On Baptism

We got to baptize a young man today!

It's always an awesome event in the life of a church to celebrate someone's decision to commit to, and identify with Jesus in baptism. In the small church, every good event matters. There's always a need to remind people what we're about, to point them to Jesus.

Baptism matters.

As I read the accounts of Jesus' baptism again this week, two things stood out.

First, the dedication He had to doing God's will. He walked about 60 miles to be baptized by John.

But something else - that I had never thought of before.

Jesus was there to be baptized with everyone else.

And everyone else there to be baptized was a repentant sinner.

So let's assume that Jesus didn't look like all those English guys that usually play him in the movies, or have that freaky halo/golden plate behind his head. There's no way to tell the Messiah without a program yet.

If you or I were standing there, and we saw a young man in line to be baptized, we would naturally assume he was like everyone else.

That he was one of us.

Even at the beginning of his ministry - in the first act of it - Jesus wasn't afraid to be among, with, even labeled (falsely) as a sinner. His reputation didn't matter nearly as much as doing God's will and living out His purpose.

Think about it.