Tag Archives: Water

What Is Baptism? – Sermon for Midweek Lent 1

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I. What is Baptism?

Baptism is not simply water, but it is the water used according to God’s command and connected with God’s Word.

What is this word of God?

It is the word of our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in the last chapter of Matthew: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Martin Luther’s Small Catechism.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I’m no Julie Andrews, but I’ll attempt a little Maria von Trapp impersonation here, “Let’s start at the very beginning – a very good place to start. When you read, you begin with A-B-C. When you sing, you begin with Do-Re-Mi…” When you consider Baptism, you begin with Mt. 28:19.

Jesus says, “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.” Our crucified and resurrected Savior, who has all authority in heaven and on earth, passes His authority to His disciples. But what exactly is Jesus telling His disciples to do here? What is the command? I can still hear and picture a particular missionary repeatedly telling a group I was in, “The command is to go!” Actually, it isn’t. And, in fact, the word ‘go’ is probably the least important word in this verse. That’s a horrible thing to say about anything Jesus tells us, but it’s true. In all honesty, you could remove the word ‘go’ and what Jesus says would have the same meaning. Just quickly, here’s why.

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus meets the disciples on a mountain in Galilee. Jesus wants His disciples to ‘make disciples’ of ‘all nations.’ Since ‘all nations’ are not there on that mountain, the disciples are going to have to leave the mountain in order to do what Jesus wants them to do. But because Jesus does say, “Go,” it is important. I don’t want to overly bore you here with grammar, so I’ll just get to the point. “Go,” is not a verb in Jesus’ sentence here. The idea is more along the lines of, “as you go,” in other words, wherever the disciples go, here is what they are to do. “Disciple all nations.” The command Jesus gives is ‘disciple,’ and ‘disciple’ is not a word that we are used to being an action. Normally, we hear the word ‘disciple’ and think it is a person – one of the twelve or a Christian today. But that’s the command, ‘disciple’ or ‘make disciples.’

And Jesus specifies whom the eleven disciples are to disciple – “all nations.” The word, there, for nations is ἔθνος – where we get our word ‘ethnicities’ or ‘all types of people.’ Jesus wants all ethnicities to be His disciples because – “red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.” And to fast-forward to when we will consider infant Baptism, that is one of the reasons we baptize infants. No matter their skin color, country, heritage, age, or ethnicity, Jesus wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4).

How are Jesus’ disciples to disciple all ethnicities? Two things are necessary: First, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and second, teaching them all that Jesus has said.

Notice that, according to Jesus, the water of Baptism is tied to the divine, triune name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God places His holy name on you in Baptism. But this is more than simply slapping a bumper sticker or luggage tag on you. When you were Baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God brought you into fellowship with Himself. God gave you a new character, new identity, and even new birth.

When you put your name on a loan or marriage certificate, something changes. You are bound to an agreement or a person. When the eternal, unchangeable, holy God puts His name on you, that is significant.

That’s why teaching is also part of making disciples. It will take our entire lifetime to learn what it means to have God’s name placed upon us, the Baptized. That is why you come to church and listen to sermons, why you study and read your Bible. You have been made a disciple through water and the Word. Keep learning what that means, you children of God!

Now, some object to what the Bible says about God working spiritually through something physical like water. To that, we have to ask, “Has God ever used something physical to bring about salvation?” To that we have to say, without hesitation, “Yes!” Jesus became a literal, physical human to die on a cross, shed His blood, and rise again. In Christ, God used something physical to bring about something spiritual.

As humans, we are physical and spiritual – body and soul. So, it makes complete sense for God to save us through both physical and spiritual means – water and Word.

Now, it is vitally important that we recognize that Baptism isn’t simply water, but water used according to God’s command and connected to God’s Word. Without the Word and command of God, there is nothing special about the water used. That same water could be used to boil potatoes, wash your hands, or mop the floor. God’s Word and promise connected to that water is essential.

We might wonder, “Why would God chose to connect His promises to something as common as water?” God could have connected the same promises to honey, milk, or kiwi juice. But He didn’t. Asking why water is used in Baptism is like asking, “Why didn’t God create us with six arms? Why don’t birds say, ‘Moo’? Why doesn’t salt taste sweet?” The only answer is that God didn’t do it that way. Let’s let God be God, and let us be His creatures.

