"I have called you by name and you are mine"
It's Wednesday, so I'm thinking about why Jesus needs to be baptized
On Wednesdays, I workshop the sermon. Even on weeks I don’t preach, like this one…
Scripture: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
Whenever our lectionary planners have us skip some lines of Scripture, I get curious about what they don’t want us to hear. In this case, though, the missing verses (Luke 3: 18-20) are just a quick tour through what happens to John (imprisonment, eventually death), and I can see why they skipped these verses to keep the narrative about the story of Jesus’ baptism.
Still, I’m going to consider some Scripture from the Old Testament reading this week: Isaiah 43:1b
I have called you by name, and you are mine.
I’m thinking about these prophetic words as I wonder why it is that Jesus needs to be baptized?
If we are baptized into a life with Christ, what is Jesus baptized into?