The Message, January 11, 2026: "This Is My Son," Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 3:13-17
Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
January 13, 2026
“This Is My Son!”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Isaiah 42:1-9; Matthew 3:13-17
As we discussed these passages at
Bible Study on Thursday evening, I asked those who were there if they had been
baptized. Everyone in attendance had indeed been baptized. Then I asked how
many of them had been baptized by immersion. Two of us had the experience of
being baptized by immersion.
I can only speak for myself, but I
am quite certain that as I was raised from the waters of baptism in that
baptistry a Voice from heaven did not proclaim, “This is my son, in whom I am
well pleased.” I suppose that there is a chance that it happened, and I just do
not remember that it happened. However, I think something like that an
experience like that would stay with me.
Over the course of my ministry, I
had had the privilege and the honor to baptize people both in the manner in
which we baptize here at First Parish Church, as well as baptism by immersion
in baptistries and in other bodies of water. As I have made the sign of the
cross on someone’s forehead baptizing in the name of God, the Son of God, and
the Holy Spirit of God, I have not heard the Voice. Neither have I heard it as
I raised people up out of the waters of baptism. However, I know that the Voice
was present. I know that the Spirit was present.
Those of you who have had the
experience of being baptized at a time in your life when you are old enough to
remember … think back to that day. Think back to that moment. What did you
feel? What emotions did you experience? Was it joy? Was it peace? Was it love?
Was it acceptance? What did you hear?
Now, let us journey back to the
shores of the River Jordan on a day nearly two thousand years ago. John the
Baptist had come onto the scene offering the people a new relationship with
God. John offered the people the baptism of repentance. John invited the people
that flocked to him to confess their sins, to turn away from their sins and
turn toward God.
Those of you who have memories of
your baptism may remember powerful emotions that you experienced. Those people
on the banks of the River Jordan experienced something powerful as well. A
baptism of repentance was not something that they did … ever. Those first
century Jews were familiar with the practice of baptism, but it was only for
those who were converting to the faith. The notion of a baptism of repentance
was foreign to them. Prior to Jesus arriving on scene, John had been telling
the people that ‘just because you are the Children of Abraham does not mean
that you are in right relationship with God. In fact, many of you are not in
right relationship. You have taken that relationship for granted. You think
that it is some sort of guarantee … but you are wrong.’
John was preaching a message of
revival and restoration to a people who had fallen away from the Way of God. He
said to them, ‘Look into your hearts. You know the ways and the times that you
have not been faithful. You know the ways and the times when you have not loved
God in the manner that you should. You know the ways that you have failed to
love your neighbors. And God knows too. Now is the time to be honest with
yourselves. Now is the time to turn away from all of those things that have
separated you from God. Now is the time to enter into the water of baptism … to
be buried in the water of baptism … and to rise and walk in newness of life;
rise to walk in a new and restored relationship with God. Let the old slip
away. Come to the water … and live!”
We can only imagine the emotions
that were present in that gathering at the River Jordan. We can imagine people falling
to their knees and begging God for forgiveness. We can imagine people weeping
with gratitude. We can imagine people weeping and dancing with joy. They had
been set free from the chains of shame and guilt that had bound them. What
rejoicing there must have been!
And then, into that crowd … into
that celebration … into that sea of emotions … walked Jesus. The throng
gathered there likely did not know who he was, but John did. John knew that
this was the One for whom he was preparing the way. John knew that this was the
man who had made him jump in his mother’s womb when Mary visited Elizabeth.
John knew that he was the One foretold by the Angel Gabriel. John knew he was
the One visited by shepherds and Magi alike. John knew that he was the One who
would offer an even more powerful baptism than that which he offered.
John knew all of that, but he had no
idea why Jesus had stepped into the river to be baptized by him. Why would he
... the One foretold, the One promised … need to baptized by him?! Why indeed.
