First Sunday after Epiphany • Year A

Historical Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, by the baptism of your beloved Son you manifested your Triune nature and your will to save us. May we remember our own baptism so that we may daily die to sin and walk in newness of life; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Thematic Collect

Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ baptism you declared him to be your beloved Son and set him apart as your agent of grace for your creation. May we who are baptized into his life also be sent as agents of grace in your world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Common Thread

God sends forth his servant: himself. He is no ordinary servant, but instead, one who will go to the death in order to accomplish the Lord’s mission. God’s servant fully identifies with sinners, even being baptized himself, and thus, fulfilling all righteousness so that sinners may be baptized into his baptism—his death and resurrection. Being baptized therefore, into his very death, the sinner’s nature dies. Likewise, because Christ arose, those who are regenerated though baptism into Christ will also rise in newness of life and in eternal life. This promise is the Lord’s voice over the waters of baptism; and so, the promise is sure.  

First Reading • Isaiah 42:1–9

In the closing verses of the previous chapter, Isaiah sets the matter right. The works of self-righteousness are a “delusion” (Isa. 41:29). Metal images are simply a solid form of our works. We can trust in neither. We are nothing, and our works are less than nothing (Isa. 41:24). The outward show is just that: a show. It is not real in the eyes of God.

There is one who is very real, though, one whose work amounts to something — to everything. The Servant of God, the incarnate Savior, is the one in whom God delights. There is no help in any other name. Idols fall. Works fail. But the Servant of God is called in righteousness to take us by the hand and lead us by his own righteousness. Look to him who cannot fall because his Father will never fail him. Put your trust in him, and God cannot fail you either. Luther said, “Keep your eye on Him, observe what He does, says, and teaches, because He is My Servant” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 17).

Psalm • Psalm 29:1–11

The theme of this psalm is the voice of God. God’s voice must be important; it is referenced seven times in these eleven verses. Of course, we know his voice is important, but do we act as though it is absolutely crucial? His word is over all things. When his voice is enthroned in our lives, he rules there in strength and peace.

Second Reading • Romans 6:1–11

It seems an irony that so many baptisms happen shortly after birth, since the one who is baptized is baptized into the death of Christ. It is also a paradox. Baptism is indeed about dying: Only in dying to sin may one live eternally. Through baptism, God buries folk into the very death of Christ. That means that the old person, however young, and her sinful nature are now dead. This seems a thuggish thing to the world, but to the redeemed it is glorious. We know that through death to sin, we are no longer bound to sin. How can we be, since we are dead? We are freed from our sinful selves to walk in new lives with Jesus.

The second verse is a sticking point to some people. Many believe the verse to mean that, once baptized, they must somehow lead sinless lives. Let us be clear: Though one should endeavor in earnest to “go and sin no more,” we must admit that we will fail in our attempts many times. Paul says it is not really we who sin; instead it is our dead, sinful flesh doing the sinning (Rom. 7:17-23). In other words, reborn people, though they will sin sometimes, are no longer dead sinners but are alive in Christ. Verse 11 proves the point. Though it may seem you are mired in sin, you must “consider yourselves dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus.”

Gospel • Matthew 3:13–17

The illustration of Jesus standing among sinners is perfect. One would expect him to be the one calling sinners to repentance. Instead, he stands with us. Moreover, he fulfills all righteousness as he shows us how to respond to the call. Indeed, he responds for us because he has become one with us! The “righteous servant ... justif[ies] many” (Isa. 53:11). In order to justify the many with his Father, Jesus begins his ministry by becoming one of them. The only Holy One of God becomes one with us poor sinners, taking upon himself our sin and going down into the river to fulfill all righteousness — even our righteousness.