Sunday, January 12, 2025

Sermon -- 1st Sunday after Epiphany (January 12, 2025)

LUKE 3:15-17,21-22

THE TRIUNE GOD POURS OUT HIS GRACE IN BAPTISM.

In the name + of Jesus.

     St. Luke’s record of Jesus’ baptism is the shortest in the Gospel, except for John who does not record it at all.  Even though St. Luke is brief, what he records is amazing.  Luke records three things that happened at Jesus’ baptism.  It happened, first, that “heaven was opened” (Luke 3:21); second, that “the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove” (Luke 3:22); and third, that “a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love.  I am well pleased with you’” (Luke 3:22).  Each event teaches us a lot about Jesus, and they give us great comfort in regard to our own baptisms.

     First, we hear that heaven was opened.  What this actually looked like I don’t know.  No Gospel writer gives any details about it.  Maybe it just meant that there was a break in the clouds.  But maybe it should be understood metaphorically.  The Son of God had left the glories of heaven to live in our world.  The first thirty years of his life were unspectacular.  Jesus grew up in Nazareth and lived obediently under his parents’ watch.  Presumably, he worked as a carpenter’s apprentice under his earthly father, Joseph.  He did not do any miracles or preach in the synagogues. 

     Jesus left the glories of heaven, but he was not banished from it.  When he was baptized, the heavens opened up.  That brought about the sending of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father.  The Triune God was made evident as each person of the Trinity was distinctly seen and heard on that day.  The Triune God poured out his grace at this baptism.

     St. Luke noted, “The Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove” (Luke 3:22).  This is where Jesus was revealed as the Lord’s anointed.  Anointing usually signaled the authority and the gifts granted to those who served God’s people—whether it was the high priest, like Aaron, the king, like David, or a prophet, like Elisha.  Those men were anointed with oil and were recognized as God’s appointed men with the authority for their particular office.  Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit to fulfill all three offices.  As prophet, he proclaimed the good news of salvation.  As king, he went out to fight for us the battle against sin, death, and the devil and to conquer our foes for us.  As high priest, he was to make the sacrifice which reconciles us to God the Father.  And, in fact, he IS the sacrifice which reconciles us to God the Father.  At his baptism, Jesus was publicly revealed as the Christ and was set apart to do the work as our Savior.

     If there were any doubt about who Jesus is, God the Father made it abundantly clear when “a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love.  I am well pleased with you’” (Luke 3:22).  Jesus is God the Son.  This relationship has existed between the Father and the Son from eternity.  Normally, the relationship between a father and a son has a start date.  I did not become a father until the birth of my first child.  The birthday for each of my children is on our calendar, and we celebrate it every year.  Every year, we mark how many years we have enjoyed these children. 

     The relationship between me and my children is 30 years or less.  But not so with God the Father and God the Son.  That relationship goes back to eternity where there is neither a clock nor a calendar.  Time does not exist in eternity.  We don’t ask about a when for that relationship, but a what.  God the Father and God the Son are eternally Father and Son—as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end.  At Jesus’ baptism, the Father revealed who Jesus of Nazareth is.  This one,” he declares, “This one is my beloved Son.”  Jesus is God the Son in the flesh.  The Father is well pleased with him because he has come to do the Father’s will, which is to save sinners. 

     Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins, so Jesus did not need it for his sake.  He did it for yours.  Jesus was baptized in order to unite himself to you.  The three things that happened at Jesus’ baptism happened to you in yours.  The Triune God pours out his grace in baptism.

     When you were baptized, heaven was opened to you.  The one thing that keeps people out of the kingdom of heaven is sin.  Nothing sinful can stand in the presence of a holy and pure God.  Therefore, Jesus came to take away all your sin and guilt.  That happened about 2,000 years ago on a hill just outside Jerusalem.  There, Jesus suffered to pay for all sins and died bearing the curse deserved by all sinners.  So, how does that payment for sin get applied to you now?  Through your baptism!  Baptism washes away all your sin and purifies you from all unrighteousness.  And since sin no longer clings to you, heaven is open to you.  The Triune God pours out his grace in baptism.

     Secondly, when you were baptized, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Now the Holy Spirit dwells in you.  He has created faith in you which receives the benefits of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.  He has convinced you that God’s word is true and good and right.  Therefore, he also works in you to live and think according to God’s word.  He puts your faith into action.

