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The Baptism of Our Lord – January 19^th, 2025 Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas Rev. Joshua Woelmer Text: Matthew 3:13–17 “The Great Exchange” Theme: Jesus’s baptism was the beginning of His ministry, and it links His work of salvation to our lives—and our baptism. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. If you’ve ever been really dirty after a hard day working outside, you know how great it can feel to take a shower at the end of the day. Whether you’ve been working cattle, weeding the garden, mowing the lawn, playing sports, or burning brush, it is a great feeling to take a shower and feel all the sweat and dirt flowing off your body into the drain. Now, I’m aware that there’s a basic difference between those who shower before they go to work, and those who shower after they go to work. In other words, this is the difference between white-collar and blue-collar workers based on when you need to shower. I admit that I am a white-collar worker—quite literally, in my case. Nonetheless, whatever collar you wear to work, we all recognize the need for a good shower. It makes you clean and ready to be around other people. A physical washing is one thing. It removes grime and dirt. But there is a deeper filth and uncleanness. The Bible describes our sin in just those words. Many people feel them too, that sin leaves marks in your mind and soul. We ought to recognize the need for a spiritual washing from this filth. This is what baptism is. The origins of baptism come from the ritual washing of vessels for use in the temple. Baptism made holy things that were originally common. John the Baptist came preaching a message of repentance. He baptized people so they would be holy, not just common. He would prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. Your baptism has transformed you from that which is common to that which is set apart for God’s purposes. You are holy because God has washed you. Yes, we ought to thank God for this gift of forgiveness! Even more, God has put his name on you and called you his own. But here is a question to ponder: what happened to all the sin that was washed off of you in baptism? If I could take my shower imagery one step further, imagine you have the best filter system out there that would remove the dirt and sweat from the water. People in the International Space Station rely on just this sort of filtering. The water there is constantly cycled. But imagine spiritually that your sin is drawn up out of those baptismal waters. It is then placed on Jesus in His baptism. He took upon Himself your sin in His baptism. Jesus was baptized not for his sin, but to “fulfill all righteousness” (15). He was baptized for your sin. He bore your sin all the way to the cross. At the cross, Jesus shed his blood to cover all your sin. There’s a number of different ways the Bible depicts this. St. Paul says this in Colossians 2, “[God has canceled] the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (14). Micah prophesied this in the Old Testament: “[God] will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (7:19). Another great image that we should all have in mind is that of the Great Exchange. All of your sin is placed on Jesus, and His righteousness is laid on you. We exchange our weakness for Jesus’s strength. But he, though strong, took on our weakness in order to die. Jesus suffered the spiritual torment that we deserve, being forsaken by His Father on the cross, that we would be saved from it. Even though we will die physically, we who believe in Him will not experience that torment. This great exchange is great news for us! Baptism is at the center of it. It’s no accident that the whole Trinity is present at Jesus’ baptism. “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (16–17). You have the Father speaking upon the Son, and the Holy Spirit descending. This is extremely rare in the Bible. Even at the Transfiguration, you have the Father and the Son, but not the Spirit. You have the Spirit at Pentecost, but not the Father or the Son. You could argue that the whole Trinity is involved in Creation in Genesis 1. John mentions the three persons of the Trinity working together a few times (John 15–16; 1 John 5:7). The big revelation of the Trinity, though, happens in Matthew 28 where Jesus institutes Holy Baptism: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (19). This is no accident. Jesus’ baptism and your baptism are linked. Even if you don’t remember your baptism, you are still blessed by it. You don’t remember Jesus being crucified on the cross, do you? No, it happened hundreds of years before you were even born. And yet Jesus saved you by an act that you have never seen or experienced. So too with your baptism. You may not remember it, but you don’t remember your own birth either. God is one who gave you the new birth of the Holy Spirit. God is the one who has dumped on you all the blessings of Jesus. God is the one who gives you the Name of the Trinity. Yes, your baptism is a spiritual washing that washes away all your sin. It is a far greater shower than any physical shower. It is one that we all need, whether you are a blue-collar worker, white-collar worker, or clerical-collar worker. Especially for a clerical-collar worker. Each of us needs the promise of the Great Exchange, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). It does not seem like water can provide a spiritual cleansing, but God works through the water to do this. “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor 1:28–29). If God has chosen water as the means by which to save us, then that is good. For he also chose the shame of the ancient world, a man on the cross, to win for us salvation. So then, let us boast in the Lord, by whose blood we are cleansed. Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen. Return to Top \| Return to Sermons \| Home \| Email Church Office

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The Baptism of Our Lord – January 19^th, 2025

Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas

Rev. Joshua Woelmer

Text: Matthew 3:13–17

“The Great Exchange”

Theme: Jesus’s baptism was the beginning of His ministry, and it links His work of salvation to our lives—and our baptism.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

If you’ve ever been really dirty after a hard day working outside, you know how great it can feel to take a shower at the end of the day. Whether you’ve been working cattle, weeding the garden, mowing the lawn, playing sports, or burning brush, it is a great feeling to take a shower and feel all the sweat and dirt flowing off your body into the drain.

