Jesus is on your team - Matthew 3:13-17
Yesterday we went to the Abide devotional conference at Faith Lutheran. Last week, when I reminded vicar to sign up for the conference he got a panicked look on his face. He said, “wait that is this Saturday!” I said, “yes, is that a problem?” He said, “no, yes, no, well maybe.” I said, “vicar what is it.” He said, “it’s nothing, it’s nothing, well maybe it’s something.” Then his eyes started to well up with tears, and his lip started to quiver. Being the kind and compassionate Bishop that I am I asked, “Vicar, what is it!” Obviously beside himself he asked, “When does the conference start?” “9 am”, I answered. “how long will it last?”, he asked. “it ends at 3pm”, I answered. Immediately a sense of relief washed over his face and as he dried his eyes he told me, “the Packers are playing the Bears that Saturday, and I was afraid I was going to miss it.”
O.k. maybe there weren’t tears in his eyes, but vicar was genuinely concerned about missing the game. Why, because he is a full-blown cheese head, that’s why. He doesn’t wear his cheese head or other Packer paraphernalia to church because I won’t let him, but I imagine last night he was dressed head to toe in green and gold. And I’m rather certain Vicar wasn’t the only one. There are other cheese heads in this congregation. How do I know? Well, they don’t exactly hide it. For goodness’ sake Paul drives a green and gold truck with a Packer logo on the rear fender.
I used to think there was no more obnoxious fan than a packer fan, but then I met Andy and Melissa Brown. Andy & Melissa prefer to be described as “spirited & enthusiastic” fans, but whatever adjective you use it is clear who Andy and Melisssa are cheering for. Everyone here knows Andy and Melissa Brown are Georgia fans. How do we know? Well almost every Sunday they show up to church wearing a Georgia Bulldogs something. On the Sundays they aren’t visibly wearing a Georgia Bulldog something I assume Andy is wearing Georgia Bulldog socks BVDs or maybe a tiny Georgia Bulldog ring on his pinky toe and I have always just assumed Melissa an UGA tattoo somewhere on her body. The Browns like people to know who they are cheering for so that none will ever be confused. Can anyone here imagine the Browns showing up to church dressed head to toe in Florida blue, or Tennessee Orange, or Alabama crimson? No! it would never happen. If it did happen, we would all just assume they lost a bet or their minds. The Browns would never do that; no die-hard fan would do that. If you are a Georgia Bulldog fan you don’t wear Gator blue, Volunteer Orange, or Big Al Crimson. You just don’t do it. You wouldn’t want anyone to get the idea that you were a fan, that you were a supporter, that you were cheering for a rival team to win. Can I get a “roll Tide?!?”
Today in our gospel lesson from Matthew 3:13-17 we have the account of Jesus’ baptism. There we read, “13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.” Matthew tells us Jesus’ baptism occurs “then”. But when is “then”? “Then” is something like 28 years after the events of last Sunday. Last Sunday baby Jesus was being visited by a group of Magi. Shortly after that visit Joseph whisks the baby Jesus off to Egypt for a few months to hide from Herod who has ordered the death of Bethlehem’s babies. After Herod dies, scripture tells us Jospeh brings the baby Jesus or perhaps I should say the toddler Jesus back to Nazareth. Then in the gospel of Luke we are told about a time when 12-year-old Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. But other than that, we are told… nothing! I can’t help but wish there was something, maybe a description of what it was like to raise the sinless Son of God, or some idea of what it was like to grow up with the perfect sibling. Did His perfection make Him good at sports, was He a straight A student, As a carpenter did He have to measure twice or was He able to measure once cut once? I can’t help but wish there was more before Matthew’s “then”, but then I remember what John wrote at the end of his gospel “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”[1] As much as I would like to know more details about what happened before Matthew’s “then” it is what happens after the “then” that is essential to our salvation.
John the Baptist is at the peak of his popularity. From the banks of the Jordan river John cries out, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near!” Hundreds if not thousands of people flocked to John. They came with heavy hearts and burdened consciences. Matthew tells us they came, “confessing their sins”. You can imagine the sorts of sins that were confessed. The people who gathered along the banks of the Jordan river were just like the people who have gathered in this church. They were selfish and dishonest and greedy. They lusted and hated and envied. They gossiped and mocked and ridiculed. They thought, they said, and they did all the sinful things that you and I think, say, and do.
