Matthew 3:13-17; Isaiah 42:1-7

January 11, 2023

When the Scriptures describe us as being in bondage to sin, it certainly includes the sins we commit - the twisted lusts within us and the things we do contrary to the commandments. But often the sins committed against us also hold us in bondage: when someone betrays us, when a friend you trusted doesn’t keep his word or is working against you. Perhaps you remember a cutting remark spoken against you even decades ago, but still it lingers in the mind, making you bitter, cynical. And so it’s not only the sins that we have committed, but also the sins committed against us, that need to be dealt with.

We would like justice. We want things put right. And sometimes, we want more than justice: we want revenge. For the person whose betrayal still stings, misfortune upon them would, we imagine, taste sweet to us.

We want justice for the entire society. We want things put right. But we are afraid of tyranny. So we establish checks and balances. Our American system of government is built on the idea that because people are corrupt, we should never invest all power in one office.

In the ancient world, king and judge were one office. The ruler didn’t interpret the law; he was the law. In his person, he embodied legislation, judgment, and execution.

This was why God did not want Israel to have a king. Law, Righteousness, judgment comes from Him. No man can bear it. For no man is just enough. The great kings of Israel committed great sins.

In today’s festival, Jesus, their descendant, steps into the water to accept the judgment due them. It’s unjust. Jesus is no sinner. John seeks to prevent Him. But Jesus says this is the way to fulfill all righteousness.

Jesus becomes the embodiment of sin. “God made Him,” the Scripture says, “who knew no sin to be sin for us.”

“In wrath, remember mercy,” prayed the prophet Habakuk. These are no abstract concepts. The enfleshment of the Son of God was an act of mercy. In mercy, He steps into the water and accepts the wrath. This is the way to righteousness.

The sinless One, identifies with sinners. The filth and stench of a thousand sinners is poured over Him when John baptizes Jesus, and justice is established. Jesus becomes the sinner, and all the baptized become saints. Jesus is condemned, and prisoners are released. Jesus is made sick, and the diseased are healed. Jesus is judged, and the condemned are declared “Not guilty.”

This describes our new relationship with God. And it also makes new our relationship with others, the ones we’ve hurt by our sins, and the ones who have sinned against us, the hurts of which we carry around like sad trophies of bitterness and self-pity. There’s no way out of these sins through wrath, or indignant remembrance. In wrath, God remembered mercy. And all those sins we have done, and the sins done to us, wash away as John’s water spills off the flesh of God made man.

Rising from the waters, He is tempted for us, and something more: He establishes justice in the world by putting right what is wrong, repairing what is broken, drying what is soaked with tears. Thus Isaiah prophesies, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench; He will faithfully bring forth justice.”

Perhaps you are today, or will be someday, a bruised reed: halfway broken, ready to snap. Perhaps you know someone who is a faintly burning wick, still smoldering but almost out, almost cold, almost ruined. What does Jesus the Lord’s Servant do? “A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench.”

Are you barely hanging on by a thread? Do you feel the weight of sin, the pain of injustice, the sadness of grief, the loneliness of exile, the dissatisfaction at life unfulfilled?

Or perhaps you say, “I know I should be improving as a Christian, but I find myself riddled with sin. It seems I am worse than ever, and I hate it.” If you identified with any of these things, then you are the bruised reed and faintly burning wick. He won’t snuff you out. In wrath He has remembered mercy. He takes the wrath, and gives you the mercy. That’s the meaning of this festival.