God's Last Words

The Oldest Story in the Bible
Matthew 3: 13-17 (NRSV)

A hillbilly comes to the city and is walking down the street. He sees this nun, runs up and knocks her over. He says, "You don't feel so tough now, do you, Batman!?"

(Now that's a case of mistaken identity) 

A snake and a rabbit were racing along a pair of intersecting forest pathways
one day, when they collided at the intersection. They immediately began to argue
with one another as to who was at fault for the mishap. When the snake remarked
that he had been blind since birth, and should be given leeway, the rabbit said that he, too, had been blind since birth.

The two animals then forgot about the collision and began talking about the problems of being blind. The snake said that his greatest regret knowing his identity. He had never been able to see his reflection in the water, and for that reason did not know exactly what he looked like, or even what he was. The rabbit declared that he had the same problem.

Seeing a way that they could help each other, the rabbit suggested that one feel
the other from head to toe, and then try to describe what the other animal was.
The snake agreed, and started by winding himself around the rabbit. After a few
moments, he announced, "You have got very soft, fuzzy fur, long ears, big rear
feet, and a little fuzzy ball for a tail. I think that you must be a bunny rabbit!"

The rabbit was much relieved to find out who he was, and proceeded to return the
favor to the snake. After feeling about the snake's body for a few minutes, he
asserted, "Well, you are scaly, you are slimy, you have got beady little eyes,
you squirm and slither all the time, and you have got a forked tongue. I think
you are a politician!"

In discussing identity a Rabbi tells the following story to illustrate the point that

what  people think about us matters:  

Charlie walks up to Harry in the street, taps him on the shoulder and when Harry z turns, he sends him sprawling to the ground with a solid punch to the nose. He then says, "take that, Michael, you lousy excuse for a human!!"  

The bleeding man yells   back, "I'm Harry, you idiot! I am NOT Michael."

Realizing his error, Charlie apologizes profusely and begs forgiveness for the error of mistaken identity. However, Harry remains furious and lets loose more insults.

Finally, Charlie says, "please Harry, calm down. Why are you so upset? Why do you care so much about how I treat this Michael guy?" 

Identity matters a lot in who we respect, are influenced by, and how we ourselves are treated by others. A reputation may cause or solve problems. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, 3: 13-17 this morning God is presenting His Beloved Son Jesus to the world. No one who heard God’s voice that day would have doubted who Jesus was. God was developing the birth certificate to prove Jesus’ identity to the people then, and to us now.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.  

And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."  

Jesus spent every day of His life being who He was. Latter scriptures proclaim His desire to do the Will of His Father even though He could have done something else.  

He did not rebel against God like Lucifer and the fallen angels did. He did not take advantage of His relationship to the Father to assert His Will into anything. How we handle the Free Will God offers us in the oldest story of the Bible. And Jesus’ story comes out the right way with the right identity intact. 

Henry Harbaugh, a Pastor of the German Reformed Church Seminary in the 1860’s, and someone who preached in this church frequently, called this passage of Jesus’ Baptism the “Messianic Ordination” of Jesus by God. 

Baptism, by the way, does not save anyone. It was never intended to do so. Rather, it is a time that we use, in following Christ’s example, of proclaiming our new Christian identity.  It is the day we are ordained to Christian Fellowship. 

Perhaps Baptist churches should change their names to the “Christian Identity Church.” 

We know that walking in faith and as authentic Christians giving forth the fruits of our walk that no one can ever steal our identity. The song says “They’ll Know We are Christians By our Love, but it should be “By Our Baptism!” 

Think back to the Garden of Eden. The serpent induced Adam and Eve to give up their identity as friends of God when he encouraged them to doubt God’s Word.

God has been working ever since to offer each of us the same opportunity to claim what Jesus received in Blessing that day in the Jordan River. We receive this blessing by acknowledging and believing in His Beloved Son. 

But friends don’t let identity theft screw you up. One of the most horrible incidents of identity theft came to a head in October 2012. 

When Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Richard Blanco—a member of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Jacksonville—interviewed an individual suspected of driver’s license fraud in 2011, he wasn’t initially sure if the man was the victim or the perpetrator of identity theft. 

That’s because the man—now imprisoned and officially known as John Doe—had a stack of government-issued identification acquired during the 22 years he had been using a living victim’s identity. That included a passport, driver’s license, birth certificate, Social Security card, and identification allowing him unescorted access to a military installation as a Government Contractor. 

“He was extremely convincing that he was the victim,” said Blanco, a veteran trooper with more than 30 years on the force. “When you have 20 forms of identification and it’s in your possession,” Blanco explained, “it’s hard to not believe you are the person you say you are.” 

But John Doe was indeed an imposter, and while he was living under another man’s name, the real victim was living a nightmare. It all started in 1989, when the victim’s car was broken into and his wallet was stolen. His identity had been compromised. 

John Doe began using the victim’s name, even when he went to prison for aggravated battery. As a result, Blanco said, “If you run John Doe’s fingerprints, even today, they will come back with the victim’s name.” 

When the victim, a Miami resident, applied to become a corrections officer, he had to explain why his records showed a felony conviction. He urged officials to compare his fingerprints to those of John Doe’s.  

When the victim applied for a passport, he was denied because the passport office claimed he already had one—the one that John Doe had applied for and received. 

When Blanco was able to talk with the real victim, he heard two decades worth of frustration. The victim had filed a police report years before, but John Doe had never been caught or stopped.

Blanco remembers the victim telling him, “This guy has been living my identity. He’s gotten my license suspended and he’s had kids in my name.” 

When Blanco realized that he was dealing with a massive and long-running case of identity fraud, John Doe was arrested. The JTTF opened an investigation, and John Doe was eventually indicted federally on numerous counts of aggravated identity theft and fraud. 

In December 2013, a jury convicted John Doe—who continues to insist he is the real victim in the case—and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Despite DNA testing and a thorough investigation, his real identity remains a mystery. 

“It will continue to be a mystery unless he makes an admission to us,” Blanco said, adding, “I don’t know what he’s going to do when he gets out of prison, because the man doesn’t have an identity.” 

Friends that what Satan wants to do to each of us – steal our identities and take away any hope of ever regaining a relationship with God.

It’s the oldest story in the Bible that began even before God created us. 

His methods are cloaked with false light; things that look good and feel good, but have no lasting value; ideas that seem politically and humanly correct, but end in death and destruction and lives of sin. 

Did you know there’s a group who wants to put up a statue to Satan? It’s suppose to take the place where a cross had been displayed before. 

Folks that kind of stuff, even if we live in a free country, should make you shiver. It should be an alien thought for a Christian to deal with because we should never allow it to be a part of our identity. Just a few years ago our society would have considered them outcasts, now they are considered 1^st Amendment heroes. 

Come to the light and truth of Jesus. Allow His identity to become yours. God will bless you and keep you, and shine His face upon you as well. Amen.