The Baptism of Jesus
One
The Baptism of Jesus
All who came to John to be baptized in the Jordan River understood that it signified a confession of guilt, a plea for forgiveness, and a resolution to change one’s life. But then something new happened, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.” Mt 3:13
The real novelty is that He, Jesus, wants to be baptized. And that He blends into the gray mass of sinners waiting on the banks of the Jordan. And we just heard that they were confessing their sins, that Baptism itself was an admittance of sin, an attempt to put off the old, failed life and put on a new one.
Is this something that Jesus could do? John was thrown off by this and he wanted to prevent Him, “Behold, you are the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Why does Jesus come to be baptized?
Two
God wants to save us by a Great Exchange
The early Christians had a way of explaining Christianity in one profound sentence: God became man so man could become god.
The Son of God took on our human nature and was born as a little baby at Christmas so that by sharing in his life, we could become sons and daughters of God. That is the great exchange! And it is continued with the Baptism of Jesus.
Jesus comes to the Jordan River, gets in line with all the other sinners, and is baptized. Why? Because right here at the Jordan River, Jesus stepped into the place of sinners, he loaded the burden of all mankind’s sin and guilt upon his shoulders and bore it down into the depths of the Jordan.
By His Baptism, Jesus takes on our sin and its consequences, death. In our Baptism, we take on His life and we become children of God.
Three
At His Baptism, Jesus takes on our sin and death. At our Baptism, we take on His Life.
According to the Apostle Paul, the believer enters through Baptism into communion with Christ’s death, is buried with Him, and rises with Him. In Romans 6:3-4 Paul says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
At His Baptism, Jesus takes on our sin and death. At our Baptism, we are set free from sin and death and receive His divine life. That is a great exchange!
What are the benefits of Baptism?
By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins. Through Baptism, the Most Holy Trinity, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit begin to dwell in our souls. Because God now lives in our soul and we share in His divine nature we become an entirely new creation. We are now sons and daughters of God who will live and reign with him for ever and ever.
My baptismal day was June 12th. The day I became an adopted son of God and gained heaven. Do you know your baptismal day?
Four
However, even after Baptism we still have a fallen human nature that is inclined to sin. That tendency to sin shows itself in the form of pride, vanity, envy, sloth, anger, greed, gluttony and lust and so on…And if left unchecked this inclination to sin will cause us to turn away from God toward self-destructive tendencies.
So let me give you the infallible means to overcome all your vices and self-destructive tendencies: Daily meditation, a resolution, examination of conscience, and regular confession.
By daily meditation, we read or listen to the Word of God and think about it and our lives. Here we see the things that need to change, this forms our examination of conscience, acknowledging what needs to change. Then we form a simple and concrete resolution to live differently that day. If we combine this with going to Jesus regularly to forgive our sins in the Sacrament of Confession and strengthen us in the Eucharist, we have an infallible means to overcome vice and grow in virtue, happiness and peace.
But no one can make you do this. You must choose.
Five
At the end of the Baptism of Jesus, “a voice from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I delight.’"
God the Father delighted in Jesus. God your Father, also delights in you.
When you were Baptized, the Holy Spirit descended within you, giving you a share in God’s life and you became an adopted daughter or son of God. At your Baptism God the Father proclaimed to, “This is my beloved son (or daughter), with whom I am well pleased.”
That is what God is trying to tell you in your Baptism. You are His child, He loves you not because of what you do or have failed to do, but because of what you are – His son or daughter.
Why do you love your children and think they are amazing? Because they are your children! God loves you for the same reason!
You say, “No, that is not possible. I have so many sins, how could God delight in me?” A good father or mother doesn’t love their child because they are a high-performance kid. They love their child because it’s THEIR CHILD. And that’s why God, your Father, loves you. Just because You’re His kid!
Recognizing that love should take away your anxiety about measuring up. Recognizing that love should make you strong, should make you confident that you belong in the world, and that the universe is better, and that God is pleased because you exist.