“Well Pleased”
Isaiah 42:1-9
Matthew 3: 13-17
The first four verses of our Old Testament Lesson this morning are quoted word for word in Matthew 12:18-21. Matthew quoted the Old Testament often because he wanted to prove to his Jewish audience that Jesus was the Messiah. The Jews held the Old Testament Scriptures as their highest authority.
The chosen servant of Isaiah reveals a character of gentleness, encouragement, justice, and truth. Part of Christ’s mission on earth was to demonstrate God’s righteousness and to be a light to all nations. Through Christ, all people have the opportunity to share in His mission. God calls us to be servants of His Son and bringing His light into our world. When John the Baptizer’s disciples came to Jesus to ask if He was the Messiah, Jesus quoted from Isaiah as part of His answer to them [Matthew 11:4-6]. “To open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness” [verse 7]
Not much is written about the childhood of Jesus. St. Luke writes about Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord as was the custom in Israel: “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of doves or two young pigeons” [Luke 2:22-24]. And then later, at the age of 12, Jesus goes with Joseph and Mary to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Feast. Other than that, nothing is recorded about the boyhood life of Jesus.
Evidently, all this time Jesus had been living in His hometown of Nazareth. Like other little boys He probably attended school and it is assumed that he worked with Joseph learning the trade of carpentry. But today He comes to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
We’re not sure where this encounter with John takes place; it is generally thought to have been on the east bank of the Jordan River. But whether it was in the south near Jericho or farther north cannot be determined. If you go to Israel today it depends on the tour company you go with as to where Jesus went in the water.
Put yourself in John’s shoes. Your work is going well, people are taking notice, everything is growing. But you know that the purpose of your work is to prepare the people for Jesus; and then, one day out of the blue, Jesus shows up and tests your integrity. John says in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.” Can we, like John, put our egos and profitable work aside in order to point others to Jesus? Are we willing to lose some of our status so that everyone will benefit.
According to Matthew, John wasn’t so sure that he should be baptizing Jesus, in fact he almost protested against it; that maybe it should be the other way around, that Jesus should be baptizing him; which we can understand. Imagine for a moment that you are in John’s place, minus the camel hair and leather belt. Wouldn’t you feel a little unworthy of baptizing Jesus? I know I would. But Matthew writes that John consented.
Many people have always been puzzled as to why Jesus was baptized in the first place. After all, they argue, He was without sin. Why did He need to participate in a ritual that focused on repentance if he was sinless? The answer to this question is this: Jesus chose to be baptized so he could become one of us.
– In Baptism the servant Christ, the One that Isaiah wrote about, comes into our life by humbling Himself to be baptized.
What does our Baptism mean for us?
– Baptism is the assurance that God is with us.
– Baptism means that we experience the loving presence of God.
– Baptism is the assurance that we are welcomed into God’s family long before we even asked to be invited. It is the door to the family of God, the very reason why some denominations place the baptismal fount at the entrance of the sanctuary.
Circumcision was the entrance to the family for the Jews; Baptism has taken its place for Christians.
– Baptism is our gift of dying to the old and being resurrected to the new so that each and every one of us can feel and experience the flowing love of God.
– Through Baptism, a Christian first and finally learns who he or she is, it’s the rite of our identity; we have been taken by God—we are the chosen.
“O God Where Art Thou” movie
Delmar getting baptized at the public church meeting
“I’ve been warshed of my sins!” [Even the Piggly Wiggly]
There is a beautiful story about an African American woman named Fayette. Fayette struggled with mental illness and lupus. She lived on the streets of a large city. One day she came and sat on the steps of a church. She refused to come in. She just listened from outside. It was hot and the door was open. She heard singing coming from inside.
She kept coming to those church steps…arriving late, and leaving early, and for weeks never coming in the door. Eventually, she did come in, and she sat at the table in a Sunday School class and eventually even joined a new members’ class.
In this class, the pastor talked about baptism and what it meant to be named by God. He told them that it was a holy moment, a moment when you could hear God saying, “You are a beloved and precious child of God, and beautiful to behold.
Fayette heard this and said, “Oh Yes,” and from that day forward would bring it up again and again. She was eventually baptized and when she came up out of the water, she drew in a new breath, looked around and said, “And now I am…” and everyone joined in, “You are a beloved and precious child of God and beautiful to behold.”
Two months later, Fayette was beaten and taken to the hospital. When the pastor arrived, he could hardly recognize her because her face was so badly bruised. But when he got to the door, she looked up and declared, “I am a beloved and precious child of God…” She hesitated as she looked in the mirror, and then she said, “And God is still working on me. If you come back tomorrow, I’ll be so beautiful it will take your breath away.”
Fayette’s bruises may have been many, but she knew who she was. She was a child of the King. She was beautiful in God’s eyes.
According to Matthew, as Jesus came up from the water that day a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Remember, from the time that He was twelve and when He shows up at the river we know very little about His life. We know that His ministry hasn’t even gotten off the ground yet. But before He does anything, God is pleased with Him. That’s the good news for you today. God is pleased with you! You are a son—you are a daughter—and with you God is well pleased.
Eastman First Methodist Church 