January 11 Sunday Sermon Manuscript

Someone Was There for You

Matthew 3:13–17

Encountering the “Adult Jesus” Standing at the Jordan River for the First Time

1. With the beginning of the Season of Epiphany, today we are reading the passage from Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17. This passage corresponds to a very important turning point within the Gospel.

2. The Scripture we read today is the scene in which the child Jesus, who was born in a manger, is revealed as the adult Jesus together with the Season of Epiphany. He is no longer a baby lying in a manger, nor a boy who went up to the temple following his parents. Now Jesus steps forward on his own and stands at the Jordan River.

3. The Jordan River is not merely a place. It is the boundary where Jesus’ life moves from a hidden and unseen time of preparation into a public time of mission.

4. In other words, this scene is the moment when Jesus is revealed before the world for the first time, and it precisely touches the core message that Epiphany gives to us. Epiphany is the season in which God reveals who God is through Jesus Christ.

5. While the world quickly puts away the lights and decorations of the Christmas season once it has passed, the reason we keep the Christmas lights and the tree standing through Epiphany lies right here.

“Why Baptism?” John’s Question Is Our Question

6. Matthew’s Gospel clearly states Jesus’ purpose in coming to the Jordan River. Verse 13 says, “Then he came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.” This single sentence raises a deeply uncomfortable question.

7. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. It was a declaration of confessing sin and turning the direction of one’s life. If that is the case, why is Jesus, who is without sin, standing in this place?

8. John the Baptist also stops short before this question. He says to Jesus. In verse 14, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

9. This statement is not merely an expression of humility. John clearly understood his role. He knew that he was the one preparing the way, and he also knew that Jesus was the one who would complete God’s salvation.

10. Therefore, John’s question is profoundly honest. It is the question, “Why has the order been reversed?”

“We” Fulfill Righteousness: The Theological Depth of Jesus’ Baptism

11. Jesus’ response is brief, yet extremely deep. “Let it be so now; for in this way it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Here, there are two things we must not miss.

12. First, Jesus does not say, “I,” but says, “we.”

13. Second, Jesus says that this baptism is the way to fulfill “all righteousness.”

14. In the Gospel of Matthew, “righteousness” does not mean personal moral perfection or strict observance of the law.

15. “Righteousness” always means entrusting oneself to God’s plan of salvation and participating in its movement. In other words, through this baptism, Jesus fulfills God’s righteousness by fully descending into the human position.

16. Jesus stands in the same line as sinners. He stands in the line of repentance, the line of those who need protection, the line of those who are wounded.

17. In today’s terms, this means that Jesus stands in the line with people such as immigrants, those who have been crushed by failure or have lost direction in life, and those who carry wandering and pain.

18. Jesus does not teach from the front of the line, nor does he evaluate from outside the line.

19. He enters into the line. This clearly shows where the direction of the gospel, as revealed in Jesus’ baptism, is headed.

Jesus’ Baptism Is Not a Personal Event but the Fruit of a Community

20. We often understand baptism as a personal decision. We say, “I decided to believe,” or “I confessed.” However, Jesus’ baptism tells an entirely different story.

21. Jesus’ baptism is not a certification of qualification, but a declaration of solidarity.

22. Jesus was already the Son of God. Nevertheless, he receives baptism. This shows that the kingdom of God is not established through individual glory alone.

23. The kingdom of God is always accomplished together. We must remember that Jesus did not begin alone.

24. When Jesus, having passed through infancy and boyhood, stood before John the Baptist at the Jordan River as an adult, he did not come to that place alone, but arrived there through the help of a community, family, neighbors, and countless others whose names cannot be individually listed.

Survival Itself Is Evidence of Community

25. In the first century, children lived amid extremely high mortality rates. Half of them lost their lives before reaching the age of ten. Disease, poverty, war, infanticide, and malnutrition were part of everyday life.

26. In addition to this, Jesus was not only a poor child but also a politically threatened one. According to Scripture, when news spread that a king of Israel had been born, King Herod ordered the killing of male children in the region of Bethlehem in order to maintain his power.

