“One of Us” (Matthew 3:13-17)

This morning we witness the baptism of Jesus and take our place beside John the Baptist . . . we are confused.  Confused, because like John the Baptist we know who Jesus is . . . he is the Messiah, the Son of God.  The baptism that John practiced and administered was for the forgiveness of sins.  People came to John to confess, be dunked, and be cleansed of their sins.  It was no wonder then that he was taken back and more than a little confused when Jesus stepped up to be baptized.  John attempted to deter him and even proclaimed that it should be the other way around . . . Jesus should be baptizing him.  John told Jesus: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

It just did not make sense to John.  After all, Jesus wasn’t like ordinary people . . . he was holy . . . he was, as I said before, the Messiah, the Son of God.

As the followers of Jesus one of the places we struggle in our relationship with Jesus is in the fact that he was fully divine and fully human.  We have no trouble embracing the divine part of Jesus, after all, he was the Son of God.  We even hear this at the end of his baptism as the voice from heaven proclaims: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  I don’t know if anyone could get a stronger affirmation of one’s divinity than the seal of approval straight from God.  We get it . . . Jesus is holy!  And, we have no problem accepting and believing that.

What we have a problem with is the humanness of Jesus.  Human with all the traits that come with it . . . good and bad.  This is probably best exemplified in the 1998 movie, The Last Temptation of Christ, which brought about much outrage from many sectors of the Christian faith.  The film based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ book of the same name portrayed Jesus as being very human.  Jesus confesses his sins, he has fears and doubts, wonders whether he is merely a man, fears insanity, and even anguishes over the people he didn’t heal.  He even gets tempted . . . and, considers the temptation.  In the movie and book, Jesus is seen as quite human.

People could not handle this “humanness” of Jesus.  They were outraged.  They proclaimed it blasphemous.  Theaters refused to show it.  Blockbuster Video refused to carry it.  What seemed to bother many Christians was the suggestion that Jesus was fully and truly human, that he was a person who experienced trial and temptations, faults and failures, just like they did . . . just like we do . . . torment, doubt, loneliness, questions, confusions, fantasies, despair, and even in his final hours the feeling that he was abandoned by God himself.

The “humanness” of Jesus is a little too close to home . . . it is difficult to embrace and accept . . . that Jesus was one of us.

So, we stand on the bank of the Jordan River with John the Baptist confused and wondering what is going on.

Jesus is one of us!

That is what the writer of the Gospel of Matthew has been trying to tell us from the very beginning.  First, he tells us the lineage of Jesus . . . he rattles off a list of 42 men in Jesus’ genealogy, then suddenly four women show up in the family tree with unsavory pasts.  There is Tamar—widowed twice, a victim of incest when her father-in-law abused her as a prostitute. Next comes Rahab—a foreigner and whore who protected the Hebrew spies by lying.  Following her is Ruth—a foreigner and widow.  Last is Bathsheba—object of David’s adulterous passion and murderous cover-up.  These four women stick out like a sore thumb, but nonetheless they are a part of Jesus’s family of origin.

Second, the writer tells us of how Jesus is honored by the pagan magi who worshipped him with their gifts.

Lastly, the writer brings us to the baptism . . . a baptism that was just like everyone else’s.  One that Jesus said he needed to do just like everyone else’s.   When being told by John that Jesus ought to be doing the baptizing, Jesus basically tells him, “No, this is the way it is supposed to be done.”  More precisely he says, “Let it be now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”  Only then does John consent to baptizing Jesus . . . baptizing Jesus just like everyone else.

With his baptism, Jesus announces that he is just like everyone else . . . he is one of us.  He fully identifies with humanity . . . fallen humanity.  Which, as I said, floors us.  Divine, yes . . . but, like us?  We are not so sure about that.  But he is!  Jesus is human . . . just like you and me and everyone else.  To deny his “humanness” is to separate him from us . . . to insulate him from us.  With his baptism Jesus fully participates with us.

