Reflecting Christ

Title:  Reflecting Christ By Pastor Lohn Johnson

Text:  Luke 3:21-22   21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,  22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, In Charleston Heston's autobiography, In the Arena,(4) the actor describes making The Greatest Story Ever Told in November of 1963. Heston appeared as John the Baptist. Director George Stevens had chosen to film the baptism in Glen Canyon, Arizona, on the Colorado River. Heston points out that in November the water temperature was in the forties. It made for some interesting reactions as the hundreds of extras were immersed, one by one, in the cold Colorado. "As they came up, gasping and wild-eyed, the cameras conveyed pure, heartfelt epiphany." It took several days to shoot the scene. Heston remarks that they "baptized" around sixty a day. He suspects the real Baptist did better. So, after several days of standing in cold water dressed in a bearskin, he got to pretend to baptize Jesus. As he was waiting in the water for the shot, he warmed his hands on a cup of coffee with his head down. This might have caused Stevens some concern, for he called out, "How ya doin', Chuck?" Heston says he answered, "I'm okay, George. But I'll tell you this, if the Jordan had been as cold as the Colorado, Christianity never would have gotten off the ground."

I. Fortunately for us it was the Jordan River and Christianity did get off the ground.  And in our text Luke describes that same scene beginning with the words: “when all the people were baptized.”

A. And all these people were really the sick because it’s the sick who seek out a doctor, so it's those who are sick with sin who have come to hear John the Baptist.

1. There were tons of unclean people on the banks of the Jordan that day.

a. And these sinners were sorrowful about their sins.   b. They’re humbly confessing their failures and their sins. Each one is saying in effect, “I do not do what I should do, and I am not who I should be. I need to be forgiven. My sin is killing me, and I need God to take My sin away.”

2. One by one, they’re baptized by John in the river—a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.   One by one, by water and the Word, their sins are washed away.

a.  There's a reason why swimming pools smell so strongly of chlorine--it's to kill all the bacteria and germs that people bring to the pool.   b. The Jordan River is even worse, if you will: Into that water is washed all the sins of all the unclean people who are baptized that day. That's some pretty dirty water.

B. And then there comes Jesus. And He’s everything they’re not.

1. They’re weak—He’s all-powerful. They’re failing—He’s eternal. They’re mortal—He’s not. They’re unrighteous—He’s holy. Their sin is offensive to God—He is God.

a. He’s the ultimate winner, completely unlike all those loser-sinners on the banks of the Jordan River.   b. This is night and day, apples and oranges, AM-FM. One of these is not like the others, and His name is Jesus.

2. But Jesus doesn’t stay away. He walks down among them, brushing shoulders and as He works His way through the jostling crowd. He’s not slumming or on a joyride to show how much better He is.

a. He goes to John and asks to be baptized. John objects. Of course he does. Baptism is for sinners, those grubby losers in need of forgiveness.   b. The Son of God has no need to be baptized—He has no need for repentance or forgiveness because He is without sin.

II. So why is He there? He’s there to be one of them. He’s there to be numbered with them.

A. He’s become flesh—He’s been born of Mary to do this. At the Jordan, Jesus declares to sinners, “You are indeed sinful and you do need forgiveness. You can’t save yourselves. But I can.”

1. And further Jesus is using His two natures, divine and human, to fulfill two roles in service to God and you.

a. On the one hand, the sinless Son of God remains the perfectly sinless High Priest; and perfectly clean and sinless before God, He will be able to offer the Sacrifice for the sins of the people.   b. But He is not just the priest: He is also the Sacrifice. He is the One who will suffer God's wrath for all the sins of the world. He is going to take the place of sinners and suffer hell on that cross.

2. So His baptism had made Him a marked Man.

a. Those waters did not cleanse Him—they marked Him in red.  He now became the target for His Father’s wrath.  Not just a “decoy” to trick His Father into punishing Him instead of us…rather, when Jesus went into the waters, He came out wet with sin—your sin and mine.  He now was officially and legally the only sinner on the face of the whole earth.  For He who never had an evil thought, said a wicked word, or committed a wrong deed is “THE Sinner” in the eyes of His Father.    b. So Here He is saying, “I’m going to haul all that sin to the cross, and I’m going to die for them there. I’m going to take your place and be judged by My Father for your sin. And because I’m going to die your death, you’re going to have My life— My eternal life.”