27. Despite such horrific circumstances, Jesus survived. Did Jesus alone escape death simply because he was the Son of God? No. This was not a simple miracle, but the result of countless human choices.

28. Some took risks on his behalf, some refused to remain silent, some gave up the stability of their own lives, some helped Jesus and his family flee to Egypt, and in Egypt others cared for Jesus and his family as refugees seeking to preserve their lives.

Genealogy: Nameless Faith Makes History

29. This is precisely why Matthew’s Gospel begins the story of Jesus with a genealogy. Jesus’ identity is not built upon individual excellence, but upon the accumulation of faith across generations. Within the genealogy, there is not only glory, but also memories of failure, violence, foreigners, and captivity.

30. What stands out most prominently is the presence of women. Tamar reveals a story of sexual violence and family collapse, and Rahab the prostitute appears as a foreign woman and a marginalized figure who hid the spies.

31. Ruth was a Moabite woman, a person excluded by lineage, and Bathsheba (“the wife of Uriah”) is known as a victim of violence by power. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also a woman who lived amid social misunderstanding and danger.

32. The fact that these names appear in Jesus’ genealogy shows that the history of God’s kingdom was not accomplished by the achievements of a few heroes, but was built through the accumulated lives and choices of countless unnamed people.

33. Our baptism is the same. It means that we are not connected only to Jesus, but are placed within a chain of faith that stretches from previous generations to the generations yet to come.

Joseph: Silent Faith, Yet Decisive Faith

34. In the Gospels, not a single word spoken by Joseph, the father of Jesus, is recorded. Despite being a very important figure, the Gospels do not portray Joseph as a prominently visible character.

35. As with the genealogy recorded in Matthew, rather than detailing how Jesus came into this world through a highly visible Joseph, the Gospel leaves space for us to imagine through a Joseph who is not highlighted or centered.

36. Silent and always present, Joseph chooses and protects Mary amid social condemnation, chooses to become a refugee in Egypt to protect his son, and raises Jesus in Nazareth—a place outside the spotlight rather than a center of attention.

37. The Gospels do not contain stories that would allow Joseph to be evaluated as a great preacher or even as an exemplary father. Joseph can be understood simply as one who chose what he would give up in order to protect Jesus and did his best with what he could do, thereby guiding Jesus to the point where, in today’s passage, he stands as an adult ready to receive baptism.

The Magi: The Gospel Is Sometimes Uncomfortable for Empires

38. The Magi, another group of outsiders often highlighted during Epiphany, are often portrayed to us with romantic imagery, but in Matthew’s Gospel they can be seen as dangerous figures.

39. They were not merely astronomers who followed a star, but people who went to Herod and delivered the provocative message, “We have come to worship the king of the Jews,” a message that shook not only religion but the foundations of the state.

40. Herod was a king installed by Rome and a man obsessively attached to his throne. The Magi’s question was essentially a declaration that “there is another true king.” It may not be surprising that Herod reacted violently upon hearing this, and the Magi may be seen as those who provoked him.

41. Herod asks the Magi to inform him of Jesus’ location. However, the Magi are warned in a dream and return by another road. This expression does not simply indicate a change of travel route.

42. In the original Greek, this scene carries nuances of intentional avoidance and strategic disobedience. The Magi knew the command of power and yet chose not to obey it. Even though this decision threatened their own safety, they chose the righteous path.

43. When you visit Bethlehem during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, you can find the Church of the Nativity. The church was built on the very spot where Jesus was born, and today a massive church building surrounds that place.

44. The entrance is low and small, so that one must bow one’s head to enter. The reason the original church site from the early church remains intact is that mosaics of the Magi were placed inside the church. When the Ottoman Turks destroyed Christian sites, they spared the Church of the Nativity because they saw these mosaics and recognized their ancestors depicted there.

45. The Magi are fascinating figures. They revealed information that threatened Herod, yet they did not follow him, and later their descendants formed a unique connection that helped protect the Church of the Nativity.

46. We must remember that the first to recognize Jesus’ birth were not Jews, but Gentile Magi, and that Jesus was brought to the place of baptism through the unexpected hands of foreigners—the Magi from the East.