Again, God’s Word is essential to make a Baptism, but so is the water. Consider the importance of water through Scripture. It was over the water that the Holy Spirit hovered at the beginning of creation (Gen. 1:2). It was through water that God brought His people into the Promised Land (Jos. 3). It was through water that God led His people out of slavery (Ex. 14). It was with water that the priests were to wash their hands and feet before they went near the altar to minister to the Lord (Ex. 30:18-21).  And it was into the water that Jesus stepped to fulfill all righteousness (Mt. 3:15). 

Christian, as we will see in the coming weeks, in your Baptism God has done all of this for you. In your Baptism, the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in you. In your Baptism, you have been brought out of your slavery to sin. In your Baptism, you have been brought into the Promised Land of the kingdom of God. In your Baptism, you have been brought into God’s presence and before God’s altar. In your Baptism, God has fulfilled all righteousness and saved you. 

Finally, because Jesus commanded Baptism and as we see what it does in the coming weeks, we know that Baptism isn’t merely a human work. Baptism is God’s work. Just as God has redeemed you through the shedding of blood through Jesus’ hands, He has adopted you through the washing of water in Baptism done by human hands. In your Baptism, God gave you His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and adoption. It didn’t miss. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Manifest Glory – Sermon on John 2:1-11 for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

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John 2:1-11

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have become drunk, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

If you ask a woman about a wedding, you are going to hear about the colors of the bridesmaids’ dresses. You’ll hear the flowers described as only a botanist or florist could. She’ll tell you about the style of the bride’s dress – A-line, mermaid, trumpet, column, bell gown. (Yes, I had to look those up.) Then, she’ll go on to describe the more specific details of the gown. She’ll tell you about the décor of the reception and the menu of the meal. You’ll probably even get a lot of details about the wedding cake. Finally, you’ll hear about the dance and the DJ. If you ask a man about a wedding, he’s likely to say, “It was good.” Or, if you ask me, I’ll probably say, “It was successful.” I have yet to attend an unsuccessful wedding.

The Apostle John tells us about a wedding, and he does it as a man would. He mainly tells us about these six stone water jars that are there for the Jewish rites of purification. To our ears, that detail is brief and mundane. But these stone jars tell us more about the wedding and the miracle than we might expect.

Stone jars were especially desirable for the purification rites because they did not become unclean when they came into contact with things that were unclean. When clay jars, which were more common, when clay jars were used for purification, they became unclean and, according to God’s command, had to be broken afterward (Lev. 11:33). But stone jars didn’t become unclean, which meant they were great for the purification rites, but it also meant they were expensive. The fact that this wedding had stone jars indicates that either the couple or their relatives were somewhat wealthy. But even with their wealth, this couple has a problem because they run out of wine during the feast.

Mary lets Jesus know about the lack of wine. And based on Jesus’ response, it doesn’t sound like He’s going to do anything about it. Of course, He does. He provides 120-180 gallons of the finest wine to people who have already had enough wine that they cannot appreciate the goodness of the wine Jesus provides. In fact, the master of the feast figures it’s a mistake. When he tastes it, He assumes someone messed up. You’re supposed to serve the top-shelf stuff first, only later do you break out the boxes of wine. Our English translations soften the master’s words, but he literally says, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have become drunk” (same word that is repeatedly condemned in the New Testament [Ro 13:13; 1 Co. 5:11, 6:10; Gal. 5:21; Rev. 17:2, 6, etc.]), “when people have become drunk, then the poor wine.” In short, Jesus is giving people what they do not deserve and cannot fully appreciate.

Dear saints, this Is the definition and nature of grace and mercy.

Can you imagine John the disciple, who was there at that wedding, later in life? John, by the way, was the only disciple to die of old age. He became the bishop of Ephesus. Pastor John would have been the guest at many dinners in many houses. But at every meal, he would taste the wine, remember this wedding in Cana, and smile and say, “Not as good.”

The amazing thing is how few people at the feast actually know the Source of this fine vintage. The bride and the groom didn’t know. The master of the feast didn’t know. The guests didn’t know. Only the disciples and the servants know. The humble and the lowly see the work of Jesus.

Yet John tells us that this is how Jesus manifested (lit. “epiphanied”) His glory. That is the main point John wants us to take from this text. He wants us to see Christ’s glory, but we have a problem with that. We don’t see the big deal. Turning water into wine seems like a nice party trick, but nothing compared to walking on water, feeding the hungry, cleansing lepers, making the lame walk, causing the blind to see the deaf to hear, or raising the dead. In our minds, those are the “real” miracles. What’s the big deal about turning water into wine? That is something God does all the time. Every drop of wine across the world in all of history was once water inside a grape. All Jesus does here is speed things up a bit.

