Baptism Sunday // Matthew 3:13-15
Matthew 3:13-15 (NIV) | Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
Today is known as Baptism of the Lord Sunday in the life of the church. This is when we commemorate Jesus’ own Baptism by John the Baptist, celebrate the Baptisms of those seeking Jesus, and provide an opportunity for those to remember their commitment if baptized previously. I want us to think real quickly about the account from Matthew 3 when Jesus came to be baptized. John the Baptist saw Jesus coming and commented about how Christ should baptize him. Jesus’ response, though, is what established Baptism as one of the two sacraments* we observe in our Wesleyan movement: “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Righteousness is basically defined as living in an upright manner, but I think it takes on a deeper meaning when we consider it from the point of view of the Jesus follower. Righteousness means you seek to be more like Jesus and commit to live accordingly; therefore, we need to take seriously these calls to do what Jesus said for that very reason.
Romans 6:3-5 helps us understand the purpose of Christian baptism, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” (NIV). The idea conveyed by the Apostle Paul is when we submit to Baptism, we are symbolically dying to our old way of living — this is what it means when we go under the water, regardless if the mode of Baptism is sprinkling, pouring, or immersing. Then, when we come out of the water, we are raised to new life in Jesus. It is essentially us seeking a resurrection to live a new life in Christ thanks to us dying to our old life.
So, think about your life on this Baptism Sunday. Do you need to die to your old way of living? Come to the water. Do you need to be resurrected into a life with, and for, Jesus? Come to the water. Did you go to the water at some point, but returned to your old way of living and need to get back on righteousness road? Come to the water. Even if your faith feels a little dry right now and you need something to freshen up, come to the water. Jesus said this is what’s necessary for us to become more like Him. And, in our Christian tradition, we see He was the first one who declared, “Come on in, the water’s great!” So, come to the water, my friends…come.
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*A Sacrament is defined as an outward symbol that points to an inner change that comes to us by the loving grace of God. We identify two sacraments in our Wesleyan tradition: baptism, which symbolically starts our Jesus journey, and Holy Communion which fuels us along the way.
