Baptism Of The Lord; Epiphany 1
Preaching
PREACHING MATTHEW'S GOSPEL
A Narrative Approach
This week's assigned Gospel story is a continuation of the story assigned for the Second Sunday in Advent. (See Chapter 4.) A single story has been broken into two parts and divided in our attention by several weeks. One thing our sermon for this week needs to do is to put this story back together again.
Jack Kingsbury speaks of the importance of this passage in the schema of Matthew's story:
The crown of the first part of Matthew's story, which treats of Jesus' identity (1:1--4:16), is the baptismal scene. Here God, himself participating as "actor" in the story, empowers Jesus for messianic ministry and solemnly declares "who Jesus is."1
Chapter 3 of Matthew introduces John and his ministry of repentance and baptism. John knows that his baptizing points towards an eschatological event. A mightier One is coming. This coming One will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Then--that's Matthew's word--Jesus appears at the river Jordan and presents himself for baptism. John protests. "I should be baptized by you," he says to Jesus. Jesus will not be deterred. "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." These are the first words spoken by Jesus in Matthew's telling of the story. First words are crucial words. Jesus will fulfill all righteousness!
Here at the beginning, in his initial utterance, Jesus points to the very core of all his commands, all his disclosures, all his teachings: righteousness. With a few quick strokes of the pen Matthew has hammered out a solid connection between righteousness and baptism, between being the sons and daughters of God and doing the will of God.... Matthew carefully defines baptism as the first step on the way of righteousness.2
In his work Robert Smith defines righteousness as making the world "all right." Sinners and the world are made "all right" with God. Joseph Sittler often told the story of a time he was in Jerusalem and his car broke down. He took it to a mechanic to have it fixed. When the mechanic had finished and started up the engine to hear it running perfectly he said, "Zadik." Zadik is the Hebrew word translated as righteousness. In this context it means simply: "it works." Sinners and the world are made to "work" in and through the ministry of the One who fulfills all righteousness.
Righteousness is a fundamental theme in Matthew's Gospel. References to this reality are 5:6, 20; 6:1 ("piety" is used here to translate the Greek dikaosune), 6:33; 9:10-13; 13:36-43, 47-50; 25:31-46; 27:19, 24. We will suggest below the possibility of putting these passages together in a narrative sermon.
John baptized Jesus. Righteousness was fulfilled. The world was "all right" again. And the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Smith notes that John the Baptist had it wrong about Jesus as the one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (3:11). There is no mention of fire in Jesus' baptism. Only the Spirit. John didn't get it quite right about the more powerful One who was coming after him. None of the prophets got it just right. We know that because we know the One towards whom they could only point in inspired utterance. Gerhard von Rad once said, "We know the prophets better than the prophets understood themselves."
The Spirit of God does point to Jesus as God's special agent. It was through the Spirit that this One was conceived (1:18). It is through the Spirit that he is now empowered in his messianic ministry. Jesus is the bearer of the Spirit, the very life of God.
The Spirit language strains to say what the next verse (3:17) clearly says: Jesus is the Son of God. "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." (Old Testament passages that come to mind with these words of God are Genesis 22:2, Psalm 2:7, and Isaiah 42:1.)
God speaks. This passage is clearly determinative for Matthew of Jesus' identity. Jesus is Son of God.
God's designation for Jesus ("my Son") both overlaps in meaning the other designations we have encountered thus far ("Messiah" ["Coming One"], "Son of Abraham, "Son of David," and "King of the Jews") and transcends them.... The passage 3:17 is the first place where this truth, uttered by God as "actor," assumes the form of an event that occurs within the story itself.... By the same token, God's designation of Jesus as "my Son" also transcends these other designations in meaning. It does so because Matthew imbues it with a quality the others do not possess in like measure. This quality is that it attests to the unique filial relationship that exists between God and Jesus: Jesus is conceived by God's Spirit (1:18, 20) and empowered by God's Spirit (3:16) so that he is Emmanuel, or "God with us" (1:23); as such, he is the one in whom God reveals himself to humankind (11:27) and who is God's supreme agent of salvation.3
Kingsbury goes on to say that prior to this time Matthew has made many allusions to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. See 1:16; 1:18-25 (v. 23); 2:7-23 (Jesus is referred to as "the child" not Mary's child); 2:15, and 3:11, 16. The climax of this series of oblique references to Jesus as Son of God is the voice of God speaking as the actor in the baptismal scene. "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
If Matthew is intent on revealing to us what has been revealed to him, that Jesus is the Son of God, we would expect to find other references to Jesus' filial relationship with God throughout the Gospel story. Some of these references are 8:28-34 (v. 29); 14:28-33; 16:13-20 (Peter's confession); 17:1-8 (Transfiguration); 26:57-68 (v. 63, see also 27:40, trial); 27:45-54 (crucifixion; centurion's confession!); 28:16-20 (Great Commission, baptismal formula).
