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The Baptism of the Lord
The infancy of Jesus is a hidden life. Today we jump ahead to the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus. The prophet Isaiah spoke his words hundreds of years before Jesus walked upon the earth. As Jesus stepped out of His anonymity those who knew the prophecy of Isaiah wondered if maybe this Jesus was the Messiah Isaiah was talking about. “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations.” We are brought to an ordinary day on the shores of the Jordan river. John the Baptist is in full flow preaching his word calling the people to repentance. There is a line of people waiting to step into the waters for Baptism. John eyes his cousin in the crowd. Jesus is very anonymous. Was John waiting for Jesus to come? Maybe he was a bit surprised to see Him. I am sure there was a happy embrace, a few words. Then Jesus asked John to baptize Him. As John speaks his words and Jesus goes down into the waters, John hears the voice of God. Here we are in mystical territory. Does John go into a trance or what I have no idea. But he hears the voice of God proclaim: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” John is transfixed. There is a momentary pause while John tries to get himself together again. Then the pushing and shoving start again while the other people fight for their place in the river. Jesus is gone. He heads for the hills to pray. We would do things differently. We would get our bands ready with their music. We would have speeches, declarations, presentations. There would be a thousand TV cameras pointed on the river to capture every moment. Wolf Blitzer would be standing by for every comment and every interview. Don’t we just beat a story to death. The mission of God is not interested in media and spin doctoring. Jesus quietly announces his mission to the world by identifying himself with sinful humanity. He is merely another man in the crowd. The time for speeches will come later.