Epiphany 1 year A Sermon
The Nazarene… comes down from Galilee…
The prophet…cries out in the wilderness…
preparing the way
The baptism…happens in the River Jordan …
where the mantle of divine authority…
is passed from one prophet to another
preparing the way
The baptism…happens in the River Jordan …
where the mantle of divine authority…
is passed from one prophet to another
The dove…that ancient symbol of God’s promise
and sign of God’s Spirit…
The Voice… from heaven…
The words…
my beloved…my son in whom I delight…
The echo… of Israel’s royal history
My beloved…my Daveed
My beloved…my Daveed
דָּוִד …my David… memories of the anointed king…
prophesy realised… God’s covenant renewed…again
and all righteousness fulfilled [pause]
As we listen to Matthew’s account…of Jesus’ baptism
the scroll of Isaiah… rolls through it like thunder
and all righteousness fulfilled [pause]
As we listen to Matthew’s account…of Jesus’ baptism
the scroll of Isaiah… rolls through it like thunder
Here is my servant, whom I uphold…my chosen one… in whom I delight…I will put my Spirit on him…
and he will bring justice to the nations. [pause]
When no king would…when the nation of Israel refused …this one… this anointed one…this Christ…
would do it. Jesus would take on the mantle of Israel… as the Son of God…would take it on himself …
and somehow…through him…because the Spirit of God was upon him…justice will be done in all the earth… [pause]
would do it. Jesus would take on the mantle of Israel… as the Son of God…would take it on himself …
and somehow…through him…because the Spirit of God was upon him…justice will be done in all the earth… [pause]
In Matthew’s gospel… as we move from birth to baptism…from Advent to Epiphany…we discover
that just as the story of Jesus’ birth…
is bound by blood and legend to Israel’s story…
that just as the story of Jesus’ birth…
is bound by blood and legend to Israel’s story…
So is his baptism…
Like Jesus ancestor King David
whose name in Hebrew means beloved…
Jesus becomes the beloved son in whom God delights
the servant king… who will fulfil the purposes of God.
Like Jesus ancestor King David
whose name in Hebrew means beloved…
Jesus becomes the beloved son in whom God delights
the servant king… who will fulfil the purposes of God.
Of course to understand all this… we have to hear Matthew’s story as first century Jews would hear it…
the way Matthew intended we hear it…
the way Matthew intended we hear it…
For we know the psalms and the prophets by heart…
By the age of ten…we’ve memorised all five books of the Law of Moses…and by our mid-teens…
we can all recite verbatim…
the words of the psalms and the prophets
If we’ve never heard of Jesus…what Matthew the evangelist is suggesting… is blowing our minds…
Hadn’t God said to King David in the Psalms
“You’re my son; today I’ve become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
And hadn’t God also called the nation of Israel
his son…and his suffering servant?
Make no bones about it…Matthew the evangelist
has got our attention…even if we’ve never heard of this Jesus before…the one his followers claim to be the Messiah…
we can understand without a doubt…
what Matthew is proposing…
as we listen to his account of Jesus baptism…
We know the prophet Daniel predicted…
the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed...and here in Matthew’s story…
didn’t John the Baptist just say its arrived…
people get ready…turn back to God now...
for the kingdom of heaven has come near.[i]
we can all recite verbatim…
the words of the psalms and the prophets
If we’ve never heard of Jesus…what Matthew the evangelist is suggesting… is blowing our minds…
Hadn’t God said to King David in the Psalms
“You’re my son; today I’ve become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
And hadn’t God also called the nation of Israel
his son…and his suffering servant?
Make no bones about it…Matthew the evangelist
has got our attention…even if we’ve never heard of this Jesus before…the one his followers claim to be the Messiah…
we can understand without a doubt…
what Matthew is proposing…
as we listen to his account of Jesus baptism…
We know the prophet Daniel predicted…
the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed...and here in Matthew’s story…
didn’t John the Baptist just say its arrived…
people get ready…turn back to God now...
for the kingdom of heaven has come near.[i]
And we know the servant songs of Isaiah by heart…
how God’s servant will winnow and cleanse…
with a spirit of judgement and a spirit of fire…[ii]
and didn’t John the Baptist …in Matthew’s story…
just announce…
the one is coming now who’ll baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork[iii] is in his hand, and he’ll clear his threshing floor, gather his wheat into the barn and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’
how God’s servant will winnow and cleanse…
with a spirit of judgement and a spirit of fire…[ii]
and didn’t John the Baptist …in Matthew’s story…
just announce…
the one is coming now who’ll baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork[iii] is in his hand, and he’ll clear his threshing floor, gather his wheat into the barn and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’
Matthew’s meaning is clear to us…
in Jesus the kingdom of heaven has come near…
in Jesus the kingdom of heaven has come near…
What God promised has happened…
And we notice that when Jesus cousin balks at baptising him…Jesus insists…he must submit…
to everything required of him…
and gives one reason only…
to fulfil all righteousness…to do the will of God.
to everything required of him…
and gives one reason only…
to fulfil all righteousness…to do the will of God.
Yes by now in the first century…as we sit listening…
there is a so called Christian movement…
and we are Jews…but in Matthew’s story…
we hear clearly…this Jesus’ this Jew from Nazareth…well…his God is our God…
there is a so called Christian movement…
and we are Jews…but in Matthew’s story…
we hear clearly…this Jesus’ this Jew from Nazareth…well…his God is our God…
Everything we’re hearing… in Matthew’s story of Jesus baptism… hints of prophesy come true…
God’s covenant renewed again…
all righteousness fulfilled…in this man.
