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was about to destroy the Old Law, for until He attained that age, which admitted of every sin, He had continued in the observance of the whole law, lest any man should say, He had dissolved the Law because He would not fulfil it. Then (not before) He came to Baptism, and so put the finishing stroke to all the observances of the Law. Alone, and on foot, the LORD of the world goes a long journey to the banks of Jordan; with no pomp of soldiery, or bands of horse, or troops of attendants, with no disciples or followers, with no honours such as we poor worms prepare and delight in. Thus He, to Whom thousand thousands minister, and before Whom ten thousand times ten thousand stand in His kingdom, He goes alone; for His Kingdom is not of this world, Who emptied Himself, and took not on Him the form of a King, but that of a servant. He became a Servant to make us kings, He became a Stranger and Pilgrim, to bring us to His country and Kingdom, and He showed us the way by which we may mount to it. And why do we neglect Him? Why do we not humble ourselves? Why do we so greedily seek for honours, and pomps, and things vain and transitory? Assuredly because our kingdom is of this world, and we do not regard ourselves as strangers and pilgrims, therefore we incur all these evils. O vain sons of men! Why do we catch at and so eagerly embrace things false for true, frail for certain, temporal for eternal? Why do we not despise temporal things, and look upon them as past?

2. JESUS demands Baptism. When He came to

Jordan, He found John baptizing sinners; and a great crowd that resorted to his preaching regarded him as the CHRIST. He, the LORD of the everlasting Kingdom, demands to be baptized like a sinner; the LORD with His servants, the Judge with the guilty; not however to be cleansed by the waters, but to cleanse the waters. He came, the LORD to His servant, the King to His soldier, to confirm his preaching, to receive testimony from him, to be baptized by him,-the Fountain by the rivulet,—the Fulness by the drop,-the Saviour, by him He was to save,-the Author of Baptism by the minister thereof; not Himself needing purification, but effecting ours. Not by necessity of ablution, not to receive remission of sins by Baptism, but to approve the Baptism of John by His Own, to show that it was ordained by GoD ;--to instil into us the mystery of Baptism, to fulfil, inasmuch as He was born, all the righteousness of the law, and all humility; to teach it, by fulfilling it; to reveal the mystery of the TRINITY, that no one, however holy, should judge the grace of Baptism to be superfluous. To do first what He afterwards commanded to be done, that His servants might know with what cheerfulness they should run to the Baptism of their LORD, since the LORD Himself disdained not the Baptism of a servant ; and that no one should shun the laver of Grace, since CHRIST did not shun the laver of repentance. To bruise the serpent's head in water-to blot out sins, and bury the old Adam; that sanctifying the water by the touch of His Own most pure Flesh, He might sanctify water to the mystical washing away of sin, and henceforward leave the sanctified waters for them

who should be baptized. That by the descent of the Dove in the laver He might show believers the coming of the HOLY SPIRIT on the baptized. That the people might hear the testimony of John, and also that of GOD the FATHER respecting the CHRIST. That by this (that He Himself was baptized), He might make us all, by Baptism, the regenerate sons of GOD, and His Own brethren. Do thou, O believer, who art now regenerate in CHRIST, follow Him.

3. John forbad Him. The LORD, therefore, wishing to work out our salvation, began first to do and teach; and, commencing with the Gate of Sacraments, and the foundation of virtues, would be baptized by John. But John beholding Him, and knowing (in the Spirit) by Divine inspiration, that He is very GOD and Man, having no sin, and therefore not needing cleansing, feared and shrunk from Him Who washeth others from sin; and that the soldier might imitate the humility of his King, he reverentially forbad Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized of Thee," the earthly by the Heavenly; "and comest Thou to me ?" Thou art clean, and cleansest all things, and I need to be cleansed and baptized by Thee. I am a sinner, Thou without sin. Why wouldst Thou be baptized by me? Why be baptized as a sinner, Who art come to forgive sin ? Hath the healthy need of medicine? Hath the clean need of cleansing? Whence hast Thou sin, that Baptism should be needful to Thee? What spot can the Spotless Lamb have? Fitting reason there is that Thou shouldst baptize me, that I may be made just and worthy of heaven. What reason is there

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that I should baptize Thee? All good cometh down from heaven, it goeth not up from earth to heaven. And even though I should wish to baptize Thee, Jordan would not receive Thee, for it knoweth Thee its Maker, and it turned its stream back at Thy Presence in the midst of Thy people Israel.

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No wonder the Baptist trembled when the CHRIST humbled Himself under his hands, He, to Whom the whole race of things in heaven and in earth, and under the earth, bow down and obey. No wonder if man shall tremble, nor dare to touch His Sacred Head. Who does not tremble at the very thought? The LORD approves the faithful submission of His servant, but manifests the mystery of His Incarnation, saying, Suffer it to be so now." Suffer Me now to be baptized of thee, and thou shalt afterwards be baptized by Me in Spirit. What I do is a mystery; suffer it, that since I have taken the form of a servant, I may fulfil his humility also. For thus it behoveth us, thee in baptizing, Me in receiving, to fulfil all righteousness. I submit now to be baptized by thee, that the greater may not scorn to be baptized of the less. Thou baptizest Me with water, that I may baptize thee for Myself in My own Blood.

It was not for His own sake that our LORD would be baptized, but for ours. He came to teach by His own example, that the disciples might follow their Master, the servants their LORD. Thus must we give an example of fulfilling all righteousness in Baptism, that men may learn that no one is perfect without Baptism. The greater part of righteousness is humility. Thus it is needful for the greater to

submit to the less; to prefer himself to no one, not even to an equal. Thus must we fulfil all righteousness, placing the consummation of righteousness in the perfection of humility. Thou seest how the humility of the LORD was augmented. He was subject to His parents; here He is obedient to His servant. He maketh Himself vile, and magnifies His servant. He would appear to men as a sinner. The same may be said indeed of His Circumcision, for then He would appear as a sinner, though in private. Here He would appear so publicly, and before a crowd of men. He appeared so, only that He might humble Himself most deeply. To instruct us, He appeared what He was not, to His own humiliation and contempt. We, on the contrary, would appear what we are not, to our own glory and praise, for if there be any virtue in us, we display it, but our defects we conceal. From this, too, we may consider His humility, that in receiving Baptism, and other ordinances of the law, He did as other men, and would have no special prerogatives.

“Then he suffered Him," for true humility is ever attended by obedience; and John baptized the LAMB OF GOD.

4. JESUS is baptized. Let us now, therefore, consider well the conduct of the LORD our Redeemer. He, the LORD of glory, empties Himself like unto a man. And the Creator of the world, taking all the lowliness of our frail flesh upon Him, subjects Himself to the element of water, for love of us, and enters the Jordan, mixed with a crowd of sinners.

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