The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
In the Epistle lesson I read: “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death.” Perhaps nobody has illustrated this truth more than Luther — especially in the hymn that we’re about to consider, “To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord.” It’s an interesting hymn. It’s not written in the same kind of way or methodology as most hymns. Luther uses a different approach. First, this hymn is a catechetical hymn. It’s a hymn that’s designed to teach us doctrine, and at the same time comfort us with the Gospel of Jesus Christ contained in, with, and under the water of Holy Baptism. In Luther’s hymn, he doesn’t do what most authors do. He doesn’t zero in on one particular Bible passage and then base the hymn on that theme primarily. For example, he doesn’t base it on 1 Peter 3:21, “Baptism now saves you” — which is part of our baptismal liturgy — or Titus 3:5, which we all learned in the Small Catechism, “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” He doesn’t even really base it on Romans 6:1–11, the principal text in the Epistles proclaiming the benefits of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” Instead of basing the hymn on a singular doctrinal passage, Luther bases his hymn on the Gospel lesson today, but then reaches out, as if to take in his arms the whole body of baptismal verses throughout both the Old and the New Testament, and then folds them into this hymn — so that not only is he proclaiming Christ’s Baptism, he also then begins to show you, to intertwine, the themes of what Christ’s Baptism means and has done for you.
Now, with that in mind, let’s go ahead and do the first stanza. Stanza one: “To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord, to do His Father’s pleasure; baptized by John, the Father’s Word was given us for treasure.” The title of the hymn, “To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord,” tells us that it is fundamentally a hymn about Jesus’ Baptism. It was the Father’s will, you see, that the sinless Son of God be baptized into an atoning sacrifice. So the Son, knowing fully well what the Baptism would bring about, goes willingly forth — as He prayed later in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not My will, but Thine, be done.” “Baptized by John, the Father’s Word” — when we hear that word “Word,” especially in these kinds of contexts, we automatically tend to think about the written Word, the Bible, or the spoken Word in preaching and teaching and reading out loud the written Word. But “baptized by John, the Father’s Word” is the Word made flesh. Here, the Word that God has joined to the waters of Holy Baptism — that is the treasure that is given to us. The person, the work, the life, the death, the resurrection, and yes, the doctrines, the teachings of Jesus Christ — all of which bring about that heavenly washing and cleansing. Toward the end of His earthly ministry, when Jesus was confronted by the elders about the authority that He seemed to have, or claimed to have, concerning His preaching and teaching and miracle healings, Jesus asked them a question in return: “The baptism of John, where did it come from? Did it come from heaven or from man?” You see, if it’s from heaven — and it was, as Jesus taught — then it does heavenly things. It’s sad that so many people who once were baptized, who were given the heavenly treasure, Jesus Christ Himself, have long forsaken or forgotten their Baptism and their own baptismal vows, that they would remain faithful in the church unto death. Too many are now concerned about earthly things to think about heavenly things like their eternal destination. But the Scripture teaches: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” By the way, that’s Colossians 3. The first ten verses or so of the Epistle to the Colossians is a baptism text. It talks about the new nature, about dying in Christ, being raised with Christ — it’s all about Baptism. “And by His blood and agony released from death’s oppression, a new life now awaits us.” Why? “For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” That’s the Epistle reading. It’s Jesus’ Baptism, see. It’s His blood, it’s His agony, it’s His death, it’s His resurrection that He’s baptized into — and then folds our Baptism into His very own. He calls His whole work, as a matter of fact — especially the bad part, the suffering, death, crucifixion — His “baptism.” He asked the disciples, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they replied, “We are able.” And He replied, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.” Thus His Baptism is your Baptism, and your Baptism became His Baptism.
