Sermon manuscript:
Tonight we are considering the question: What is baptism? Let’s
begin with the word itself. Baptism is not an English word, but a Greek word.
It comes from the Greek word Baptizdo, which means “to wash.” So to baptize
something means to wash it. Normally when we are washing something we use
water, and so it is also with Christian baptism, but, as our catechism puts it,
it is “not just plain water.” Something has been added to it.
What has been added to it is God’s command and God’s word.
Baptism was not something that was invented by the apostles. As we heard in our
second reading from the end of Matthew’s Gospel, after Jesus rose from the dead
but before he ascended into heaven he told his disciples to baptize in the Name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. These disciples were
commanded by their Master what they were supposed to do. They were also told
how to do it. While applying water they were to do this in the Name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
So now we know what baptism is. It is the application of
water while the words are said, “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” This is very simple. It takes less than a
minute. So long as it is performed according to how Jesus instituted it, so
long as the water and the words are used, it is a valid and effective baptism.
We know what baptism is. What does it mean? Our two readings
tonight from Matthew’s Gospel are helpful for answering this question. The
first reading was from chapter three. This was before Jesus began to publicly
preach, teach, perform miracles, and so on. It was before Jesus himself was
baptized in the Jordan river—as we heard about in our reading. In this
prehistory of Jesus’s work, the forerunner to Jesus is described—a man named
John. He eventually became known as John the Baptizer, or, John the Baptist.
You can probably guess how he got that name. He preached,
and then those who were sorry for their sins, he baptized. So we can see that
Christian baptism did not come out of nowhere. There was a precedent that had
already been set with John, who was before Jesus, or possibly others, although
the Bible doesn’t tell us anything about that. The meaning of baptism is
already indicated in John’s baptism.
We heard about the preaching that accompanied his baptism.
He said, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near!” This means
that God, with his kingship, is coming. God, as king, will apply his judgments.
How will you fare in that judgment?
John says, “Already the ax is ready to strike the root of
the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire.” Some of you may face this judgment from God in a
very short time. It might be a year or two from now. Indeed, for any of us—no
matter how old we might be, it could be this very night. For we know neither
the day nor the hour. And what should happen when you are weighed in the
balance?
This is the kinds of things that John preached. But it is
not really just John’s preaching, but the whole Bible’s preaching. John sounds
very much like the Old Testament prophets who spoke about the coming of the
great and terrible Day of the Lord. When God comes, when the king comes, there
will be judgment.
Many at the time of John the Baptist rejected this
preaching. They thought that John was too worked up over nothing. So it was at
the time of Noah. So it was at the time of Sodom. So it is also today. Most
people never think of the idea of it at all, for years and years on end—even
when they think about dying. And if it is brought to their attention they
quickly dismiss it.
Those who were baptized by John, however, did not dismiss
this truth. When they considered the thought of being judged by God they were
terrified of his justice and punishment. When they thought about the life that
they had lived, they knew that they had committed many and grievous sins. They
literally asked John what they should do. John told them to repent and be
baptized. He also, and most importantly, pointed them to Jesus, whose sandal
strap John felt he was unworthy to untie. He said, “Look, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world!”
And, indeed, with Jesus, this is the very thing that we see.
In a sense the great and terrible Day of the Lord happened that one Friday, in
the spring time, so many years ago. The great and terrible Day of the Lord came
with clouds and think darkness. Bodies were raised from the dead, rocks were
split, and the curtain in the temple was torn in two. The Lamb, God’s own Son,
was sacrificed. That is to say that he was judged with all the sins of the
world laid upon him. He was pronounced guilty and punished with the full weight
of the wrath of God.
In him, and in him alone, can sinners find consolation when
they are worried about being judged by God, for it is only in him, the God-man,
Jesus Christ, that there is redemption for sin. There is no other sacrifice
that will cut it. There is no other way to make it up or cover over our sins.
If you climbed every mountain, went to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, or
cured COVID, cancer, and the common cold all at the same time—none of this can
wash away the stains of sin on your soul. None of these things can make
something that is evil into something that is good. Even all the good intentions
in the world, all the turning over of new leafs, will not cut it. All that
stuff is but cosmetic. Our problem goes far deeper. And it is only addressed by
this one man, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary.
And this takes us to our second reading, the last chapter of
Matthew. The redemption that Jesus has worked by his sacrificial death is
distributed through the risen and ascended Lord Jesus. When Jesus tells his
disciples to go and make disciples by baptizing them, he is telling them how he
will rule in his kingdom, and that is through the preaching of the Gospel. The
Christian baptism in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit is the way that Jesus’s completed work of redemption is applied to
sinners so that they may hold to it by faith. By this baptism we are forgiven
of all our sins, rescued from death and the devil, and given eternal salvation
as the words and promises of God declare.
So we, as Jesus’s disciples, are to continue to do what
Jesus has given us to do. We are to preach like John the Baptist. The kingdom
of heaven draws near. God comes to judge the earth. How will you escape from
the wrath about to be revealed? How can you stand up under his judgment? And
the answer is that we are baptized into Christ. By baptism we are released from
our slavery to the devil and become children of God with all things in common
together with Christ.
There is no higher or better thing that we Christians have
to offer to the world than to distribute baptism. Like the ark saved Noah and
his family, so baptism saves us. This does not mean that it is recognized as
great or powerful or salvific. No, it is despised as worthless, not only by
unbelievers (which you would expect), but even by Christians as we will learn
more about in the weeks ahead.
But let us not be moved away from the simple logic of
baptism. Have you sinned? Are you dirty? Do you want to be washed and made
clean? Baptism will do that for those who are not yet baptized. Baptism has
done that and continues to do its saving work if you have been baptized. These
are not my thoughts or words, but Jesus’s. For he himself says, “Whoever
believes and is baptized shall be saved, whoever does not believe will be
condemned.”
In this way, be prepared for the great and terrible Day of
the Lord by believing in the gift of forgiveness and salvation that God has
given to you when he baptized you. Then that great and terrible day will prove
to be for you the best day that you have ever lived.
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