Art to Heart Benediction

Guido Reni: The Baptism of Christ

©2002 by Jeff Dugan

Guido Reni is famous among 17^th century painters for his ability to infuse human postures and expressions with the most extraordinary grace and charm.  His painting of the baptism of Christ is no exception.  The women or angels holding Christ’s robes are meant to inspire in us the same kind of devotion that they clearly feel.  And the posture of John the Baptist beautifully expresses his protest that “It is I who should be baptized by You.”

Most poignant, though, is the way Reni emphasizes Christ’s utter humility.  We often think of Jesus coming to the baptism with a rather triumphant bearing, full in the knowledge that He’s about to start something big.  But Reni reminds us here what a humiliating thing it is for the infinite Creator of the universe, first merely to appear as a mortal human, but much more to submit to the authority of one of the sinners He has come to save.  It is true that Christ should not submit to John’s baptism here…His obedience in suffering this humility is another indication of how deeply and sacrificially God loves us and how desperately He wants to redeem us.

But why are we talking about Christ’s Baptism if our scripture is in the Old Testament?  [or, if your service does not incorporate an O.T. scripture relevant to this scene, substitute: But this isn’t the first major Bible story to occur in this setting.]

Our scripture [or, The setting] reminds us of the time hundreds of years before, when the nation of Israel passed through these same waters.  They had learned the hard way that the humility of trusting God’s direction was the only way to reach their promised land, and they crossed the Jordan River here to prove the truth of that lesson. 

As we leave here today, each of us will come to the edge of that same water.  I pray that you will seek, and still find Jesus there, showing the way in humility and obedience, even serving sacrificially as the way, to cross over into the “promised land.”