The Cleansing of Baptism
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:4)
God made a promise to his people. He would send them a forerunner, someone who would announce that the savior was coming. He did this so that they could be prepared for when the Messiah would appear. They could prepare themselves to receive the Messiah.
God sent John, a relative of Jesus, to be this forerunner. John was different. He caught people’s attention. And he proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. He baptized the people to prepare them for this coming.
Baptism meant a cleansing. It represented a washing and making clean. According to Jewish law, cups, pitchers, bowls, and even couches were sprinkled with water to cleanse them and make them clean to use for eating.
John came preaching that the people needed this same cleansing. They needed cleansing from all their sins. They needed to be washed of the filth of their sins. They needed to repent and be cleansed.
We still need this cleansing. And we still receive it at our baptism. We are cleansed of our sin and made a child of God. And then we live in our baptism for our life. Daily we repent of our sins and run back to the waters of our baptism for the cleansing that comes through Jesus. And daily we prepare again for the coming of our savior. Amen.
Our song for today is “John the Baptist” by Jon Thurlow