Monday after the Sixth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on July 12, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. Mark 1:9-11 (NKJV)
1:9 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11 Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Devotion
St. John the Baptist was entrusted with “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). Confessing their sins, many people came to be baptized by John. Through John’s preaching the people were prepared for Jesus’ coming to them.
After His resurrection, our Lord Jesus commissioned His Apostles to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” The sacrament of Holy Baptism is included in the Gospel preaching. God attached a promise to those baptismal waters, saying, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” Through the Apostles’ preaching and baptizing the people received Jesus.
Through the mirror of God’s Law we have come to learn of our sin. Through the Gospel promise we have come to learn of that same “one baptism” (Eph. 4:5) given in order to wash away our sins. We honor Christian baptism when we confess our sins and trust in the promise of the forgiveness of sins.
Our Lutheran Confessions speak of Jesus’ baptism, saying, “Thus, and much more even, you must honor Baptism and esteem it glorious on account of the Word, since He Himself has honored it both by words and deeds; moreover, confirmed it with miracles from heaven. For do you think it was a jest that, when Christ was baptized, the heavens were opened and the Holy Ghost descended visibly, and everything was divine glory and majesty?” (LC IV, 21).
Prayer: Lord of all power and might, who art the Author and Giver of all good things, graft in our hearts the love of Thy name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of Thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
