THEME: “The Baptism of Suffering”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son † and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  Our text for today is the Gospel lesson just read, the Baptism of Our Lord from Mark chapter 2.

In Mark’s Gospel, when the heaven’s open at Jesus’ baptism, the language to describe this picture is almost violent.  The heavens are torn asunder, just as the temple veil at Jesus’ death.  For Mark, this violent image announces that the coming of the Messiah was the ultimate battle between God and Satan.  The struggle for all of humanity begins in earnest at Jesus’ baptism.  The battle is on – for immediately upon His baptism, right after our reading, Jesus is tempted by Satan, who will do anything in his power to defeat the beloved Son.

The world was under the terrible darkness of sin and oppression.  The good creation which God had made was twisted and used for Satan’s evil purposes.  Satan with his wicked deceptions clouded the truth of God the great giver and creator.  Time and time again God had broken through, and shown them His grace and mercy.  To counter the violence sin and Satan unleashed on the earth, God had to act with equal violence.  The waters are split apart at the Red Sea, and at the crossing of the Jordan River.  But those were not enough, they were but pictures of the violence and victory yet to come.  And throughout the Old Testament we can see pictures of God breaking into the world, to bring about His great salvation.

The cry of Isaiah comes to mind:  Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!  (Isaiah 64:1)  In our world today people look everywhere for God.  Whether it is in science, or philosophy, or even in politics, people want to know and see that there is someone out there guiding and leading their lives.  On the one hand, our culture is less religious than it was fifty years ago.  People in America today don’t generally care a whole lot about “institutions” like churches.  But on the other hand, there is a heightened interest in the spiritual, and you can see an increase in the use of the supernatural things like horoscopes, and so forth.

But the cry of Isaiah is more than that.  It’s more than some vague seeking after God or a higher power or whatever.  It is a cry for the hidden God to reveal Himself and show His strength and power to His people in the most unusual places—in suffering and in His violent acts of redemption.  Isaiah’s cry is really a cry for mercy.  And that is our cry today, too.  It is not a cry for power, but a cry for forgiveness.  Show us Yourself, Lord!  Show us your mercy!

It is into this world that God became man.  At our Lord’s baptism we see that God had heard His people’s cry for Him.  The heaven’s split open, and the Father said, You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. (Mk. 1:11)  There was another time when the heaven’s split open.  Thousands of years before, the Lord cleansed the world of its evil through the waters of the great flood.  And those waters were violent, destroying and reshaping the whole world.  And what did Noah send out to see if it was safe to come out?  He sent out a dove.  A dove, the symbol of peace, went out over the waters to find safety. 

There is a parallel between Noah and Jesus.  One Church Father wrote about this parallel: “He [the Father] opened the gates of the heavens and sent down the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, lighting upon the head of Jesus, pointing him out right there as the new Noah, even the maker of Noah, and the good pilot of the nature which is in shipwreck.”[1]  This Jesus, the God of Noah and the Son of Noah, came into the world to redeem the world of the stink and destruction of sin.

Now only the Messiah could restore our sinful nature, and recreate the world as God’s good creation.  But it would not happen easily.  It would be violent - Satan would attack God’s Son - and He would suffer and be killed in the most gruesome manner.  It is very easy for us to come off the beauty and glory of Christmas, and forget that Christ came into the world for one reason, and one reason only: He came to die.

For this battle was not to be fought like we would have it fought.  Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, He was driven into the wilderness to suffer temptation at the hands of Satan for forty days.  Jesus baptism is one of suffering and of death, because in the waters He stands as one of us, and He stands for us.  What we deserved, He received.  To move so quickly from the baptism to temptation gives us no time to sit and bask in the beauty of Jesus’ baptism. This is not a pretty picture from a Sunday School book, but the announcement that the war is on, for you. 

And it is here that we see the  mystery of the Christian faith.  The almighty God sends His Son into the world as a mighty warrior—not to inflict suffering, but to receive it as the Suffering Servant.  Our guilt and sin could not be defeated with show and bravado; No Schwaertzennegar or Jean-Claude could come in and blast his way through Satan’s armies.  No, this battle could only be won with Jesus taking on the sin of the world, with His life, His death, and His glorious resurrection from the dead.

And this is also the mystery of our baptism.  In your baptism you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God, as Paul wrote in Colossians chapter three – hidden in Jesus’ baptism which was one of suffering and of death.  At our baptism we were saved from sin, death, and the power of the devil, as Luther puts it in the Small Catechism.  But at Jesus’ baptism, He was given over to sin, death, and the power of the devil.  Notice too that in Mark’s Gospel it is not Satan who drives Jesus into the wilderness.  It is the Holy Spirit.  You see, suffering for our sake is Trinitarian work—for the Spirit drives Jesus ever toward Jerusalem and the cross at the Father’s command.

And Through our baptism, we participate in this life of Jesus.  His suffering is ours, His death is ours, and His glorious resurrection and life is ours.  When our heavenly Father says to Jesus, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased,” (Mk 1:11) He not only says it to our Savior, He says it to you.  The heavenly Father Himself  pronounces your forgiveness.  When Jesus was baptized, He sanctified and set apart the waters of holy baptism for a special purpose.  For in your baptism, you are connected to Christ, you are bound to Christ in a way which Satan can never conquer.

So what is your response when the struggles of the conscience overwhelm you?  I am baptized into Christ!  What is your response when your sin weighs upon you?  I am baptized into Christ!  What do you say when the troubles and cares of this life press upon you, and you feel that no one cares, no one hears your cry for peace and understanding.  I am baptized into Christ!  And what about your fear of death and the grave, the fear which grips us all?  I am baptized into Christ!  This cry is no pipe dream.  It is no mere wishing or fantasy that would make you run from this harsh world.  No.  Your baptism ties you to Christ in a way which Satan, the world and your own flesh can never touch.

When Christ was baptized in the Jordan river by John so many years ago, He took on your sin, and His life became yours.  He knows your hurts and your struggles.   He is one of us.  He took on our human nature.  He was tempted by the same sins that tempt you every day.  And He overcame those temptations.  And because He overcame them, so have you through your baptism.  You may not know it, but your baptism was the most significant event in your life.  It defines you and makes you a child of God.

Now make no mistake about it.  When you were baptized, you were brought into a war, a cosmic battle between God and Satan.  But don’t be afraid.  The battle is won!  In the next weeks and months in Epiphany, we will see how this battle between God and Satan unfolds.  The battle begins in earnest in Christ’s baptism, just as it has in your life.  This battle is not won easily, but Christ has won that victory for you through His death and resurrection on the cross.

Know this, too.  Our Lord understands how tiring this battle of the Christian life is.  He knows it, and so He gives us His rest, His divine service, if you will, here in Church.  For it is here that you are refreshed in your baptism.  It is here that you receive Christ’s body and blood to strengthen you for the fight.  This heavenly food will give you all the strength you need, for the battle we fight is with Satan, and so it is only Christ who can win the victory.  And He has won the victory, so that we may gather here to celebrate His victory feast, even as the final gasps and struggles of Satan are about us.  You are my Son, you are my daughter, whom I love: with you I am well please.  So the Father says, to you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

And now may the peace of God, which passes all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Todd A. Peperkorn, Pastor

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

The Baptism of Our Lord, Epiphany 1 (Jan. 9, 2000)

Mark 1:4-11

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Last Revised: January 30, 2000