GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH Gaithersburg, Maryland The Epiphany Question :”What Child is This?” “This is my Beloved Son, and with Him I am well pleased.” Saint Matthew 3:13-17 (This is my Son) Saint Mark 1:9-11 (You are my Son) Saint Luke 3:21-22 (You are my Son) Saint John 1:29-34 (“This is the Son of God.)” (St. John’s Witness) The Second Sunday of Epiphany – January/ 17, 2021 The Second Session in a Series of Six Sessions for the “Time After the Epiphany.” I. Even in the Bible! It appears that few people tell the same stories in quite the same way! For example, the Four Evangelists in our New Testament all tell us the story of Jesus’ baptism, but they do not all tell it quite the same way. Some important details appear differently as their stories unfold. What’s more, John’s story is a bit more unique than are the stories of the other three. The first three are similar in their format. John is preaching and baptizing in the Jordan River.1 Saint Mark’s account is the shortest of the three accounts, and serves to support the stories recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Of course, Mark is thought by most scholars to have been a major source for the outlines of Matthew and Luke. No doubt you recall that we discussed how Mark appears to have been the first to appear of our Four Gospels and was probably a major source for the outlines of both Matthew and Luke. Still, Matthew has materials unique to his Gospel, (Such as the story ot the Three 1. East of the Jordan River – In the recent decade, archaeologists have found remnants of an ancient baptismal site believed to be from the 3rd. Century. It is thought by many to mark the site of John’s 1st century activity. The Peace Accord between Israel and Jordan has made archeological work in this region possible. Since the end of World War II, it had been a heavily armed and hotly contested “no mans’ land” between Israel and Jordan. This border ran along the Jordan Valley from the Galilee to the Dead Sea. “What Child is This?” Epiphany Series 2 of 6 Rev. 4 pdf Page 1 Kings in our last session of this series, and Luke has a wealth of information unique to Luke’s Gospel as well. He mentions in the very beginning of his Gospel account that he had undertaken significant research. Among many things unique to Saint Luke are a longer and very colorful account of the birth of Jesus, and a wealth of Jesus’ parables, many much loved, such as the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Each of these end with that awesome observation ,“There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over countless ones who need no repentance,.” The stories in the Bible may be told differently among the Evangelists, but that does not mean that any of them are wrong. It is just that God’s goodness, mercy, creativeness and love are all so huge! II. The Interesting Differences The stories of John the Baptist’s preaching vary a bit even about his clothes and his diet. The content of his preaching, announcing the coming judgement of God, was urgent. He confronted acts of sinfulness and called from all the urgent need for repentance. There was some concern regarding who it was who needed to be baptized, Jesus, or John himself, no doubt suggesting the later discussions in the Early Church, perhaps suggesting that if Jesus was the Son of God, he obviously had no sins to be confessed or washed away in a baptism. We must always be reminding ourselves that the Gospels we have today obviously represent, to some degree, the conversations and questions of believers in the early Christian communities. After all, the earliest of our Four Gospels was Mark, perhaps appearing nearly 30 years after the Ascension of our Lord, and John, coming as late as the end of the 1st or the beginning of the 2nd century. Our New Testament was written to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ and to support and encourage the Christian community in those very early decades. God does not change, but our understanding of God and His love changes. That was true for the early Christians and is also true for us. III. Differences and Affirmations There are interesting differences. In the heading of this paper, notes have been attached to the listing of the four Gospels. For example, In the Gospel of Saint Matthew, it appears that God’s affirmation of Jesus is spoken to the crowd about Jesus: “This is my “What Child is This?” Epiphany Series 2 of 6 Rev. 4 pdf Page 2 Beloved Son . .” But in both the Gospels of Saint Mark and Saint Luke, this heavenly voice speaks to Jesus himself. It is not clear whether the crowd hears the voice or not. “You are my beloved son. .” The voice clearly addresses Jesus. Then comes Saint John. Jesus’ baptism has apparently already happened, perhaps the day before. When Jesus arrives the next day, John introduces Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John tells his story about the baptism. He had not recognized Jesus, but had been told that Jesus would be the one upon whom the dove descended out of the heavens, and that this one would be the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Then John 3rd to 4th Century Ruins at Bethany Beyond Jordan Believed to be original location of John’s Baptisms testifies to the crowd:. “I have seen and I Ruins are of a later period than John’s Preaching Here testify that this is the Son of God.” Notice now! Though the stories change in their “local color,” we have all of the same pieces of the story. In all four Gospels we have a voice from heaven regarding Jesus as God’s Son. In all four there is the dove as the sign of the Spirit. In all four there is the Father’s affirmation of Jesus as His Son, with whom He is pleased. One more point which will be important next week. Three of the Gospels report the temptation of Jesus immediately following the story of Jesus’ baptism. John does not report this tradition of the temptation of Jesus, but we shall talk of this next week. What is important to remember this week is that all three of the “Synoptic” Gospels use the story of Jesus’ baptism to set up the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. Remember now, the first words out of the mouth of the tempter wha approaches Jesus after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness are “If you are the Son od God . .: IV. Our Hymn “Christ, When for Us You Were Baptized” (ELW 304) Francis Bland Tucker’s hymns appear four times in our Evangelical Lutheran Worship. He was somewhat of a “locally grown” churchman, having been The Rev. Dr. Francis Bland Tucker born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1890 within a couple of the “What Child is This?” Epiphany Series 2 of 6 Rev 4 pdf Page 3 “First Families of Virginia.” His mother was a descendant of George Washington and was said to be one of the last children to be born at Mount Vernon before it became a museum. His father had become rector of the historic Saint Paul’s Church in Norfolk and helped establish Colonial Williamsburg. Francis Bland Tucker (1895 - 1984) attended the University of Virginia and the Virginia Theological Seminary. Upon ordination, he served Saint John’s Church in Georgetown in Washington , DC. After serving in the United States Military Service, he was called in 1945 as Rector of Christ Church in Savannah, Georgia,2 and served for 22 years. At his retirement he was made “Rector Emeritus,” and invited to live in the Rectory for the remainder of his life. Shortly after his arrival at Christ Church, he was invited to become the Episcopal Bishop of North Carolina, but declined, saying he really preferred to remain a parish priest.3 And, so he did, for 22 years! As a hymn writer, he became widely popular and respected. He was commended by none other than Erik Routley. In 1982 the Episcopal Convention approved the Book of Common Prayer, which included 17 of Tucker’s hymns. Our Evancelical Lutheran Worship includes four of Tucker’s hymns. F. Bland Tucker, as mentioned earlier, has won high praise from Erik Routley, by his own Episcopal Church, and by the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. He was made a Fellow in that society in 1980. His hymns are widely considered to be of the highest quality. LOBT GOTT IHR CHRISTEN is a hymn tune by Nikolaus Herman that was first used in 1545. Herman was an organist, teacher and choir director (Cantor) and became associated with the Lutheran reformers working closely with Pastor Johann Mathesius, a pupil and friend of Martin Luther. V. A Closer Look at Our Hymn First, let’s read the text, the story itself, of the baptism of our Lord. Since the story related in the three “Synoptic Gospels“ is relatively the same, let’s chose the account in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew 3:13-17. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.