Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
January 12, 2025
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
Baptism of our Lord
“When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and in the rivers they will not rise over your head. And when you walk in a fire you will not be burned; nor shall the flame char you.” Isaiah 43:2 (DKV)
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Today let us learn something about the sacrament of Holy Baptism: about the Lord’s, and about our own.
The elements are the same: as our Lord was baptized with water, fire and the Holy Spirit, we are baptized with the same.
Contrary to Pentecostal doctrine there are not 2 baptisms – water baptism and Spirit baptism. But there is only one baptism as Saint Paul writes in Ephesians 4:3, “One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism”
Yes, Jesus was baptized with water; that is what he was doing at the Jordan River. He entered the river and was most likely immersed into it, covered head to toe. We too are baptized with water. And if we had the means it would be preferable to immerse the baptismal candidate in “running water,” which means: in a river – a liturgical gesture that has great provenance in the church and more than a few Christians still practice it.
That said it is not necessary to be fully immersed. Any amount of water will do because baptism is not, “a removal of dirt from the body,” as Saint Peter writes, “but an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21)
We who receive Christian baptism are baptized with water, but also with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
To what end? We learn the answer in our catechism which says that baptism, “works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.”
Which are these words and promises of God? Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)
Said another way Blessed Baptism: “ … has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his own dear Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13)
And so let us leave our Old Adam behind, and become the New Men, the True Men that our God originally created us to be. Like Him and in the “image of the Son,” in whom he is well-pleased.
Now speaking of water and fire we know that these two elements can be friendly or unfriendly. Friendly fire heats your home, and cooks your food. Unfriendly fire indiscriminately destroys everything in its path leaving misery in its wake; as we presently see in California. The same with water. Friendly water quenches your thirst, washes your face, and grows your flowers. But unfriendly water such as we saw during the flooding in North Carolina, leaves only misery in its wake.
But our God makes this outstanding promise in Isaiah which is a prophecy of baptism:
“When you pass through the waters
I will be with you;
and in the rivers they
will not rise over your head.
And when you walk in a fire
you will not be burned;
nor shall the flame char you.
“For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Is. 43:2-3)
However the same Spirit, fire and water are decidedly unfriendly to the Flesh. Sin, death and the devil shudder at the thought of our baptism. It means that they have lost the chance to make us their plaything in a world without end; and that we now belong exclusively to our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ, “at whose right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Ps. 16)
And so let us do as Saint Paul encourages in Colossians 3:1-4 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
But that said, we are not quite done until we remember the other baptism that our Lord endured. When two of the disciples asked Him for the privilege of sitting at his Right and Left hand in his Kingdom he asked them this question:
“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" Mark (10:38) Later in Luke 12:50 the Lord says, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”
His reference was to the fiery baptism he would undergo on the cross not for his own sins, of which there were none. But for the sins of the world which were like a Tsunami that targeted Him, and struck him head on, with full force. A brisance so indescribable that even the God/Man could not withstand it and live, but extinguished his precious life and put him in the grave for 3 days!
But that was definitely not the end of the story! Because on the third day he rose again from the dead by the glory of the Father and proving that death has no dominion over him – nor does it have dominion over you!
Because while “the wages of sin is death,” it is also true that “the gift of God,” which is Baptism, “is eternal life.” And so do not yield your members to wickedness, but to righteousness because you are baptized into his death, burial and raised to newness of life by his resurrection. Moreover your baptism never expires. It is good for eternity. And, “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39).