More Epiphanies

The season of Epiphany stretches, officially, from January 6 to February 7 this year. It celebrates the "appearing" or "presentation" of Jesus to the public in different ways in his early life. One is at the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2), another to the Gentile wise men, or Magi (Matthew 2), still another at his baptism (covered in all four gospels in different ways) and the
wedding at Cana where he does his first miracle (John 2). Today we're going to look at Jesus' baptism, as described in John's gospel, chapter 1. Today we sometimes use the word "epiphany" to describe a sudden flash of understanding for a complex idea. What bright ideas or revelations might come to us from looking at this?

First, Jesus didn't 'need' baptism. John had been telling the others who came to him that they needed baptism with water (more clearly in Matthew 3:6, "when they confessed their sins, he baptized them"). Jesus didn't have any sins, didn't need to confess, and didn't have any need for a 'fresh start' or any of the reasons people give for baptism. So his baptism wasn't about sin.

Second, he came to John -- John didn't have to seek him out. Sometimes pastors need to remind people of the need for baptism but Jesus didn't need reminding. He knew what it was for.

Third, his baptism was a public declaration of something new. For these other believers, their baptism was a public declaration of their sins. For Jesus, baptism was a public show that he was bringing together in himself multiple pictures from the history of his people. And as he came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit came visibly on him in the shape of a dove, and he received approval from the Father in the words “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy” (Matthew 3:16-17).  And since he was joining us in our human flesh, Jesus' baptism, like his death and resurrection, was a baptism for you, not just for himself.

So for us, what does baptism mean?  Our baptism says, first, that we want to symbolically bury the old person, since we go under the water. Second, it says we are agreeing with Jesus that he joined us in human life and lived a perfect life for us, so that we are joining him, to be "in him" and let him live that new life in us, symbolized when we come back up out of the water. We need to think deeply about the fact that this new life is not something we are told to "go do" on our own, but it is a life we are only able to live because Jesus himself lives in us. It's not really our life at all, but his: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

There's one more point: Jesus was approved by the Father (see above). You may never have heard words like that from your human father, and believe me, I understand that wound. But because you are "in Christ" you are already receiving that approval, without any prior conditions, from your Father in heaven. And that's an epiphany worth celebrating!