Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Is. 43. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- This morning we celebrate the “baptism of Jesus.” There are a number of important reasons as to why Jesus submitted to John’s baptism. In this act it was revealed that He was God’s beloved Son, the eternal Son of God. His human nature and appearance somewhat obscured this reality. In addition, in visible fashion, He was granted an extra measure of the Holy Spirit – somewhat of a mystery to us.
- But the most important reasons for Jesus being baptized has to do with us – our salvation, and also the blessings we have received in our baptism. Jesus was baptized for us, in our place, to take out our sins, that He might suffer and die for them on the cross to redeem us back to God.
- But He also placed blessings into the waters of Holy Baptism – connection to His death and resurrection, forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit and rebirth and new life [as we see in Rom. 6]. And also the application of His Name upon us, so that we become His children, His family!
- The blessings of this are described in several places in Holy Scripture, but are also summarized for us in the Old Testament Lesson for today, from Is. 43. It is remarkable how much of the blessedness of Holy Baptism was revealed through the prophet Isaiah some 700 years prior to the birth of Christ.
- Nonetheless, in our text we clearly see that:
I. God Has Created And Formed Us Anew As His Dear Children
A. He Has Redeemed Us And Claimed Us By Name
Text: “Thus says the Lord, He Who created you, O Jacob, He Who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.’”
B. He Has Called Us To Faith, To Himself
Text: “I have called you by name, you are Mine.”
C. He Protects Us From Everything
Text: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Fear not, for I am with you.”
D. He Makes All Things Serve Us, His People
Text: “I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. . . . I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.”
Statement: These are all blessings promised and delivered to us today in Holy Baptism. We are created anew – born again of water and the Spirit. We are brought to faith by the power of His Word and Spirit. He places His Name upon us, and clothes us with the righteousness of Jesus. With Him over us, His Name upon us, we are protected and delivered from all evil. So also He continues to rule over all things for the benefit and blessedness of His dear people. Nothing can separate us from Christ’s love.
Application: We should be celebrating these things and rejoicing in them each and every day! As Paul wrote: “We were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” And so we do! It is a remarkable thing that God has created and formed us, and also redeemed and called us by name, to be His blessed people of faith. It blesses us beyond what we are really able to imagine! But there is more to God’s love, for according to our text:
II. We Are Precious To God, Honored And Loved By Him, Created Anew For His Glory
Text: “Because you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you . . . . bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the end of the earth, every who is called by My Name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.”
Statement: We see a glimpse of just how great and comprehensive God’s love for us truly is. We at times can just barely hope that perhaps God will forgive us, love us kind of generally, and grant us His salvation. But this greatly misses the mark of understanding God’s love! We might feel that we were being snide, arrogant, assuming, if we were to believe that God loves us as described in our text. But wait! It is God Who describes us as the objects of His love. God describes us in this way. He describes His love for us, how He cherishes us, how valuable we are to Him!
Application: So let us not shy away from His Word. Let us rejoice – with hearts set to joy in His love – and fully grasp and embrace His love for us! In this way, understanding how precious and honored and loved we are of God, we too will capitulate to His will, and live to God! These are the blessings Christ came to bring to us, and the blessings that have been given to us in our Baptism!
Conclusion: We kind of tend to look at the things of the church with a bit of incredulity, and to “shallow” them out a bit. We tend to look at God as if He is a long way off, and that He barely cares about us. We tend to think that only if we first love Him and devote ourselves to Him, will He also draw closer to us and love us more.
All of this is due to the contamination of sin in our hearts and minds! Our text asserts what is real about God, His real devotion to us and love for us, how we are in fact precious to Him and deeply loved by Him.
Let us ponder on His love then, and store these realities in our hearts. We are His, He is blessing us and preserving us through all of life. He has redeemed us and called us by name – so that we belong to Him! Thanks and praise be to God forever! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.