A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 

JESUS TOOK THE PLACE OF SINNERS      

Matthew 3:16-17 “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. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” 

Jesus came into the world in obedience to His heavenly Father. He came to carry out His Father’s will. God’s will was for Jesus His Son to come into the world as “the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. (John 1:29) 

With Jesus, God the Father was “well pleased.” God was satisfied. God was satisfied because His Son came into the world to make satisfaction for the sins of humanity. He came to make full and complete payment for the debt that was credited by God toward all sinful human beings. He came to offer Himself and His shed blood for the forgiveness of sins. Thus, God was “well pleased!” 

Jesus requested John the Baptist to baptize Him to signify He came to take the sins of the world upon Himself. Although He committed no sin, He willingly took upon Himself the sins of all humanity including God’s judgment. His baptism in the wilderness connected Him to Calvary’s Cross. The wages of the sins Jesus took upon Himself were paid in full by His death on the cross.   

At your baptism you were joined to the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is the meaning of the words of Romans 6:3-4, “. . . don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”  

Through your baptism your sins were washed away. As a result, the barrier between you and God created by your sins has been removed. This blessing Jesus has earned for you. This is for this reason that God the Father is “well pleased with His Son.” 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thanks and praise to You for substituting Yourself for me through whom I no longer live under the condemnation of my sins but live with the Good News of my Heavenly Father’s forgiveness for Your sake. Praise and thanks to You! Amen. 

Mark how the Lamb of god’s self-off’ring    
Our human sinfulness takes on   
In the birth-waters of the Jordan  
As Jesus is baptized by John.  
Hear how the voice from heaven thunders,  
“Lo, this is My beloved Son.”  
See how in dovelike form the Spirit  
Descends on God’s Anointed One. 

From this assurance of God’s favor   
Jesus goes to the wilderness,  
There to endure a time of testing   
That readied Him to teach and bless.  
So we, by water and the Spirit  
Baptized into Christ’s ministry,  
Are often led to paths of service  
Through mazes of adversity. 

Grant us, O God, the strength and courage   
To live the faith our lips declare:  
Bless us in our baptismal calling;  
Christ’s royal priest-hood help us share.  
Turn us from ev’ry false allegiance,  
That we may trust in Christ alone:  
Raise up in us a chosen people  
Transformed by love to be Your own.  (LSB 600)