All Righteousness fulfilled for you.

Matthew 3:12-17 

Grace be unto you and peace…

The Father preaches.  The Holy Spirit hovers over the water as at the dawn of creation – descending upon the Word with the gentleness of a dove.  The Son, who for our sake became the chief of sinners, is washed in a mysterious way, standing in and with the water at this miraculous moment in time. The heavens, which were once closed to us on account of our sins, are opened and a window, albeit no more wide than the size of a man, remains that we might peer into eternity.

From this time on, anyone baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit will be called “my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”.  They will be covered with the One who continues to be in and with the water by the power of His Name.  They’ll continue to be regarded by God as having been united with Him in His death, at that place where heaven touches earth.  They’ll continue to be regarded by God in light of His Son, who pours out His life for the world…who, in fulfilment of the prophecy, creates a river comprised of His very life that makes glad the city of God…where the holy habitation of the Most High is found…and where a new creation is made.  Sin is covered and righteousness is fulfilled in the perfection of God’s own perfection.  From this time on, this will no longer be plain water only, but the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word…as surely as the Word of God Himself stands even today both in and with the water.

I.  This Word from God was different on this day from the days of old.  

When Moses went up on the mountain and received the law, the earth shook as His voice rang out.  The top of the mountain was consumed in fire.  The words were stern:  You shall have no other gods.  You shall not covet and so on. The people trembled at the sound and from then on, Moses had to hide his face because the mere sight of God’s radiance drove them to fear. All they could perceive in the radiance at that time was sternness and demands that could never be fully met.

In contrast, these Words preached at Jesus’ baptism were spoken tenderly.   “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”.  They were spoken in the present, active tense which, in the Greek, signifies a continual, ongoing action.  This suggests that they were spoken more than once…that perhaps the voice was continually saying, “this is my beloved Son…this is my beloved Son…this is my beloved Son”.  In these there was no sternness.  In these God’s wrath against sin had been appeased and “all righteousness fulfilled”.  It was a very different word from days of old…a better word…a word that has now become the foundation of great news for you!

IN CHRIST’S BAPTISM ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS IS FULFILLED THAT IN BAPTISM, CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS MIGHT BE COUNTED TO YOU.

II.  This righteousness that Christ is speaking of is more than just “punctiliar”.

That means that it’s more than simply something that takes place in one moment in time in response (or in relation to) another moment in time.  In other words, the “all righteousness” that Christ is speaking of is greater than the idea that, “I sinned.  I confessed at another moment in time and that, with the absolution, for a brief second…I was “righteous”.  It’s more than just a punctiliar kind of righteousness.  It’s more than simply something that exists moment to moment or case by case.

Some people, as they sit through our service each Sunday, have wondered, “…We just had the absolution (or forgiveness of sins)…Then, sometimes, in the reading you hear Jesus Himself pronounce the forgiveness of sins…then in the sermon so often the gospel, in its most basic form is again pronounced (the forgiveness of sins)…then we go to the altar and once again we receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.  And some of you have wondered, “How much of this ‘forgiveness of sins do I need?’”.  How often do I need to hear “Your sins are forgiven”?

Some of you have even wondered, “You know, I’ve been sitting here, attentively hearing the Word of the Lord on the day we at least functionally observe as the Sabbath…and neither my mind nor my body have strayed from this very spot and disposition…I’m not sure I’ve even sinned since the last time I heard those words (Your sins are forgiven)”.

If you think of sin and grace in a punctiliar way, it’s natural to think like this.  In other words, if you sin…you need to confess and receive absolution.  One transaction leads to another.  One sin, in a moment in time needs forgiveness in subsequent moment in time.  But Christ means more than this when He says, “This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness”.

III.  Righteousness is not something that only temporarily exists in one moment in time.

Righteousness is not completely fulfilled simply because, in a moment in time you were absolved of sins committed in another moment in time.  Rather, “All Righteousness” is fulfilled when you are united with the eternal Christ who is your righteousness.  In Him, all righteousness is fulfilled because you who “were once far off have been brought near”.  All righteousness is fulfilled because you who were once estranged are welcomed by God to eat and drink at His table.  All righteousness is fulfilled because, on account of your baptism into Christ, you can come into His presence with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise…where you hear the continual refrain of, “this is my beloved Son…this is my beloved Son…this is my beloved Son…with whom I am well pleased” being spoken of you on account of Christ . All righteousness is fulfilled when you, who’ve been clothed with Christ, peer into the window opened to you in Christ…when, together with all the Hosts of heaven you see the eternal, fulfilling the prophetic words of Revelation 21 ring throughout the Heavens and the Earth: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man”.

That’s why, you hear His pronouncement in the beginning of the service.  You hear it in the reading of His Word.  You hear it in the sermon.  You hear it when you join Him at His table.  It’s not simply a “punctiliar” event. It’s the continual refrain upon all who, having come into His presence, who having been clothed with Christ remain covered and welcomed in the blood of the Lamb for all eternity.

Conclusion: This is why you should treasure…absolutely treasure…the gift that you have received in your baptism.  In baptism, you’ve been united with Christ in a death like His – under the flood of God’s wrath.  In baptism, you’ve been clothed with the righteousness of Christ.  This is not simply a punctiliar form of grace.  It is a means by which God has graciously given Himself and His perfect, on-going righteousness to you.  It’s a means by which you can “approach the throne of grace with confidence”, knowing that in Christ, those words “this is my beloved son…this is my beloved son…this is my beloved son” now include you.  

Your baptism is the means by which He claims you as His own and a means by which you can now claim Christ and His on-going, never-fading righteousness as yours.  It’s on account of this means of grace, that you can firmly put your hope in Jesus.  In baptism, the prophetic words of Psalm 46 now ring true:  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.  Baptism is not simply a punctiliar washing.  It is like a river…a river through whose streams God continues to be gracious to you…on account of whose streams you continue to be washed and clothed…on account of whose streams that window remains opened.  The door remains unlocked.  The table continues to be prepared and you continue to be welcomed into the Holy Habitation of the Most High.  Behold the table.  Behold the dwelling place of God is with man.  Behold, all righteousness has been fulfilled in Jesus’ Name, for you.  Amen.                 

And now may the peace of God….

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