Now, I’m aware that there’s a basic difference between those who shower before they go to work, and those who shower after they go to work. In other words, this is the difference between white-collar and blue-collar workers based on when you need to shower. I admit that I am a white-collar worker—quite literally, in my case. Nonetheless, whatever collar you wear to work, we all recognize the need for a good shower. It makes you clean and ready to be around other people.

A physical washing is one thing. It removes grime and dirt. But there is a deeper filth and uncleanness. The Bible describes our sin in just those words. Many people feel them too, that sin leaves marks in your mind and soul. We ought to recognize the need for a spiritual washing from this filth.

This is what baptism is. The origins of baptism come from the ritual washing of vessels for use in the temple. Baptism made holy things that were originally common. John the Baptist came preaching a message of repentance. He baptized people so they would be holy, not just common. He would prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. Your baptism has transformed you from that which is common to that which is set apart for God’s purposes. You are holy because God has washed you. Yes, we ought to thank God for this gift of forgiveness! Even more, God has put his name on you and called you his own.

But here is a question to ponder: what happened to all the sin that was washed off of you in baptism? If I could take my shower imagery one step further, imagine you have the best filter system out there that would remove the dirt and sweat from the water. People in the International Space Station rely on just this sort of filtering. The water there is constantly cycled. But imagine spiritually that your sin is drawn up out of those baptismal waters. It is then placed on Jesus in His baptism. He took upon Himself your sin in His baptism.

Jesus was baptized not for his sin, but to “fulfill all righteousness” (15). He was baptized for your sin. He bore your sin all the way to the cross. At the cross, Jesus shed his blood to cover all your sin. There’s a number of different ways the Bible depicts this. St. Paul says this in Colossians 2, “[God has canceled] the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (14). Micah prophesied this in the Old Testament: “[God] will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (7:19).

Another great image that we should all have in mind is that of the Great Exchange. All of your sin is placed on Jesus, and His righteousness is laid on you. We exchange our weakness for Jesus’s strength. But he, though strong, took on our weakness in order to die. Jesus suffered the spiritual torment that we deserve, being forsaken by His Father on the cross, that we would be saved from it. Even though we will die physically, we who believe in Him will not experience that torment. This great exchange is great news for us!

Baptism is at the center of it. It’s no accident that the whole Trinity is present at Jesus’ baptism. “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (16–17). You have the Father speaking upon the Son, and the Holy Spirit descending. This is extremely rare in the Bible. Even at the Transfiguration, you have the Father and the Son, but not the Spirit. You have the Spirit at Pentecost, but not the Father or the Son. You could argue that the whole Trinity is involved in Creation in Genesis 1.

John mentions the three persons of the Trinity working together a few times (John 15–16; 1 John 5:7). The big revelation of the Trinity, though, happens in Matthew 28 where Jesus institutes Holy Baptism: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (19). This is no accident. Jesus’ baptism and your baptism are linked.

Even if you don’t remember your baptism, you are still blessed by it. You don’t remember Jesus being crucified on the cross, do you? No, it happened hundreds of years before you were even born. And yet Jesus saved you by an act that you have never seen or experienced. So too with your baptism. You may not remember it, but you don’t remember your own birth either. God is one who gave you the new birth of the Holy Spirit. God is the one who has dumped on you all the blessings of Jesus. God is the one who gives you the Name of the Trinity.

Yes, your baptism is a spiritual washing that washes away all your sin. It is a far greater shower than any physical shower. It is one that we all need, whether you are a blue-collar worker, white-collar worker, or clerical-collar worker. Especially for a clerical-collar worker. Each of us needs the promise of the Great Exchange, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). It does not seem like water can provide a spiritual cleansing, but God works through the water to do this. “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor 1:28–29). If God has chosen water as the means by which to save us, then that is good. For he also chose the shame of the ancient world, a man on the cross, to win for us salvation. So then, let us boast in the Lord, by whose blood we are cleansed.

Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

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