Don’t drink the water! In early August that warning went out
to the 400,000 people in greater Toledo,
Ohio’s fourth largest city.
Toxins probably from algae on Lake Erie had fouled
the water supply. Residents were ordered not to brush their teeth with or boil
the water, because that would only increase the toxin’s concentration.
The governor of Ohio
declared a state of emergency and state agencies worked to bring water and
other supplies to the area while also assisting hospitals and other affected
businesses. The governor told the public, “What’s more important than water?
Water’s about life. We know it’s difficult. We know it’s frustrating.” [1] In a
couple of days, the crisis abated.
“What’s more important than water? Water’s about life.” In
biblical times water was crucial to physical existence. Rainfall and access to
water determined the pattern of life, where settlements could be established
and what sort of plant cultivation and animal husbandry could be done. At a
more profound level, water is crucial to key teachings of the Gospel and
spiritual life itself.
1.
Water shows: What is God like?
2.
Water shows: Who is Jesus Christ?
3.
Water shows: What must I do now?
4.
Water shows: How should I live my life?
Today we explore the first of these essentials.
• Water reveals the true God (Luke 3:21-22).
The waters of the Jordan River
in Roman Palestine may seem to be an unlikely candidate to reveal anything momentous,
magnificent, and profound. In the north, four tributaries form the river, which
flows into Lake Huleh (7 feet above sea level) and then it descends into the
Sea of Galilee and from there descends further still into the Dead Sea (1,292
below sea level). Between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead
Sea it has 27 rapids (making river traffic prohibitive), swampy
conditions at various points, terrific heat and (in biblical times) the
presence of wild animals. [2]
But, as Luke chapter 3 tells us, it was here that – in mundane
conditions, along the banks of the insignificant Jordan
River – a lowly, rustic town-crier-like man, John the Baptizer, came
as the “voice” spoken of in the prophet Isaiah chapter 40. John “went into all
the region around the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3).
And the words of Isaiah (quoted in Luke 3:4-6) explain the mission of this
voice:
The voice of one crying in the
wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall
be made low,
and the crooked shall become
straight,
and the rough places shall become
level ways,
and all flesh shall see the
salvation of God.”
This “town crier” was insistent:
turn away from your sins to a new lifestyle, be baptized in water, and get
ready for the Lord to come and to bring God’s salvation. It is critical to note
that, in this quotation, Isaiah uses two words for God: “Lord” (YHWH in the
Hebrew, “Lord” in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures then in use in
the Roman world) and God (Elohim in the Hebrew and “God” in that Greek
translation, the Septuagint).
Luke tells it like it is. Now we must work backward in the Gospel According
to Luke and fill in six parts of back story. Otherwise, we will miss the
utterly profound moment that the waters of the Jordan will bring us. There are
times when Holy Scripture admonishes us the readers, “Roll up your sleeves and
put your mind in gear” (1 Pet 1:13 MSG). This is one of those times.
(1) Luke uses God and Lord
(YHWH) in tandem:
(Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth) were both righteous before
God,
walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of
the Lord (1:6)
(Zacharias) was serving as priest before God . . .
he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord
(1:8)
(2) Luke adds a third element
to the proper understanding of God. An angel tells Zacharias:
your wife will bear you a son, . . .
he will be great before the Lord . . .
he will be filled with the Holy Spirit . . .
he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God
. . .
to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. (1:13-18)
Integral to the working of God in the world is the Holy
Spirit.
(3) And yet here in chapter one, Luke affirms one God: “turn
many . . . to the Lord their God.”
(4) The distinctions continue in Luke chapter 1. An angel,
Gabriel, is sent with a message to Mary (the cousin of Elizabeth): “you will conceive in your womb
and bear a son” – thus, her son will be human. And yet because of the action of
the Holy Spirit, this human son will also be called “the Son of the Most High,”
“the Son of God” (1:31-32, 35). Mary, pregnant with this son, went to visit Elizabeth. And Luke says:
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
and she exclaimed with a loud cry, . . . . “And why is this granted to me that
the mother of my Lord should come to me? . . . . And blessed is she who
believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
(1:41-45)
The Lord fulfilled his promise to Mary. This son in Mary’s
womb is Elizabeth’s Lord, according to Elizabeth. Elizabeth says this while
she is filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is able to do what a person
can do: convey ideas to the human mind. Furthermore, the son in Mary’s womb is
not simply human and the Son of God, he is “my Lord.” If we know who this
divine-human son really is, we will want a relationship with him. We will claim
him as my Lord.
