The Baptism of Jesus
One
The Jordan and Joshua and Moses
The Jordan River was the natural sign marking the end of the Israelites’ journey in the desert. When they crossed the Jordan, they would be in the promised land. Christians, in their turn, have always seen the Jordan River as a symbol of death, and crossing that marker will bring you to the promised land of heaven. But why is it, then, that Moses isn’t allowed to cross the Jordan? Why is leading the people into the promised land Joshua’s prerogative?
If we understand that, it might give us some insight into why, when God came to earth as one of us, He chose to share Joshua’s name.
Two
Moses represents the Law, which doesn’t have the power to get you into Heaven on its own.
Moses was the ultimate lawgiver, the one who delivered the Ten Commandments from God Himself. And yet, even Moses wasn’t able to exhibit perfect obedience to God. At Meribah, he flatly refused to follow God’s directions by striking the rock twice.
Moses never got into the Promised Land. He died on the far side of the Jordan. This is the problem with Moses’ law, with the Ten Commandments, and this is the problem of thinking all I have to do to get into heaven is to be a good person.
Yes, by all means, try to be a good person. But there are two problems with this.
First, Heaven is union with God. To get to heaven we need to be united to God. Jesus is the bridge we cross from man to God, He’s the way to heaven. And even if you could act perfectly, that doesn’t give you the main ingredient – God - and we receive God in Jesus.
Second, no one can do it. No one can live a perfectly good life, no one can earn heaven on their own.
People think they don’t need Jesus, they don’t need a Savior. In other words, they think they can handle themselves, that they can, by living righteously, earn their way into Heaven.
Well, this is exactly what the Jews tried to do with the Law of Moses. And it’s why they rejected the new Yeshua, the new Joshua, trying to bring us into the Promised Land of Heaven.
The law is good but because we’re sinners we can’t keep it. Apart from God’s help, apart from Christ, we can’t make it across the Jordan. We can’t make it to the Promised Land on our own.
Three
Joshua represents confidence in God.
When the Israelites sent in spies to do some reconnaissance, Joshua was one of the only ones who wasn’t intimidated by the size of their enemies. He knew they would be able to get into the Promised Land, not by their own power, but by God’s.
Joshua represents a faith and a hope that isn’t based on our own righteousness but on God’s power to help us overcome what we have to overcome.
Our sins are way too strong for us on our own. We need to learn that. But after we learn it, we need to know that God can overcome our sins and if we ask Him to, and if we trust that He will, it will happen.
Four
The name of Joshua – Jesus
Joseph and Mary were told that their child was to be named “Jesus,” or “Yeshua,” which is the same name as Joshua, from so long ago.
This name means “Savior” and Gabriel clarifies to Joseph that this signifies that Jesus will save the people from their sins. But just as Moses would die before Joshua led the chosen people to conquer their enemies and gain the promised land, so too our trust in our own ability to keep the law, to do what’s right, to follow the commandments on our own, all that has to die before Christ takes us across the Jordan, utterly wipes out our sins, and brings us into the Promised Land as our eternal possession.
So, before you accept your Savior, you need to realize how incapable you are of living rightly, of keeping the law, of just being a decent human being.
Go ahead and try to earn the right to Heaven by being a “good person”. Try to keep the law. Try to treat others as being just as important as yourself, try not to be selfish, try to never retaliate with evil for evil, try to think well of others, do good to others, and speak well of them, try not to gossip, try to never objectify a woman or indulge in resentment towards a man.
Just try it! Try to keep the law. Try to be good. See what happens.
Moses had to die before Joshua brought the people across the Jordan. Your trust in your power to be good, to save yourself, has to die before Jesus can bring you into Heaven.
Five
The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan
Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River because this is where the whole process of Jesus, the new Joshua bringing us to heaven begins.
There is a great exchange that is taking place: Jesus took on our human life when he was conceived in Nazareth and born in Bethlehem. When he came to the Jordan, John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” At His Baptism, Jesus took upon his shoulders all the sins of every human who will ever be. Then he carried those sins to the Cross where he died and rose, destroying the power of sin.
At our Baptism, we take on the life of Jesus. Now we can conquer sin and live as good people because Jesus lives in us. But we can’t fall back on our own limited power, our self-reliance.
We must say, “Dear Jesus, I am lost without you. I can’t do it. I can’t do what I should do. Help me.”
And He will help you. For those who are well do not need a Physician, only the sick do. And Christ has come for those who know they need His help to stop sinning and enter into the peace of God.