Starting with Jesus by Rev. Adam Long – January 12, 2025, at Mount Vernon, Ohio, based on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

I was recently speaking with my dad about cars. This is a topic he likes, and he was asking about a particular model, he was talking about the engine, and he said, “How much horsepower is in that engine?” And I said, “I absolutely have no idea.” I also don’t know why in the world we still measure engines with horsepower. When was the last time you thought, “OK, if I take these horses over here, and I’m going to pull 550 pounds of coal for one foot in one second, how many horses would that take?” But that’s exactly how we have the measure of horsepower. It was invented by Scottish engineer James Watt in the 18^th century, and he had a steam engine – he didn’t really invent it, there had been a steam engine before him – but he perfected it, and he needed to explain to people how powerful this new engine was. So, he took the thing that everybody understood – horses – and he said, “How many horses would I need to move 550 pounds of coal for one foot in one second?” And we are still using horsepower to talk about engines even though none of us are actually using a horse and buggy or have that much interaction with horses to this day. How many of you think maybe an update might be helpful for us?

But isn’t it funny how we hang on to things like that? We have old understandings, and we try to use the old understanding to categorize what’s happening in our lives today. We all inherit categories, from our parents, our grandparents, our culture, our language, and we try to use those categories to explain what’s happening in our lives. I’d like to call this something. I’d like to call this a wineskin problem. Wineskin problem? OK, here I am using an old phrase to talk about how we shouldn’t use old phrases, so just hang with me, OK? What is a wineskin? In the ancient world they would carry around wine, often drinking some form of fermented beverage because it was cleaner than the water. When they had new wine, wine that was freshly pressed and made, they would put it in animal skins because the animal hide would expand as the fermentation process went forward. Jesus actually tells a story about this at one point, in Luke, Chapter 5, Verse 37. Jesus says, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.” But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

When we begin to encounter God, when we encounter God through the person of Jesus, sometimes what we’re tempted to do is to put those new experiences into old wineskins. We read the scriptures, and we see Jesus doing things we’re maybe not all that comfortable with and so we try to find ways to categorize this and make it feel more comfortable to us. We’re using old wineskins for the new wine that Jesus is trying to pour into our lives. Let me give you an example, one that I deal with, maybe you don’t deal with this one. I read into the gospels, and Jesus is all of a sudden encountering people who have issues, and he casts out a demon. Maybe that’s more like a mental health condition or maybe a seizure disorder. Do they really have to say demon? That makes me uncomfortable. So, what do I do? I’ve got my wineskins all ready to go, my old ones, the ones I’m comfortable with, scientific world view, and I’m pouring Jesus into those wineskins like nobody’s business.

Here’s a question for us this morning just to think about. What if we encounter the Jesus who is in the scriptures and we invited Jesus to give us new wineskins, not just the same old ones? For example, if we ask different people, “Who is Jesus?” If we ask a secularist, they might say, “Well, Jesus was a moral teacher,” that’s a wineskin. If we ask our Muslim neighbors, “Who is Jesus?” Jesus was a prophet. Old wineskin. If I ask my Hindu neighbor, “Who is Jesus?” He was an avatar. If I ask Christians, we can do the same thing. I’m not throwing stones in a glass house. I recognize this maybe sometimes in others because it’s something I like to do myself. Isn’t that what most irritates you about people is the thing that you do yourself?

Matthew 16, Verse 13 says, “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’” “What is your definition?” Jesus asks. Now notice the wineskins. And they said, “Some say John the Baptist.” That was a category they already had. “Others say Elijah.” That was a prophet from the Jewish history. “And still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Those were the categories they had to work with. And Jesus shows up to burst all of the wineskins with new wine, and they’re not ready for it. Matthew 16:15 says, when he’s talking to his disciples, “‘Who do you say I am?’” And Simon Peter, who’s always the first to speak, if you’re familiar with the gospels he likes to open mouth, insert foot, but this time he gets it right. “Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered, ‘Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you.’” You weren’t using your old wineskin. “‘But my father who is in heaven has revealed this to you.’” Notice this – new wineskins are a gift from the Father. We don’t invent them ourselves, we receive them like a child, like a gift that comes to us, unbeckoned, unanticipated, wonderful, beautiful and life changing.

The big idea for this morning, if you’d like to know where we are going, this is the big idea this morning. In our reading, in our gospel reading, is a gift from the Father, of a new wineskin for understanding Jesus. Maybe some of you have heard these things before so we’re going to saw off a little bit and get it a little adjusted. And some of you may be brand new to this. Beautiful. We’re all welcome to the table. As we begin let’s pray:

Our Father, we ask for a gift this morning. We ask for the gift of new wineskins, to see Jesus with new eyes, to lay down our old categories, to be humbled, and to just listen for a moment to what you’re saying through your scriptures. We thank you for this. In your name we pray. Amen.

