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THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORDJanuary 11, 2026Pastor Tom SteersChrist the Saviour Lutheran Church, OUR OPENING HYMN: 839 “O Christ, Our True and Only Light ”Lutheran Service BookCONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Page 184-185 THE INTROIT – Psalm 2:7-11, 12c; antiphon: Isaiah 42:1aBehold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights. I will tell of the decree:The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling, for his wrath is quickly kindled.Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights. KYRIE (Lord Have Mercy) Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.Pastor: The Lord be with you.Congregation: And with thy Spirit. OUR COLLECT PRAYER – Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.Our Bible Readings:Old Testament – Isaiah 42:1-9 Psalm 29 (antiphon: v.3) Epistle: Romans 6:1-11 Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17 THE NICENE CREED Page 191HYMN OF THE DAY: 405 “To Jordan’s River Came Our Lord”THE SERMON –Why does Jesus come to the Jordan to be baptized?That question stands at the heart of today’s Gospel passage. John the Baptist himself asks it, though not with words alone. When Jesus steps into the waters, John is troubled. He knows who stands before him. He knows his own calling and human nature. And he feels that this moment isn't right. “I need to be baptized by you,” John confesses, “and do you come to me?”John recognizes what we so easily forget. Jesus is not a sinner demonstrating repentance. He is the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. But Jesus insists.“Let it be so now,” He says, “for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” With those words, Christ reveals what His baptism is truly about. It’s not about His need. It’s about ours.To “fulfill all righteousness” doesn’t imply that Jesus lacked something before this moment. It means He willingly places Himself under everything God requires of fallen humanity. Jesus enters the waters not to be cleansed, but to consecrate those waters for sinners. He steps into the Jordan as the obedient Son, the Servant of the Lord foretold by Isaiah. “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.”The voice from Heaven echoes those very words. This is no accident. The Baptism of Jesus is a public declaration that He has come to be the Servant who bears the sins of all. In His baptism, Jesus is set apart — He is anointed, approved, and sent. The Spirit descends on Him. The Father speaks from heaven. The Son stands in the water. Here, at the Jordan, the Holy Trinity reveals itself for the sake of our salvation. This is not simply a beautiful moment. It is a saving one.Martin Luther understood this event with striking clarity. He saw that Christ’s baptism is not just an example, but an exchange. Luther wrote, “Christ accepted it from John for the reason that He was entering into our stead, indeed, our person, that is, becoming a sinner for us, taking upon Himself the sins which He had not committed, and wiping them out and drowning them in His Holy Baptism.” These are bold words. They’re meant to be. Luther dares to say what the Gospel itself proclaims. Jesus becomes what He is not, so that we might become what we are not.He who was without sin steps into the place of sinners. He who is beloved by God stands where the condemned should be. And He does this freely. Willingly. Joyfully.John’s hesitation, then, is entirely understandable.John baptizes sinners. Jesus is not one. John calls people to repentance. Jesus has nothing to repent of. But John’s baptism was never about worthiness. It was always about God’s promise. Jesus submits to John’s baptism because He is submitting to the Father’s will. He is beginning the great descent that will carry Him all the way to the cross.The Jordan here theologically flows toward Calvary. The waters of baptism point toward blood and nails, and a borrowed tomb. From this moment on, Jesus walks the path of the sacrificial substitute.The Apostle Paul gives us language to describe this exchange. “For our sake,” Paul writes, “he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” That is what “fulfilling all righteousness” signifies. Jesus fulfills it not by demanding it from us, but by giving it to us. He meets every righteous requirement of God. He obeys the Law perfectly. Suffers innocently. Dies willingly. And He rises victoriously. All of this begins here, in the water.At His baptism, Jesus publicly identifies Himself with us poor sinners. He unites Himself to His beloved creation. He places Himself under judgment so that we might stand under grace.And now we must ask the question, What does the Baptism of Jesus mean for our baptism? The answer – everything. Because Christ’s baptism is not isolated from ours. It is the foundation of it. When Jesus enters the Jordan, He binds Himself to sinners. When we were baptized, He bound Himself to us.Our baptism is not about our decision, faithfulness, or obedience. It is about Christ’s. It’s about His righteousness given as a gift to you and me. It is about His death and resurrection applied to us.Paul makes this unmistakably clear in Romans Chapter 6. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” To be baptized is to be joined to Christ. Not symbolically. Not metaphorically. But truly.In baptism, you are united with Jesus in His death. Your sin is drowned. Your old Adam is crucified. Your guilt is buried with Him. And just as Christ was raised from the dead, so we are raised to walk in the newness of life. This is not poetry alone. It is promise.The same Spirit who descended upon Jesus in the Jordan is given to you in Holy Baptism. The same Father who declared His Son beloved speaks a verdict over you – “This is my beloved child, in whom I am pleased.” Not because of our merit. Not because of our progress in holiness. But because you are in Christ.The righteousness that Jesus fulfilled is now yours. His obedience covers your disobedience. His holiness covers your sin. His life covers your death.That is why baptism is not a past event to be outgrown. It is a present daily reality in the Christian life. As Luther teaches us, Baptism is something we return to every day of our life through repentance and faith.The Baptism of Our Lord also teaches how God saves. And that’s not through asking us to achieve redemption through our own ‘good works.’ Not through a false, self-righteous display in an altar call, declaring we have ‘chosen Jesus’ and deserve salvation. It is not through spectacle, nor power, as the world understands it. But through water and God’s Word. Through the suffering Saviour who stoops low.Christ does not begin His ministry in a palace, but in a river. Among sinners. Placing Himself under judgment. And He remains with us still. Meeting us not where we are strong, but where we are weak. Not where we are ‘righteous,’ but where we are in need of His perfect righteousness.Through Baptism He is there for you, in His Word, in the Absolution, and in His Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper. Just as He promised.So, today, as we remember the Baptism of Our Lord, we’re not just recalling something Jesus once did. We’re confessing what He continues to do. The One who stands in our place. The One who continues to lead us through death into life. The heavens were opened over the Jordan. They remain open for believers, because Christ has fulfilled all righteousness. Now and forever. AmenPRAYERS OF THE CHURCH SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer Page 196 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Page 198 Post-Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201 OUR CLOSING HYMN: 402 “The Only Son From Heaven”