Like John, we know some things about Jesus, and the things we know are very important. But there are other things about Jesus and His ways which elude us.
The short, little sentence at the end of verse 15 caught my attention: “Then he consented.” It is a simple statement. It is also a crucial part of the story, but it needs to be unpacked. Who consented? To what did he consent? What does this consent have to do with our lives today? Answering these questions provides more than enough for your sermon on this second Sunday in 2026.
When preaching on any narrative account, there are at least four different elements of the story to work with. You might explore the movement of the plot; the rising action, the climax, or the resolution. You might unpack the setting by looking at the significance of the specific time or place in which it occurs. You might pay close attention to the perspective from which the story is told, noticing how much the narrator knows about what is going on. Or you might embrace, examine, and help your hearers identify with one of the characters.
As I think about preaching on the story of Jesus’ baptism in this text, I am drawn to the characters. Specifically, I am thinking about John. Why might it be a good idea to focus your hearers’ attention on the baptizer? Because they have something very important in common with him. This common ground can help you preach a message that needs to be heard by those striving (and struggling) to live by faith in the one John baptized.
It is not the strange clothing or the curious diet that unites us with John. Neither it is his one-of-a-kind vocation or his biological-familial connection to Jesus. What makes us Christians similar to John is that, like him, our view of Jesus and His work is incomplete. Like John, we know some things about Jesus, and the things we know are very important. But there are other things about Jesus and His ways which elude us.
What did John know about Jesus? He knew that...
- God was sending (very soon) the long-awaited Messiah to deliver His people Israel.
- This Messiah would be great, much greater than himself. John knew he would not be worthy even to carry the Messiah’s sandals.
- The Messiah did not need to be baptized. John’s baptism, after all, was a baptism of repentance. John was well-aware that Jesus was not in need of repentance.
But there were other things about which John remained in the dark. John did NOT know...
- Why Jesus wanted to be baptized.
- Where following Jesus would lead him (Matthew 11 was coming).
- That Jesus would ultimately be rejected, condemned, and crucified.
- That, after rising from the dead, Jesus would send His people to baptize all
This partial picture of Jesus brings me to back to the short, little sentence in verse 15: “Then he consented.” John consented to baptizing Jesus even though he remained in the dark, which is why you might think of John as the patron saint of obeying Jesus even when you do not have it all sorted out. In this sense, John was a faithful prophet of God. That is, he was full of faith. He believed, and he acted on that belief, despite being unable to see how it all fits together.
John was a faithful prophet of God. That is, he was full of faith.
Just a few days ago (January 6th), we celebrated Epiphany. It is a season during which we give thanks for and rejoice in what God has made known to all nations. What has God revealed to us?
- As the voice in the text put it (Matthew 3:17), Jesus is the Son of God.
- As the rest of Matthew’s Gospel makes clear, Jesus was rejected for His ministry and crucified.
- As the entire New Testament testifies, Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and promised to return on the last day.
- As Jesus Himself announced, those who follow Him will suffer (see Matthew 16:24-25).
Such things angels longed to understand (1 Peter 1:10-12). While so much of our salvation has been made clear to us, it is also worth remembering that, even during Epiphany, there is so much we do not see or understand. As Paul put it, “For now we see in a mirror dimly... now I know in part” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
- Like John, we do not know where following Jesus will lead us. We do not know individually or collectively. We know it will involve suffering, that much Jesus has made clear. But what kind of suffering? And how long? About the details, we remain in the dark.
- Neither do we know how it will all work together. We know Jesus will return, and Paul promises that everything will work together for good (Romans 8:28), but our imaginations are limited. It is hard to muster the creativity to envision how the mess that is this world could ever be redeemed and restored.
There is one more thing we know. Like the voice said at Jesus’ baptism, God has called us His sons and daughters in ours. He has announced (and continues to announce) His good pleasure with us every time we hear the promises of Jesus in words of absolution, in mutual conversation and consolation of brothers and sisters, in the reception of the Lord’s Supper, and in evangelical sermons. It is your privilege, as a preacher of the Word, to make those promises explicit once again this week. With faith in the promises of Christ, the people of God will be enabled to live with the uncertainty and consent[1] to obeying Jesus. In other words, they will be equipped to live by faith.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Matthew 3:13-17.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Matthew 3:13-17.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
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[1] If you plan on returning multiple times to this little sentence in verse 15, you might give some thought to the language you will use throughout the sermon. The word ἀφίησιν is translated “consent” in the ESV (and several other versions). But our culture has loaded “consent” with all sorts of relational baggage that might become a distraction for some hearers. If you have the sense that this might be a stumbling block, you may want to work with a different English word in the sermon. Other versions render ἀφίησιν “allowed” (CSB), “permitted” (NASB 1995), “agreed” (CEB), or “suffered” (KJV).
