John was a man who, immediately after he was born, was proclaimed by his father as “prophet of the Most High,” the one who “will go before the Lord to prepare His ways.”

So, some 30 years later, John was in “all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew and Mark added that John “was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey”…typical wilderness prophet stuff. Matthew and Mark also wrote that “Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” It’s not a stretch to assume that this motley group of people included not only ordinary Jews, but also those who belonged to the Pharisees and Sadducees, even Gentile converts and curious Gentiles—Romans, Greeks, Parthians, etc.—all going to John in the Jordan wilderness and being baptized by him for the forgiveness of sins (or just watching the spectacle, if nothing else).

And, John's baptism indeed worked the forgiveness of sins. Those who came to John and received his preaching confessed their sins and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins in the Jordan river. John was in the wilderness “preaching a baptism of repentance.” Repentance is the acknowledgment of and sorrow for sin, which is worked by God through the preaching of the Law. Those who received John's preaching, by the Law received contrition for their sin and repented of it. It is then that through the preaching of the Gospel that John directed the repentant to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sins; he made it clear that the source of forgiveness was Jesus Christ, as you may recall from his interaction with the priests and Levites that John, the evangelist, records:

Or, as he says in today's Gospel lesson:

John was fulfilling the Word spoken of him at his birth. By preaching a baptism of repentance, John was going “before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.”

As it also happened, on this day during the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, etc., Jesus came to John to be baptized. Matthew pointed out that John tried to prevent Him from being baptized: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:13) You might imagine that John is shocked at this. “I am the sinner, and you are the sinless One,” he could have said, “What need do you have of a baptism for the forgiveness of sins? You are the source of forgiveness.” And, John is right!

But Jesus says, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) Jesus needed John's baptism to fulfill all righteousness. In a sense, Jesus needed John's baptism to be the source of forgiveness…to win forgiveness for sinful man. For it is in being baptized that Jesus unites Himself with sinful man and becomes the sinner for you. I like to tell confirmation students that in being baptized, Jesus became the designated sinner or designated sin-bearer for them. But, there are other words and phrases that are familiar that also get the point across: Substitute, Vicarious Atonement, the Propitiation for Our Sins. In His baptism, Jesus becomes all of these for you, in order to fulfill all righteousness.

Or, you can look at it this way as well. A great multitude came to John to be baptized by him for the forgiveness of sin. He brought them down into the Jordan to wash them, pointing to Christ as the source of the washing. You can look at the Jordan waters as being spiritually filthy waters, then. Then Jesus is baptized in those spiritually filthy waters, an act that shatters the perceptions of holiness and His high priesthood, taking all of that filth upon himself.

It is no accident, then, that the Baptism of Jesus is the beginning of His ministry as Messiah. For the previous 30-or-so years, He learned and worked at the craft of His step-father, making only brief appearances (if you will) as the Son of God (such as at the temple at 12 years old). Now, he breaks away from that life, receives John's baptism, and begins His ministry—He begins His arduous 3-year journey to Jerusalem and the cross—teaching, healing all manners of diseases, casting out demons, raising the dead, forgiving sins, and making enemies who would crucify Him. He begins His way toward the cross by taking into His flesh the sin of the world.

“But, how does He do that for those who were, are, and will be baptized after He was?” you might ask. Because in His baptism, Jesus sanctified the waters of this world for Baptism to work the benefits He promised in His word: “forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and eternal salvation to all who believe this.” For, it is written in Mark 16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,” and in 1 Peter 3, “Baptism now saves you!” It is the same as saying that at the cross, every sin that was committed and that will be committed was nailed with Jesus and there died with Him. It is a “time-defying miracle” as it has countlessly been explained to me. It is futile to attempt any explanation beyond that; you have to take it on faith because the Word of God declares it to be so.

So it is that Jesus came to John to be baptized. This is He of whom John said, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” It is incumbent to recognize the One who joins Himself to you in His baptism also as your Judge. The words John spoke to his hearers are important to hear.

Yes, dear Baptized, you must also hear the Law of God! Or do you not recall that Baptism indicates that the “Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” Your Baptism is not a one-day deal; it's not that you were baptized—no you are baptized!

Even if you were not yet be baptized, the word of God's Law would be for you, too. Contrition and repentance can be worked apart from baptism, especially in those who want to believe! As an example, recall the contrite thief on the cross next to Jesus. Or, perhaps look even to John's hearers in today's Gospel.

So, do not flee from the wrath to come. You will most certainly be faced with bouts of faithlessness. The toils and stresses of life on this earth will be difficult to bear. Stresses with health, relationships, work, finances, etc. can drive one to the point that they doubt God's love, presence, and providence—to the point where they curse God. However, I proclaim to you that these are not signs that God does not care, but that the contrary is true; these are manifestations of God's Fatherly will that you should not rely on yourself, but on Him—that you do not claim grace or favor because of who you are or where you come from or from whom you are descended, but that you look to God for grace and favor through His Son—that you confess your sins for what they are, in contrition and repentance, bearing that fruit in keeping with repentance, and receive the forgiveness His Son won for you on the cross, where He died with all of those sins washed upon Him when He was baptized.

“Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” Coming up out of the water, Jesus prayed. As He prayed, heaven opened. What a miracle! Heaven didn't open for anyone else baptized that day, or any day before, or any day since. The Spirit hasn't descended upon anyone since in bodily form like a dove when they were baptized. No voice came from heaven for anyone else proclaiming them God's beloved Son in whom He is pleased.

On the contrary, sin keeps heaven shut to everyone else. And so, in order to fulfill all righteousness, Jesus was baptized. In His baptism, Jesus opens heaven for you, for He bears the keys to heaven itself, as He proclaimed to John, the evangelist: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

Dear friends in Christ, that is why Jesus went to John to be baptized, to fulfill all righteousness. He was washed in order that heaven would be opened to you, so that your sins would be washed onto Him, and you in turn receive His righteousness and be received through Him in the presence of His Father in Heaven. For,

What a Blessed Exchange! And so it is, because of that exchange, that in your Baptism you do receive the Holy Spirit, not in the form of a dove, but as your Comforter. Because of that most Blessed Exchange, in your Baptism, God in Christ claims you as His son in whom He is well pleased.

Yes, dear hearers, what a Blessed Exchange! Because of that exchange, it is my joy and privilege to proclaim to you who receive this Word of God that you are forgiven for all of your sins!