We have before us today Matthew’s description of Jesus’ baptism. Each of the gospels tells of Jesus’ baptism and each version adds their own special elements to the story.

Back in December, we heard about John’s preaching as we prepared for Christmas and looking forward to Christ coming again. John comes from out of the wilderness (or desert depending upon your translation) and preaches to crowds of people. John called for the people to repent and he would baptize them. He also directed people’s attention to the one who would come after him, this one whose sandals John claimed he was not fit to carry. John contrasted the baptism he offered: one that consisted of water, with the baptism the one coming after him would offer: one that would consist of the Holy Spirit and fire.

All of John’s preaching set the stage for the passage we have before us today. Suddenly the one John has spoken about has come upon the scene. This one who would offer a baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire has come out into the wilderness to the Jordan River and wants John to baptize him.

Wait a minute, stop the story right there. If Jesus is so much more powerful than John, why would Jesus let John baptize him? Wouldn’t this make John seem more powerful than Jesus? Also the baptism John was preaching about was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. What did Jesus have to repent of?

Well apparently the people Matthew was writing his gospel for, had some of the same questions. Matthew is the only gospel that records this brief conversation between Jesus and John where they discuss the very matter of why Jesus should be baptized by John. The answer Jesus gives to John’s question contains the first words Jesus speaks in Matthew’s gospel. "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."

So Jesus’ reasoning for being baptized by John is "to fulfill all righteousness." But what does that mean? In an article in The Christian Century magazine, Brad Ronnell Braxton wrote, "Righteousness…signifies Gods saving action in the world." In this same article he referenced Thomas Long who wrote, "Righteousness encapsulates God’s passionate commitment to set right the things that are wrong." So in being baptized by John, Jesus is launching God’s salvation into the world. By being baptized by John, Jesus is helping to fulfill "God’s passionate commitment to set right the things that are wrong."

From the beginning of Matthew’s gospel, he has highlighted people who have been righteous in God’s eyes. From the women in the genealogy to Joseph who from the beginning is labeled a righteous man, Matthew has been highlighting people who have acted righteously and helped to fulfill God’s will. Many of the people Matthew highlights have even been righteous outside of the traditional, cultural, and societal views of what righteousness entails. For example, Joseph would have been righteous in the eyes of his society had he dismissed Mary when he found out she was pregnant. Instead, Joseph goes against society and fulfills righteousness in God’s eyes when he marries Mary and names her son Jesus.

So in this passage, we have Jesus following along with these other characters who Matthew has highlighted as righteous people in the eyes of God. Jesus is baptized by John in order to launch God’s salvation into the world.

In his description of the actual baptism, Matthew tells his readers that the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the form of a dove. Matthew also tells of a voice coming from heaven that says, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." In this moment, we have the presence of each of the members of the Trinity. We have the Father (in the form of the claiming voice from heaven), the Son (in the form of Jesus himself), and the Holy Spirit (in the form of the heaven-descended dove). At the conclusion of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus will reference baptism again when he instructs his disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19).

As I was reading this text and preparing for today, I remembered my own baptism as well as those I have had the privilege to watch. If you can remember your own baptism or one you have seen, I invite you to reflect on that in partnership with this passage throughout the next week.

Our Presbyterian Book of Order talks about baptism by saying, "Baptism is the sign and seal of incorporation into Christ. Jesus through his own baptism identified himself with sinners in order to fulfill all righteousness (W-2.3001)." This is a direct reference to the passage that we have before us today.

There are plenty of connections we can see between Jesus’ baptism and our own. In the Presbyterian Church, when we baptize we use the formula in which we call the person to be baptized by their given name and then, as we sprinkle them with water, say, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." So in our baptism, each of us is called by name and the Trinity is invoked. In Jesus’ baptism, we have the presence of each of the members of the Trinity and also Jesus is claimed by the special name of God’s Son.

Immediately following his baptism, Jesus is led into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted. Jesus’ baptism, which was done to set in motion the fulfillment of all righteousness or to continue God’s saving work in the world, has prepared him for this time of testing. In a similar fashion, our baptisms prepare us for times of testing.

Martin Luther was kept in Wartburg Castle for his own protection for a time. During his time cooped up in the castle, he wrote on the top of his desk, "I am baptized." His baptism became a comfort to him in his time of testing and when he was in danger.

But baptism in our tradition isn’t just an end in itself. This church does not offer baptism as merely something that needs to be done. Baptism in our tradition is a step along the path of discipleship. In the Presbyterian Church there are no private baptisms. We do not have special services for only friends and family of the person to be baptized. When we have a baptism, we throw open wide the doors of the church and welcome all who will come to be witnesses to this important step along the path of discipleship.

The act of baptism isn’t merely an action taken on by the person to be baptized or the parents of a child to be baptized. The nurture of the baptized person is not the sole responsibility of the minister. The person to be baptized, or his or her parent or guardian, makes a profession of their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they "renounce evil and affirm their reliance upon God’s grace," and they declare their intention to actively participate in the worship and mission of the church (see W-3.3603).

But that isn’t where the sacrament ends. The congregation then professes its faith, voices its support of the one to be baptized, and then "expresses its willingness to take responsibility for the nurture of those baptized (W-3.3603)." When we look at baptism in this way, we see that baptism is not an end but is a step along the path of discipleship that we walk all of our days.

Jesus’ baptism was the launching pad for his whole ministry. By initiating God’s plan and following along with God’s definition of righteousness, Jesus was prepared and launched upon the path that would lead through the cross to the empty tomb.

In our baptism the path of discipleship has already been blazed by the One we seek to follow. Christ is our model of discipleship. We do not walk the path alone, those who were with us at our baptism, have promised to nurture us along the way. We have also promised to nurture others along the path of discipleship. Through journeying together as a community anchored in Christ we can be empowered by our baptisms to seek to "fulfill all righteousness." We can work for God’s justice in the world and see how we too can work with "God’s passionate commitment to set right the things that are wrong."

Though at our own baptism, we may not have experienced a voice from heaven or seen the Spirit descending like a dove, God has called us all by name, Christ has lived among us, the Holy Spirit has been breathed out among us. Empowered by God, we can walk as a community bound together by Christ to pursue God’s justice and face any temptations that come our way.

The Presbyterian Book of Order states, "In Baptism, we participate in Jesus’ death and resurrection. In Baptism, we die to what separates us from God and are raised to newness of life in Christ. Baptism points us back to the grace of God expressed in Jesus Christ, who died for us and ho was raised for us. Baptism points us forward to that same Christ who will fulfill God’s purpose in God’s promised future (W-2.3002)."

As participants in Christ’s death and resurrection, through our baptism, we are commissioned to follow the one about whom God declares, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." As we walk along this path of discipleship together, let us join together to fulfill God’s version of true righteousness.