Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Jesus: The Ultimate in Relational Ministry


Matthew 3 contains a story of Jesus being baptized by a man named John (the Baptizer). This story is significant, because it tells a little bit of the why Jesus was here. As we know Jesus came declaring the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom is near. The Kingdom is like… Jesus cared about the Kingdom. This Kingdom was the new community of God’s people that were going to be about God’s ways. What does Jesus’ baptism have to do with the Kingdom? I find it very interesting That Jesus thought he needed to be baptized. John said that he wanted people to be baptized for repentance from sin. People do terrible things, and people need forgiveness for those things.
Jesus, though, was not a sinner. Jesus was never recorded doing terrible things. If not, why in the world did he think he needed to be baptized for repentance? Jesus did not need to repent. To understand this we need to take an honest look back at the first century culture.
Today we are individualistic in nature. I have my beliefs on things, and you have yours. We believe that God came to save me personally from my sins. A first century person in Jesus times would not see things this way. Sin was personal, but it was not seen that way. If the King of a land sinned the whole was sinning. So for Jesus, who was a part of the Israel and its traditions, he personally was not a sinner, but his people were. Think abut it this way. When people came in 2001 and attacked the World Trade Center killing thousands who was to blame? We know that there were only a few people that actually fulfilled the tasks, but we now have a skepticism and nervousness about seeing and Arab person on a flight. Why? Because some how another person’s sin is tied to people like them. Jesus was not a bad person, just like the person on the flight, but his people were. Jesus’ people turned on God, and he was a part of those people. So for Jesus to get baptized by John was a proclamation by Christ to say that I repent on behalf of my people (Israel).
What does Jesus’ baptism have to do with us today. As one of my friends regularly says, “What does it all mean Basil”. The point is found in Jesus’ action. Jesus entire ministry was based around relating to humanity (and especially the Jews). For God to take on flesh, was an obvious act of relating, but for God to be baptized is even greater.
God Loves You. As in the famous passage by 1 John 4:8: God IS Love. What amazing truth this really is. God is love, and all his acts are worked out through his identity. Jesus was baptized to say, “I’m in this with you”. That is comforting to know. So maybe when you have just experienced a death in the family we can remember that God died so he can understand your hurt and pain. Jesus was not just the perfect representation of God, but he was the perfect representation of humanity as it should be. So take comfort in knowing that Christ was baptized because of love, and grace, and peace. May we then be encouraged to follow in that same path. Maybe we need to practice love like Christ did. Maybe we need to enter into those dark places of other people’s lives just to say that: “I am here with you”.
So today maybe you feel alone, and that no one understands you, but I contend that God does through Jesus. Jesus knows how you feel and hurt and want, and you can trust Jesus to help you through it. And maybe to the person that sees someone hurting and has no compassion on them. Remember that Christ had compassion on you. Christ entered into your darkness to create light, and we have the ability to do the same in others! Amen.

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