Jesus' Baptism Says It All

God Certifies the Called

1.11.2026

[Readings]  

Isaiah 42:1–9 — The servant of the Lord brings justice

Psalm 29 — The voice of the Lord is upon the waters

Acts 10:34–43 — Jesus’ ministry after his baptism

Matthew 3:13–17 — Revelation of Christ as God’s servant

God’s beloved,

What’s the best love story you’ve ever known?

(examples: your own, movies, novels, documentaries, etc.)

Whenever I return to the story of Jesus’ baptism,

I become more convinced that the Bible is the greatest love story ever told.

And it’s not a fairy tale.

It’s not polished or idealized.

It’s a love story that tells the truth about being human—

about learning, slowly and imperfectly,

how to reflect the image of the God who creates us,

redeems us,

and loves us.

At the Jordan River, we hear that love spoken aloud:

“My Son. My Beloved. With you I am well pleased.”

Those words are not sentimental.

They are affirming.

They are authoritative.

They are the kind of words that seal identity

like a divine signature written across the life of Jesus,

declaring who Jesus is.

And I wonder how many of us long to hear words like that

spoken over our own lives.

Imagine standing on that riverbank…

hearing those words spoken over Jesus…

and realizing they are meant for you too.

Imagine walking into this church week after week

and hearing those same words

spoken over you.

We all have our own faith stories

of how that greatest love story continues to shape us.

For me, this greatest love story keeps stretching and expanding

the worldview I grew up with.

It continues to invite me to let God be God each day

patiently, in my life and in our life together.

It keeps shaping in me a way of

offering impartial love with kindness.

It guides me in how

to serve God’s people with humility.

And it always nudges me toward forgiveness

even in the moments when my heart isn’t quite ready.

As I mentioned last Sunday,

in our messiness, God refuses to look away.

That is what makes the Bible the greatest love story.

And God waited generations to speak those words over Jesus:

“My Son. My Beloved. With you I am well pleased.”

And that announcement matters.

It mattered for Jesus.

And it matters for us.

Because in our baptism, God does the same thing.

God affirms what God is about to do in us.

God authorizes and entrusts us

with the calling placed on every baptized person

the calling that Jesus names in Matthew 28:

to live,

to learn and grow,

to serve,

and to love

in the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.

This greatest love story declares that God certifies the called.

God calls us every day.

God claims us at every turn.

God sends us week after week

into a world that needs this love.

So today, may we hear an echo of that same voice:

“My children. My beloved. With you I am well pleased.”

Not because we are perfect,

Not because we have earned it,

but because we belong to the One

who is Jesus Christ, our Savior,

who calls us, claims us, and sends us.

That is the Good News we affirm and proclaim.

And when we turn to our readings today, 

we see that this love story has been unfolding for generations.

Each scripture gives us a different angle

on what God is doing at the Jordan River

and what God continues to do in us.

Our story begins in Isaiah 42,

with God choosing the servant.

Long before Jesus steps into the water,

Isaiah opens the story.

God says, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold.”

It is God’s way of saying,

“I have chosen someone for a purpose.

I am placing my Spirit upon him.”

Isaiah gives us the promise:

God calls,

God claims,

God delights in the one God sends.

This becomes the blueprint of Jesus’ baptism.

Psalm 29 reveals the authority of God’s voice.

The psalm gives us the sound of that moment:

“The voice of the Lord is upon the waters.”

A voice that shakes the wilderness,

breaks the cedars,

and speaks with power and majesty.

So when we arrive at the Jordan

and hear that same voice say,

“My Son. My Beloved. With you I am well pleased,”

we recognize it.

This is the voice that has always spoken

creation into being

and identity into people.

Matthew 3 brings us to the moment

when God publicly calls Jesus.

Jesus steps into the water,

the heavens open,

the Spirit descends,

and God speaks.

This is God’s public declaration:

“This is the One.

This is my Beloved.

This is the one I send.”

Jesus’ baptism is not just a ritual moment

it is a commissioning,

a declaration,

a divine seal.

And in Acts 10,

we see God extending the call to all people.

This is the moment Peter realizes,

“God shows no partiality.”

The same Spirit that rested on Jesus

now rests on all who are baptized.

The same calling that shaped Jesus’ ministry

now shapes ours.

The declaration Jesus receives

becomes the declaration we receive.

Together they proclaim:

God certifies the called.

And that means something for us today.

When God speaks over Jesus,

God is also speaking over us:

“My children. My beloved. With you I am well pleased.”

Just let that settle for a moment.

“My children. My beloved. With you I am well pleased.”

That is the love story we live in.

And that is the love story we continue to write and tell.

Let us pray.

Beloved of God,

as we go from this place,

may the voice that spoke over the waters

speak again over our life.

May we hear, deep in our soul:

“You are my child.

You are my beloved.

With you I am well pleased.”

May the Spirit who descended on Jesus

rest upon all your children with peace,

and send us out with purpose.

May the God who calls,

the Christ who claims,

and the Spirit who empowers

go before us,

go with us,

and go within us,

so that our personal and collective life

becomes a living witness

to the One who has called our names in our baptism.

Go now in the confidence of the baptized,

for God certifies the called.

Amen.