Homiletical Directions
There are two strong themes from this week's Gospel text that are woven throughout Matthew's work. The first theme we shall look at in preparation for preaching is the theme of righteousness. You may wish to use one of the possibilities suggested above as a down-to-earth translation of the meaning of righteousness: "all right," "it works."
Story One in a sermon dealing with righteousness should begin with the assigned text. Tell the story of Jesus' baptism with the focus on Jesus' claim that he has come to "fulfill all righteousness"; he has come to make everything "all right."
Story Two might be the story of Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners in 9:10-13. (This text is appointed for the Third Sunday in Pentecost.) This story concludes with Jesus' proclamation that he did not come for the righteous but for sinners. Jesus came, that is, to make sinners righteous. Jesus came to make it "all right" between us and God.
Story Three could be the parables of Jesus in Matthew 13 that speak of the final judgment on evildoers and the righteous shining like the sun in God's kingdom.
These parables are told in Matthew 13:36-43 and 13:47-50.
Story Four, the final story, ought to be Matthew 25:31-46. This story is appointed for Christ the King Sunday, but it is worth telling on far more than one occasion in the Matthew year! Like the parables in Matthew 13, Matthew 25 is concerned with the last judgment. The righteous receive the kingdom of God prepared for them from the beginning of the world. They receive the kingdom because of their good deeds. They have seen Jesus hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and in prison, and they have come to his aid.
The story then takes an incredible turn. The righteous are stunned. They know nothing of their righteousness. "When did we do this for you?" they ask the judging king. A key reality of the righteous is revealed here. The righteous are totally unaware of their own righteousness. It is hidden from their own eyes! This is much like the message of Matthew 6:1-6 where we are instructed that our piety (i.e. righteousness) is to be kept in secret. Hidden righteousness. Luther: alien righteousness. That's the righteousness that Christ clothes us with when he makes righteous people out of sinners.
A closing proclamation for this sermon might go like this: "I came to make sinners righteousness. I will judge you one day for your righteousness. But fear not. I am the righteousness of God at work within you. I started this work in your baptism. My work was hidden there. It remains hidden. I am the source of your hidden righteousness which one day will be exposed and shine like the sun." Amen.
The second theme in today's text that presents us with many homiletical possibilities is the theme of Son of God. This theme goes well with a Sunday appointed for The Baptism of Our Lord.
If there is time, we might begin a narrative sermon on the Son of God theme by walking through the many allusions to this reality in the Gospel of Matthew leading up to this climaxing revelation in 3:17. These allusions are given in the material above.
Moving forward through Matthew, the story in 8:28-34 might be told. It is not assigned in the lectionary for this year. In this story demoniacs acknowledge Jesus as "Son of God." The powers and principalities of this world are on guard. Jesus comes as Son of God to free us from these powers.
There are at least three more stories that a sermon on "Son of God" ought at least allude to even though they do appear later in the lectionary. They are the story of the disciples' first acknowledgment that Jesus is Son of God (14:28-33); the story of Peter's confession (16:13-20); and the Transfiguration story wherein God speaks a second time that Jesus is God's Son (17:1-8).
Having narrated a number of stories with the "Son of God" theme our sermon can conclude in two quite different directions. It might conclude, firstly, in speaking for God by taking God's word to Jesus and addressing it to the congregation. This is, in effect, what happens in baptism as some of our traditions understand it. In and through baptism God speaks to us saying: "You are my son. You are my daughter. I am pleased with you."
A second possible conclusion would be one that focuses more on the confession of Peter and the disciples. We, too, are called to confess that Jesus is Son of God. Epiphany has taken place. God has been revealed in Jesus. Now we are invited to make confession that Jesus is Son of God. A closing plea to the Spirit might go something like this: "May the Spirit of God prompt you to say this day: I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I believe your ministry is Spirit-empowered. I believe you have come to fulfill all righteousness. I believe you have come to make sinners, like me, righteous."