Stanza two: “O hear and mark the message well, for God Himself has spoken. Let faith, not doubt, among us dwell, and so receive this token.” True Christian faith both is created by and receives Baptism. It’s a kind of chicken-and-the-egg question, without the chicken-and-the-egg answer — that is, they happen at one and the same time; they’re together. Likewise, God the Father and God the Son created and received saints and sinners who are reconciled unto Himself. Thus in verse two, Baptism is called a “token.” And here the word “token” is not to be understood as a mere symbol or sign, something that has no power of itself but only points to something else. Here the word “token” is defined as something that signifies or evidences or proves authority, validity, and identity. Thus the Ethiopian eunuch, when visited by Philip, said to Philip, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And the eunuch answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. “O hear and mark the message well” — with water pure, freely flowing. We all learned in the Small Catechism that Baptism is not mere water, but it’s water used according to Christ’s command and connected with God’s Word. Water is just ordinary water — that’s what’s in the baptismal font this morning, ordinary water — until the Word is put with it, and then it becomes a life-giving water. It becomes a means, or a way, of grace, where Christ’s Baptism — His whole person and His whole work — is embodied in the water and imparted to create true Christian faith in the heart and mind of, yes, even a newborn baby. It becomes life-giving water, and it’s a water that wells up unto everlasting life. Thus Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” Now He said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive — that is, in the waters of Holy Baptism. “God’s Holy Spirit here avows our kinship while bestowing the baptism of His blessing.” Peter’s first sermon, the first sermon of the New Testament Church: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” That’s the baptism of blessing: forgiveness of sins, life, and the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ Baptism becomes your Baptism, and your Baptism becomes Jesus’ Baptism, because God Himself has spoken. God Himself speaks, and God Himself acts. He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies you and the whole Christian Church in the words of Holy Baptism combined with water. You know, we can always cheat on the water — we don’t need to know how much we need to apply; as long as there’s water there and the Word, the Word does it all. But we can never cheat on the Word. We can’t change the language of the Word: Father, Son, Holy Spirit — that is the baptismal formula, the words that we are given to say. Not “Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier,” or some other corruption. It is the Word, the name of God Himself. Jesus’ Baptism and your Baptism came about because God Himself called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified you. He gives you the gift of faith. Romans 10:14–17: “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?… So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” “God’s Holy Spirit here avows our kinship while bestowing the baptism of His blessing.” In the water and the Word, we were made brothers and sisters to Jesus Christ and one another, sons and daughters of the heavenly Father, and temples of the Holy Spirit — which is what Christ was and became in the waters of His holy Baptism: the chosen Son, the one who was to come into the world to give His life to save it. “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” — Galatians 3:26–27. Hear that: you are baptized into Christ. It was done unto you. You didn’t have a part in it. God brought you — maybe brought you through your parents, or maybe brought you to faith and to the point later in life where you came to be baptized — but it’s God who did the work. He did it to you. He put the new nature in you. Isaiah 61:10: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” He does it; you receive it. And Peter preached in that first sermon: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.” Those who received his word were baptized.
Stanza three: “Then in these days came Jesus Christ from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when He came up out of the water, 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.'” Jesus comes to be baptized by John — the sinless one, to be baptized by the baptizer, who himself is a sinner — and to be baptized into you, into your life and your death and your sin. It’s a wonderful humiliation. The perfect one, the Creator of all, yields to His Father’s will, and He becomes sin — the one who knew no sin. He doesn’t permit Himself to be proclaimed or praised before the great multitude at His Baptism. He does not glorify Himself until well after God has glorified Him. He waited for the voice of heaven, “This is My beloved Son,” and then He immediately goes out into the wilderness to be tempted and to suffer. And on the Mount of Transfiguration, just about a week ahead of His crucifixion, Jesus is about to end His earthly ministry and goes up to the mount, and God says of Him again, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” Jesus came into the world to fill our baptisms with holiness and righteousness and innocence, and most of all His atoning sacrifice. In Luke 12:50, He summarizes His perfect life and His atoning death as a baptism: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is My distress until it is accomplished.” Thus God says: Him you must hear, and Him alone. It all comes back to the Word. It all comes back to listening, to knowing, to hearing the Word of God, and to responding and knowing the Good Shepherd’s voice: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