(5) The angel Gabriel stands in the presence of God and then
is sent to Mary (1:26-27). This angel describes the action that will take place
in Mary’s womb as follows, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be
called holy—the Son of God” (1:35). Of John the Baptizer, it is said that “the
hand of the Lord was with him” (1:66). But Mary’s son is different than John. Mary’s
son is the Holy One. He is the Son of God. Thus, in the Godhead there is the invisible
God before whom angels minister. Next there is Holy One, the Son of God, who is
visible to all because he has taken on human flesh. And then there is the
personal power and hand of God at work in the world: the Holy Spirit, the one
who comes not only with illocutionary force (personally conveying ideas to the
human mind) but perlocutionary force (personally creating things and causing
events).
(6) This human son – who is also the Son of God – was born.
As we listen to Luke 2:8-11 telling the news, we need to remember that the
personal name of God in the Hebrew, YHWH, is translated “Lord” in the Greek
translation of the scriptures that is used throughout the Mediterranean.
The evangelist Luke is writing in Greek:
And in the same region there were
shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an
angel of the Lord (YHWH) appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord
(YHWH) shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel
said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that
will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is
Christ the Lord (YHWH).
Luke very naturally refers to the Savior who has come into
the world not only as Christ (Messiah, “Anointed One,” chosen human being) but
also as the Lord (YHWH).
Come to the waters
and see. It is now time for us to go to the waters of the Jordan
River. John the Baptizer is there. Large crowds are there getting
baptized. Next “Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. John objected,
‘I’m the one who needs to be baptized, not you!’ But Jesus insisted. ‘Do it.
God’s work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right
now in this baptism.’ So John did it.” (Matt 3:14-15 MSG)
And then the most amazing thing happened. “When Jesus also
had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit
descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You
are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’ ” (Luke 3:21-22 ESV). Yes,
there is one God. But in the fullness of God, the waters of the Jordan have
revealed three persons: the one who has a Son (the Father), the beloved Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Water, my friends, has revealed the true God before our
very eyes.
A professor of English at Kentucky Christian
University has
illustrated this profound truth in a simple yet memorable way:
“One God, one God, three persons
in one.” These words were chanted by my young brother, Jared. Every time he
begins the last line of this lilt he holds his fingers in the air to signify
the number three. As the incantation comes to a close, Jared brings his three
fingers together to communicate to his listeners and onlookers the connection
and unity of the Godhead. The three fingers are made into one before all who
watch as a reminder that the One God is comprised of three personalities. At
the tender age of three, I doubt Jared has ever uttered words such as doctrine,
Godhead, or Trinity. However, in this simple child’s mind, the doctrine of the
Trinity is understood perfectly. To him, and all his peers, the illustration of
three fingers placed together as one describe the idea in its entirety. [3]
The waters of the Jordan tell us much more about God.
First, within the community of three persons, there is relationship:
from heaven the Holy Spirit comes upon the Son and remains; from heaven the
Father calls the Son “my Son.” Instead of an impersonal, far-off mechanical being,
there is a relational bond of persons who are both distant and near, transcendent
and immanent. Second, within the community of three persons there is love,
delight, appreciation, enjoyment, and fellowship: “You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased,” says the Father. Instead of unitary aloneness,
there is self-giving, joyful communion. Third, within the community of three
persons, there is communication: the Spirit comes, the Father speaks,
and the Son hears. Instead of static aloofness, there is dynamic interpersonal interaction.
This unity of community is here with a mission. Jesus the
Son, full of the Holy Spirit, goes to the synagogue in his home town, Nazareth, on the Sabbath
Day. The Beloved Son is given the scroll of Isaiah, unrolls it and reads a
portion. The Scripture he reads is from Isaiah chapter 61 and it says Luke
4:16-19):
“The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because
he has anointed me
to
proclaim good news to the poor.
He
has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and
recovering of sight to the blind,
to
set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
He gave the scroll back to the attendant. Everyone present at
that gathering fixed their eyes on Jesus and he began by saying, “Today this
Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Have we thought about the message of Isaiah? Have we
considered our spiritual poverty, our spiritual bondage, our spiritual
blindness? Have we accepted the Son of God’s proclamation of good news, liberty,
and recovery of sight? Have we received God’s gracious favor, kindness, and salvation
– salvation from the one God in three persons: God the Father, Jesus the Lord (YHWH),
and the personal, all-powerful Spirit of God?
[1] John Seewer, “Don’t drink
the water, says 4th-largest Ohio
city,” Associated Press, August 2, 2014.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ohio-city-issues-water-warning-over-algae-toxin
[2] “Jordan River,” J.D.
Douglas & Merrill C. Tenney (eds), revised by Moises Silva, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2011.
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