We spent some time discussing that
question at Bible Study. In my reading of the various commentaries there is no
consensus. Jesus did not NEED to be baptized. Jesus did not NEED to repent of
his sins. Did he do it because Jesus wanted the people to see that he was one
of them? Did he do it because Jesus spent most of his ministry reaching out to
those who were the “lost” and the “sinners”? We do not know for certain. What
we DO know is what Jesus said, “Let it be so for now, for it is proper for
us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) ‘This is what
must happen for now so that we may fulfill what it means to be in right
relationship with God.’
John consented and baptized Jesus
along with the others in the waters of the River Jordan.
And as we heard, when Jesus came out
of the water, the heavens opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending upon him like a dove. The dove alighted upon him, and then a Voice
from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am
well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
It is not clear from the words of
scripture whether the crowd on the riverbank heard the Voice, or if it was only
Jesus. If the people gathered there did hear that Voice, many in the crowd
would have recognized the words that were spoken. They would have heard the
echoes of words spoken by the Prophet Isaiah: “Here is my servant, whom I
uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.” (Isaiah 42:1)
We heard those same words this
morning. The same Voice that spoke from the heavens when Jesus emerged from the
water of the River Jordan was the Voice that spoke through the prophet Isaiah.
“Here is my Son, the Beloved, with
whom I am well pleased.”
“Here is my servant, who I have
lifted up, who I have chosen, in whom my soul delights.”
“I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1b)
When we were baptized, we may not
have seen the Spirit of God descend upon us like a dove … but the Spirit of God
was present. We may not have heard the Voice from the heavens … but the Voice
was speaking. “Here is my servant, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.”
When we heard the words spoken by
the Prophet Isaiah this morning we may have thought, “Oh, Isaiah is talking
about Jesus. He is telling us that Jesus is coming.” But that would not be
correct.
Isaiah WAS telling us who the
servant of Yahweh God is. The servant embodies what it means to have a
covenantal relationship with God. And rather than try to identify some
particular individual … or individuals … to whom Isaiah was referring, we
should understand it to mean any and all of those who have accepted the
invitation to be in relationship with God. It does a disservice to the passage
to attempt to assign this prophecy to a particular person, or position, or
class, or even period of time. The “servant” is anyone who finds their
completion, their fulfillment, in relationship with God.
Which means, of course, that the
servant is us. In whatever manner we have answered the invitation to be in
relationship with God … we are the servant. No matter what manner of baptism we
experienced … the Spirit of God was with us. And the responsibilities … the job
description … of the servant are the same today as they were when Isaiah
offered those words.
The servant of God is to bring forth
justice to the nations.
“I have called you in
righteousness; I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open
the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the
prison those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:1b, 6-7)
Yes, that is the promise that Jesus
came to fulfill, and it is for us as well.
We are called to be a light to the
nations.
We are to called proclaim justice
for all people.
We are to serve the needy, and the
broken, and the fragile.
We are to set the prisoners free, to
break whatever chains that may bind them.
This is our call.
But do not fear. Do not feel
overwhelmed by that. Because in times when discipleship … servanthood … weighs
heavily upon us, and the joy of living true to God’s compassionate justice
dims, take heart. Remember that the Source of our call, the Source of our
vocation is God, and that we are God’s beloved, we are God’s delight. Remember
that we are not left to our own devices. We are not on our own. Remember God’s
words of assurance, “I have put my Spirit upon [him] … upon [her] … upon
[them]… upon [you].”
Throughout scripture we learn that
the Spirit of God is the power and the wisdom of God. Through the empowerment
of the Spirit ordinary people … like you and me … are able to rise up to
accomplish daunting and seemingly impossible tasks.
Step into the Living Water of Jesus
Christ.
Let
us step into the waters of baptism and rise to walk in newness of life.
Feel the Holy Spirit of God fill you
and renew you.
Feel the Holy Spirit heal the wounds
you may have suffered.
Feel the Holy Spirit of God mend
your broken places.
Feel
God’s Holy Spirit calm your fear and your anxiousness.
Hear
the Heavenly Voice proclaim … “This is my Son … This is my Daughter … This is
my Child … my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Amen.
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