And if we want to know how all this will come about …how it will all unfold…well
we’ll just have to stay and hear the whole story.
we’ll just have to stay and hear the whole story.
And in our world where Caesar is still king and proclaims himself to be a son of god…
We can’t wait for to find out what happens next
If Matthew’s story is true
then God hasn’t abandoned his covenant…or us…at all
If the story is true…then God is faithful to his promises after all…the signs are all there… [pause]
and this is very good news indeed
We can’t wait for to find out what happens next
If Matthew’s story is true
then God hasn’t abandoned his covenant…or us…at all
If the story is true…then God is faithful to his promises after all…the signs are all there… [pause]
and this is very good news indeed
And what’s more…if this man Jesus was the Messiah…
the anointed one of God…if this man Jesus…
has ushered in the Kingdom of God…if through this man Jesus…justice will be brought to all nations… well…then… we’d better get in on it…
the anointed one of God…if this man Jesus…
has ushered in the Kingdom of God…if through this man Jesus…justice will be brought to all nations… well…then… we’d better get in on it…
You see… Matthew understands our hunger for connections between Jesus’ story and God’s
promises of old…a hunger no gentile pagan would have
for we weren’t we meant to be the suffering servant wasn’t it to us…to Israel…
that God said through the prophet Isaiah
promises of old…a hunger no gentile pagan would have
for we weren’t we meant to be the suffering servant wasn’t it to us…to Israel…
that God said through the prophet Isaiah
I am YHWH, I’ve called you in righteousness,
I’ve taken you by the hand and kept you; I’ve given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
I’ve taken you by the hand and kept you; I’ve given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out from prison… those who sit in darkness.
to bring out from prison… those who sit in darkness.
I am the YHWH, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth, I tell you of them.
before they spring forth, I tell you of them.
The signs are all there…and even though we haven’t heard the next chapter in Matthew’s story…
we’re beginning to have hope…
we’re starting to understand
that even under the thumb of Roman oppression…
God hasn’t abandoned us…or his covenant…
that God is faithful to his promises of old…
the signs are all there…this is good news indeed.
Just as God had renewed the covenant with Abraham in the story of Jacob…so it has been renewed in our time…
and Jesus’ followers will form a new covenant people of all nations…ministers of the covenant…
who will bear this good news of God’s faithfulness…
to the ends of the earth… [pause]
we’re beginning to have hope…
we’re starting to understand
that even under the thumb of Roman oppression…
God hasn’t abandoned us…or his covenant…
that God is faithful to his promises of old…
the signs are all there…this is good news indeed.
Just as God had renewed the covenant with Abraham in the story of Jacob…so it has been renewed in our time…
and Jesus’ followers will form a new covenant people of all nations…ministers of the covenant…
who will bear this good news of God’s faithfulness…
to the ends of the earth… [pause]
This year…year A… in the Biblical Cycle...
it’s our turn to hear Matthew’s account…
of that time in Israel’s story…in our story…
when Jesus of Nazareth fully reveals and embodies…
the covenant faithfulness of God…
it’s our turn to hear Matthew’s account…
of that time in Israel’s story…in our story…
when Jesus of Nazareth fully reveals and embodies…
the covenant faithfulness of God…
This year we will be twenty first century…
kiwi Christians… listening along with 1st century Jews…to the good news intended for all nations…
kiwi Christians… listening along with 1st century Jews…to the good news intended for all nations…
and like them…we’ll be asking how we might…
in our turn…and in our time…
become ministers of God’s covenant…
in our turn…and in our time…
become ministers of God’s covenant…
That’s the whole point of hearing the story isn’t it…
week after week?
To become part of it…to become ministers of the covenant…as Paul would phrase it…
people who embody the righteousness of God…
A people who demonstrate…
by our own forgiven and forgiving lives…
how God always intended to reconcile the world to himself…and how this is accomplished in Jesus Christ.
by our own forgiven and forgiving lives…
how God always intended to reconcile the world to himself…and how this is accomplished in Jesus Christ.
Like the nation of Israel…and like Paul…
we are given the task… of ministering to others…
what we ourselves have received…grace and forgiveness
This is the covenant faithfulness of the one true God
we are given the task… of ministering to others…
what we ourselves have received…grace and forgiveness
This is the covenant faithfulness of the one true God
[pause]
And as we explore the Gospel of Matthew…
we find just how as the story unfolds…
just how God’s covenant faithfulness…
is dramatically revealed…
in the life death and resurrection of Jesus…
we find just how as the story unfolds…
just how God’s covenant faithfulness…
is dramatically revealed…
in the life death and resurrection of Jesus…
And we discover how this covenant faithfulness
is precisely the ground of the salvation of the world.
is precisely the ground of the salvation of the world.
and as we go out from here today…
this grace and forgiveness…
must be revealed through us…
as we reach out in Jesus’ name…
with the offer of reconciliation to all who will hear…
this grace and forgiveness…
must be revealed through us…
as we reach out in Jesus’ name…
with the offer of reconciliation to all who will hear…
[i] Dan 2:44 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.
[ii] Isa 4:4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
[iii] Isa 41:16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
