Sermon: An Epiphany of Christ

Lectionary: Year A, First Sunday after Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord

Texts: Isaiah 42:1-9, Matthew 3:13-17

Introduction

Baptism – an action that ought to unite Christians, but like many other facets in Christianity – is a source of controversy and division. Usually not within a denomination, but typically between them. Literally life and blood have been shed in arguing the proper time and form of baptism.[1]

I am not here this morning arguing whether one form is better than another, or if there is an age criterion, or anything along those lines. Because that argument ends up sounding quite like the argument about the necessity of circumcision among the early Christians. The Apostle Paul wrote an entire letter to the Galatian Christians on this topic. A good summary of where Paul and where he believes Jesus stands on the issue is summarized in Galatians 5:6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.”[2] Therefore, I  think that is a good position to take in regards to the mechanics of baptism: that whether one is baptized as an infant, a child, or an adult, and whether one is sprinkled, poured over, or fully immersed, that the act is symbolic of something that is far deeper that is of greater importance. And that is where I would like to take this sermon this morning.

Jesus’ Baptism

Today’s gospel narrative begins with a “Where is Jesus 30 (or so) years[3] after we last heard about him?” From the miraculous birth of Jesus and the flight to Egypt and return, we jump to a mature, adult Jesus. And we find him in the wilderness, at the Jordan, asking to be baptized by John, who is the latest prophetic sensation that has shown up among the Jews.

In the text that comes right before what was read this morning, we read that John was baptizing people as they confessed their sins and committed to repentance. Even some of the leadership of the Jews came to him, but he accused them of hypocrisy, commanding them to show actual results of repentance, beyond merely going through motions. John then predicts that another individual will show up that is far more prestigious and powerful.

It is in this context that Jesus shows up, asking to be baptized. John recognizes Jesus immediately (after all, they are relations, and both had probably heard about their respective miraculous birth stories). It is a surprise that Jesus shows up and asks to be baptized, and therefore, knowing who Jesus is, it is no surprise that John is reluctant to go through with it.

Jesus responds, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15)

Meaning of “Righteousness”

This is another of Jesus’ sayings whose meaning isn’t obvious, and where scholars have suggested several possibilities. The problem word here is “righteousness.” We are accustomed to hearing and using it in terms of morals and ethics. We use “righteousness” as the antonym for “sin.” But Jesus is without sin, so he could not have been baptized to be cleansed of sin or of any need to repent. So, in this respect, what Jesus said makes no sense.

“Righteousness” has a somewhat different usage and meaning in Matthew. It is still related to ethics, but “In the OT and early Jewish literature, when used for human character and behavior, ‘righteousness’ and related words refer to one’s ethical response to God: obeying and doing God’s will.”[4]

The author of the letter to the Hebrews notes that Jesus “learned obedience…” (Hebrews 5:8)

So, we now must ask, what is it about baptism of Jesus that fulfilled and placed him in obedience to God’s will? Why did God respond, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased?” (Matthew 3:17)

For us, repentance and baptism are conceived as primarily individual actions. Certainly, baptism is symbolic of new birth into a new, spiritual family. But in our cultural setting, there usually isn’t much emphasis on how baptism relates to larger groups.

Fulfillment of Righteousness

In contrast, Jesus’ baptism is all about the larger group; specifically, all of humanity. Christmas was certainly God becoming incarnate into humanity, but Jesus’ baptism is the revealing, or epiphany, of this God-becoming-human to the world.

Matthew’s gospel portrays Jesus as representing new Israel. That is why Matthew is so careful to describe specific echoes and parallels between historical Israel and Jesus: a miraculous birth, a sojourn in Egypt, a return to Israel, and now a baptism. Within this pattern perspective, the baptism has parallels to Israel walking through the Red Sea and through the parted Jordan River. It also has echoes to the anointing of kings.

It is here again that our distance to when monarchy was the norm may be an obstacle to understanding what monarchs represented. Yes, they ruled over subjects, but they were also mediators between their subjects and their deity or deities. Monarchs embodied the entirety of their subjects.

Although Moses was not a king, his actions reveal some of the expectations of ideal ancient monarchs as they related to their subjects. At Sinai, when the people craft and worship the golden calf, God tells Moses that God will destroy the people and instead make Moses a great nation. But Moses intercedes on behalf of the people, and God relents.[5]

Josiah, king of Judah, is another example. He is recorded as being one of the righteous kings. He ordered the restoration of the temple, and in the process the Book of the Law is found. As the book is read to him, Josiah tears his robes because “our ancestors did not obey the words of this book…” (2 Kings 22:13b) Their sin is understood as having accumulated over time and over the entire people. Even though Josiah himself is not responsible, he identifies with and takes responsibility for the past and for all his subjects and repents. As a result, God delays the judgment that will eventually fall. Josiah continues to lead a reign of reformation and repentance, and the period of his reign is relatively peaceful and uneventful.[6]

I am now quoting two extended paragraphs by Timothy Beach-Verhey, in a commentary on Matthew 3:13-17:

Kings have always claimed to have a special relationship to God. Part of their legitimacy comes from being God’s representative among the people… On the other hand, monarchs have always seen themselves as the representation, in one person, of the whole people. This has been the other source of their legitimacy. Monarchs exist as mediators between God and the people, presenting God to the people and the people to God…[7]

In his baptism, Jesus shows himself to be the one true king, who represents God to humanity and humanity to God. He is invested with divine authority and power through the descent of the Holy Spirit and God’s proclamation to the whole world… He also embodies and represents lost humanity, by appropriating the human responsibility to repent and turn toward God in the face of the impending kingdom of heaven. In his baptism by John, Jesus identifies himself with the human condition and represents them in his right relationship with God. This baptism, therefore, not only bestows upon him the mantle of divinity; it also marks his kenosis (self-emptying) on behalf of humanity. He is the king, the true and only mediator between God and humanity.[8]

Representing God

If Jesus represents God, and if we are baptized into Christ, and if our lives and characters are to reflect that of Jesus Christ, what does that look like? Today’s text from Isaiah offers some suggestions.

