The Baptism of Jesus
January11, 2026. Matthew 3:13-17. Richard Senum
In Isaiah v. 5 we read;
“God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out.
He created the earth and everything in it.”
Have you ever wondered – like I have – how big is the universe? Can it be measured? Well modern science has done just that.
For example: How much matter fills the earth and how much fills the universe?
The earth has 1027 grams of matter and the universe has 1056 grams of matter.
You might be thinking that there isn’t that much of a difference between the two but 1056 is significantly greater that 1027.
Each power number is ten times greater than the one before. Therefore, the amount of matter in the earth is 1 followed by 27 zeros and the amount of matter in the universe is 1 followed by 56 zeros – a very – very large number.
Another example: The radius of our sun is 432,287 miles. Remember that radius is half the diameter of a circle. The largest star – that scientists have discouvered in our Milky Way galaxy has a radius of 928 million miles.
And the distance from one side of the Milky Way to the other is 2000 light years. For those of you who were here on Christmas day I said that light travels at the speed of 186,202 miles per second. So in a single year light travels a very long way. (31,536,000 x 186,202 =)
Within the Milky Way galaxy God placed a special planet whose position in its solar system is so finely tuned that can support life. It has life that God created and saw that it was good. Of course - the planet is our home – the earth. And in it God created humans like you and me – and he breathed life into our ancestors - Adam and Eve. That is the life that came from Jesus as John says at the beginning of his gospel; “In him was life…”
Outside the earth and our nearest planets and the sun – I can’t imagine the immensity of the universe or even the Milky Way galaxy – my finite human brain can’t do it. Even though my imaginations is stretched to breaking – my wonder and awe of creation is firmly grounded. Its beauty and attractiveness is a pleasure to our eye and soul.
Isaiah says that God, the LORD created every thing. And in John’s gospel we read 1: 1-3;
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
Jesus as God - created everything – seen and unseen. The universe and all that is in it was created through him and for him. In Colossians Paul says 1: 15-16:
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.”
Jesus Christ – our Immanuel.
Now think of the vastness and complexity of all of God’s creation of the universe – and then think of the power and mightiness of Jesus over all of it.
Our Jesus – who controls the entire universe – choose to come to live among us as a humble human being – to feel and experience what we feel and experience every day of our lives. He came to serve and to save us. And that is love and mercy and grace bestowed on us by the loving creator of all things – seen and unseen.
How can we comprehend the vastness of the love of Jesus for us when we have trouble comprehending the vastness of the universe – such love and mercy and grace seems beyond our ability to truly understand it. Seems?
But – for the gift of the Holy Spirit with in us. It is he who encourages and helps us to understand. And he keeps the spark of our imagination to know more about Jesus and more about the universe God created for him – well - and us.
Now – a good leader is someone who will lead by example. They are able and willing to do what they tell their subordinates to do. They understand the needs of those who follow them. And they can inspire and motivate their followers with words and by example.
Isn’t that Jesus! He is our perfect leader. In fact, I believe we would all agree that he is the greatest - perfect leader.
Jesus led by example. At a basic level common to all of us - he obeyed his parents. Luke tells us that after they found him in the Temple with the religious leaders he went home to Nazareth and was obedient to them. This we read in Luke 2:51; “Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.”
In the beginning of our gospel reading this morning we read in v 13; “Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.” The significant words are; “…to be baptized by John.”
Why John? Did he know that John was his cousin and thought it would be nice if he was baptized by his cousin. I don’t think so. There is something else.
At some point Jesus knew that he had a special Father – Son relationship with God the Father. The story of Jesus when he was twelve - in the Temple with the religious teachers of the Law suggests that at that age - he had some awareness of that relationship. Because he says to Mary and Joseph - that he was in “…his Father’s house.” Then at the end of that story Luke says; “Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.” Luke seems to be telling us that Jesus had an increasing awareness of his relationship with God. And at some point - during those growing years, he must have become aware that he was the Messiah – the Christ.
As a Jewish boy – Jesus would be well aware of all the of the Old Testament (that is, the Torah) prophesies concerning the Messiah. And as such he would know that he had to fulfill all those Old Testament prophesies.
John is that – voice of one calling in the wilderness. John would be the herald – the announcer that the Messiah is coming. This is what we read in Isaiah 40: 3;
“A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
It had to be John who would baptize Jesus. John was the herald – the announce of the coming Messiah.
It all has to do with Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament prophesies.
There is another reason Jesus had to be baptized.
He had to destroy death and bring life back to humanity.
Adam and Eve brought death and sin into the world by their one act of disobedience. Jesus came to undo what they had done. He had to willingly obey his Father to take the sin of you and me away by suffering death on the cross. A death that we deserve.
Paul reminds of the relationship between Jesus and Adam in Romans 5: 12- 19;
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
Jesus willingly undid the guilt and shame of the sin that has infected humanity since the time of Adam and Eve. He had to shed his blood for us so that we might be forgiven. There was no other way.
Think of it – the one who has control over the entire universe – willingly obeyed God the Father – to be tortured and to suffer the humiliation of death on a cross – to save sinners like us.
Like the old sacrificial system where an innocent unblemished animal was killed and its shed blood was intended to atone for – that is - to cover over a persons sins.
In Leviticus 1: 2-5 God tells Moses to say to the people;
“‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.
3 “‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. 4 You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. 5 You are to slaughter the young bull before the Lord,…”
God also says in Leviticus 17: 11;
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”
And Paul in Hebrews 9: 11 make the relationship between blood and forgiveness very clear - he says;
“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
And what about us? In Romans 6: 3-4 Paul says;
“Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”
Symbolically – in baptism our sinful bodies hung on the cross with Jesus to suffer the death we deserve for our sinfulness. We died and were buried along with Christ Jesus so that our sins were buried with our dead bodies.
In a divine mystical way, we were “…joined with Christ in baptism,…” And Jesus had to be baptized so that we could be baptized into him.
But then the gift of eternal life. Because of God’s immeasurable love for us – our old sin filled – corruptible bodies and raised and replaced with new incorruptible bodies. And then we can live in the glorious light of God our Father.
Such thoughts of such joy are almost beyond our understanding.
As we look at Jesus on the cross – by faith in what he has done and by faith in who he is – we are saved.
Amen Come LORD Jesus
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