When the Healer Steps Into the Water

When Jesus stepped into the waters of the Jordan, He wasn’t confessing His sins — He was taking on ours. In this message, “When the Healer Steps into the Water,” we look at how Christ entered our brokenness to bring true healing, transform our hearts, and make us God’s beloved children.

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When the Healer Steps Into the Water

I have a story to share before digging into the Gospel. It might seem roundabout, and you might even wonder, “What does this have to do with our Gospel lesson?” Relax. If I can make it clear, it’s a good illustration of Christ’s mission, why He was baptized, and what His kingdom is all about. Although…

I was recently tested for sleep apnea, and one thing that showed up, which I had no idea about, was asthma. For about a year I’d been telling Steph and my doctors about a tight chest and worsening allergies. Every time they checked me, EKG, x rays, everything looked fine.

Thursday, a breath test with and without albuterol. The results showed the symptoms weren’t just in my head, but a real, treatable disease. There’s something comforting when a doctor finally says, “Yes, I am sure that was definitely the problem, and we can treat it.” You realize you weren’t imagining it, and you can start to heal.

Now, the spiritual application. We all have a disease called sin. Not only does sin affect us, but sins—our particular sins—show up like symptoms of a deeper sickness. Just like when you get a fever or an ache, sin shows itself through broken relationships, short tempers, selfishness, jealousy, depression, or frustration. And when we pray, what do we usually pray about? The symptoms.We say, “God, fix this relationship. Help me not to say something I’ll regret. Help me feel happier.” But we don’t ask Him to fix the cause.

We don’t often pray, “God, help me with the pride that makes me offend others,” or, “Take away this lust or envy that poisons my heart.”

Sometimes, because we want to hold on to it, wanting the sin, but not the consequences. So we ask God to remove the symptoms, but He won’t do that without healing the disease. Because if you were sick and prayed, “Take away my fever,” and He did but left the infection, you’d die. The symptoms are there to warn you that something is wrong, to point you to where you can get healing.

That’s why I kept going back to the doctor, even when they couldn’t find anything. It’s frustrating to know something isn’t right and have no answer. The same is true with sin. God often leaves us uncomfortable until we stop treating the surface and seek His deeper cure.

That’s why God isn’t being cruel when He allows us to feel the weight of our sin. The pain, the guilt, those are holy warnings, invitations to repentance. The consequences of sin are not punishments meant to destroy us, but reminders to turn back before it’s too late.

We need someone who can completely wash away our sins and restore us to righteousness. Because when that happens—when the real problem is healed—the symptoms start to fade on their own.

Last week, Romans 12 showed us the point of Christ’s mission: a new creation. We’re being remade, transformed by the Spirit. The gospel isn’t about controlling the effects of sin. It’s about a completely new heart, a renewed mind.

Getting into our Gospel, John the Baptist understood that something big was coming. It had to. He was the last prophet, the voice crying in the wilderness, baptizing for the forgiveness of sins in preparation for the Messiah. John knew that sin couldn’t go unaddressed. He preached repentance and warned of judgment, saying,

“The axe is laid to the root of the trees.” He was right in expecting the messiah’s work to get rid of sin and evil, but, thankfully for us, the plan wasn’t to take all of us with it. And then the Messiah appeared. The spotless Lamb without sin. But what does He do? He asks John to baptize Him. John is stunned. “I need to be baptized by you,” he says, “and do you come to me?” It doesn’t make sense. The sinless one standing in line with sinners.

But Jesus tells him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” In that moment, Jesus steps into the muddy Jordan River—not because He needs forgiveness, but because we do. He identifies with us completely, to redeem us completely.

This is one of the most beautiful moments in all Scripture (so many paintings). Jesus doesn’t stand on the riverbank shouting orders, even though He’s the boss, the ruler of all creation. He doesn’t stay at a safe distance from our mess so as not to contaminate Himself but walks right into it, shoulder to shoulder with sinners, with the broken and the weary, and he takes it on himself.

Paul explains the scene in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus takes the sin of the world upon Himself, goes down into the water, and when He comes up, what happens? Heaven responds. “He saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” (Mark, Curtain)

This is the first great public sign of Jesus ministry. All the sins of humanity laid on Jesus, and yet the Father’s voice says, “This is my beloved Son.” That’s grace. That’s the Gospel. Because in Him, those same words are spoken over you.

It’s easy to understand John’s longing for fire and wrath on evil. We look at our world today—at cruelty, corruption, violence, greed—and we want Jesus to come with power and end it all now. We want the symptoms gone immediately. But God’s plan is slower, deeper, and more complete. He’s not just cleaning up the effects of sin, but Sin completely.

In Christ, in baptism, you’ve been brought through the waters. The old self is drowned, and a new person rises, forgiven, washed, and claimed by God.

So if you find yourself wrestling with the symptoms, your temper, your lust, guilt, your fears, remember: those are signs pointing you back to the One who can truly heal you. Don’t only pray for temporary relief. Pray for renewal. Don’t just ask God to take away the pain—ask Him to make you new.

And when you rise from the waters with Christ, you’ll hear that same voice: “You are my beloved child; with you I am well pleased.”