Dear saints, this is a call for us to open our eyes to the everyday, manifest glory of your God. Every moment, you are surrounded by the glory of our God. We notice it, at times, when we see a beautiful sunset, a pristine meadow covered in fresh snow, beautiful sun dogs, etc. But don’t miss the more regular manifestations of the glory of God. Don’t let the regularity of glorious things you see every day cause you to think they are mundane. See the glory of God in how a mom feeds her infant, how our food comes up from the ground, and how a child learns to read. If we would just open our eyes we would see the wonders of God all around us, and we would be surprised at every turn.

Especially, don’t let the manifest glory of God pass by you when you are here in church. When you hear the Scriptures read, the Holy Spirit is working on you in a miraculous way. When you hear the absolution, God is actually removing your sins from you. When you come to the altar today, Jesus is actually feeding you with His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sins. Every week throughout the entire service, God is visiting you with His mercy and grace to give you what you could not earn or deserve. He is purifying you, cleansing you, and strengthening you to live holy lives because no amount of your own efforts to cleanse yourself will ever work.

Which brings us back to those stone water jars. The sad thing with the stone water jars is that we see how far from the Gospel God’s people had fallen. Their religion had declined to a cold set of laws and rituals. When God had given the purification laws in Leviticus, it was to remind His people of their uncleanness and that true purity and holiness comes only from God. But the rabbis had added to God’s laws all sorts of unnecessary ceremonies and rituals. You remember when the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of eating with unwashed hands (Mk. 7:1-8). They had certain ritual washings that you had to do in order to interact with others socially. You had to pour the water a certain number of times over each hand. And each of pouring had to be in a prescribed direction. These were invented regulations from the Pharisees to be spiritually clean. All of these things were works to make yourself right.

But now what happens once those jars are no longer filled with water and instead are filled with wine? That ritual washing is no longer possible. We are invited to imagine another woman go to the stone jars and find that they aren’t filled with water, so she goes to her Pharisee son and says, “They have no water.”

These jars had been set apart for self-purification, and Jesus uses them to bring the joy of wine (Ps. 104:15) to a wedding feast. Jesus overtakes the works and efforts of man and brings them into submission to Him. Whenever Jesus comes, all human efforts to become righteous and holy are taken away and only joy is left in its place.

When Jesus comes to forgive your sins, He takes away all your works and efforts to make yourself holy or righteous. In their place, Jesus brings His eternal joy. This sign is not just pointing to Jesus’ power, this sign is pointing to what Christ has come to do. He has come to bring the best, to overflow your cup, and to bring you to His eternal kingdom.

Dear saints, our Lord manifests His glory with His first sign at a wedding in Cana because Jesus has come to end the divorce. Jesus came to end the divorce between men and women, between Jews and Gentiles (Gal. 3:28), and most importantly between God and man. Because of what Christ has done, we will be reunited with God just as we were meant to be. And this same God now welcomes you to His altar to have a foretaste of the great wedding feast to come. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Gifts and Mercy – Sermon on John 2:1-11 for the Second Sunday of Epiphany

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John 2:1-11

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” wedding at cana water into wine6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.”And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.”So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have become drunk, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Notice first that John doesn’t call this miracle of Jesus a ‘miracle.’ It is, of course, a miracle to take somewhere between 120-180 gallons of water and turn it into wine in an instant. But John doesn’t call it a miracle, he calls it a ‘sign.’ And importantly, this is the first of Jesus’ signs and manifests His glory. This sign becomes the standard by which all other signs of Jesus are known. This sign shows how Jesus loves to give good gifts even when they aren’t known, recognized, or appreciated. And, therefore, this sign shows us how beautiful is Christ’s love and mercy.

Jesus attends a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Galilee is a region that isn’t all that important. The kings, rulers, religious leaders are mainly in Judah to the south. And Cana is a town that was so small and insignificant we still aren’t sure where it is – archeologists haven’t discovered it yet.

At that wedding feast, the wine had run out. Either those planning the wedding didn’t plan properly, or (and probably more likely) the guests had been too busy refilling their glasses. The master of the feast (and we’re going to come back to his statement) will say that the good wine that Jesus provides is a mistake because the guests have become drunk using the same word that the Scriptures will repeatedly warn against.

