Baptized and Beloved
- Rev. Christopher Brademeyer
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Beloved and Baptized
The Baptism of the Lord – 1/11/2026
Matthew 3:13-17
Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer
That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew in the third chapter with special emphasis on verses sixteen and seventeen which read as follows:
“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.’”[1]
Thus far the Scriptures.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
At first glance, Baptism can appear to be a very ordinary thing. A little water. A few words. A pastor’s hand. A crying infant or a wet adult. Nothing flashy. Nothing impressive. Nothing that looks particularly powerful. And yet, Scripture insists that something enormous is happening.
Today’s readings all press the same point from different angles: God does His saving work through humble means, so that faith rests not in us, but in Him alone. And this central truth is clearly seen in Holy Baptism.
God Brings His People Through the Water
In Joshua three, we find the people of Israel standing at the edge of the Jordan River. Behind them is the wilderness that they wandered in for forty years after being brough out of slavery in Egypt. Ahead of them is the Promised Land. Between them stands water; a river impassable, dangerous, and beyond their ability to cross.
But that water is not beyond God and He promised Joshua that the people of Israel safely pass through the water on dry ground. But this was not done how Isreal might have wanted it. No, it was done as God ordained it. The key detail is this: the water does not move until the priests step in.
The Lord said, “When the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD… shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters… shall be cut off.”[2] And that is exactly what happened. The priests stepped in. The waters were stopped up. The people passed through on dry ground.
The crossing of the Jordan is not an act of human courage or clever engineering. It is not Israel’s faith that parts the waters. It is the presence and promise of God carried into the river. Faith does not create the miracle; faith receives it.
This is why the Church has always seen in this event a picture of Baptism. God brings His people through death into life by means of water joined to His Word. The Jordan is not holy because it is impressive water; it is holy because God is at work there delivering His people from death in the wilderness to their home in the Promised Land.
God Chooses What Looks Weak
St. Paul drives this point home in our Epistle reading. “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”[3] God working through things that seem weak or of no account is no accidental. It is deliberate. God works this way so that no one may boast before Him, so that none of us can think that we offer anything to God or on our own behalf in salvation. Baptism offends human pride because it leaves no room for self-congratulation. You do not baptize yourself. You do not improve Baptism by your sincerity. You do not activate Baptism by the strength of your decision. You receive it.
This is precisely why the Church baptizes infants. Infants contribute nothing except need. And that is the very point! Baptism is not about what you bring to God; it is about what God gives to you. Faith, then, is not a work we perform in order to make Baptism effective. Faith is the open hand that receives what Baptism gives: forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and eternal salvation. Baptism, though it seems weak and of no importance, is the conduit, the means, through which God hands to you your salvation, even the salvation won for you in Christ Jesus.
Christ Enters the Water for Us
All of this comes into sharp focus in today’s Gospel. Jesus comes to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John rightly objects. Jesus has no sin to confess. He has no repentance to perform. He has no need of Baptism. And yet He insists: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus stepped into the water not for His sake, but for yours. He sanctified the Jordan and all waters by His presence. He took our place in the water so that we might take His place as beloved children of the Father.
Notice what happened next. The heavens were opened. The Spirit descended. The Father spoke: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This is not only a revelation about Jesus. It is also a revelation about your Baptism. Because you have been baptized into Christ, what the Father says of Him, He now says of you: you are beloved, forgiven, pleasing in His sight. Faith does not look inward to measure its sincerity. Faith looks outward to the water and the Word, it looks to where God has acted for you, and says, “God has done this thing for me!”
Faith Lives From Baptism
To emphasize faith in Baptism is not to turn Baptism into a human act. It is to insist that faith has an object. Faith must cling to something concrete. God gives that concreteness in Baptism.
When Satan accuses, faith does not argue feelings. It points to the font. When conscience trembles, faith does not speculate about worthiness. It remembers the promise: “You are baptized.” When death approaches, faith does not boast in decisions made long ago. It rests in what God has already done. That is to say, Baptism is a foundational part of our Christian life because it is where God handed us life and salvation so that our faith has something to cling to, something tangible and solid. And this, in turn, is so that we would have the comfort of knowing that God has acted on our behalf, for our betterment, even our forgiveness because of His Son.
Just as Israel stood safely on the far side of the Jordan because God had brought them through, so the baptized stand secure, not because of their strength, but because of God’s promise.
Conclusion
Baptism looks small. It looks weak. It looks unimpressive. But God delights to give salvation in this way. He parts waters. He opens heavens. He gives faith something firm to trust. And He does it so that, as St. Paul says, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” To remember our Baptisms is to do exactly that, to boast in the saving work of God that confounds the unbelieving world.
In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] Matthew 3:16-17 English Standard Version. All further quotations from the Holy Scriptures are from the ESV.
[2] Joshua 3:13
[3] 1 Corinthians 3:27
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