"What's He Doing Down There?" based on Mark 1:4-11
The Baptism of Our Lord -
Pastor Troy Slater - Our
"John appeared, baptizing in the
wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins. And all the country of
People whom I imagine were not a
whole lot different than any of us. I
mean no doubt there were fathers, mothers, grandparents, some single folks,
some widowed, some young, some old. People not much different than us. People who came with all
their successes and all their failures.
People who came with their hopes for the future - dreams for their
children and for their nation. People who came with their baggage of the past - the broken
relationships and broken dreams. Some who had been abused, some who had done the abusing. People who had been hurt and those who had done
the hurting. There were the lonely, the
afflicted, the addicted and yes, the dying. … Yes there must have been a great crowd
of sinners down in that
"In those days Jesus came from
I mean isn't this the same Jesus whom
the angel told Joseph "was conceived
by the Holy Spirit"? .. Isn't this the same
Jesus whom just a couple of weeks ago we heard was born in a
Well you know what? … I think we know. I think we know what Jesus was doing down
there in that river with that crowd of sinners.
As those about whom our heavenly Father's Word has echoed down from
heaven and been spoken at the baptismal font, I think we know. As sinners whom the Son of the Father has
washed with His very own blood through those waters of Holy Baptism; as those
whom the Holy Spirit has granted that gift of faith, I think we know what Jesus
was doing down there in that crowd of sinners. …
For, "when He came up out of the water," our reading tells us,
"immediately He saw the heavens
being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.'" The
Father was well-pleased with His only-begotten Son. Why was He well-pleased? Well He was well pleased because Jesus was
doing the Father's will, wasn't He? And
what was that Father's will? Well again,
what was it that the angel told Joseph prior to Jesus' birth? What did the angel tell Joseph was to be Jesus'
purpose - His whole reason for coming? … He told him that "you will name Him Jesus because He will save His people from
their sins." "He will save His people from their
sins." That was His Father's
will - that was His Father's mission - that's what Jesus was sent to do. And as long as Jesus was about that mission -
that mission of saving sinners - the Father would be well-pleased with
Jesus. And apparently He was. Even as Jesus stood there, down in that
After all, if Jesus was going to save
His people from their sins, He must identify with those very sinners. If Jesus was going to pay the price, take
their punishment upon Himself, He must stand in their
place - He must stand amongst us as one of us.
And so He did. He came to
identify with us. It's not that Jesus
had any sin of His own to confess or to repent of. After all, He was the holy, innocent,
only-begotten Son of the Father. He had
no need of forgiveness. But Jesus wasn't
there, down in that river for Himself, He was there for that crowd of sinners,
He was there for you and for me, identifying with us, standing for us.
Here at the start of His public
ministry - at His baptism - Jesus showed that He had indeed come to be the Savior
for all people. He had come to be the "sin-bearer"
for all people. Standing in our place -
identifying Himself with a fallen human race, Jesus was there for us. In fact Jesus thereby showed that He was set
on going to the cross. After all, what would Jesus be doing at that
cross? Well He would be bearing all of
your sin and mine and the punishment for it all. In
Of course that's the fundamental
truth of our faith, isn't it? Jesus came
down and became one of us - identifying Himself as one
of us - that He might give His life for you and for me - for the forgiveness of
our sins. But you know, that can be easy
to forget, can't it be? That Jesus died for us can be easy to forget
amidst the struggles and the pain - amidst the life, and the death, down here.
And so that's why it's important to
remember not only Jesus baptism and the cross that He embraced there at His
baptism - not that we ever go past that or forget that - but we must also
remember our baptisms. We also remember
our baptisms. … Tomorrow afternoon we'll have a funeral service here for a departed
sister in the faith. And that service
will begin with a reminder of our baptisms.
"Know that all of us who were
baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. … And if we have been united with Him in His
death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection." No matter what life throws at us, we have
been baptized into Christ's death and resurrection. No matter what, because of what Jesus has
done for you, God your Father has spoken to you from heaven, "You are my
beloved child, with you I am well pleased." No matter what, because of Jesus and your
baptism into Jesus and His death and His resurrection, heaven is your eternal
home. …
Martin Luther used to say that
whenever he began to doubt his salvation, whenever Satan began to tempt him
into thinking there is no way God could possibly love him, he would remember
his baptism and say in the face of all doubts and of Satan, "Away from me,
for I am baptized." "I am
baptized." You are baptized. Never forget that. For in your baptism, God your heavenly Father
has declared you to be His beloved child.
Jesus has come down, accomplished His Father's will, standing in your
place, taking your sin, even going to the cross for
you. That's what your baptism declares.
That's what Jesus was doing down there in that river - securing the forgiveness
of sin, life and salvation for you. Yes
that's what Jesus was doing down there. Amen.