Fellow Redeemed in Christ Jesus our Lord,
How did the Magi know at which house they would find the newborn king of the Jews? St. Matthew tells us, “They went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” God had provided these Gentiles a trustworthy witness to lead the way to their Savior.
About three decades later, crowds of Abraham’s children from the countryside and Jerusalem came out to the River Jordan where John was baptizing. John also preached repentance in preparation for judgment in the coming of the promised Messiah. Some wondered if John was that Messiah. John assured them he was not. A greater one would follow.
The table was set. There was the one preparing the way. There was the crowd who needed the Savior. The revelation of the Savior would come soon. How would these people find their way to Jesus as the Magi did? God provided two trustworthy witnesses to lead their way to their Savior. They lead us to Jesus as well.
At that Time the Father Made Jesus Known. Through the testimony of John the Baptist. And, through his own voice from heaven.
Through the testimony of John the Baptist, the Father made Jesus known. This was no accident. In the verses just before our text, St. Mark quoted Isaiah 40, “as it is written” about God sending his messenger ahead of the Messiah to prepare his way.
See how important those words at the start of our lesson are? “And so John appeared in the wilderness…” God put John there to fulfill the Old Testament Scripture. God provided John as the instrument to reveal Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ.
The Father was in control of the time and place to make Jesus known as our Savior. So important are all the words the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible’s writers to put to paper. Even little phrases like “as it is written,” “and so,”reveal the Father’s mind and purpose for us to know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God, our King and our Redeemer.It was the fullness of time for the Father to reveal the fulfillment of his eternal plan to send his only begotten Son into the flesh.
Thousands of years of promise came to fruition that day by the Jordan. The three other gospels flesh out the testimony of John the Baptist. He pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John calls Jesus not only the greater one, but the eternal one, the one “who was before me.” John called the people to repentance and confession as he described Jesus as the one who brings judgment against sin, and provides forgiveness for those sins.
What does all this mean for us? We have the eyewitness testimony of the one the Father called to make Jesus known to us. The Father sent them both; John to prepare the way, Jesus the Way. John’s testimony is true and therefore reliable for our faith.
The Father did not leave it at that, although certainly he could have. That would be enough for us. In addition, moreover, at that time the Father made Jesus known through his own voice from heaven.
There is another of those small important phrases, “At that time.” It was in God’s time that Jesus stopped being hidden from the world as the Christ. “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” This set the pattern for the end of his life. At that time, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem to suffer, and to die on the cross in our place to pay the debt of our sins.
It was disconcerting to John that Jesus wanted John to baptize him. Jesus reassured the prophet that this was all part of the righteousness Jesus would earn for us. Jesus did not need baptismas we did. He did it as one of us, as our substitute, taking our sins under that cleansing flood. This was the baptism John was administering, and our children and we enjoy today. Our baptism is a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus’ baptism is the opening of his public ministry of preaching, teaching and doing miracles. So that everyone would know the Son spoke for the Father, taught only God’s Word, and did real miracles to manifest his person and power, the Father anointed his Son with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus is the “Anointed One,” the Father’s choice to be our perfect Prophet, Priest, and King.
In addition to this, the Father made Jesus known through his own voice from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” The Father addressed these words to Jesus and to those around him. The Father’s words were for Jesus’ strengthening in his work as a true human being. They were to identify him to the crowd and for us so we would not look for another. The Father was well pleased with his Son because he knew his Son would complete the redemptive work he had come to do. Jesus had been doing that work since his conception, of course, but now the entire world would witness it.
We have no one less than our Heavenly Father assuring us that Jesus is the Christ. He was holy for us. He would die for us and did die on the cross. The Father chose him and gave him the Spirit and power to do his work.
We know his words are true. He is God and cannot lie. The Magi knew where to go in their faith and with their gifts. God had provided a faithful witness in the star. They went to Jesus.
We go to God’s Son and Mary’s Son in our faith, and with our gifts. We have two faithful witnesses. We add our voices to John’s, and the Father’s. Here is Jesus, your Savior. Judgment has come against sin, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Amen. <SDG>