressing his finger on a thorn in an effort to realize what it meant to wear it. Look hard at the cross. Feel what he did for you.

In the book The Fire of your Life, Maggie Ross tells the story of Emma, a survivor of the Holocaust. At 4 p.m. each day she stood outside a church in Manhattan and screamed at Jesus. Finally one day the pastor said to her, "Why don't you go inside and tell him?" She disappeared into the church. After an hour the minister grew worried and decided to look for her. He found Emma, prostrate before the cross, absolutely still. He reached down to touch her shoulder. She looked up with tears in her eyes and said quietly, "After all, he was a Jew, too." For the first time, she identified with Christ.

Feel what he did for you, then hear his words. "If any want to be my followers let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."(Matthew 16:24) Do you see it? Jesus wants us to identify with him. His command is that we live like Christ, even to the point of giving our lives for him. He gave up everything he had to identify with us. Now he wants us to do the same for him.

Our pilgrimage begins at the cross and then moves to the river. In the act of baptism, we identify with Jesus. A few moments ago you saw Sarah placed under the water, symbolizing the way that Jesus was buried after his death on the cross. Then you saw her lifted up out of the water, acting out the wonder of the resurrection of our Lord. Baptism is a way that we use a symbol to identify our lives with Jesus. If we are going to follow him, we follow him in his death and resurrection.

We identify with Christ when we are willing to enter into death with him. This is what we mean by "taking up a cross" and "denying ourselves". When we are willing for our own pride to die so that Christ can control our hearts, then we identify with our Savior. When we allow our own prejudice and hatred to be crucified so that the love of Christ can fill our hearts, then we identify with our Lord. When we bury our own dishonesty so that the truth of Jesus can flow in our lives, then we identify with the one who came to identify with us.

My children taught me an important lesson here. Several years ago, when we lived in South Carolina, I was given tickets to the University of South Carolina - Vanderbilt basketball game. As a Vandy graduate, I am always open to opportunities to see my team. My kids were both in elementary school at the time. They made their preparations for the trip to the game. Both of them dressed in all of the Vanderbilt clothing that I had given them over the years in my effort to brainwash them to like my school. I, however, did not put on any of my school clothing. After all, I was an adult. I knew that we were going to the game in Columbia, SC, not in Nashville. They are not always nice to visitors down there! More importantly, I knew where the tickets came from. A Deacon in my church was a Trustee at South Carolina. These were his tickets. That means we would not be seated way up in the upper deck, hidden away. Instead, we were right down front, sitting near the President of the University. Did I really want to wear my black and gold in that setting? No way.

My daughter, Emily, then struck me with her words. "But Dad, aren't you proud of your school?" I was reluctant to identify myself with my school at what amounted to very little sacrifice. Her words pierced me to also think about my faith. "Are you proud of your Lord?" Do we hesitate to wear the colors of our Christ? Do we fail to identify ourselves with Jesus?

I was convicted. I wore my Vandy clothes and you know what happened? Nobody attacked me, or said bad things to me. In fact, my team won the game, and afterwards I ran into some other folks who were dressed as we were. A senior adult woman in a Vandy shirt even gave me a high-five after the victory. Because I was willing to identify myself I found some community to share with others who also wore the same ID. Is that not what happens in the church?

God has drawn for us a grand diagram of identification. It began in heaven with the Son of God reigning in majesty. Then he "emptied himself" of all riches and came to earth to identify with us. He was washed in the waters of repentance for our sakes. He even descended to the point of dying on a cross for you and me. He meets us in the depths of our sin and then offers to turn the diagram around. He gives us the chance to identify with him. He challenges us to carry a cross - he invites us to gather at the river. What is the result? "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God . . ." (John 1:12) Jesus the "beloved Son of God" now makes it possible for us to be sons and daughters of God. We are welcomed home into the eternal family. That is good news!

Jesus came to identify with you. He did it throughout his ministry from beginning to end. One question remains. Will you identify with him? Are you proud of your Lord?