The Baptism of our Lord

Matthew 3:13-17

We Lutherans talk about Baptism a lot, don’t we?

But over the years, how we talk about baptism has influenced our view of this sacrament and blessed gift. 

Simply saying “I was baptized” shifts our perspective on baptism. While there is a specific moment—a date—when you were baptized, if you only see “I was baptized” as just a historical event, it can lead you to view baptism as a human act. This perspective makes baptism seem more like a family tradition rather than a sacred rite and sacrament of the Church. In turn, this affects how families and the Church see Confirmation and its link to baptism.

Because if baptism is just a family event, a civic duty, or a way to get grandma and grandpa off your back, then what happens to Confirmation?

It also becomes a family event, a civic duty, a coming-of-age, or, worse, a graduation where the individual is led to believe they’ve achieved something and no longer need to return to the font of Christ where His Word and forgiveness is present for them.

But if you examine the rite of Confirmation, it reflects maturity in the Christian’s faith, an acknowledgment of the ongoing gifts God grants in Holy Baptism and continues to give today.

So, in a way, confirmation is a time for the Christian, often the younger ones, to learn how to confess and clearly express the gift and faith received in Holy Baptism. 

And for this reason, we rightly say with Martin Luther, “I am baptized,” because the baptismal life of the Christian is an ongoing reality that extends beyond any single day, leading the Christian to continually confess their sin, drown the Old Adam, receive Christ’s forgiveness, and walk in holiness, guiding them toward eternal life. 

However, the often-overlooked importance of Baptism can be best emphasized by these words of encouragement from Luther, as he wrote, 

In all Christian earnestness, I would ask all those who administer Baptism, who hold the children, or witness it, to take this wonderful work to heart in all its seriousness. For here, in the words of these prayers, you hear how meekly and earnestly the Christian Church concerns itself about the little child and how it confesses before God in plain undoubting words that he is possessed by the devil and is a child of sin and wrath, and prays very diligently for aid and grace through Baptism that he may become a child of God. Remember, then, that it is no joke to take sides against the devil and not only to drive him away from the little child, but to burden the child with such a mighty and lifelong enemy.

What a burden, indeed. For the baptized child of God to face such a mighty and lifelong enemy as Satan. This is why Luther continued,

Remember too that it is very necessary to aid the poor child with all your heart and strong faith, earnestly to intercede for him or her that God, in accordance with this prayer, would not only free him from the power of the devil, but also strengthen him, so that he may nobly resist the devil in life and death.

Luther concludes by saying,

And I suspect that people turn out so badly after Baptism because our concern for them has been cold and careless; we, at their Baptism, interceded for them without zeal.

Here you can see how Luther encourages Christians to view Baptism as more than just a sentimental moment or the latest reason to gather friends and family.

Because those who are baptized are now united with Christ Jesus, they also become enemies of the devil. Therefore, Luther encourages Christians to pray for the poor child with all their heart. 

I wonder how often parents, grandparents, godparents, sponsors, congregations, or even pastors sit down and pray for the faith of the children baptized in the name of Jesus.

What follows the Gospel reading this morning—the Baptism of Jesus—is the temptation of Jesus. It’s the time when Jesus is led into the wilderness for forty days and nights to be tempted by the devil.

What happens to Jesus after being baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist is exactly what happens to every child of God who becomes a son or daughter of the heavenly Father.

A life of temptation from the Evil One himself, as he seeks to lead you to hunger and thirst for things that are not given to you in this life, or to tempt God’s care for you as he invites you to test your heavenly Father or lead you away from His Church, or to seek false power and glory in this life that have not been granted to you.  

However, while man often depends on their own weak powers to resist the temptations faced throughout this life’s wildernesses, Jesus depends on the Words of His heavenly Father. 

And in a way, it points us back to His baptism, where His Father spoke over Him,

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Father is pleased because His Son is obedient and fulfills His will to redeem Israel. Jesus’ submitting to be baptized by John in the Jordan River identifies Himself with all sinners, including you.  

It’s there in the Jordan River—the Father’s voice, His Word, is joined to the water. From this moment on, the water joined by His name becomes a great treasure for the Christian. 

What a marvelous gift this is!

You see, Jesus had no need for repentance or forgiveness, but He received this baptism from John to reveal who He is, to take upon Himself the sinful condition of man, and to take His place, your place, under the wrath of His Father for the sin of the world.

In this way, Jesus’ baptism points you to His cross, where, through His death, He redeems God’s children. 

Yet, as you walk from the font to eternal life, you journey through many wildernesses and times of temptation. The devil is your enemy and also the enemy of every baptized child of God. As the Large Catechism recalls,

[The Devil] tries every trick and does not stop until he finally wears [you] out, so that [you] either renounce [your] faith or throw up [your] hands and put up [your feet], becoming indifferent or impatient.[1]

One of the main dangers to the Christian faith is that you, the baptized, become indifferent or impatient with God. You grow impatient because God’s will is not always your will, and your indifference shows through your lack of prayers and the exercise of your faith. 

Remember, St. Peter said, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“Be sober-minded; be watchful.”

Keeping watch for the Christian is often associated with the baptismal life of prayer. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, Jesus tells His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane,

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)

Prayer is how Christians stay watchful and ready to enter eternal life with their Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Prayer is not only the voice of faith but also the exercise of one’s faith and the baptismal life. When you stop praying, you neglect to exercise your faith, and your faith grows cold, indifference to Christ grows, and sadly, your baptism becomes just a moment in time.

In these instances, the devil succeeds in his goal of leading God’s children away from Him. 

But see today how your life is called to follow the pattern of Jesus, how after receiving the gift of Baptism, you will, like Him, enter the wildernesses of this life.

But also remember how Jesus exercises faith and clings to His Father’s Word in every confrontation with the devil.

This is an image of the baptized life; therefore, parents, grandparents, godparents, sponsors, congregations, and even pastors must not only sit down and pray for the faith of the children baptized in the name of Jesus but also teach them how to pray.

Because no one’s baptism is meant to be just a moment in time, but rather the ongoing gift and exercise of faith that delivers your heavenly Father’s forgiveness, peace, and eternal life.

So go ahead, pray and tell the devil and this world, “I am baptized.” +INJ+

Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Tomah, WI

[1] Paul Timothy McCain, ed., Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005), 433–434.