You Give Jesus Your Sins

Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Jesus—the sinless One, the Son of God, God Himself. Jesus, whom Matthew tells us is the fulfillment of the Old Testament; the Son of David; the Savior for Jew and Gentile alike; the One whom the Magi came to worship. This long-prophesied, long-foretold Jesus comes to the River Jordan.

At the River Jordan is John the Baptist—named quite literally, because he was baptizing people. John is out there baptizing for the remission of sins. Earlier, the Pharisees had come out to him, and he said, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Why are you here to receive this baptism?”

And yet here comes this perfect, sinless God—this Son of God—to be baptized for the remission of sins. What sins? He has no sins. He is the sinless One. John is understandably confused, because John recognizes that if anyone in this scenario should be baptized, it should be John by Jesus. John is the sinner.

Here we see an important truth—one I will not expound on at great length, but it is worth noting: Baptism is not based on the faith or holiness of the one who performs it. Anyone can baptize. Any Christian can baptize another person.

John says, “You should be baptizing me. Why are you coming here to be baptized?” And Jesus answers him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Jesus came to save sinners. Jesus came to take the place of sinners.

There is one gift that you give Jesus. I had this conversation with another pastor this week, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I was ready to argue theologically. I thought, What do you mean? There is nothing we can give God. And he said, “No—you give Jesus one thing. He asks for one thing from you. You give Jesus your sins.”

Christ came to be baptized for the sins of the whole world. Christ came—the sinless One—to become sin. And so He submits to a baptism for the remission of sins for all of humanity.

Every sinner who has ever lived: Jew or Gentile; straight, gay, bisexual, transgender; communist, fascist, capitalist, socialist; Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, Independent; Oklahomans—even Texans.

Christ died for everybody.

No one’s sin is so great that Christ did not die for them. Now, they can reject that forgiveness—but this is universal atonement. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

This is the truth we hold to—and this truth changes us.

When the waters of Baptism were poured upon us, we died, and a new creation took place. A new person rose out of those waters—whether fully immersed, sprinkled, or anything in between. One whose sin had been put to death, and who now lives the baptismal life: a life marked by hope, a life grounded in the completed work of Jesus Christ.

We are no longer permitted to hate our neighbor.
We are no longer permitted to idolize something other than God.
We are no longer permitted to cheat, steal, or murder.

And yet—we still do.

But we are still covered in the waters of Baptism. The water that was poured upon Jesus still takes up those sins as well.

It is easy to lose sight of this reality. The world is chaotic and constantly seeks to distract us. And we know our own sinful hearts and temptations. Satan comes and whispers, “Do you really think God can forgive you?”

Now, tragically, one of my issues with the lectionary is this: here we have the Baptism of Our Lord, and it ends with these words—“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Father speaks. The Holy Spirit descends as a dove. We see the Trinity revealed.

And yet, we will not hear Matthew chapter 4 until Ash Wednesday, February 18 this year. What happens next? Jesus is driven into the wilderness by the Spirit. He fasts forty days and forty nights. And Satan comes to Him.

The last words we heard were, “This is my beloved Son.” And the first words Satan speaks are, “If you are the Son of God…”

The same attack Satan used in the garden—questioning the Word of God—is the same attack he uses on Jesus, and it is the same attack he uses on you.

“Does God really forgive you?”
“Is your Baptism really good enough for what you have done?”
“Do you really think God could love someone like you?”

And the answer is yes.

Yes, God has forgiven you.
Yes, your Baptism is sufficient.
Yes, God loves you.

You know God loves you because He died for you. Because He was baptized for you.

And again, this changes who we are. It changes how we interact with others. It changes how we live. We become salt and light. We love our neighbors as ourselves. We pray for our enemies. We care for people whether they are near or far, whether we know them or not. We seek to meet their needs.

We live the baptismal life.

We live according to the higher calling of God, knowing that He has begun a good work in us—that He has already begun to remake creation in us. And through this new creation that we are, we participate in God’s work of renewing the world. That renewal will not be complete until Christ returns—but the work is not finished yet, because there is still so much evil in the world.

We are part of the light that shines, because Christ shines through us.

We are Christians—many Christs. Wherever we are, we represent the hope of the world. We represent the forgiveness of sins. We represent the truth that evil will come to an end, that death will be no more, and that sin has been defeated.

It is easy to lose sight of this. It is easy to watch the news and wonder: Is evil winning?

If you read the book of Revelation, the answer is yes—and no.

Evil will grow worse. There will be wars and rumors of wars, famines and pestilence. People will fall away from the faith. The Church will suffer persecution, until only a remnant remains.

But at the end of Revelation—at the end of the Word of God—Christ returns victorious. Evil is finally and fully defeated.

We should not expect a utopia on this side of eternity. The world has not been baptized. You and I have.

We should not expect everyone to hold hands, sing “Kumbaya,” and get along. If that were the case, I would not have a job—and frankly, I would love for the world to put me out of a job.

But there are people who do not know God.
People who have not been baptized.
People who have been deceived.
And people who give in to their sinful nature again and again.

And yet, we are not to lose hope in the midst of the storm—because that which is killing you has already been put to death. A new life has begun.

The tomb is empty.

The tomb is empty.

Which means no matter how much evil there is, Christ has won.
No matter how evil the person is that you struggle to love, Christ has won.
No matter the evil in your own heart, Christ has won.

And we stand upon that truth.

The Church has an identity—what our society might call “identity politics.” But our identity is simple: baptized. Christ is Lord. You are baptized. Christ is your Lord.

That is your identity.
That is what orders your life.
That is what orders your family.
That is the lens through which you view the world.

Faithful Christians will come to different conclusions about many things—but it will always be through the lens of Jesus Christ, because you are His baptized children. His Name has been placed upon you. Your sin has been placed upon Him.

And now you live a life freed from the punishment of sin—freed from guilt and shame—a life filled with hope, light, and love.

As we continue through Epiphany, and soon begin preparing for Lent and Easter, never lose sight of this: you are a baptized child of God, and that has changed you.

In Christ’s name. Amen.