Why Was Jesus Baptized? - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

00:12:43
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2h4qSb7cqQ

Summary

TLDRIn this sermon, the speaker delves into the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, emphasizing its central role across the Gospels despite its initial embarrassment for early Christians since Jesus' engagement in a baptism of repentance seemed contradictory for the sinless Son of God. The sermon explores why John the Baptist conducted baptisms in the desert instead of the temple. This action is seen as a protest against Herod and his successors who represented a corrupted form of leadership trying to position themselves as messianic figures. Here, John's identification of Jesus as the Lamb of God signifies Jesus' role as the ultimate sacrifice, taking on humanity's sins. As the sermon transitions to the Mass, it reflects on how the Eucharist reenacts Jesus' sacrificial offering, mirroring the moment of baptism where he stands with sinners, foreshadowing his sacrifice. Thus, Jesus' baptism acts as a theological lens, foreshadowing his ultimate mission of atonement through sacrifice.

Takeaways

  • 📜 Every Gospel highlights Jesus' baptism due to its doctrinal importance.
  • 🏜️ John the Baptist's desert location was a protest against temple corruption.
  • 🐑 Jesus is called the Lamb of God, indicating his sacrificial destiny.
  • 🛕 Herod's actions in rebuilding the temple were politically motivated.
  • ♻️ The Mass recaptures the essence of Jesus' sacrifice.
  • 🩸 Jesus' baptism foreshadows his crucifixion as the sacrifice for sins.
  • 🔄 The Eucharist is a physical reminder of the forgiveness of sins.
  • 🌊 Jesus’ act of baptism places him symbolically among sinners.
  • 🌟 John’s ministry sets up a new spiritual order outside temple orthodoxy.
  • 🔍 Baptism acts as a lens to understand Jesus' life mission.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is emphasized as a significant event mentioned in all four Gospels. It is noted as an embarrassment for early Christians because Jesus, the Messiah, underwent a baptism of repentance with sinners, which even John the Baptist questioned. The sermon explores John the Baptist's unusual location in the desert instead of the temple, given his priestly lineage. This is linked to a historical context involving King Herod, who rebuilt the temple with political motives and portrayed himself as a messianic figure. Consequently, a faithful priest, like John, would protest the corruption by establishing a new temple-like environment in the desert, offering forgiveness, preaching, and baptism similar to temple traditions.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:12:43

    John the Baptist in the desert attracts people for forgiveness of sins, preaching, and a symbolic preparatory bath akin to a temple mikvah. When Jesus arrives, John identifies him as the 'Lamb of God,' foreshadowing his role as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. The baptism is embarrassing because Jesus, seen as sinless, stands with sinners, akin to a temple lamb that bore the symbolic sins of others for sacrifice. This act is mirrored in Jesus' life and death, portrayed during the Eucharist at Mass, where his body and blood are sacramentally offered. Thus, the baptism is crucial for understanding Jesus' sacrificial mission, just as the Mass is seen as a recapitulation of this sacrifice.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • Why is the baptism of Jesus considered embarrassing?

    It was embarrassing because it involved Jesus, considered sinless, undergoing a baptism of repentance alongside sinners.

  • What is the significance of John the Baptist being in the desert?

    John was in the desert as a protest against the corrupted temple leadership and sought to establish a new form of spiritual temple.

  • How does John's baptism relate to Jesus’ role as the Lamb of God?

    John identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, highlighting his role as a sacrificial offering for humankind's sins.

  • What was King Herod's connection to the temple?

    Herod consolidated power by rebuilding the temple and positioning himself as a Messianic figure.

  • How does the Mass relate to the baptism of Jesus?

    The Mass commemorates Jesus' sacrifice, mirroring the symbolic acts from John's baptism where Jesus is identified as the sacrificial lamb.

  • What does the phrase 'Lamb of God' signify in the context of Jesus' ministry?

    It signifies Jesus as the ultimate sacrificial offering, taking on the sins of the world.

  • What role does the Eucharist play in the Mass?

    The Eucharist represents Jesus' sacrifice, with his body and blood symbolically offered for the forgiveness of sins.

  • Why was John's action in the desert considered significant?

    John was symbolically providing what the temple failed to offer—true repentance and forgiveness.

  • How does Jesus’ baptism serve as a lens for understanding his mission?

    It foreshadows his role as a sacrificial lamb, showing his willingness to take on human sin.

  • What is the connection between baptism and Mass in this interpretation?

    Both serve as pivotal events representing Jesus' sacrifice for humankind's redemption.