____________
1. Jack Dean Kingsbury, Matthew As Story (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988), p. 51.
2. Robert H. Smith, Matthew: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1989), pp. 55, 57.
3. Kingsbury, op. cit., p. 53.
Jack Kingsbury speaks of the importance of this passage in the schema of Matthew's story:
The crown of the first part of Matthew's story, which treats of Jesus' identity (1:1--4:16), is the baptismal scene. Here God, himself participating as "actor" in the story, empowers Jesus for messianic ministry and solemnly declares "who Jesus is."1
Chapter 3 of Matthew introduces John and his ministry of repentance and baptism. John knows that his baptizing points towards an eschatological event. A mightier One is coming. This coming One will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Then--that's Matthew's word--Jesus appears at the river Jordan and presents himself for baptism. John protests. "I should be baptized by you," he says to Jesus. Jesus will not be deterred. "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." These are the first words spoken by Jesus in Matthew's telling of the story. First words are crucial words. Jesus will fulfill all righteousness!
Here at the beginning, in his initial utterance, Jesus points to the very core of all his commands, all his disclosures, all his teachings: righteousness. With a few quick strokes of the pen Matthew has hammered out a solid connection between righteousness and baptism, between being the sons and daughters of God and doing the will of God.... Matthew carefully defines baptism as the first step on the way of righteousness.2
In his work Robert Smith defines righteousness as making the world "all right." Sinners and the world are made "all right" with God. Joseph Sittler often told the story of a time he was in Jerusalem and his car broke down. He took it to a mechanic to have it fixed. When the mechanic had finished and started up the engine to hear it running perfectly he said, "Zadik." Zadik is the Hebrew word translated as righteousness. In this context it means simply: "it works." Sinners and the world are made to "work" in and through the ministry of the One who fulfills all righteousness.
Righteousness is a fundamental theme in Matthew's Gospel. References to this reality are 5:6, 20; 6:1 ("piety" is used here to translate the Greek dikaosune), 6:33; 9:10-13; 13:36-43, 47-50; 25:31-46; 27:19, 24. We will suggest below the possibility of putting these passages together in a narrative sermon.
John baptized Jesus. Righteousness was fulfilled. The world was "all right" again. And the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Smith notes that John the Baptist had it wrong about Jesus as the one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (3:11). There is no mention of fire in Jesus' baptism. Only the Spirit. John didn't get it quite right about the more powerful One who was coming after him. None of the prophets got it just right. We know that because we know the One towards whom they could only point in inspired utterance. Gerhard von Rad once said, "We know the prophets better than the prophets understood themselves."
The Spirit of God does point to Jesus as God's special agent. It was through the Spirit that this One was conceived (1:18). It is through the Spirit that he is now empowered in his messianic ministry. Jesus is the bearer of the Spirit, the very life of God.
The Spirit language strains to say what the next verse (3:17) clearly says: Jesus is the Son of God. "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." (Old Testament passages that come to mind with these words of God are Genesis 22:2, Psalm 2:7, and Isaiah 42:1.)
God speaks. This passage is clearly determinative for Matthew of Jesus' identity. Jesus is Son of God.
God's designation for Jesus ("my Son") both overlaps in meaning the other designations we have encountered thus far ("Messiah" ["Coming One"], "Son of Abraham, "Son of David," and "King of the Jews") and transcends them.... The passage 3:17 is the first place where this truth, uttered by God as "actor," assumes the form of an event that occurs within the story itself.... By the same token, God's designation of Jesus as "my Son" also transcends these other designations in meaning. It does so because Matthew imbues it with a quality the others do not possess in like measure. This quality is that it attests to the unique filial relationship that exists between God and Jesus: Jesus is conceived by God's Spirit (1:18, 20) and empowered by God's Spirit (3:16) so that he is Emmanuel, or "God with us" (1:23); as such, he is the one in whom God reveals himself to humankind (11:27) and who is God's supreme agent of salvation.3
Kingsbury goes on to say that prior to this time Matthew has made many allusions to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. See 1:16; 1:18-25 (v. 23); 2:7-23 (Jesus is referred to as "the child" not Mary's child); 2:15, and 3:11, 16. The climax of this series of oblique references to Jesus as Son of God is the voice of God speaking as the actor in the baptismal scene. "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
If Matthew is intent on revealing to us what has been revealed to him, that Jesus is the Son of God, we would expect to find other references to Jesus' filial relationship with God throughout the Gospel story. Some of these references are 8:28-34 (v. 29); 14:28-33; 16:13-20 (Peter's confession); 17:1-8 (Transfiguration); 26:57-68 (v. 63, see also 27:40, trial); 27:45-54 (crucifixion; centurion's confession!); 28:16-20 (Great Commission, baptismal formula).