This morning the choir, doing such an excellent job – and I’m not just saying that because I’m a guest preacher, I’ve been here several times, and I always love it – the choir did a beautiful job talking about baptism. The word in Greek, baptizo, means “to immerse.” Jesus, he was coming to be baptized, and that’s what we celebrate this morning in our calendar, our Christian calendar, the baptism of Jesus. I would like to recommend or suggest that we see the baptism of Jesus setting the trajectory for everything that comes forward in Jesus’ ministry. Why is the baptism of Jesus so important? Because it’s the inauguration of his public ministry, it’s when it begins, about 30 years old for Jesus. In this story we see these seven steps that can lead us into receiving a new wineskin for understanding Jesus. For those who like to count, when I’m on seven you’ll know I’m about done. The seventh one is the whole key.

Let’s begin. In Luke Chapter 3, Verse 15, “As the people were in expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ.” So, what was happening at this time? Let’s get these terms. We’ll begin with Christ, Christos, it means “the anointed one,” it comes from a Hebrew word “to smear,” to smear with oil. Oil was a symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Jewish people were under occupation by Rome at this time, they were not free in their own land. They were looking forward to a messiah, an anointed one, a christened one who would come and deliver them from the Roman occupation. There’s a long history in the prophets of looking forward to this one. When they encountered John, who was baptizing at the River Jordan, they were saying, “Is this the guy we’ve been waiting for?” History records that there were a number of so-called messiahs at the time. The Romans would let them get a little movement going and then would kill them. These movements would arise every so often, every few years, and then the leaders would be killed, and the movement would die out. Then finally, this guy John, the one we’ve been looking for.

Now who is John the Baptizer? I don’t like to say John the Baptist because that sounds like royal Methodist? It’s not quite the same. John the Baptist was the son of a priest. Why is that important? Well, 21 miles to the west of the Jordan River where John was baptizing was the Jerusalem temple. The Jerusalem temple was the place people believed you would go to deal with your sin. If you had sin you would go there and you would make a sacrifice. Sounds great, what’s the problem? At this point in time the temple system had become corrupt. The leaders, who were the priestly class, were in bed with the Romans, and they were fine with all the Roman taxation as long as they could remain in power. And they were taking advantage of the less fortunate. If you’ve read your Hebrew prophets, you know that this is a problem. God does not look kindly on those who do not take care of the less fortunate. And so, what happened was, notice you’ve got father and son. The father is in the Jerusalem temple, going through the motions, participating in all of that. And John, who is wearing camel hair, eating honey and locust, with a leather belt around his waist, was immersing people in the Jordan River for the forgiveness of their sins. How dare you do that. This John is the one we’ve been looking for.

In Verse 16 it says, “John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming. The strap of your sandals I am not worthy to untie.’” Now why is that image important, the untying and unstrapping of the sandals? In the ancient world people wore sandals, and they did walk to most of the places they were going, and the sanitation system wasn’t as robust as it is for us, so when you’re walking, you’re literally walking through animal refuse. You know what I’m saying. What was the lowest job in any household? The lowest job in any household was the servant who would untie the sandals and wash the feet of the people who were coming into the house. What does John say? When it comes to Jesus, I’m not even worthy of that job. This person who is coming is so much higher that I don’t qualify for the lowest job. What is this? This is sheer humility. If we want a new wineskin to understand who Jesus is what’s the invitation, to properly understand the power and status of this Jesus who lived among us? The first step that we are invited to is humility. I don’t like it. My pride says no. My pride says, “Do you really need to humble yourself? Can’t I just be agreeable to Jesus? Can’t I just like Jesus? Can’t I put a heart on Jesus’ social media post? Must I humble myself?” John shows us the first step, the very first step, is humility.

Verse 16, “John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.’” Now again, John is out there at the Jordan River, 21 miles west of Jerusalem. He’s immersing people in water, like we said with the children, preparing the outside, reminding us that it’s God who cleans the inside. And John says, “That’s what I’m doing in preparation, but Jesus is coming and he’s not going to just baptize you with water, he is going to baptize you with fire.” I’m not sure if I’m happy about this. Water I’m cool with. Being immersed in fire? What is this? He says with fire and the Holy Spirit.

Recently I was at a church, and it was the end of the service and I was just sitting there enjoying the space, and a little girl came up and she’s a part of a family that I know and somebody asked me, “How are you doing?” I was kind of off-handed and said, “I’m fully caffeinated and ready for the holy ghost.” And the little girl said, “Holy ghost? What is that?” I said, “It’s God’s very presence.” The nearness of God, the person who is close to us.” You can also use the term Holy Spirit. John baptizes with water; the church baptizes with water. Jesus baptizes us with God’s very presence. Immersion, the second step to having a new wineskin, is being fully immersed in God’s presence. I want God to just immerse part of me, like, “Here you go, here’s a pinkie. Have at it, Jesus.” And Jesus says, “No. I’m after all of you, and that’s all I’ll settle for.” Humility, immersion.

