First Presbyterian Church Of Baton Rouge

The priests carried the Ark into the water before the people followed. If the Ark means God’s presence, then it means the LORD jumped into the water first. God doesn’t ask us to do anything he has not done already on our behalf. How supremely we see this in Jesus! God took up our flesh and blood in Jesus. Then he went ahead of us into a life of love and obedience. He got baptized in the Jordan. He offered his life on the cross. He crossed the Jordan again as he leaped into a human death of forsakenness and suffering. Jesus came out of those waters as a new creation. He rose. He promises that those joined to him will also rise from death in eternal life. And that begins now. We die to ourselves every day. So we experience Christ’s resurrection power. We do not fear death. We do not wilt under suffering. We do not freak out amidst the chaos of a rebellious world. Christ has jumped into the Jordan before us. He will see us through. So we are free to give ourselves to his service.