Homiletical Directions
There are two strong themes from this week's Gospel text that are woven throughout Matthew's work. The first theme we shall look at in preparation for preaching is the theme of righteousness. You may wish to use one of the possibilities suggested above as a down-to-earth translation of the meaning of righteousness: "all right," "it works."
Story One in a sermon dealing with righteousness should begin with the assigned text. Tell the story of Jesus' baptism with the focus on Jesus' claim that he has come to "fulfill all righteousness"; he has come to make everything "all right."
Story Two might be the story of Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners in 9:10-13. (This text is appointed for the Third Sunday in Pentecost.) This story concludes with Jesus' proclamation that he did not come for the righteous but for sinners. Jesus came, that is, to make sinners righteous. Jesus came to make it "all right" between us and God.
Story Three could be the parables of Jesus in Matthew 13 that speak of the final judgment on evildoers and the righteous shining like the sun in God's kingdom.
These parables are told in Matthew 13:36-43 and 13:47-50.
Story Four, the final story, ought to be Matthew 25:31-46. This story is appointed for Christ the King Sunday, but it is worth telling on far more than one occasion in the Matthew year! Like the parables in Matthew 13, Matthew 25 is concerned with the last judgment. The righteous receive the kingdom of God prepared for them from the beginning of the world. They receive the kingdom because of their good deeds. They have seen Jesus hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and in prison, and they have come to his aid.
The story then takes an incredible turn. The righteous are stunned. They know nothing of their righteousness. "When did we do this for you?" they ask the judging king. A key reality of the righteous is revealed here. The righteous are totally unaware of their own righteousness. It is hidden from their own eyes! This is much like the message of Matthew 6:1-6 where we are instructed that our piety (i.e. righteousness) is to be kept in secret. Hidden righteousness. Luther: alien righteousness. That's the righteousness that Christ clothes us with when he makes righteous people out of sinners.
A closing proclamation for this sermon might go like this: "I came to make sinners righteousness. I will judge you one day for your righteousness. But fear not. I am the righteousness of God at work within you. I started this work in your baptism. My work was hidden there. It remains hidden. I am the source of your hidden righteousness which one day will be exposed and shine like the sun." Amen.
The second theme in today's text that presents us with many homiletical possibilities is the theme of Son of God. This theme goes well with a Sunday appointed for The Baptism of Our Lord.
If there is time, we might begin a narrative sermon on the Son of God theme by walking through the many allusions to this reality in the Gospel of Matthew leading up to this climaxing revelation in 3:17. These allusions are given in the material above.
Moving forward through Matthew, the story in 8:28-34 might be told. It is not assigned in the lectionary for this year. In this story demoniacs acknowledge Jesus as "Son of God." The powers and principalities of this world are on guard. Jesus comes as Son of God to free us from these powers.
There are at least three more stories that a sermon on "Son of God" ought at least allude to even though they do appear later in the lectionary. They are the story of the disciples' first acknowledgment that Jesus is Son of God (14:28-33); the story of Peter's confession (16:13-20); and the Transfiguration story wherein God speaks a second time that Jesus is God's Son (17:1-8).
Having narrated a number of stories with the "Son of God" theme our sermon can conclude in two quite different directions. It might conclude, firstly, in speaking for God by taking God's word to Jesus and addressing it to the congregation. This is, in effect, what happens in baptism as some of our traditions understand it. In and through baptism God speaks to us saying: "You are my son. You are my daughter. I am pleased with you."
A second possible conclusion would be one that focuses more on the confession of Peter and the disciples. We, too, are called to confess that Jesus is Son of God. Epiphany has taken place. God has been revealed in Jesus. Now we are invited to make confession that Jesus is Son of God. A closing plea to the Spirit might go something like this: "May the Spirit of God prompt you to say this day: I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I believe your ministry is Spirit-empowered. I believe you have come to fulfill all righteousness. I believe you have come to make sinners, like me, righteous."
____________
1. Jack Dean Kingsbury, Matthew As Story (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988), p. 51.
2. Robert H. Smith, Matthew: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1989), pp. 55, 57.
3. Kingsbury, op. cit., p. 53.