So, this first sign, this first miracle of Jesus isn’t like His other miracles in the Gospels where Jesus gives sight to the blind, makes the lame walk, gives hearing to the deaf, cleansing to the lepers, freedom to those possessed by demons, and resurrection to the dead. But this turning water into wine is not simply a parlor trick that Jesus does to impress people. It is an act of pure mercy. Jesus turns water into good wine for a bunch of people who already had wine.

Mary lets Jesus know the party has run out of wine. And Jesus doesn’t seem to want to get involved. But Mary has faith that Jesus will do what is good, so she tells the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” Jesus could have told everyone the feast is over, pack up, and go home. But He doesn’t. His mercy extends far beyond our imagination.

Jesus tells the servants to fill six stone water jars that are there for the Jewish rites of purification. These rites of purification were an addition to God’s commands for His people to be clean. The Pharisees had a bunch of rules about washing before eating (see Mk. 7:1-5where the Pharisees will accuse Jesus’ disciples of not following these man-made rules). So, these jars aren’t there to hold drinking water. In fact, you probably wouldn’t want to drink water from these jars as much as you wouldn’t want to drink from a bowl of water that people had used to wash their hands.

Water into Wine at the Wedding in Cana.jpgJesus tells the servants to fill the jars with water, and they fill them up to the brim. And, at Jesus’ command, they take some of it to the master of the feast. The master tastes it, and it isn’t water anymore. It is wine. The master didn’t know. The guests didn’t know. Only Jesus, Mary, the servants, and the disciples know that this had been water miraculously turned into wine.

Now, we have to slow down for a minute and consider the words of the master of the feast: “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have become drunk, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

Practically speaking, the master is absolutely right. You don’t waste the good stuff on people whose taste buds are numbed and who are probably going to throw it up anyway. You serve the good tasting wine first and serve the crummy wine when they don’t really care what it tastes like any more.

But in doing this, the master of the feast takes on a satanic role. And, I think (you can disagree) that is why John quotes the master of the feast. He is saying that there is a huge waste in giving good wine to people who cannot appreciate it, people who are going to abuse it, and to people who have been abusing it. You could almost say that the master goes to the groom and says, “You are some fool for giving people good wine when they can not appreciate it.”

This is what the devil says about God as God continually gives us His gifts of grace and mercy. Satan is enraged that God would love and forgive us who do not appreciate His gifts and mercy.

Cross and CommunionBut, dear saint, that is precisely the point. God is willing to give His gifts and mercy anyway. This isn’t a license to go on and sin because God will forgive you anyway. In fact, you are to abhor what is evil and hold to fast to what is good. Love one another. Outdo one another in showing honor (Ro. 12:9-11). And do all of that as you remember that God gives better than you deserve or appreciate.

Finally, remember that this sign occurs, as John says, ‘on the third day.’ This third day is the last in a series of days that John tells us about. The first day was back in Jn. 1:29where John the Baptizer says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Then, John says ‘the next day’ Jesus called His first few disciples. Then, this miracle occurs ‘on the third day.’ John could have kept his reckoning of time any way he wished. He could have said Jesus is proclaimed to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world on Tuesday; on Wednesday, Jesus gets His first disciples; and on Thursday, Jesus was at a wedding in Cana. Or, John could have just kept saying, ‘the next day, the next day, the next day…’ But John doesn’t. John is pointing us to the fact that this is ‘the third day’ which is a foreshadow of the resurrection. ‘On the third day,’ the day of the Resurrection, Jesus gives wine is not earned, deserved, or even appreciated to sinners who at best deserved to be told to go home.

Dear saints, you live in the time of ‘the third day.’ Jesus lives. The shadow is past. Your sins are died for and forgiven. The resurrection is now. The marriage feast has begun. The Holy Spirit is given. You receive the best wine and all of Jesus’ gifts. But it is still not what it will be.

Jesus will return. The trumpet will sound, and then the wedding of the Lamb of God will begin in earnest. And never forget that you are His bride, His beloved. Come and receive now what you have not earned, deserved, or can even fully appreciate. Receive it knowing that your Lord is not afraid to give it to you. His love reaches to the heavens; His faithfulness stretches to the sky (Ps. 108:4). Come and receive His gifts and mercy. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.