What happens when we are immersed in God’s presence? Does that just mean I feel peaceful; I feel goosebumps? I’d like to take a poll. How many of you have ever felt goosebumps and you thought ooh, the Lord is at work, like a choir is singing? I get the goosebumps. I also get the tears. Does anybody else get the tears? Yeah, thank you. And I think maybe that’s what God’s presence is. Oh, I like it when that happens. It feels ethereal and elevating. What happens when we get immersed in the fiery presence of the Lord? Verse 17 tells us – “His winnowing fork is in his hand” – that doesn’t sound good – “to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” No, thanks. I’ll keep my old wineskin. What could this possibly mean? Well, Jesus is here pictured by John as using an agricultural metaphor. So, what is a winnowing fork? Well, this was an agricultural society. They would be growing wheat and barley, other crops, and the way in the ancient world that you would separate the wheat kernel that you wanted from the chaff, which was unusable, inedible, is you would take a large, wooden fork with multiple tines coming out of it, and you would come to a threshing floor. The threshing floor would be elevated at least to ground level so that when the wind was blowing you would take the fork, you would throw the grain up into the air. The wind – the Holy Spirit – would blow away the chaff and you would gather in the kernels, what was good. You would separate what is not helpful, what is inedible, what does not bring life, from that which sustains. And what would you do with the chaff? Burn it. Why? It’s of no use.

When Jesus shows up, truly shows up in the Bible, here’s how you know. He burns away anything that’s disconnected from the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is there, the rule, the realm, the reign, where God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Are there things in our lives that do not bring life? Are there attitudes that you have? Are there words that you use? Are there sentiments that you hold onto? Are there actions that you take that are not bringing life? I know there are for me. When Jesus comes close, he burns those things up. The apostle Paul helps us understand this. In First Corinthians Chapter 3, Verse 10 he says, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation.” So, Paul, preaching through the Mediterranean world, planting churches, congregations, he says, “I laid a foundation that someone else is building upon. Let each one take care what he builds upon.” What you build in your life on the foundation of Christ. “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Paul continues and says, “If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, straw” – these are all things that people would have been familiar with, metals that you could use, building materials, notice this is Verse 13 – “each one’s work would become manifest in the day when God makes everything right. It will become clear what we have built for the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

This is the Jesus that the scriptures show us. In the ancient world fire was for removing impurities. If you had gold that you could dig out of the earth, how do you make sure that there’s no tin or copper or anything else in that gold? You would heat it, as hot as humanly possible, and then all the impurities would rise to the top and then you would skim them off, removing anything that does not belong. That process sounds fine for metal. I’m not sure if I’m all that happy to have it in my own life. And yet the new wineskin for understanding Jesus is to include yes, even this. The Jesus with the winnowing fork who is sifting what in my life needs to go, and then what needs to survive, because the things that survive, they go through the fire and there’s a reward. Have you ever seen someone who lives a rewarded life, a blessed life? Oh, they may not have the most money, they might not even have the biggest family, but they live a rewarded life. This is what Jesus wants for us.

Now we finally arrive at the place in the story where Jesus comes to be baptized, in Verse 21. “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus had also been baptized and was praying.” Now this raises a question. We said earlier that baptism, immersion in water, was for the forgiveness of sins, but the New Testament teaches us that Jesus did not know sin. In fact, in Second Corinthians 5:20, it says this, “Therefore, we are the ambassadors for Christ. God is making his appeal through us. We implore on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. He made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” So why is it that Jesus would submit himself to baptism if he had no sin? From the very beginning Jesus identifies with the people he came to rescue. Remember, we said that baptism of Jesus was the inauguration of his public ministry. Everything that he’s going to do is contained in that moment. Jesus was going to die in the future on the cross for our sins, and in this baptism, even though he doesn’t need it, he takes on that role he is going to take later on the cross. So, if the third step for having a new wineskin in Jesus in repentance, the fourth step here is solidarity, not being above anyone, not being above those who we are ministering to, who we are loving, who we are around every day. How many of you know that we could use a little bit more solidarity, and a little less contention between folks? This is what Jesus brings.