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  • 00:00:00
    peace be with you friends we come today
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    to this Feast of the baptism of the Lord
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    this is exceptionally important because
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    all four gospels talk about the baptism
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    of Jesus John the Baptist is a kind of
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    door we have to go through to understand
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    Jesus properly what I'm going to do in
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    this sermon even though our reading for
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    today is from the Gospel of Luke is
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    range around a bit among all these
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    different accounts of the baptism
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    because it matters that much here's the
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    first thing I want to observe about it
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    the baptism of Jesus was an
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    embarrassment no way around that here's
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    the first Christians writing about their
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    the Messiah the Lord and they have him
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    going for a baptism of repentance they
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    have him standing with Sinners and
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    seeking a baptism of repentance from
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    John the Baptist it's reflected even in
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    the Baptist's own words I mean what why
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    are you coming to me so it was a strange
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    embarrassing event and yet yet they put
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    it right there at the beginning of the
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    Gospel compelling us to come to terms
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    with it here's the second weird and
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    interesting thing about the
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    baptism what is John the Baptist doing
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    in the desert now I say that because
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    it's clearly indicated that John the
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    Baptist is the son of Zechariah who is a
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    priest priesthood was a father toson
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    business in ancient Israel if you're
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    you're a priest then you hand that
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    office on to your son more to it John
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    the Baptist mother is portrayed as
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    belonging to a Priestly cast this guy is
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    Priestly to his bones so the obvious
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    question is why isn't he in the temple
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    where a priest you imagine would belong
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    what's he doing out in the desert now to
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    get at that we have to do a little bit
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    of history and it
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    involves a great and terrible figure
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    from Israelite history great I mean
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    influential and important I'm talking
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    about King Herod so Herod comes to power
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    in that strange period when Rome which
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    was the dominant power was torn between
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    Mark Anthony and Octavian after the
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    assassination of Julius Caesar first
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    their kind of uneasy allies in time they
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    become bitter opponents and a civil war
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    breaks out well Herod was a very canny
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    fellow um very KY politician who played
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    Octavian and Anthony off each other
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    first backing Anthony then when he went
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    down getting in in with octavien and
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    during that time he becomes the sort of
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    Jewish uh you know sub ruler of Judea
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    and so on but what's he doing during
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    that time he's consolidating his role as
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    king and more importantly I would say
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    he's rebuilding the temple keep in mind
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    what we call the Wailing Wall today
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    that's a kind of supporting wall wall of
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    the renewed Temple that Herod built in
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    those same years like in the 30s to 20s
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    BC now you say well what's wrong with
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    that isn't he just being a good you know
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    public servant and he's a builder of
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    fine buildings and yeah okay but you got
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    to read everything in a religious
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    context then what was expected of the
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    Messiah to go back to the prophets and
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    the Psalms what's expected of the
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    Messiah well he would be the king of the
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    gathered tribes of Israel and and he
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    would cleanse and purify the temple he'd
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    rebuild the
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    Temple what was Herod up to political
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    consolidation yes modifying the Romans
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    yes but he was also in the business of
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    making himself into a Messianic
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    figure that's why Herod we say a great
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    figure but also a very strange and
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    dangerous figure and to consolidate his
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    power at home he he didn't hesitate at
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    killing his own
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    children can you see now why someone who
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    is destined to be a temple priest now
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    we're in the Years just after Herod so
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    Herod dies right around the time Jesus
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    is born so now in the time of John the
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    Baptist it's in the wake of Herod but
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    it's herod's political and cultural
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    descendants who are in charge of the
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    nation and of the Temple
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    this false Messianic figure claiming
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    this identity for himself his
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    descendants are in charge can you see
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    now why a faithful Temple priest would
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    want to get out of there would be
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    passing judgment upon that Temple and
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    now in the desert establishing a kind of
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    new Temple so watch what John is doing
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    people come to him to have their sins
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    forgiven why would you go to the
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    Jerusalem Temple same thing to have your
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    sins wiped away more to it he's
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    preaching to them well you came to the
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    temple to hear preaching now you hear it
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    from John in the
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    desert maybe most importantly this
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    baptism what is that well Temple people
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    would know it's a kind of Mikvah bath
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    the Mikvah being a a bath that would
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    prepare you to enter into the temple to
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    pray and to make sacrif
