Baptismal Meditation

Today is Trinity Sunday, and therefore it is exceedingly fitting that we should be performing a baptism on this day. In Matt. 28 where Jesus commissions his disciples to go into the world and make disciples, he tells his disciples how to make more disciples. He says to baptize people and teach them to obey all that he has taught them. For almost two thousand years the church has been obeying Jesus’ command. The Christian Church began as a tiny band of disciples, people who witnessed the risen Lord and recognized that God had declared him to be king of heaven and earth. Ever since, the church has been a great army marching forward. And as we go, when we meet people, we come with the gospel, a royal proclamation which declares that God has raised Jesus from the dead, our sins are forgiven, and Jesus is now King. Our orders are to make this declaration boldly, and when people submit to the rule of Jesus, they are to be baptized and taught all that Jesus commanded.

Also notice that Jesus says that these new disciples are to be baptized “into” the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Another way of saying this is that you are getting a new name today. When you are baptized, you are being renamed. Baptism is a kind of anointing with water. In one sense, when people are baptized they are being anointed, taking on the name Messiah, Christ. Your new name given in your baptism is Christ or Christian. But what Jesus specifically says is that the name given is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Your new last name is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Your last name is Trinity. Of course when someone gets a new name it is when they join a new family. When a woman gets married, she leaves her family and takes the last name of her husband, joining a new family. When a child is adopted, she receives a new last name identifying who her new family is. Likewise, to be baptized into the Name of the Trinity, is to be adopted into the family of God, the fellowship of the Trinity.

Notice that this passage also includes the command to teach. Disciples are to be taught to keep the things that Jesus has commanded. As we have already noted, baptism is submission to the rule of Jesus. Submitting to the King does not mean that you understand everything or even that you know all that this king requires of you. Submitting to King Jesus means that you regard him as your lord and master, and in principle all that you are belongs to him. And this is why new subjects of the king must be taught. This means both that Christians must teach new Christians and that new Christians must be willing to be taught. You witnesses here this morning will swear a vow in moment that you will uphold these new disciples in prayer and teach them. You who are being baptized will swear vows which indicate you are submitting yourself to King Jesus and will be taught by him and his disciples.

This is a glorious day. It is glorious because it is the Lord’s Day, and we will go and worship our great God in a few minutes together. It is glorious because this is Trinity Sunday, and today we glory in the Trinity of our God, the fact that our God is a community, a fellowship, a family, a dance of glory, and love, and goodness. But this day is glorious because we have the privilege to obey Jesus’ words here today. We get to see the Trinity at work here in our midst today. In just a moment the Trinity is going to adopt several new children into his family. This is the gospel: that we who were formerly not of God’s family have been brought near by the blood of Jesus. Our king took upon himself what we deserved for our sins, and therefore we have been brought near to God and adopted into his family.