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Mark 1:4-11 Do you ever wonder why Jesus was baptized? I mean, so much of what we believe about baptism is about forgiveness of sin, a washing away of all the stuff that makes us dirty before God and cleansing us so we can have a fresh start. This was especially true of the baptisms that John the Baptist was doing, which were purely baptisms of repentance. This means that when people went to see John out in the wilderness to get baptized, it was a lot like what we think of Catholic confessionals. They would confess all their sins to John and then he would dunk them in the river and tell them to, “Go, sin no more.” If you think about baptism like this, why would Jesus decide to do this? If we believe that Jesus never sinned, why would he need to undergo this baptism? Why was Jesus baptized? Well, after asking myself this question all week, and reading a bunch of books by people a lot smarter than me, I found 4 reasons to answer that question. And each of these reasons why Jesus was baptized can be very helpful for us as we struggle and muddle through life, trying to do the best we can to live in response to our own baptisms. Hopefully the 4 answers to this question will come to you today as Good News. Why was Jesus baptized? The first answer to this question is perhaps best illustrated by something that I grew up with and my guess is that many of you did to. Do you remember those “choose your own adventure” books from when you were a kid? I’m not sure if they’re still around or not, but they start off with a story and most of them are written from 1st person, so you are the one the story is about. And when a major decision comes up in the story, they will say something like, “To stay and fight the battle, turn to page 87. To run and flee and find a safe hiding place, turn to page 25.” And then depending upon which adventure you choose, the story continued. And every couple of pages you got to make another decision and see where your decisions led. I guess modern day video games are a lot like this for kids nowadays. I always liked the “choose your own adventure” books because they were a lot like life. Each one of us gets to makes decisions that will change the course of our own story, and every now and then we are faced with a decision that, depending on which adventure we choose, we know that there is no going back, and the ramifications will affect us forever. In powerful ways, at some point in our life, we will all face a moment of decision, a place where we must choose our own adventure. Jesus faced such a time when he went out into the wilderness to be baptized. For Jesus it was a moment of decision and he probably knew that his life would never be the same. While we’re not sure what it was in Jesus’ life that made him decide that day to go get baptized, one of the reasons he was baptized was because it was a moment where he got to choose his own adventure. As Christians, and as Lutherans, we believe that our baptisms are also a moment of decision, but it’s not necessarily our decision. In Christian baptism, as opposed to what John was doing, we believe that it is God’s decision. God is the one who decides to change our life forever when we are baptized. At the moment that the water touches our skin, when the Word of God comes to us, we begin to go down a path toward heaven. No matter what pages we turn, or what life-changing decisions we decide to make, in baptism, God makes sure that all our adventures ultimately lead to our heavenly home with Jesus. The second answer to why Jesus was baptized was that it became for him a moment of identification. That voice from heaven came down, named him and claimed him. He was named as the Son of God and that has been his name ever since. This week, we had a baby born into our congregation. Katie and Adam Kilker knew that they were going to have a baby boy…yet it wasn’t until he was born that they revealed to the world the name that they had selected for him. The day he was born the email was sent out: Katie and Adam had a healthy baby boy named Ethan David. For the rest of his life, he will be known as Ethan, son of Katie and Adam, brother of Brady, and grandson of Dave and Jill Steep. No one will ever be able to take that away from Ethan, just as no one was ever able to take Jesus’ name as Son of God away from him. Jesus received his identity the day he was baptized, and likewise, when you were baptized, you were named and claimed. You have received that same title from God: child of God. No matter what happens, no matter where you go, what you do, no one can ever take away that identity from you. You are a child of God and that means you matter to God. The third reason why Jesus was baptized is closely related to this identity issue. For Jesus, his baptism became a moment of approval and assurance. According to Mark as he tells this story, Jesus has done absolutely nothing yet. He’s done nothing to warrant a voice from God saying, “With you I am well pleased,” yet the heavens are ripped open and the voice comes to him. For the rest of his life, Jesus could fall back on that. God, his father was pleased with him, no matter what. It had absolutely nothing to do with what he did, simply who he was. This voice at his baptism gave him the positive assurances that he would need during his temptation and time of ministry, his suffering and his death. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom would bundle me up to walk to school. She’d help me put on my coat, gloves, scarf and hat. Then she’d always give me a hug, a kiss, and tell me, “Remember I love you.” Whatever happened that day at school, whatever good or bad things that happened, whatever kids made fun or me or trouble I caused, I could always fall back on that word from my mom. She loved me for me, not for anything I did or would do. It was a great reassurance. And for us, baptism is the same way. Every time you dip your fingers in that water, you can be reminded that you were baptized, that before you ever did anything significant in life, God told you, “I love you.” Every time you make the sign of the cross, it’s like God putting your coat, hat, and gloves on and saying, “No matter what happens today, I love you.” For Jesus, his baptism was a moment of approval that provided assurance to him the rest of his life. Through your baptism, God puts a claim on you as well. You are baptized. God loves you for you – no matter what. And that leads us to the final answer to that question, “Why was Jesus baptized?” For Jesus, his baptism became a moment of equipping. He knew his adventure, his ministry, was probably going to be tough, and that he couldn’t do it on his own. So in his baptism, God sends down everything he could possibly need to face the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. God sends him the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that moved over the waters of chaos and brought creation into being. The same Holy Spirit that parted the waters of the Red Sea and led the Israelites to the Promised Land. The same Holy Spirit that spoke through the prophets and caused them to do miracles and speak powerful words of truth. The same Holy Spirit that bursts forth like lightning, shakes the earth like thunder, yet is as gentle as mother with her newborn child. That same Holy Spirit is given to Jesus. At his baptism he received the wisdom, strength, power, comfort, and assurance that he would need for the rest of his life. And it is that same Holy Spirit that descends upon you at your baptism. When you are baptized you are equipped with wisdom, strength, power, comfort, and assurance. When you are baptized, you are equipped with the full arsenal of God to do ministry in the world. God has gifted each person in this room with the power and abilities to good deeds and make a difference in the world. When Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized by John, a new kind of baptism was ushered into the world. It is so much more than just a baptism for the forgiveness of sins. While that remains an important part, baptism for Jesus and for each of us becomes a moment that changes everything. It is a moment of decision that has lasting impact. It is a moment when God names you as his precious child. It is a moment when God says, “I love you. With you I am well pleased.” And you can always come back to that, no matter what happens in life. It is a moment when God gives you the Holy Spirit, equipping you for every good work. Your life will undoubtedly still encounter choices, adventures, times when life is good, and times when life is incredibly hard. But through baptism, God makes sure that all our adventures lead to the same place – eternity with our Lord Jesus. Amen.
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