Remember that Jesus’ baptism inaugurated his public ministry by identifying with what the writer of the Gospel of Luke describes as “all the people.”  We witness Jesus aligning himself with the faults and failures, pains and problems, of all the broken and hurting people who had flocked to the Jordan River.  By wading into the waters with them he took his place beside us and among us.  With his baptism he declares that he stands shoulder to shoulder with all of us in our fears and anxieties.  He intentionally takes sides with people in their neediness and declares that God is on their side.

With his baptism Jesus declares that he is one of us and among us.  This solidarity with a broken humanity is confirmed by divine affirmation and empowerment.  Straight out of the water, dripping wet, Jesus heard a voice and saw a vision . . . a dove, the Spirit of God, descended . . . “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

As I hear this story, I cannot help but to think to myself, “How cool is that!”  How cool is that . . . that Jesus is one of us . . . that he is just like one of us . . . he knows how we feel and knows what it is like to try to get up every day and live life to it fullest for God.  It gives me hope.  Hope because if the “human” Jesus could do it, so can you and I . . . in fact, Jesus tells us to follow him and live our lives as he lived his.  He shows us the way.  He shows us the way in the good times and in the bad times.

And, it gives me hope to know that I am not the only one who struggles with faith.  That I, just like those who had gathered at the Jordan River . . . like those who have been baptized through the generations . . . I take my place along side my brothers and sisters to find my place in the family of God.  Like those before me, like Jesus before me, I also hear the declaration of God that I am one of God’s own . . . I am a child a God . . . we are the daughters and sons of God.

Lastly it gives me hope because God chooses to be one of us and among us . . . we are not alone.  God is always with us.  If God is with us, how can we ever fail?

Someone once said that “to repent is not to feel bad but to think differently.” (Howard John Yoder) Hearing the story of Jesus’ baptism challenges us to “think differently” . . . it is to allow Jesus to be who God created him to be . . . fully divine, fully human . . . especially fully human.  That is the Jesus we need to embrace and follow . . . the one who is like us.  We are to follow him as he journeys through his humanness to discover and become the divine that is within him and is him.  For his journey is our journey.  He shows us the way. 

Jesus . . . he is one of us.  In his witness we find hope . . . hope that we, too, will fully discover the fullness of who we are in God.  Amen.

This morning we witness the baptism of Jesus and take our place beside John the Baptist . . . we are confused.  Confused, because like John the Baptist we know who Jesus is . . . he is the Messiah, the Son of God.  The baptism that John practiced and administered was for the forgiveness of sins.  People came to John to confess, be dunked, and be cleansed of their sins.  It was no wonder then that he was taken back and more than a little confused when Jesus stepped up to be baptized.  John attempted to deter him and even proclaimed that it should be the other way around . . . Jesus should be baptizing him.  John told Jesus: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

It just did not make sense to John.  After all, Jesus wasn’t like ordinary people . . . he was holy . . . he was, as I said before, the Messiah, the Son of God.

As the followers of Jesus one of the places we struggle in our relationship with Jesus is in the fact that he was fully divine and fully human.  We have no trouble embracing the divine part of Jesus, after all, he was the Son of God.  We even hear this at the end of his baptism as the voice from heaven proclaims: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  I don’t anyone could get a stronger affirmation of one’s divinity than the seal of approval straight from God.  We get it . . . Jesus is holy!  And, we have no problem accepting and believing that.

What we have a problem with is the humanness of Jesus.  Human with all the traits that come with it . . . good and bad.  This is probably best exemplified in the 1998 movie, The Last Temptation of Christ, which brought about much outrage from many sectors of the Christian faith.  The film based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ book of the same name portrayed Jesus as being very human.  Jesus confesses his sins, he has fears and doubts, wonders whether he is merely a man, fears insanity, and even anguishes over the people he didn’t heal.  He even gets tempted . . . and, considers the temptation.  In the movie and book, Jesus is seen as quite human.

People could not handle this “humanness” of Jesus.  They were outraged.  They proclaimed it blasphemous.  Theaters refused to show it.  Blockbuster Video refused to carry it.  What seemed to bother many Christians was the suggestion that Jesus was fully and truly human, that he was a person who experienced trial and temptations, faults and failures, just like they did . . . just like we do . . . torment, doubt, loneliness, questions, confusions, fantasies, despair, and even in his final hours the feeling that he was abandoned by God himself.