Stanza four: “The Triune God assuring us with promises compelling that in our Baptism He will thus among us find a dwelling, to comfort and sustain us.” There in the midst of First Corinthians, where Paul addressed a great many grievous sins of the congregation, he wrote this in 6:11: “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” There, addressing about as sinful a congregation as you’ll find anywhere, he tells them that they’ve been made holy — sanctified. They’ve been made washed clean. They’ve been justified — that is, they’ve been absolved from their sins, made right with God and reconciled to Him by Him through Christ Jesus and their Baptism. Baptism is a declaration of what God has done in Christ and has applied to each and every one of you in the means of grace: the Gospel, Holy Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and Holy Absolution. For if we confess our sins, here’s the promise: He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. Confessing our sin and receiving Absolution is the essence of our Baptism. It is what Baptism is and does. And to confess sins and receive Holy Absolution is a daily use of your Holy Baptism. So the Small Catechism: What does Baptism with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
Stanza five: “To His disciples spoke the Lord, ‘Go out to every nation, and bring to them the living Word, and this My invitation.'” As Jesus was about to ascend to the right hand of the Father in heaven, He said to His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In Mark 16, Jesus said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” “Let everyone abandon sin and come in true contrition to be baptized, and thereby win full pardon and remission and heavenly bliss inherit.” “Repent and be baptized” — it is the primitive, that is the oldest, proclamation of the New Testament Christian Church. It’s how sermons began in the book of Acts: “Repent and be baptized.” Believe in Jesus Christ, confess your sins, and receive salvation. Thus the Epistles are filled with baptismal references and the call to repent and to live as Christ has called. “In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead” — and remember our reading: “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Dead to sin — consider yourself dead to sin. Does that mean stop sinning? Well, it means give it a good try. But when you stop and fail, still remember: you are one who’s been baptized, cleansed. You bear the life, the death, the resurrection, the perfect obedience of the one who stepped into the River Jordan to claim you as one of His own, to take your sin upon Himself. “In My Father’s house are many rooms,” Jesus said. “If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.” By your Baptism, you’ve been buried with Christ into death. Just as He was raised in glory unto everlasting life, you too will walk in the newness of this life.
Stanza six: this is the uncomfortable verse. But we’re Lutheran — it’s by law we have to have Law verses. It’s how it works. We have to know what is at stake if we fail in retaining our own true Christian faith, and then speaking and accomplishing the church’s mission. It’s uncomfortable. It’s a verse of the Law. It’s on judgment and unbelief. “Their striving never saves them” — that’s what all wokeism and political correctness, and every single movement that arises among a civilization, is all about: differentiating between the righteous people in the eyes of their neighbor, and the great sinners who refuse to comply and bend the knee to the gods of this world. “Their pious acts do not avail, and they are lost forever, eternal death their portion.” Your portion is a mansion in the heavenly home; their portion, eternal death. Everyone loves John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” But John 3:18 — not so well known, certainly not so much loved: “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” Mark 16:16 puts it much more briefly: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Thus we, the church, need to continually speak and preach that primitive message of the church: “Repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of your sins.” We need to pray for those loved ones and neighbors who fall away from the faith as they grow up or grow old. We need to remember what’s at stake if we fail in our mission to be faithful to the Word and Sacrament ministry of God — to baptize as many as is possible for such a small congregation.
Stanza seven: “Behold, all mortal life beholds is water” — that’s what the world sees when we baptize a child or an adult. They see a sentimental rite or ritual which has no power in and of itself, other than to create warm feelings of family and wholesomeness, perhaps. But we know that faith is that which is not seen. We know what is in the water in the baptismal font when the Word of God is administered according to His command, and His very words are used in connection with the water. Christian faith is trust in things unseen — promises yet unrealized. But in the waters of Holy Baptism, the promise is fulfilled immediately. The one being baptized is made holy in the sight of God. The image of pouring is frequent, by the way, in the Epistles in regard to Baptism and the Holy Spirit. God pours out His love for us — another thing that is frequent in the text. It’s the image of pouring: not little sips here and there, but of living water welling up unto everlasting life, pouring and gushing out of the Word of God. These are believed only because God says they are — believed to be, believed that they do what they say they do. “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” alone. This is the ultimate point of Jesus’ Baptism: by being baptized when He Himself needed no baptism at all, Jesus placed Himself in our shoes, so that He could place us in His. Christ made us one with the Father again by suffering in our place and paying for our debt. Christ’s actions — not ours — win reconciliation to God the Father. He has now reconciled you “in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him” — again, another baptismal passage in Colossians chapter 1. Baptism washes away sin, gives a new birth, imparts the Holy Spirit: “He saved us… by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” — Titus 3:5, a famous Bible verse in the Small Catechism for Holy Baptism. Thus we sing: “To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord, to do His Father’s pleasure, to die for our sins. Baptized by John, the Father’s Word was given us for treasure; the Word in flesh, the heavenly washing, now shall be a cleansing from transgression, and by His blood and agony release from death’s oppression. A new life now awaits us.” It’s here: your sins are forgiven. You’re heaven-bound. Amen.
May the peace that surpasses understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.