Reading the Jordan River in Light of Today’s American Reality

47. Recently, major events have taken place in the United States. The president of Venezuela was captured while he slept. Control of Venezuelan airspace was seized in an instant, and he was taken into custody. Soon after, an official announcement was made that the United States would take control of Venezuela’s oil.

48. News has also emerged that the U.S. government officially wishes to own Greenland. Sovereignty over that ice-covered land belongs to Denmark. A country commonly thought of as a close U.S. ally is now reportedly defining the United States as its most hostile nation.

49. In Minneapolis, the shooting of a mother of three by immigration police was broadcast nationwide. The government speaks of self-defense, but everyone who witnessed the scene was left in shock.

50. I am still a Korean person who holds Korean citizenship. I am not sharing these stories in order to talk about American politics. Rather, these three incidents share a common thread. They appear to be signals that values long pursued—solidarity, relationship, agreement, and unity—are no longer considered particularly important.

51. There are many reasons the United States has become a superpower today, but it did not reach this position through its own efforts alone. After experiencing two major world wars, the global community chose efforts toward unity and cooperation rather than war. A representative example of this is the United Nations in New York.

52. As the world moved away from dictatorship and fascism, passed through the Cold War, and witnessed the collapse of communism, power and human resources rapidly flowed toward the United States as a symbol of liberal democracy.

53. The employment visas we are familiar with drew outstanding talent from all over the world to the United States, and on this foundation, America came to be recognized as a nation of unprecedented prosperity, opportunity, and abundance.

54. Yet we are gradually forgetting this. Attempts are repeatedly made to divide the value of life based on nationality, race, and citizenship. It is spoken of as though we arrived here solely because of our own excellence, but we must not forget that America’s power lies in diversity, equal opportunity granted to immigrants, and above all, freedom—the value that best explains America itself.

55. The same is true of large Korean corporations. Samsung and LG did not become global companies simply through their own efforts. When they were producing inferior products, during a time dominated by Japanese and American goods, the government launched campaigns encouraging the use of domestic products. Most decisively, Korea raised its electrical voltage from 110V to 220V, making American and Japanese products unusable, and as citizens purchased Samsung and LG products, these companies grew into global enterprises. They did not become such massive corporations through the efforts of conglomerates alone.

56. For a week, I remained silent, reflecting on how I should speak about this situation as a pastor. We did not arrive here alone. This nation, individuals, and corporations all stand upon someone else’s sacrifice and protection.

57. We must remember that the faith we hold, the knowledge we possess, and the freedom we enjoy were all built through the sacrifices of others.

The True Meaning of Heaven Being Opened

58. In today’s passage, we are told that heaven was opened as Jesus came up out of the water. However, this heaven was not opened suddenly one day. It was opened over a long period of time, upon the courage and choices of many people. God’s voice declares,“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

59. This declaration does not apply only to Jesus. Through baptism, God also asks us,“Now, whose hands will you become?”

60. Baptism is the remembrance that we arrived here through someone else’s hands. Baptism is now a request that we take responsibility for someone else’s growth. And baptism is a commissioning to stand on the side of life at our Jordan River today.

Conclusion: Today, at Our Jordan River

61. Jesus did not stand at the Jordan River alone. Today, we are not standing alone either. And God continues to call us today, “Whom will you now bring to the Jordan River?”

62. If we are here because of someone else’s sacrifice and devotion, then it is now time for you and me to bear sacrifice and devotion for someone else.

63. After church, as we were heading home, my wife said this to me: we have lived struggling day by day up to now, but now is the time to consider what we will leave behind for those who come after us. I am still struggling day by day, but my wife is looking farther and seeing more broadly.

64. I came to think that church ministry is not something we do only for our own church to do well, but something that should share a good influence with everyone we are connected to and with every community.

65. Remember that even Jesus Christ, the Son of God, before beginning his public ministry and before receiving baptism, came to that place through the devotion and sacrifice of others. I earnestly hope that you and I will strive to live lives like Jesus.