[Matthew 28:18-20] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Ever Walking with Jesus
Eat your vegetables. Play outside. Share with your siblings. Don’t touch that electric outlet! And don’t put the dog’s toy in your mouth. Dads and moms begin teaching their children from a very young age.
By word and example, parents are teaching their children – intentionally and in ways we don’t even realize – from the time we bring them home from the hospital.
A quick, rudimentary google search will tell you that children begin learning from the moment they’re born, and, likely, even in the womb.
That kids start learning from the very start is known, I’m sure, by most parents, even without looking it up. From their very beginning, kids are developing rapidly – their body – their abilities – their mind – and developing their will. Learning wants and likes and dislikes.
And, developing trust, faith. The comfort of their mother’s presence. The safety of their dad’s voice. Faith in their parents’ hearing – that calls for help will be heard.
This all starts without the ability of words, and develops in the years ahead in ways that can be spoken. Eventually, even reasoned about. From birth onward (even into adulthood), mom and dad are teachers. Sons and daughters are learning from you.
Because learning starts from the beginning, Christian parents naturally apply the words of our Lord Jesus in this morning’s Gospel [Matthew 28:18-20] from the beginning. “Make disciples of all nations…” beginning with those in your care.
From their beginning, God wills our children to be disciples of Jesus, receiving what He gives and being shaped by His Word taught.
So, why baptize the little ones? Because from their very beginning, as from our beginning, children have need for what Jesus has done for them.
Baptism is not a stand-alone act but connects the baptized to the saving death and resurrection of Jesus. They are baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection [Colossians 2:12; Romans 6:3-5], connecting them now to what Jesus did back then.
From our beginning, we need our Savior.
For example, we know, tragically, that from the very beginning of life, death is already an adversary. But Jesus is the victor over death – by His death and resurrection – for young and old – You are “…buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him” [Colossians 2:12]. He gives life to our mortal bodies, so that, though we die, yet shall we live [John 11:25]. Since death affects even the young, baptism is for the young.
Original sin – the sin-fallen human condition – is also already affecting us from our beginning. There is a moral brokenness already in us, in our inherited human nature, from the start. It’s already in there. And as our will begins to develop, there is sin, showing itself.
Since sin already affects us at our beginning, the Savior from all sin is given at our beginning. Jesus is the balm and healing for the condition we suffer – and the atonement and forgiveness for the wrongs we do.
Jesus is, therefore, our Savior from sin from as young as we need Him. “Baptism now saves you” [1 Peter 3:21]. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” [Mark 16:16]. “Cleansed…by the washing of water with the word” [Ephesians 5:26].
And we baptize our young ones because baptism is for believers. Scripture shows, abundantly, that faith in Christ is there in our infant years and even in the womb.
John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb at the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb [Luke 1:44]. The little ones praised Jesus in His triumphal entry: “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise” [Matthew 21:15-16].
And the Psalms say, “Upon You I have leaned from before my birth” – “You made me trust (believe) You at my mother's breasts” – “from my mother's womb You have been my God” [Psalm 22:9-10; 71:6]
So, as we heard, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew 19:14]
Since Jesus said, “make disciples… baptizing them, teaching them…” (He said it in that order), it follows that, just as we parents teach our kids from the beginning, we also will baptize them from the beginning.
This baptism stands at the beginning of a whole life of teaching – a whole life of you parents being your children’s teachers, your children’s missionaries . You’ve adopted a life of forming them as disciples and of bringing them to the place of teaching, to equip yourselves and them in God’s Word.
The Word of God creates and sustains their faith in Christ. The Word of God guides them in God’s Commandments and Jesus’ words. And the Word of God sets in their hearts constantly the forgiveness of Jesus their Savior.
They cannot continue in the faith without the constant knowledge that God forgives them and God loves them. They will drift from that knowledge if the hearing of God’s Gospel is absent or infrequent.
And, parents, your sins are forgiven. Jesus has forgiven the sins and failures of dads and moms, having taken all that sin into Himself, and having died for it on the cross. You walk in His forgiveness, as you seek to ever walk with Him in the raising of your children as His disciples.
As young children develop into young adults, their minds become more introspective and discerning, and so does their faith. Faith takes on new aspects: a need to understand; a more conscious discerning of God’s gifts; engagement in self-examination in their repentance; and an intentional use of Confession & Absolution and the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of sins and help in doing better.
These things develop in a young disciple’s faith – and in that of older disciples, all of you here – when the Word of God accompanies the mind and heart which, in natural course, develops as God has designed. (One way we mark this is by Confirmation.)
“Make disciples… Baptizing them… teaching them… And behold, I am with you always – all the days – even unto the end of the age.” All of your days, to the end of days. Ever walking with Jesus, because Jesus is ever with you, as you raise up His little ones.
So be encouraged, and be blessed to be dads and moms of any age. Amen.
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