Matthew 3:13–17

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

This is the word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God!

Introduction to the Series

Well, today we begin a new worship series called Being Made New. This series is not about self-help, personal improvement, or simply turning over a new leaf because the calendar has changed. No, this series is about transformation. It’s about how God’s grace doesn’t just forgive our past but reshapes our future.

So, over the next few weeks, we will explore how God takes ordinary, imperfect, often weary people and makes us new through water and the Spirit, through grace and love, through belonging that always comes before behavior.

A Moment of Reflection

So let’s pause for a moment and reflect.

Where did you begin?
What did faith look like for you in those early days, when you first sensed God’s prevenient grace gently drawing you near?

Now think about where you are today.

How has your understanding of God changed?
How has your prayer life shifted?
How has your trust grown or struggled over time?

Some of us can name real growth.
Some of us feel stuck.
And some of us may even be wondering if we’ve drifted farther from God than we ever expected.

But here’s the promise we can cling to every single day: God meets us exactly where we are, not where we think we should be.

Friends, all of us are on a journey, and sometimes, like I said last week, faith includes detours. So take out your bulletins or your smartphones and type or write this down:

New beginnings in God’s kingdom never start with shame.
They always begin with grace.

God’s free, unearned, life-giving gift of grace. That unconditional love that erases our mistakes and frees our hearts to love ourselves and others again.

Jesus Steps into the Water

And that’s exactly what we see when Jesus steps into the waters of baptism.

Luke tells us that the people at this time were filled with expectation. They were longing for hope, desperate for renewal, wondering if John the Baptist might be the Messiah they had been waiting for.

After all, John was a powerful voice, calling people to repentance, confronting complacency, baptizing in the Jordan, and stirring hearts toward change. But John is clear about who he is and who he is not.

John says, “I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I is coming. This man is above all things, and I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.”

Friends, this isn’t false humility. It’s deep spiritual awareness. You see, in the ancient world, untying sandals and washing feet was the work of the lowest servant. So John is saying this one is so holy, so significant, that I am not worthy even to touch his feet.

So when Jesus comes to be baptized, John hesitates. He knows his own flaws, his humanity, and deep down he knows who Jesus is.

Worthy of God’s Love

And here’s where I think most of us can relate to this story.

Like John, we often look at our own flaws, failures, and fears, and we wonder if we are worthy of God’s love. And if that’s you today, hear this truth clearly:

You are not disqualified because of your past.
Your mistakes don’t define you.
You are not placed beyond God’s reach.

In fact, you are the very reason Jesus steps into the water.

Jesus chooses to stand with humanity, to identify with our brokenness, to step into the places of guilt, shame, doubt, and fear. God does not save us from a distance. God saves us by going all the way in.

Indeed, Jesus didn’t need to be baptized. He had no sin to confess, no repentance to make, no cleansing to receive. And yet he steps into the water because we do.

And he chooses to do this before he heals anyone, before he teaches or performs miracles, which he had the authority to do. Jesus humbles himself and he prays.

God sees God’s Son in this humble state and affirms who Jesus is. The Bible tells us that the Spirit descends like a dove, and a voice from heaven declares, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Identity Before Activity

And friends, this moment reveals a foundational truth:

Identity comes before activity.
Belonging comes before obedience.
Love comes before transformation.

Jesus doesn’t earn God’s love. He begins his ministry already claimed by it.

And it’s important to know that in baptism, so do we.

Baptism is not just forgiveness. It’s a claiming. In baptism, God declares over our lives, “You are my beloved child. You belong to me.”

So baptism isn’t a reward for spiritual maturity. It’s the starting point for spiritual growth. It’s not about perfection. It’s about participation in the life of Christ.

When we choose to be baptized, the Holy Spirit marks us as God’s own and begins a lifelong work of renewal, shaping us, healing us, and transforming us into people who love others as Christ loves us.

A Story of Grace

Several years ago, when I was serving as a hospital chaplain, I met a man named Dave. Sadly, Dave had liver cancer and had been told to get his affairs in order.

And when I entered his room, he snapped, “Get out. I don’t want your religion.” So I left, and honestly, I vowed not to return.

But the next day, I felt nudged by God to stop in Dave’s room just to say, “I’m here if you ever want to talk to me, Dave.” And he waved me off again.

But later that afternoon, as I was passing by his room, I heard Dave crying. So I stepped inside, took his hand, and said, “Dave, I’m not here to sell you anything. I just want you to know you are loved.”

Friends, that moment changed everything.

Dave shared his story of abuse, broken relationships, addiction, and deep shame. He said, “You don’t know all the bad things I’ve done. I’m not good enough for God’s love.”

So I opened my Bible and read John 3:16 to him and said, “Dave, if you were the last person on earth, God still would have sent Jesus just for you.”

The next day, when I stopped in to see Dave, he said something I’ll never forget. He said, “Mary Beth, last night I realized God doesn’t love a future version of me. God loves me right now. Period.”

Friends, that is baptismal truth.

God’s love sees beyond who we’ve been and calls us forth to who we are becoming.

Being Made New

There’s a contemporary Christian song by TobyMac that captures this baptismal truth beautifully. The lyrics say:

“When love broke through
You found me in the darkness, wandering through the desert
I was a hopeless fool
Now I’m hopelessly devoted, my chains are broken
And it all began with You when love broke through.”

Friends, that’s exactly what happened to Dave. And friends, that’s exactly what happens to us.

God loves us, seeks us, finds us, and renews us.

Theologian Karl Barth reminds us that in baptism God claims us before we can claim God.

So today, as we begin this journey of being made new, I pray that we remember this:

Our faith does not begin with striving but with grace.
We do not start with effort but with belonging.
And every new beginning begins the same way, by remembering who and whose we are.

Jesus stepped into the water for that reason.

May we not only know and believe this truth but choose to live it out.

Come, Holy Spirit. I pray it may be so. Amen.