It is the first of the four sections in Isaiah known as “Servant Songs”. These four sections, in Christian tradition, are interpreted as prophetic texts identifying Jesus as Messiah. The connection between God’s response to Jesus’ baptism and the opening of the Isaiah text cannot be missed:

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
    he will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)

But that is not the only plausible interpretation for these texts. The identity of the servant has been debated among Jewish and Christian scholars, and multiple potential identities have been suggested.

The penultimate king of Judah, Jehoiachin (or Jeconiah), is one individual that is suggested as the servant referred to in Isaiah.[9] Many of us might find that identification surprising, but there is some fit when rabbinic sources are considered where Jehoiachin repents and becomes an example and leader of righteousness and obedience to the Torah for the exiled Jews.[10]

Another identification is in the Second Servant Song and names Israel itself as the servant.[11]

Others have suggested that these texts don’t point to any specific entity but portray an ideal response from those called by God.[12]

There are likely others, but here is the list of identifications just given: Jesus, Jehoiachin, Israel, and an ideal response. We have individuals and communities offered as possible entities that could fill the role of the Servant. Richard Ward, commenting on today’s Isaiah passage writes:

If the church opens only that part of Israel’s gift that defines its understanding of Jesus, then it misses its wider blessing. There is the portrait of the church’s Christ here, but there is so much more. Why confine the reach of this Song to one individual or even one servant community? It is a portrait, but it is also a silhouette. Anyone who “brings light and (God’s) promise of hope to the nations” (v. 6) stands in the place of the Servant.[13]

We Are an Epiphany

I think that the ambiguity is appropriate. We can read the Servant Songs and see multiple applications. Traditionally we have probably limited the application to Jesus and stopped there. But today, I would like us to re-read at first song as something that Jesus left as an example for us to follow in, as individuals and as a community.

42 But [you are] my servant, the one I uphold;
    my chosen, who brings me delight.
I’ve put my spirit upon [you];
    [you] will bring justice to the nations.
² [You won’t bring attention to yourself
    with loud speeches or gaudy parades].[14]
³ [You] won’t break a bruised reed;
    [you] won’t extinguish a faint wick,
    but [you] will surely bring justice.
⁴ [You] won’t be extinguished or broken
    until [you have] established justice in the land.
The coastlands await [your gospel] teaching.

⁵ God the Lord says—
    the one who created the heavens,
    the one who stretched them out,
    the one who spread out the earth and its offspring,
    the one who gave breath to its people
    and life to those who walk on it—
⁶ I, the Lord, have called you for a good reason.
    I will grasp your hand and guard you,
    and give you as a covenant [representing me] to the people,
    as a light to the nations,
⁷     to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison,
    and those who sit in darkness from the dungeon.
⁸ I am the Lord;
    that is my name;
    I don’t hand out my glory to others
        or my praise to idols.
⁹ The things announced in the past—look—they’ve already happened,
    but I’m declaring new things.
    Before they even appear,
    I tell you about them.[15]

Today, as many among us are reminded about our baptism into Christ and his body, and as others potentially consider their steps to baptism, let us ponder the fullness and revelation of Christ and what it means to be his disciples, following his path and becoming his ambassadors in this present life. What does it mean for us and the church to be an epiphany of Christ in this world today?

---

[1] Anabaptism - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabaptism)

[2] All texts from New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition, unless otherwise noted.

[3] Luke 3:23a, “Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work.”

[4] Feasting on the Gospels: Matthew, Volume 1, page 141 (Kindle location around 1686).

[5] Exodus 33.

[6] 2 Kings 22-23.

[7] Feasting on the Gospels: Matthew, Volume 1, p. 135 (Kindle approximate location 1605).

[8] Ibid. (continuing)

[9] Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 1, approximate Kindle location 8301. “It would seem to the present writer that the person assigned the role of the Suffering Servant was most likely the exiled King Jehoiachin and his fellow exiles carried to Babylon in 597 BCE.”

[10] JEHOIACHIN - JewishEncyclopedia.com (https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8560-jehoiachin)

[11] Isaiah 49:3. “You are my servant, Israel…”

[12] Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 1, approximate Kindle location 7421. “Biblical scholar Paul Hanson finds in this passage not a reference to a historical figure or community but ‘a catalyst for reflection on the nature of the response demanded of those who have received a call from God.” [quoted from Isaiah 40-66, Interpretation series, p. 41.]

[13] Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 1, approximate Kindle location 7540.

[14] The re-writing of this verse based on The Message.

[15] Common English Bible, Isaiah 42:1-9, with my edits.