The Old Testament Lesson for This Sunday,January 10, 2021:The Baptism of our LordGenesis1:1–5The Creation of the World1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
The Psalm for This Sunday:The Baptism of our Lord Ascribe to the Lord Glory; A Psalm of David.29:1Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,[ a ]ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.2Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.[ b ]3The voice of the Lord is over the waters;the God of glory thunders,the Lord, over many waters.4The voice of the Lord is powerful;the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.5The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.6He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,and Sirion like a young wild ox.7The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.8The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth[ c ]and strips the forests bare,and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.11May the Lord give strength to his people!May the Lord bless[ d ] his people with peace!
The Epistle Lesson Romans6:1–11, for This Sunday:The Baptism of our Lord Dead to Sin, Alive to God6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self[ a ] was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free[ b ] from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Sermon delivered by: Rev. Channing Kearney at Christ Lutheran Church LCMS, Indianapolis In the Name of Jesus +The Gospel Lesson Mark 1:4-11 for This Sunday:The Baptism of our Lord Theme: The Baptism of Our Lord…His Gift to us!!!Mark 1:4–114John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;[a] with you I am well pleased.”
Who is John the Baptist? Is John call the Baptist because he believes the teachings of the Baptist. No. He is called the Baptist because he came not just prophesying and proclaiming God’s Word, but used water to wash people clean of their unrighteousness. To really know this John, we turn to Luke 1:39-45and see that he is the cousin of Jesus. His mother being Elizabeth,was able to recognize the savior even before he was born. Johns father was High Priest at the time and he was unable to speak until John was born. See Luke 1:63-64.So,Mary, Jesus’ mother went to visit her sister Elizabeth. Luke 1:39-45: “39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”Back to the Gospel lesson for today vs 4: “4John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”Prophet Isaiah prophesied about John in Isaiah 40:3-5 around 700 B.C.He writes about John as follows: “3 A voice cries:“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be lifted up,and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level,and the rough places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,and all flesh shall see it together,for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”Prophet Malachi also wrote about John in Malachi 3:1. Prophesied about John around 430 B.C. twice. The first: “3:1“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.”Again,Malachi prophecies about John in Malachi 4:5: “5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”
So,John fulfills the Word of God by being born before Jesus, starting his ministry just like Elijah and as you can see in the Gospel text vs. 5: “5And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”It would take you ten hours to walk from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to the Jordan river. Thus 2 days total time just to see a wild crazing looking man as described in vs 6: “6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.”Typical clothing and look for a prophet.Completely opposite of those who were the “teachers and priest of the temple”who were well dressed and well adorned.However, unlike the prophets years before him, his preaching wasn’t the prophecy of the destruction of Israel but the proclamation of theirs and our Savior. Vs 7 is his proclamation, note the word “preached:”“7And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”Historically, prophets were sent by God to proclaim to His people their need to repent before some great calamity would occur, and when the people did repent the destruction would stop. Like Jonah to Nineveh, when the Ninevites repented, Nineveh was spared. John continues with his “preaching”with vs 8: “8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”Today Christ speaks through faithful pastors who “preaches”His word to strengthen and preserve His people. They are preserved not because of wisdom of the world but through His Word, through Jesus who is the Word God which became flesh at the time of John the Baptist.The Baptism of Jesus, our Lord…His gift to us.“9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”As Jesus is in His human body as true man,receives from the Father upon receiving the water of Baptism from His cousin John, Elijah returned, the Holy Spirit;so do we receive From God the Father the Holy Spirit when we receive the water of Holy Baptism under and with the Word of God our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We to become the Children of God through Jesus with the water and His Words.Then later upon our confession of faith, we receive His forgiveness in and through the Body and Blood of our Savior,Jesus the Christ,as the propitiation of our sins.
The Baptism of Our Lord…His Gift to us.All our readings today point to one main theme. The Word of God, and its proclamation through the preaching of the Word of God.The Old Testament lesson Genesis 1:1-5 is the beginning of creation with the first day,establishing for us, all matter and time. Psalms 29 points to the power of God Word as David proclaims the voice of the Lord is powerful and majestic. Paul’s words point to our dying and rising with Christ, with the assurance of eternal life through Jesus the Word of God.Mark gives us John the Baptist, the second Elijah who is the forerunner of Christ who declares for us through his preaching that He, Jesus the True Man is the One. And now we hear God the Father finally Preaching to us that Jesus is His son “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”None of this would have any meaning for us if God did not have has Word preached to us and finally,provide us with the written Words of God. Mark shows that John the Baptist preached God’s Word stated in vs7: “7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”The preaching of the word is very important for it is by preach that we receive faith through the hearing of God’s word which is Jesus the Christ. Stated for us by St. Paul in Romans10:14-15. When John Baptized Jesus,who is the Word made flesh, and the Father Sent the Holy Spirit, Jesus established through His body the Means of Grace through our baptism by water in, with, and under the Word of God. We receive the Holy Spirit and as Paul stated clearly,we are dead in sin with Christ’s death and raised with Him to eternal life.Can you just imagine the experience what John and others who were watching heard and saw when the heavens were torn open and the Spirit descending like a dove upon Jesus?Wow, what an awesome sight.We will experience that and more because of our Baptism with Him, in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.+ in His Name, Amen!!!