/And Joshua arose in the morning, and he set out from Shittim, and came
upon the Jordan, and the sons of Israel, and they lodged there before
they went over. And it was from the end of three days, and the
record-keepers went over into the interior of the camp. And they ordered
the people, saying, "As you see the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh your
God and the priests of Levi lifting it up, and you, yourselves set forth
from your place and you walk after it...And Yahweh spoke to Joshua,
"This day I begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel, which
they may know, for as which I have been with Moses, I will be with you.
And you yourself will order the priests who are lifting up the ark of
the covenant, saying, "As you come upon the edge of the waters of the
Jordan, in the Jordan you will stand."...And it will be as they rest, as
the soles of the feet of the priests who lift up the ark of Yahweh, the
Lord of all the earth will be in the waters of the Jordan; the waters of
the Jordan will be cut off--the waters going from above; and they will
stand in one dam. And it was in the people setting out from their tents
to go over the Jordan, and the priests lifted up the ark of the covenant
before the people; and as they came, those lifting up the ark upon the
Jordan and the feet of the priests lifting up the ark were dipped in the
edge of the water (and the Jordan overflows all of its banks all the
days of harvest), And the waters going from above arose in one dam, much
distance away, in Adam, the city which is alongside Zarethan, and those
going to the sea of Arabah, the sea of salt, completely were cut off.
And the people went over opposite Jericho. And the priests who lifted up
the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood on dryness in the middle of the
Jordan, and all Israel went over on dryness until which all the nation
finished going over the Jordan.
/
A popular scam-artist named John Edward is often seen on TV promoting
his so-called ability to *cross-over* from here to contact those in the
afterlife. He calls his program, "Crossing over" duping many into
believing that you can communicate with loved ones in the great beyond.
But we know that such *crossing over* is not possible. Even if it were,
it would not be helpful as Jesus reminds us in the story of the rich man
& Lazarus. For the crossing-over into the promised land is a one way
trip, from which no one would ever want to even consider going back again.
Moses led the Israelites to the brink of the promised land, only to be
forbidden from taking them across because of his sins. Instead, God
chose Joshua to lead them in their crossing over the Jordan. But of
course, it really wasn't Moses, Joshua, or any man leading the Sons of
Israel into the promised land, any more than a charlatan can claim the
ability to cross over into the afterlife. Only God can accomplish this
miraculous crossing-over. He does it by being, Himself, in the middle of
it all
That's why Jesus, as God, repeats history here, placing Himself
smack-dab into the middle of the river, just as He had done before in
the ark of the covenant held by the priests. Jesus went into the Jordan
this time to be baptized there, but don't be fooled. Jesus did this for
the same reason Joshua commanded the ark of God's presence to go down
into the middle of the Jordan–for an important crossing over. Back then
it was the promised land of Israel, now the promised land of heaven.
You see, if the ark where God Himself dwelt didn't go into the Jordan
first, no Israelite would have ever made it to the promised land.
Likewise, if Jesus hadn't gone into the Jordan first, no believer would
have ever made it to heaven! So important was this event, that the
Father spoke from heaven, and the Holy Ghost made a rare appearance. God
was pleased with what His beloved Son was doing there in the Jordan, for
Jesus was allowing for sinful men to cross over into heaven by God's grace.
How? By Jesus' willingness to get down in the muck & mire of sin, washed
into the murky waters of the Jordan. Jesus, Who knew no sin of His Own,
was willing to be immersed into the sin of people. Jesus, the holy One
of God, embraced that sin to fulfill all righteousness the day of His
Baptism. For His ministry was one in which He actually sought to become
sins, yours & mine, and to pay the price for our sin, the wages of which
is death, at the + of Calvary. His body given & His blood shed for you.
And that's what makes your own baptism effective. Your sin is washed
clean from you there, and the font's filthy flood-water is poured out in
full onto Jesus as He drinks that cup of God's wrath against sin at the
+. As Jesus becomes your sin, He gives up His Own holy righteousness at
the + and gives it to you in your baptism. By His death on Calvary, you
have now crossed-over to the promised land! In God's forgiveness, rescue
& salvation in baptism, you have crossed-over to life eternal in heaven.
Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[email protected]
.
.
.
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