Why did Jesus come to be baptized? Jesus goes down into the water with sinners because Jesus is Emmanuel (God with us) because Jesus identifies with us and we are sinners. Jesus was known as the friend of sinners. He is willing to come and be with us.
His ministry begins in the river amidst sinners and ends on a cross between thieves.
He who had no sin took a place among those who had no righteousness. Through this we become righteous. He identifies with us that we may identify with Him.
This is all about identification and substitution. This reminds me of what C. S. Lewis writes about how we put on Christ every day.
This goes beyond intellectual consent. We live new lives in Christ Jesus. We are no longer slaves to sin.
Sometimes we feel like and take on the persona of slaves to sin. Our culture tells us we will always be slaves to sin. But this is not true. These chains have been broken.
The appearance of the Holy Spirit and the voice of God during the baptism reveals something important about the relationship at the center of the Trinity. Our relationships should be modeled on this relationship.
God announced his pleasure before Jesus' ministry. Our love should not be performance-based. God's love strengthened Jesus. The unconditional love we give strengthens those we love. God's unconditional love for us enlivens us, bringing us out of death and decay into life and peace.
Christianity brings transformation - a new identity and a new life and a new nature. Romans 8:12 remarks that we are under no "obligation" to follow the prompting of our sinful nature. Obligation? An odd choice of words. Builds on the "slave to sin" idea I think.
Ultimately we have won. God has put parameters on the power of sin and temptation. Jesus has overcome the world.
We are not slaves bought for a new master - we are the beloved children of God. We still sin; however, sinner is no longer our core identity. And God brought us this good news in person. We are the beloved sons and daughters of God.
But we aren't perfect now. But Christ's identification with sinners (which we are totally undeserving of) means that when we sin we can run to Jesus. Performance-based thinking views salvation as a Throne of Merit. But Jesus is on a Throne of Grace - not merit. So we need not hide when we sin (like Adam and Eve) because God is merciful.
The believer's identity in Christ means we can confidently live in, and function out of, God's love.
Letting go of ideas of performance-based Christianity and its throne of merit brings joy. Also, because we are cognizant of the mercy we received we can be merciful to others. Humility brings great freedom.
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