Faithfulness: Baptism
We Are Anointed Ones
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. July 4th, 2021
Perhaps you felt some deja vu hearing our reading from the Old Testament this morning. It was not that long ago when we heard about David’s anointing by the prophet Samuel. How he had clandestinely come to Bethlehem to search out the one God had chosen to replace Saul. He looked at all of David’s brothers, thinking they were prime candidates, but while humans may look on the outward appearance God looks on the heart. It was the young boy David he had chosen, and it was the young boy David Samuel anointed.
Now that young boy has grown into a mighty warrior. He has fought philistines, he has fought Amalekites. He has learned how to live off the land, he has learned how to survive in exile. And now, after a civil war, he has been anointed once again. When he was anointed King as a child he was receiving God’s Spirit. In that anointing God chose him. This anointing is different. Now the people of Israel are choosing him. The former anointing was private, this one is out in the open in front of the gathered people of Israel.
The people acknowledge this themselves when they say, "For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The LORD said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.” The people of Israel are coming to acknowledge what was already evident, this man and no other is the Lord’s anointed. And they confirm his anointing with their own.
The greek word for anointed one is Christ. David is the Lord’s Christ. He acts as a foreshadowing of Jesus. He like Jesus flees a jealous King, wanders the wilderness, hides in a foreign land. He like Jesus forgives his enemies. Though he is an imperfect foreshadowing, as we will see. He is certainly not Christlike in all his ways. He seriously falls, and puts his dynasty in jeopardy.
But we too are little Christs. As Jesus is anointed so we too are anointed. Jesus’ anointing was at the River Jordan, when the Spirit descended on him like a dove. We are given that same anointing. That anointing is called baptism. Baptism has two parts, much like David’s two anointings. Baptism, like any sacrament, is an outward and spiritual sign of an inward and spiritual grace. And so there is the outer part, and the inner part.
This morning David’s anointing at Hebron shows us the outer part of Baptism. Baptism is a proclamation of our faith, and a public affirmation of our faith. Through the use of water, we proclaim God’s cleansing power. After all, God saved through water at the Red Sea, and we commonly bathe in water, at least I hope. And also through the invocation of God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we proclaim our faith in the God who saves. Baptism is a public pledge of allegiance to our one Lord. That is also why we say the creed, the condensed story of our faith.
Since baptism is a public affirmation, we do not practice private baptisms, unless it is an emergency. Baptism is an act of worship, it is a way we proclaim to the world who our Lord is. David, here, is baptized, or anointed, in public. He publicly acknowledges himself as shepherd of God’s people, the people of God publicly acknowledge him to be the Lord’s chosen.
That is the outward sign. The water, the words, the public affirmation. But there is also an inward grace. That is revealed in what David receives in private. The gift of God’s Spirit. The same gift given to us in our baptisms. But our baptism is superior to David’s anointing. In our baptism we are enjoined to Christ, we are adopted as Children of God, we are given a great inheritance: eternal life. We are made part of God’s mighty acts of salvation. We are joined to God’s working in this world in a way David could have only dreamed.
That is also why in our baptism we make certain vows. We renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness; we accept the freedom and power that God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression; and we confess Jesus Christ as our savior and put our whole trust in his grace. This is the life we are called to by baptism, and we are given the grace that we might live it out.
What a tremendous gift that we have been given that we may be so anointed. It is because baptism is a gift of God’s grace that we offer it to all. And such an abundant gift is only needed once. The inward grace, the outward sign, the gift of God. The steadfast reminder of God’s faithfulness toward his people.