May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. 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 lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:13-17)

In Christ's name and to his glory, dear friends: A manufacturer marks his quality product with a logo or label. We look for a certain label or brand, because its reputation has won our confidence. The label is a sign of quality. Others may try to copy the item, but the quality of the copy will not satisfy us. Look for the original, the genuine article, says a manufacturer. Today, the Lord puts his stamp of approval on the Christ, his Son. For what the Son has been sent to do, no imitation will do. Look for the original, the genuine article, says our Heavenly Father. Now, of course, with clothes, machines, gadgets and things difference in quality or performance may or may not be seen. Sometimes a no-name brand will do just fine. But a generic, no-name brand will never do for what the Son of God was here to do. For salvation and eternal life, for the byproducts of that salvation like hope, confidence, fulfillment and sense of purpose in life-for these look alone to THE GENUINE ARTICLE.

Jesus baptism and the things that happened there at the Jordan River are like God's logo, his label, his confidence-building stamp of approval, on the work of Jesus. Our Savior God is saying, here is my Son; he came to destroy the devil's work. (1 John3:8) If you wish to get out from the sinful mess that Satan has made of this place and of your life and future, then look to the Genuine Article.

John the Baptist attests to the genuineness of the Christ. He tries to deter Jesus. The verb is in the imperfect tense telling us that each time Jesus asked, John would have an excuse much the way Moses kept saying time after time that he could do what was asking him to do (Exodus 3). His words are admirable and a written testament to the purpose for which Jesus came and the quality of his work. "I need to be baptized by you"...meaning: I am a sinner in need of help. "I need to be baptized by you"...meaning: Your cleansing will satisfy my great need. You are the genuine Savior. You save by taking away the sin of the world so that it is not attached to us anymore. You took it upon yourself so we are free. How did John know this and believe it? He tells us: I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' (John 1:33) He is the One who will give you faith that saves you.

There's more proof that Jesus is the Genuine Article. Two happenings in this account have the ancient language's "Look" or "Behold" preceding them. One is this: Look, the Spirit descended and landed on Jesus. Just as Holy Baptism is far more than a symbolic act, this sight of the dove landing on Jesus is far more than symbolic. God lets us see what normally the human eye would not see. We heard Isaiah say of Christ today: ...I will put my Spirit on him...he will not falter. (Chapter 42) In as much as God's Son had emptied himself of the use of his godly power and put himself in our stead, he needed to look to the Father to sustain him. The Father sent his angels to strengthen Jesus when Satan tempted him. And here the Father sends the Spirit to equip, to strengthen him, for his work. And here we see that Jesus has the Holy Spirit's power working in him. He will not falter until he brings his peace to the world. Here is the Genuine Article that can be trusted.

The second significant happening that day at the Jordan that has the ancient language's "Look" in front of it is the voice of the Father. That voice is another aspect of this logo, this proof of the genuineness of Jesus and his work. This is my Son. This is not man born of man, another ineffective remedy for what ails the sinful world. This is my Son come down from heaven. He does not appear different, but don't let appearances deceive. He is the genuine article. I love him. My love for the world is undeserved. I love the world just because I am love. I love my Son because he is pleasing to me. He does nothing that offends me. He's the Sacrifice for sin that is unblemished by sin. And I am pleased by what he does. He came to give his life as a ransom price for sin and I am pleased with his work. Here is the genuine article in which you may safely put your trust.

John's words about Christ, the Spirit descending on Jesus, and the Father's voice, these are the logo, the brand-name mark, that calls out to us: Here is the Genuine Article. Now Satan would like us to believe that you do not need the Genuine Article. He will say, You are talented and good and can save yourself, if you but set your heart on good. Don't believe it! He will say that you can safely ignore this Savior because you are young and only the old need worry about such things. Don't believe it! Satan will say, what good is a Savior from sin; you need help with your life now-a better job, better friends, and expanded horizons. He doesn't want you to know that if we lack Christ, our life will still be a mess even if all our earthly dreams are met and if we have Christ, we can survive any mess. Don't believe him.

And how precious are these words spoken by our Genuine Article today! "Let it be so now. It is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness." Both Jesus and John the Baptist were involved in this righteousness. Jesus accomplished it; John enjoyed it. And so we too are involved in this righteousness. Jesus accomplished it; we enjoy it. Jesus includes "us". His work of righteousness is ours; it's done on our behalf. He was thinking of each of us personally when he stepped in to be Savior for all of mankind there. Now the Genuine Article has made us the genuine sons and daughters of the Father. On the last day when the Father looks for his logo, his mark, he will see the Spirit sent, the Spirit given us in our Baptism. As the Apostle wrote: you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1) The Lord will say, You are my genuine children. With you I am well pleased. Come to your inheritance.     Amen.