Enduring Joy: The Joy of New Life

When John the Baptist saw him standing there, he must have done a double-take. There amongst the tax collectors, Roman soldiers, and other guilty sinners stood Jesus of Nazareth. He was not sinful like they were. He is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. So why did he need to be baptized? This question doesn’t just trouble us—it troubled John as well. Yet Jesus puts all our troubles in their proper place. He says (Mt. 3:14) It is to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus did not need to be baptized to cleanse himself of sins. He was baptized to connect himself with sinners and also connect sinners with his righteousness. In Romans 6, Paul speaks of the transformational power found in Baptism. We are connected with Christ and so we cannot return to our old way of living that only resulted in death. Rather we long and we strive to live like our Savior did.