The Power of Water and Word
Matthew 3:13-17
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. Matthew 3:16-17 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… We all know that water is powerful. Just thinking back to the 2013 floods in our area, we are reminded that great volumes of water can move house-sized boulders, wash away roads and homes, tip over train cars, and destroy lives. Water also sustains life; without it, we simply cannot live. But that is nothing compared to what happens when water and the Word of God come together.
We all know and believe how the universe began, as John records in his first chapter: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. All things were made through him. Without him nothing was made that has been made” (vv. 1-3). Those words refer to the Son of God, the eternal, creative Word from the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
And here is what God’s Word says in 2 Peter 3:5: “Long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.” Somehow – and we won’t know how until God reveals it to us in heaven – the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word of God brought water into existence and made this whole universe with it. When Word and water came together, creation happened.
When Word and water came together at the time of Noah, the earth was destroyed, but Noah’s family was saved. When Word and water came together at the time of the Exodus, Egypt’s army was drowned, and God’s people Israel delivered.
In today’s Gospel, Word and water came together again when Jesus appeared at the Jordan River to be baptized by John. The Epiphany season is about revelation after revelation, and testimony after testimony that this man named Jesus is more than a man; He is God, He is the Christ, He is mankind’s Savior. That’s exactly the testimony we are given when Word and water came together for the Baptism of Our Lord.
First, John testifies. For months he had been pointing people to the One who was coming, pointing people to the One who comes after him, the thongs of whose sandals John was unworthy to untie. Then suddenly, there was Jesus approaching John to be baptized. As far as everyone there could tell, Jesus was just a man. But John, Jesus’ cousin and a prophet of God, knew better.
John was dumbfounded. “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” John tried to keep the Word and water from coming together, because John knew that this man standing in front of him was greater than he, far greater, infinitely greater. For as great a prophet as John was, John knew that he was a sinner who needed his own sins washed away; it was the only way to enter God’s kingdom. John knew that this man standing in front of him had no need to repent and have His sins washed away in baptism, because He had no sin. And yet, all men have sin, because all are born in it and steeped in it. All men need to repent of their sin and receive God’s forgiveness in the place where God offers it… all except this one man, Jesus, because – and this is the point of Epiphany – Jesus is God.
But the Word was determined to come together with water. Jesus’ own testimony revealed Him as the Savior-God. “Permit it to be so now,” Jesus told John “for thus is it fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Now, this word “righteousness” means perfection; it means sinlessness; it means justification; it is an innocent verdict in God’s courtroom. And righteousness doesn’t come in degrees; either you have it or you don’t. Either you’re righteous in God’s sight or you’re unrighteous. And to be righteous, you need a perfect record, you need a clean slate. Anything short of that, and you’re unrighteous.
The question is, whose righteousness was Jesus fulfilling when the Word came together with water? Was it His own or was it someone else’s? The answer is, Yes! Under the law, under God’s requirements for mankind, righteousness belongs to the person who has kept God’s requirements perfectly. But none of us can do that. And even if we were to try our very best to be good and keep God’s Law, we would fail miserably. God’s law always accuses us; it accuses us from the motives of our hearts to the words that fall from our lips to our actions and to our inaction. God’s law accuses us of loving Him less than we ought, and of looking out for ourselves more than we ought. We have no righteousness of our own; we have only condemnation.
And no man – not even a perfect man – can offer you his righteousness… unless that man is more than a man; unless that man is God in the flesh. By coming together with water, the Word – Jesus – numbered Himself with sinners even though He was sinless. Jesus formally volunteered to fulfill all righteousness so that sinners would have an alternate source of righteousness, a righteousness that doesn’t come by what you do, but by what He does; it is a righteousness that comes to you, not by doing, but by believing.
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And that is what repentance is all about. Repentance is to mourn over your sinful record and to rejoice over Christ’s record of righteousness fulfilled in your place. Here’s how Paul says it in our Epistle reading for today: “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” That is what Christ became for us: He became our divinely appointed Substitute when Word and water came together.
When Word and water came together, the Holy Spirit, too, was there, testifying to Jesus’ divinity and His mission of stepping in as the Substitute for all mankind. With water still dripping from His clothes and His hair, “Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.” Notice that it was asilent testimony from the Spirit; not a word was spoken. But there was no need for words to be spoken because He, the Spirit of God, had inspired all the words of the Old Testament that prophesied of the coming of this Servant of God, as Isaiah says (42:1): “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”
The Spirit is always there when Word and water come together. He was there at the Red Sea in Egypt, the breath of God blowing over the waters to drown Egypt and to save Israel. He was there at the time of Noah, the breath of God blowing over the water-covered earth to make it habitable again for man.
And why did the Spirit come in the form of a dove? Again, we go back to the beginning, back to the creation when Word and water first came together, and “darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of waters” (Gen 1:2). Then God spoke His Word (Gen 1:3), “Let there be light! And there was light.” So Isaiah said of Christ, “I, Yahweh, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house” (Is 42:6-7).
And so, when Word and water come together, there is the Spirit testifying with words inspired long ago, through every prophet, through every apostle, through ever pastor, through every Christian, and at every baptism. And that testimony is this: “Jesus is the One who does it all; He’s the One who gets it right. He’s the One who is worthy to take the place of all men, because He is more than a man. He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. Trust in Him and you will be saved.”
And the Father testifies, too, when Word and water come together: “A voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” It is the foolish person who believes that there is salvation apart from faith in Christ; it is the fool who believes he can be acceptable to God apart from faith in His Son. “This is my Son,” God the Father says. “Not this one over here or that one over there. This one. Jesus. He is the one I love. Not this one over here or that one over there. He is the one with whom I am well pleased. Don’t even think of approaching me except through my Son, whom I love, with whom I am well-pleased, because I won’t hear you; I won’t help you; I won’t forgive you; I won’t save you.”
Ah, but for the one who trusts in the Father’s Beloved and well-pleasing Son, there is only grace and mercy and forgiveness all the time. When Word and water came together, blood and water flow from the pierced side of the Word when He died on the cross, and the sins of mankind were paid for. Even then the Spirit was there and the Father was there to raise Him from the dead on the third day. And now His life, death, and resurrection cover all those who have been covered with him…when Word and water come together.
And now we come full circle to the moment when Word and water come together in Holy Baptism. When Word and water come together, there is the Triune God testifying, “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When you were baptized into the name of this God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – you were joined to the Word in the water, you took on the righteousness of Christ; your sins were forgiven, and you were rescued from death and then devil. That means that everything Christ is, you are! The font – water and the Word – is your entrance into Paradise. This is your sure and certain escape from death and the grave through Christ.
The Word was there in that washing with water through the Word. The Spirit was there in that washing of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit. And the Father was there, claiming you as His own child, whom He loves, with whom He is well-pleased – not for your sake, but for the sake of Christ. Since you are baptized into Christ, you are now a new creation rescued from the dying world. Your sins are paid for and you belong to God. And the devil cannot have you, and the world will never snatch you out of God’s hand.
This, dear fellow redeemed, is the comfort you have every single day; and with that comfort comes the Lord’s strength. Your troubles, your afflictions, your weaknesses, your old age… all of these things are met with God’s forgiveness and His peace that passes all understanding. In Baptism, your death became His death and His life became your life.
Treasure your baptism. When you pass this font on your way to the altar to receive Christ’s body and blood, remember what God did for you here. And remember the Baptism of Our Lord, where Word and water came together. Plain water can do great things, but when Word and water come together, then eternal life begins. And it never ends.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