The “humanness” of Jesus is a little too close to home . . . it is difficult to embrace and accept . . . that Jesus was one of us.

So, we stand on the bank of the Jordan River with John the Baptist confused and wondering what is going on.

Jesus is one of us!

That is what the writer of the Gospel of Matthew has been trying to tell us from the very beginning.  First, he tells us the lineage of Jesus . . . he rattles off a list of 42 men in Jesus’ genealogy, then suddenly four women show up in the family tree with unsavory pasts.  There is Tamar—widowed twice, a victim of incest when her father-in-law abused her as a prostitute. Next comes Rahab—a foreigner and whore who protected the Hebrew spies by lying.  Following her is Ruth—a foreigner and widow.  Last is Bathsheba—object of David’s adulterous passion and murderous cover-up.  These four women stick out like a sore thumb, but nonetheless they are a part of Jesus’s family of origin.

Second, the writer tells us of how Jesus is honored by the pagan magi who worshipped him with their gifts.

Lastly, the writer brings us to the baptism . . . a baptism that was just like everyone else’s.  One that Jesus said he needed to do just like everyone else’s.   When being told by John that Jesus ought to be doing the baptizing, Jesus basically tells him, “No, this is the way it is supposed to be done.”  More precisely he says, “Let it be now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”  Only then does John consent to baptizing Jesus . . . baptizing Jesus just like everyone else.

With his baptism, Jesus announces that he is just like everyone else . . . he is one of us.  He fully identifies with humanity . . . fallen humanity.  Which, as I said, floors us.  Divine, yes . . . but, like us?  We are not so sure about that.  But he is!  Jesus is human . . . just like you and me and everyone else.  To deny his “humanness” is to separate him from us . . . to insulate him from us.  With his baptism Jesus fully participates with us.

Remember that Jesus’ baptism inaugurated his public ministry by identifying with what the writer of the Gospel of Luke describes as “all the people.”  We witness Jesus aligning himself with the faults and failures, pains and problems, of all the broken and hurting people who had flocked to the Jordan River.  By wading into the waters with them he took his place beside us and among us.  With his baptism he declares that he stands shoulder to shoulder with all of us in our fears and anxieties.  He intentionally takes sides with people in their neediness and declares that Gpd is on their side.

With his baptism Jesus declares that he is one of us and among us.  This solidarity with a broken humanity is confirmed by divine affirmation and empowerment.  Straight out of the water, dripping wet, Jesus heard a voice and saw a vision . . . a dove, the Spirit of God, descended . . . “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

As I hear this story, I cannot help but to think to myself, “How cool is that!”  How cool is that . . . that Jesus is one of us . . . that he is just like one of us . . . he knows how we feel and knows what it is like to try to get up every day and live life to it fullest for God.  It gives me hope.  Hope because if the “human” Jesus could do it, so can you and I . . . in fact, Jesus tells us to follow him and live our lives as he lived his.  He shows us the way.  He shows us the way in the good times and in the bad times.

And, it gives me hope to know that I am not the only one who struggles with faith.  That I, just like those who had gathered at the Jordan River . . . like those who have been baptized through the generations . . . I take my place along side my brothers and sisters to find my place in the family of God.  Like those before me, like Jesus before me, I also hear the declaration of God that I am one of God’s own . . . I am a child a God . . . we are the daughters and sons of God.

Lastly it gives me hope because God chooses to be one of us and among us . . . we are not alone.  God is always with us.  If God is with us, how can we ever fail?

Someone once said that “to repent is not to feel bad but to think differently.” (Howard John Yoder) Hearing the story of Jesus’ baptism challenges us to “think differently” . . . it is to allow Jesus to be who God created him to be . . . fully divine, fully human . . . especially fully human.  That is the Jesus we need to embrace and follow . . . the one who is like us.  We are to follow him as he journeys through his humanness to discover and become the divine that is within him and is him.  For his journey is our journey.  He shows us the way. 

Jesus . . . he is one of us.  In his witness we find hope . . . hope that we, too, will fully discover the fullness of who we are in God.  Amen.