B. And that is why He gets into the water and gets baptized just like every sinner there.

1. He is identifying completely with sinners there because He's going to be condemned in our place on Calvary. So, picture this if you will: At the Jordan River, all the sins of all those unclean people have been washed into the water before Jesus is baptized. When He is baptized, all of their sins are washed onto Him; it is as if He soaks up that whole mess into Himself so that He can bear that loathsome burden to the cross and destroy its power there.

2. But it’s more, picture a time-defying miracle: At your Baptism, all of your sins are washed off of you; at Jesus' Baptism, those sins are washed onto Him.  As un-chronologically as it may be, your sins were washed off of you and onto Jesus at His Baptism. He has already carried your sins to the cross, and so He pronounces you forgiven. There at your Baptism, the crucified and risen Lord declared, "I was baptized to take your sin upon Me, and I have baptized you to wash your sin away. You are forgiven. You are clean. And you are Mine."

III. So Jesus was baptized, not for Himself, but for you. Because Jesus was baptized for you, your baptism is a baptism into Him. You can say, and should say every day, “I am baptized into Christ!”

A. So also in BAPTISM God CLAIMS US.

1. I've always thought it curious that we call this container with water for Baptism a Baptismal Font.

a. Especially, now, in this high tech world in which we live. Anyone with a computer and word processor knows what fonts are. They are the style of the characters in our word processors. Times New Roman,  Courier, Storybook and the like.    b. Our Baptismal Font really comes from the word fount. Short for fountain. But maybe it’s a happy accident to use the word Font. Baptism is God's watermark in our lives. God’s seal of approval. The font is God's signature. The ink of that signature is the water of our baptism, the water that washes us clean.

2. Yes, Baptism is our entrance into Christ’s family. We become brothers and sisters to Christ and become His heirs through baptism.

a. Do you understand the water of baptism can be a powerful force in our lives? When the water was applied to us in baptism something powerful was taking place. The Spirit was taking up residence in our lives. We became part of God’s kingdom on earth.   b. And we belong to God. Wherever we go, whatever we do, God is there with us. There is no more important statement about our lives than this: We have been baptized.

B. Baptism so changes our identity that it changes how we perceive everything about ourselves.

1. And when we doubt we are reminded to whom we belong… One of my all-time favorite movies is The Lion King. In the circle of life Simba, the lion cub, is destined to become the Lion King. The problem is that he doesn’t believe that. Convinced by his Uncle Scar that he is responsible for his father’s death, Simba wanders through the underworld with wart hog and the rascals. Then one day Rafiki, the priestly monkey, hits Simba over the head with a coconut and says, “Who are you? I know who you are. You are Mufasa’s boy.” Down by the lakeside, peering into his own reflection in the water, Simba hears the voice of his father Mufasa saying, “Simba, remember who you are.” Do you wonder where they got the idea for that particular movie?  Seems very baptism oriented to me.  So we also are called to remember who we are and to whom we belong.

2.  And because we are in Christ’s family, because we know who we are we are safe to continuously stand in our baptisms.

a. There is no place else where it is safe to stand.  If you do not stand with Christ, you are in danger.  If you go through the year 2016 apart from His Word and Sacraments, you are in danger.  God’s Word to you, therefore, is that you are safe with Jesus Christ.  Baptized into Christ, there is no guilt left for you.  Jesus took it all.  He was marked by His Father as the “Guilty One.”  You are safe with Christ.  God is greater than your conscience and He says that you are forgiven. b. You can come out from under your fears—fears of growing old, fears of poor health, fear of death.  You are safe with Christ.  He suffered, for you, the pains and consequences of your sin.  God has no punishment left for you.  Your sicknesses are not a result of His anger.  He only means to draw you closer to Himself through them.  c. Even your death cannot separate Him from you.  Jesus, therefore, has prepared a fresh, new world for you—a life in heaven waiting for you after death.  You are safe with Christ now in this life, and you are safe with Him in death.

CONCLUSION: As you come to God’s altar today, you will walk by the baptismal font.  This is good, for it reminds you why you are able to stand here in the presence of God.  You are baptized.  The same dove who came upon Jesus in the Jordan has come to you in your baptism.  God’s Holy Spirit assures you that it is safe for you to approach God’s altar.  It is safe for you to receive your Lord’s body and blood because He was sacrificed for you.  You can come out of your seat with confidence.  You can eat this holy meal with joy and hope.  Here is Christ for you.  The same Christ who stood in Jordan’s waters…the same Christ who went to the cross to die for you…the same Christ who rose in triumph, is here for you so that you may live your life in Him and with Him; so that you may die in Him; and so that you may live forever with Him.  Amen