     However, you and I never stop being sinners.  We struggle with it day after day.  It is not because we are ignorant, as if we don’t know what is good and God-pleasing.  God has told us what pleases him.  Faith concurs with it and delights in God’s commands.  But the sinful nature in us does not.  So, we continue to sin.  You are probably guilty of breaking Poe’s Law.  Poe’s Law is that you interpret someone’s joke in an email or a text as if they were serious.  Imagine a boss who responds to a petty, office squabble by writing, “Maybe I need to fire the whole team.”  An ironic comment which was supposed to defuse a spat blows up into anger, back-biting, fighting, accusations, and so on.  You sin against the boss and others because you would rather assume the worst than seek clarification.

     Or, what if someone sins against you?  You know what Jesus says to do.  Turn the other cheek.  Have mercy.  Forgive freely from the heart.  And the Holy Spirit in you would have you agree.  But the sinful nature in you wants revenge.  You want to lash back and make him feel more pain than he inflicted.  So, which will it be?  We all struggle with our sinfulness in countless ways.  Sometimes we fight off the sinful inclinations.  Sometimes we give into them.  If we ever get to the point where we stop the fight and just let sin have its way with us, the Holy Spirit may depart from us because we have made it clear that we prefer sin to righteousness. 

    This is an on-going work of the Holy Spirit in you, and you need to continue in God’s word and to feast in the sacrament so that faith will continue to be fed, grow, and increase your good works.  John the Baptist told us what Jesus gives us in our baptism.  He said, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16).  The fire is not God’s damning judgment.  Rather, it is God refining you to strengthen your faith and to purify your heart and mind.  When gold is purified, it is put through intense heat.  It is turned to liquid so that impurities float to the top.  Then they are skimmed off, because no one wants flawed gold.  Likewise, the Lord is not content to have us live with our flaws.  He puts us through trials.  We would call it suffering and pain but it is discipline.  God works through that to rid us of things we don’t need and should not have.  While trials by fire are not fun, they are good for us.  And they prove that all we truly need in this life is Jesus Christ and his gracious promises. 

     The Triune God pours out his grace in baptism.  And that brings us to the third thing God does in your baptism.  You did not hear the voice of the Father audibly speaking from heaven, “You are my (child), whom I love. I am well pleased with you” (Luke 3:22), but it is recorded in the Bible for you.  In your baptism, God adopted you into his family.  He put the family name upon you: Christian.  If you are in God’s family, then you receive all the benefits of the kingdom.  Your sins are pardoned.  The grave has been robbed of its power.  You have been delivered from the devil and all his accusations.  The Father is pleased with you because you have been clothed in Jesus’ innocence.  And if you are a child of God, then you are also an heir of his heavenly kingdom. 

     The Triune God pours out his grace in baptism.  And what a comfort it is that you have been baptized!  You have the promises of God sealed upon you.  It is more than hearing God’s word and taking it to heart.  That is good, too, but the devil is quick to divert our attention away from God’s promises and turn the focus to ourselves.  How many Christians live in terror because they fear that they do not have a strong enough faith?  That happens especially when you are confronted by death.  You know you can’t escape it.  But then your fear takes over.  You assess your life and your faith and you wonder if you are really good enough.  If you focus on yourself, you will throw everything into doubt and confusion. 

     But the Triune God has poured out his grace upon you in your baptism.  He has done all the work.  Jesus has taken up your sins, so they do not condemn you.  Jesus has overcome the grave, so it has to give you back.  Jesus has opened up heaven to you and sent his Holy Spirit upon you.  The Father has marked you as his own dear child.  All of this is yours not because you have believed strongly enough.  It is yours because God has put it upon you in your baptism.

     Think of it this way.  Why are you a member of your family?  Is it because you loved your parents enough?  Is it because you have contributed to the family estate?  No, it is because you were born into it.  You have your family’s name upon you because you were born into it.  You benefit from your parents providing and protecting because you are their child.  You did nothing to earn this special place.  It is the same in God’s family.  God has brought you into his family in your baptism.  This is the grace he has poured out upon you.

     Jesus Christ was baptized to unite himself to you, and you were united to Jesus in your baptism.  The Father is pleased with you.  The Spirit dwells in you.  Heaven is opened to you.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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