1. Baptism, beginning of Jesus’ ministry

After Christmas and the New Year’s Day we now focus on the future through this year. It is the time of departure and we contemplate how and what we should act on. Today’s lecturing portion, the event of Jesus’ baptizement, is a very appropriate passage to the occasion. Though short, the reading part contains many important messages.

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist who had come to Judah Desert to compel the people to repent by giving them baptism in the Jordan River. In that era a Jewish religious group, called Essenes, were also living in the Desert in a monastic way. They spend days praying and fasting. Besides they bathed every day in order to purify their body. However John the Baptist, a prophet upheld by God, taught that bathing with water could not rid humans of sin. So he cried ; - The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."(Luke 3:9)

Because John, like other Jewish people of the time, thought that the end of the world was approaching. After the death of Herod the Great, Israel had been devised in three regions and each one was ruled by one of sons of Herod. However the real ruler was Roman Empire and the region of Judea was practically under administration of Roman governors. Therefore many Jewish men revolted often against Rome. In that menacing environment Israelites were aspiring to arrival of the Savior who must set them free from military domination of Rome by bringing peace on the world. And the activity and appeal of John the Baptist make them believe that he was the very Savior. But John denied their expectancy by answering ,; - “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.(Luke 3:16)

Jesus should hear about rumors about John’s movement and set out from Galilee, his homeland, to attend him in Judea. Thus Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River.

Luke describes the scene ; - When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."Luke3:21-22)

Those words “Heaven was opened” reveals that God intervened. God himself acted for Jesus to be baptized. The expression is reflecting the prayer of Isaiah ; - Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!(Isaiah 64:1)

Isaiah complained that God was remaining in silence, without acting. He required God’s intervention to establish peace on the earth. Luke described feelings of Jesus’ contemporaries by alluding to Isaiah’s longing for the Messiah.

Luke reported also that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at that moment. Ministry of Jesus then actually began. John predicted the event; a more powerful man than he would baptize people with the Holy Spirit and with fire, not with water.

The Gospels tell us that the baptism which we receive with water is merely an opening of the path to the salvation. And its goal must be a baptism with fire, authentic one.

We recognized our sinful existence and repented. So we immersed ourselves down in water. This way we begin a journey , led by faith, in order to be newly born. Our old and sinful entity should be burned through the path. Then we could arrive at the goal, filled with the Holy Sprit. That is the new life.

Luke ends the passage with the verse, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” The voice came from heaven, he wrote. It indicates that Jesus, as the Son of God, received the calling at the very moment. God himself declared then the relationship with Jesus, Father and Son, that of love. Jesus’ way to go was shown then through the baptizement.

2. Irredeemable sin without Jesus

Jesus remained in the Desert after the baptizement as one of John’s disciples. But, due to severe criticism against Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee of the time, John was arrested and imprisoned in the fortress of Machaerus, 14 km east of the Dead Sea. The incident pushed Jesus to begin his own ministry, ; - After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"(Mark 1:14-15)

Jesus’ teaching was reported to John in prison, which was not similar to that of John. John taught the people that the time of the ultimate judgement was approaching and those who won’t repent must be destroyed. John thought that the Messiah was the person who would select the good from the bad who must be condemned and burned with fire. However they said that Jesus was preaching by emphasizing forgiveness rather than condemnation. John hesitated to consider Jesus to be the very Messiah. So he sent his disciples to Jesus to make it clear ; - So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."(Luke 7:22-23)

John was a prophet and his role was to accuse people of sins and to compel them to repent in order that they would live following God’s will. Luke reported John’s instructions ; - “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same”, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” or “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” (see Luke 3:11-14)

But humans’ existence is too sinful to be saved merely through those acts. Our own acts alone cannot make us redeemed as Paul explained ; - As it is written: ” There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one,” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit, ” ” The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness,” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways.” (Romans 3:10-16)

You might think that Paul exaggerated to some extent. But when we contemplate deeply our nature we should recognize that his remark is correct. It is easy to prove it. I can easily hurt your feelings by pointing out one of your failures, for example. In contrast, it should be rather difficult to make you entirely happy with certain words. The fact reveal literally that our throats are open graves, our tongues practice deceit, and our mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

That is the very human nature, sinful existence. So much so we are unable to set us free from yoke of sin by doing efforts in order to follow God’s will. Paul himself desperately confessed ; - or I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.(Romans 7:18-19)

3. Baptism, departure for a new life

Today’s invocation verses are Isaiah 42:1-3 ; - “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

“You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased ”, the voice from heaven at the moment of Jesus’ baptizement, was taken by Jesus as proof for realization of Isaiah’s words. It was indicating Jesus himself. In other words at that very moment Jesus acknowledged that he was the son of God.

A servant must be upheld to tell God’s words, predicted Isaiah. The man pleases God. Because he “will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice”

John the Baptist said that the promised Messiah was the supreme judge who would give verdict of salvation or damnation on each person. However God should intend that the man was softhearted, not harsh nor severe because “He will not break a bruised reed , and he will not snuff out a smoldering wick.”

It means the weak and the injured would never be eliminated on judgement but forgiven and healed.
But how can such a judgement be possible ? Isaiah gave the answer ; - But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.(Isaiah 53:13)

The servant of God bore sins of humans and died for forgiveness to them. His act will save sinners from perdition, without damnation.
And the voice from heaven declared that Jesus was the very servant who must act as the savior. It also meant that Jesus would live to die on the Cross. This way he could be the Son whom God loves, with whom God is well pleased.
And we met that Jesus and were given a new life. So much so we should live now by following in footsteps of Jesus. We will not shout or cry out, or raise our voice in the streets. We will not break a bruised reed, will not snuff out and a smoldering wick. In faithfulness we must make efforts to bring forth justice.
But how can we practice that teaching more exactly ?
Mother Theresa teaches us with one of her quotes ;- “People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway."*

That is the very way of living written in the Gospels. It is true that such a life cannot be very easy, rather hardly challenging. But it should be meaningful so worthy of choice. Paul portrayed such a life ; - All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.(Hebrews 11:13-16)

Baptism opens the pass to God before us and we commence the journey discover heaven.
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*Essenes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes
* Herod the Great http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great
* Herod Antipas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Antipas
* Mather Teresa’s quotes http://www.quotedb.com/authors/mother-teresa
http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/313