A sermon based on Matthew 3:13-17, Rev. J. Orlando Flahn
Today, we will learn that John had just told the crowds he was baptizing with water, but that another would soon appear who’d baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. And there, Jesus walks from the region of Galilee to the banks of the Jordan River, where He asks John to baptize Him. How can this be?
You see, John’s baptism was for those who had to repent of their sins (Matt 3:11). But Jesus had no need to repent or to be baptized; He had never sinned, and He had no sin (2 Cor. 5:21). Yet Jesus comes to John’s baptism and is baptized. What does this mean? How does His own baptism work a new identity for us as God’s beloved Son and His perfect lamb, who comes to take away our sins and offer a new identity in our baptism?
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