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Psalm 71:12-14
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O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt. But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. (ESV)
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The Lord's Baptism
St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor
26 January 2011
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In Martin Luther's hymn, "To Jordan Came the Christ our Lord" (LSB, 406), we see evidence that for him the baptism of the Christian Church was founded in the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan. Christ's action establishes all. This runs counter to modern wisdom which places the emphasis on the command to baptize (Mt 28:19). And as important as that command is, the Lord gives it for the sake of the blessings He has put into our baptism through His own baptism in Jordan. Nor is this point of view of Luther's own unique mania. He derived it from Scripture certainly, but he also shares it with the ancient church's fathers, including Leo the Great, who spoke of the purposes of the Lord's baptism in a sermon.
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Leo the Great
"When the Lord came to St. John's baptism, know that the grace of that baptism and the reason of it were quite different. Christ's baptism is not on an equal footing with the power by which Christians are re-born of the Holy Ghost, of whom it is said, 'which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God' (Jn 1:13). For the Lord who needed no remission of sin and sought not the remedy of being born again, desired to be baptized just as He desired to be circumcised, and to have a victim offered for His purification, that He, who had been 'made of a woman' (Gal 4:4) as the Apostle says, might become also 'under the law' which He had come, 'not to destroy but to fulfill' (Mt 5:17) and by fulfilling to end it, as the blessed Apostle proclaims, saying: 'Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes' (Rm 10:4). The sacrament of baptism Christ established in His own person. He taught that He Himself was the beginning, 'that in everything he might be preeminent' (Col 1:18). And He ratified the power of re-birth on that occasion, when from His side flowed out the blood of ransom and the water of baptism."
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Prayer
Almighty God, You called Titus to the work of pastor and teacher. Make all shepherds of Your flock diligent in preaching Your holy Word so that the whole world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
For all the baptized that they might repose quietly in the gift of holiness granted them in their baptisms
For marriage and family, especially for those who are planning weddings
For Memorial Lutheran School, that Headmaster Day, faculty, and staff would be faithful to their calling as teachers and leaders in the church
Notice: Pastor Murray is traveling to India 6-28 January. There may be interruptions in Memorial Moment delivery owing to inconsistent access to the internet while there. Please be patient.
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Art: MEMLING, Hans Adoration of the Magi c. 1470
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 © Scott R. Murray, 2011
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