So what happens when Jesus is baptized? Verse 21 shows us: “When Jesus was praying the heavens were opened.” Don’t miss this one. “Jesus lived under an open heaven.” What is an open heaven? In the ancient world the world view was that there was a channel with a grave beneath us, and there was this plane that we lived on and then there was heaven where God’s presence dwelt. And when Jesus came and was baptized the veil between heaven and earth was torn. The heavens were opened, and there was an unmediated connection and communion with the Father. Jesus lived under an open heaven. He lived in direct communion with our God. So, the vision from the beginning of everything we see in scripture is this overlap between heaven and earth. How many of you remember the first line of the Bible – “God created the …?” Some of us got it, there we go, we’ve been to Sunday school, I see that, thank you very much. “The heavens and the earth.” That one line tells you what the whole Bible’s about. It’s always about the overlap of heaven and earth. God surrounded our place. Jesus says, when he teaches them to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus lived under an open heaven.

So, what do we find here with this open heaven? This open heaven means not just that God does everything that we ask for at all times, that we always feel his presence and we walk through life on a cloud, never having any problems. Do you remember when Jesus was on the cross, what he cried out? “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” You might say that doesn’t sound very much like an open heaven. What does Jesus do with feeling abandoned? He takes it to the Father. This is what it means to live under an open heaven, not that you always feel that God is close, but that no matter what happens to us we are taking our concerns to the Father, and this is what Jesus shows us. The heavens were open. 

He says, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” quoting Psalm 22. So, what is our fifth step for adopting a new understanding, a new wineskin of Jesus? Communion. Communion with the Father, living under an open heaven, never seeing the heavens be closed, even when our circumstances say otherwise. 

Where did Jesus get this confidence, that he could live under this open heaven? Verse 22 tells us: “And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. The spirit of God descended on Jesus” – here it is – “anointing him for that messianic ministry.” Remember we said anointing, the spirit, the oil, the presence of the Lord? In the baptism of Jesus that’s when we finally see Jesus be anointed for his public ministry. The presence of God does not just come and leave, it does not just remain remote but comes to rest on Jesus. As one of the other gospel writers says, “And the spirit descended upon him and remained.” That is the wineskin that we are after. 

When God feels remote to us, when you’re going through something and you’re not sure that God is even real or there, meditate on this passage and simply ask the Holy Spirit, “Come now, descend. Please be with me, abide with me. My emotions are betraying me, my thoughts are racing, but I believe you are real, that you are here, and I trust in you more than I trust in my feelings.” This sixth step for adopting a new wineskin for understanding Jesus is empowerment, to live a Holy Spirit-saturated life, empowered to do the good work that God has called us to do, in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Now we’ve finally made it to the seventh one. I mentioned that this is the one that’s most important. What is the final event that happens in the scene of Jesus’ baptism? This is the most important one. Verse 22 – “A voice came from heaven: ‘You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.’” This passage, by the way, gives us the doctrine of the trinity. God is one. In three persons. How do we see that? Well, Jesus is the second person of the trinity, he’s here in flesh living among us, being baptized. The heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends, and then the voice of the Father. This is all happening at the same time, and the voice says, “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.”

This begs the question for us today as we wrap up this morning. Are you well pleased with Jesus? Am I well pleased with Jesus? Or do I prefer to put Jesus in my old wineskins? Do I prefer a Jesus who makes me more comfortable? I like a Jesus who already agrees with what I already agree with. And Jesus comes with his winnowing fork. There’s an open heaven and doves descending, baptisms happening, and baptism and fire. The seven steps for adopting a new wineskin – pleasure, pleasure with who Jesus is. Are we well pleased with Jesus? The Father is. I’m not sure I always am. And the invitation for me, the invitation for you this morning is to be pleased. Not tolerant, I don’t tolerate Jesus, I don’t tolerate the scriptures. Am I pleased with him?

Here’s our recap for the steps. We start with humility, then we have immersion in his presence. I repent, I admit, I don’t always get it right. I have solidarity with those who are around me. I have communion with the Lord. I’m empowered by his presence. And most important of all, I am pleased with who Jesus actually is, not just who I want him to be. This is the gift of a new wineskin the Father is offering us this morning. It’s up to you, what you receive. What happens if we refuse the gift, if we say no, thank you? To embrace a new wineskin for understanding Jesus, well, we risk having everything we’ve built our life upon burning up. It’s chaff, it’s not bringing life, it just won’t last in the end. It doesn’t have any eternal significance. But if we embrace this biblical wineskin for really, truly understanding who Jesus is, we can live under this open heaven and have communion with God, no matter how I feel or what’s going on. Let’s pray.

Lord, we thank you for your challenge to us. We freely admit – at least I admit – that I’d like you to be in my image rather than the other way around. I would like you to be comfortable to my thought categories and my culture, my language, my experience, my upbringing, my family, my thoughts. So, we come to you humbly today, repenting, rethinking, inviting you to transform us in the reunion of our mind, to open up to the possibility that you are way greater than we can ever imagine. We thank you for this passage and we ask, help us to be pleased with you. We love you and we thank you. In your name we pray. Amen.