Dear brothers and sisters who love Jesus, come!
Come and see the Son of God in the waters of the Jordan River.
Let us remember the story of how He came
to be baptized in its waters.

1.
Our Lord traveled a long distance
from Galilee to receive baptism from John the Baptist.
He gave us an example to follow.
Let us walk in His footsteps.

2.
John the Baptist humbly tried to stop Him, saying,
“I should be baptized by You;
why have You come to me?”
Yet the beloved Lord had come to him for this very purpose.

3.
Jesus answered that He had come
to fulfill all that God required in righteousness.
So John did not object any further
and agreed to baptize Him.

4.
When John accepted Jesus' words,
Jesus was immersed in the waters of the Jordan.
When He came up from the water,
He was revealed in divine glory.

5.
He went beneath the waves of the water
and left behind the years that had passed,
as though giving them up completely.
The Father had given Him a new work to accomplish.

6.
This act declares the great truth
that we have died to the old humanity forever.
From now on,
new life is to rule and govern us.

7.
So that we may die and rise again with Christ,
let us bury our old nature with Him.
Just as a body is laid in a tomb,
let the old life be buried in the waters of baptism.

8.
Remember that there are three witnesses on earth:
the Spirit, the water, and the blood.
And at this moment,
the water itself bears witness.

9.
When this decaying, mortal body
is finally buried in an earthly grave
and we return to dust,
on the last day we will put on
the glorious garment of resurrection.