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    I so John now he should be in the temple
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    but he's not in the desert and he's
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    offering the Forgiveness of sins he's
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    teaching the people and he's bathing
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    them in preparation
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    for
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    what now go to the Gospel of John see
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    with all that in the
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    background Jesus comes to the shores of
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    the River
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    Jordan John sees him he says look
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    there's the Lamb of
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    God we repeat his words don't we at
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    every Mass when we hold up the
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    consecrated species and we say Behold
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    the Lamb of
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    God what's John
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    saying remember he's a temple priest
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    he's protesting against the Jerusalem
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    Temple it's run by Herod and his people
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    and the false Messiah he's out in the
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    desert now with a new Temple Project the
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    Forgiveness of sins the the preaching
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    the mikab bath to prepare the people
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    for
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    sacrifice to say look look there's the
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    Lamb of God he's saying here is the
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    one who has come to be the
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    definitive Sacrifice by which our sins
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    are finally
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    forgiven why did Jesus come to teach
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    sure
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    to heal
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    yeah but he came the church fathers
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    remind us to die and I don't mean that
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    in some weird masochistic way or
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    sadistic way he came to be the Lamb of
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    God to be the sacrifice for the
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    Forgiveness of our sins okay now let's
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    take another step I mentioned at the
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    very outset that the baptism of the Lord
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    was
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    embarrassing and indeed it was for the
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    first Christians trying to figure this
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    out
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    why would the Lord the why would the Son
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    of God look now get down into the into
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    the Muddy Waters of the
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    Jordan shoulder toosh shoulder with
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    Sinners that's all that came to John
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    were Sinners anybody walking by and
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    seeing Jesus would say well there's just
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    was one more sinner well how could that
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    be the answer is because he's the Lamb
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    of God you see when you brought a lamb
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    to the
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    temple and and the law called for an
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    unblemished
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    lamb it was presented to the priest the
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    throat of the Lamb was slit the blood
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    was caught in a bowl sprinkled upon the
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    Altar and then the body of the Lamb
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    would be burned in a holocaust a
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    sacrifice and here's what was happening
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    everybody psychologically and
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    spiritually in that moment
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    the person coming was symbolically
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    placing his
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    sins upon that
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    lamb that innocent
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    lamb and saying what's happening to this
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    Lamb by rights should be happening to me
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    the lamb was a kind of substitutionary
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    sacrifice a symbolic representation of
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    the sins of the
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    person the blood of the Lamb poured out
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    the body of the Lamb offered up as a
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    holocaust a sin
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    offering now
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    Jesus what happens at the climax of his
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    life so at the beginning of his public
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    Life John announces him as the Lamb of
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    God what happens to the climax of his
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    life Jesus blood is poured out
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    his body on the cross offered as a
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    sacrifice the night before he dies he
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    takes the bread and he says this is my
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    body given for you and then over the
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    Passover wine this is the Chalice of my
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    blood that will be shed for
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    you what he was saying was his whole
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    life is about being the sacrifice for
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    our sins now we see why he stands yes
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    embarrassingly shoulder-to-shoulder with
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    Sinners because the lamb though innocent
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    the sin of of the sacrifice is placed
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    upon him he takes upon himself the sin
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    of the one who offers ah
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    ah now
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    Jesus Takes upon himself willingly the
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    sin of the world even if that means
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    in a kind of embarrassing
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    way his baptism is the door through
  • 00:10:36
    which he goes the baptism of the Lord is
  • 00:10:39
    the lens through which we properly
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    understand it okay one more step I've
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    already kind of hinted at it but now we
  • 00:10:48
    go from the baptism of the
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    Lord to the
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    mass what is the mass well the mass is a
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    great Encounter With Jesus
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    it involves the word yes indeed that's
  • 00:11:01
    the first part of the mass the Liturgy
  • 00:11:03
    of the word and the Lord speaks to us
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    and we speak back to him in our Psalms
  • 00:11:09
    and our
  • 00:11:11
    responses but then in the Liturgy of the
  • 00:11:15
    Eucharist what
  • 00:11:17
    happens in a sacramental
  • 00:11:20
    way under sacramental signs the blood of
  • 00:11:24
    Jesus is poured
  • 00:11:27
    out upon the altar
  • 00:11:30
    the body of Jesus sacramentally is
  • 00:11:33
    offered to the
  • 00:11:36
    father what we see at the mass is the
  • 00:11:41
    recapitulation of Jesus great
  • 00:11:46
    Sacrifice by which he took away the sins
  • 00:11:50
    of the
  • 00:11:53
    world how wonderful that every year we
  • 00:11:56
    spend time with the bap baptism of the
  • 00:12:00
    lord we stare hard at this strange and
  • 00:12:05
    puzzling and yes rather embarrassing
  • 00:12:10
    event because it's by that
  • 00:12:15
    act that Jesus saves us from our
  • 00:12:20
    sins John's baptism is the interpretive
  • 00:12:23
    lens through which we
  • 00:12:25
    look to see the work of the Lamb of God
  • 00:12:30
    and God bless you
  • 00:12:32
    [Music]
  • 00:12:37
    [Applause]
  • 00:12:40
    [Music]
Tags
  • Baptism of Jesus
  • John the Baptist
  • Lamb of God
  • Herod
  • Desert
  • Temple
  • Sacrifice
  • Eucharist
  • Mass
  • Repentance