Every single person who came to the Jordan river had come to confess how they had fallen short of the glory of God and had with their thoughts words and actions sinned. Every single person… except one person. As Jesus made His way to the banks of the Jordan river it is unlikely that anyone would have even noticed Him. The prophet Isaiah reminds us Jesus “had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.”[2] As far as the people around Him were concerned Jesus was just another guy who had come to the Jordan river to confess His sins to the Baptizer. But as Jesus stepped forward to be baptized by John, as so many before Him had done, a discussion, dare I say, a disagreement broke out between the John and Jesus. Matthew tells us, “14 John tried to deter him (Jesus), saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” John’s attempts to “deter” Jesus were more respectful in nature than say Peter’s “rebuking” of Jesus that occurred a few years later. However, John strongly believes this is not how things are supposed to go. Again, because of the lack of information that occurred before Matthew’s “then” we don’t know how well John and Jesus knew each other. We know they were cousins. I think it is safe to assume that John’s parents mentioned to him that his cousin Jesus was miraculously conceived in the womb of his aunt Mary and was in fact the promised Messiah. We don’t know how much John knew but John knew after him would “come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.”[3] Now that that one had come and was standing before him, John could not think of a reason why Jesus should be baptized “for the forgiveness of sins”. John knew, unlike all the others who had come to the banks of the Jordan, Jesus didn’t have any sins to be forgiven. Jesus had not thought, said, or done anything that needed to be washed away; Jesus did not need to be baptized by John which is why John tried to “deter” Jesus.
I imagine John’s deterring went on for a while but John’s deterring ended abruptly when “15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now” “Let it be so now” is a polite way to say it but with these words Jesus made it very clear to John that He was not asking, He was instructing John to Baptize Him. Jesus told John, “it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Notice Jesus doesn’t disagree with John. Jesus doesn’t have one or two secret sins that He needs cleansed before He can begin His work of cleansing the rest of us. Jesus simply told John this is “proper”; this is part of the plan, this is the way the Sinless Son of God wants to proclaim Himself to be the sinner’s Savior. Jesus came to the banks of the Jordan river surrounded by men and women whose hearts were heavy, and consciences were burdened. Jesus waded out into the waters of the Jordan river to receive a baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus literally stood in the place where the sinners had stood, where all sinners stand and declared Himself to be on our team.
To say there was a rivalry between our team and Jesus is a bit of an understatement. We did more than steal His mascot, send out some offensive tweets, or plant a flag in His endzone. And it’s not like our team was so good that Jesus should want to join us. Let’s face it, spiritually speaking we are a bunch of losers. Though they have been summarized into a list of 10 dos and do nots, we don’t follow the rules of the game, even though we know we are only hurting ourselves and our teammates, we have an embarrassing number of personal fouls and penalties, and even though the goal is simply to be holy as the Lord God is holy, not a single one of us has ever scored a single point. Individually and collectively, we are the worst team in the league. Truth be told if we had a choice to be traded to another team we would take it, but no team would take us. We are that bad. Which is what makes it so remarkable that Jesus should do what He did.
When Jesus stood in the Jordan river to be baptized by John, He was publicly proclaiming Himself to be on our team. He was letting everyone know that He would do whatever needed to be done to support us, encourage us, and cheer for us. Jesus wanted everyone to know that even though we were a bunch of losers, He wanted nothing more than for us to win the game. But Jesus knew that it was not enough for Him to cheer for us from the stands or even coach us from the sidelines. Jesus knew He would have to step onto the field. Jesus knew about the righteous requirements of the law and that He would have to perfectly fulfill every one of them. He knew about the trials and temptations He would face and that He must resist them all. He knew that He would be betrayed by His own teammates and that He would have to suffer and die for them. Jesus knew what He would have to do so that a bunch of losers like you and me could win the game and Jesus, simply because He loves us, stood in the waters of the Jordan river and publicly declared Himself part of our team.
And when God the Father saw His sinless Son standing there in the Jordan river wearing our team jersey, the Father said, “17… This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” The Father saw His Son wearing our team jersey and instead of rejecting Him claimed Him, instead of hating Him loved Him, instead of being disappointed with Him was pleased with Him. The Father knew that His Son was willing and able to do what needed to be done so that His team would win the game. And three years later, on a Friday afternoon, that is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus led His team to victory. Because of the victory Jesus won for His team the Father now looks at His Son’s teammates; He looks at you and He looks at me and He doesn’t see a bunch of losers on the worst team in the league. He looks at you and He looks at me and He says these are my sons these are my daughters, I love them all, with them I am well pleased.
Over the years I have met some obnoxious or “spirited & enthusiastic” sports fans, but no one is a bigger fan of their team than Jesus. No one is a bigger fan of you than Jesus. Today we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus; the day when He publicly declared Himself to be on your team. Amen.
[1] John 20:31
[2] Isaiah 53:2
[3] Matthew 3:11