Baptism Meditation, Sixth After Epiphany

2 Kings 11:3: So Joash was hidden with her in the house of Yahweh six years, while Athaliah was reigning over the land.

The story in the sermon today is the story of two kingdoms, two rulers, two reigns. One is open, public, evident to everyone who reads the newspapers. It is a kingdom of blood, founded by murder and sustained by idolatry. The ruler of this kingdom lives in the palace and wears the crown; she presides over the court, hosts state dinners and sends out ambassadors on diplomatic missions. She has regiments and guards and can assemble an army.

The other kingdom is invisible, so weak that it hardly appears to be a kingdom at all. The ruler of this other kingdom is hidden, secretive, unknown to all but a few. The ruler of this kingdom does not have command of an army, wears no crown, sits on no throne, and has no attendants or ambassadors. And yet, he is the true king, the one destined to receive the crown and sit on the throne, the one who will triumph.

2 Kings 11 is an OT preview of the situation of the New Testament church. We too live in an age when there are two kingdoms, the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the greater Joash. Jesus has been enthroned and the kingdoms of this world have become his kingdom. Yet, the kingdoms of this world continue to resist His claims, so that we live in an age of contested sovereignty. During this age, the true king is often hidden; the true kingdom often makes its home in catacombs and basements and gymnasia and hotel conference rooms. The true kingdom does not appear to have the power that the worldly kingdom possesses. Yet, Jesus is the true King, and we live in confident hope that one day the true king will be proclaimed, and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord.

Baptism is a rite of induction into the hidden kingdom. By baptism, we are translated from the kingdom of the world and made citizens of the kingdom of Jesus, and we can get some hint of the radical character of baptism if we think about it from the perspective of the story of Joash. Accepting Christian baptism, or having our children baptized, is like joining with the supporters of Joash while he was hidden away in the temple. Or, it is like siding with Moses in his contest with the great emperor, Pharaoh. Or, it is like joining David when he was fleeing from Saul in the wilderness. Or, it is like following a controversial itinerant teacher and his 12 disciples as he moves around Galilee. Or, it is like choosing to stand with Paul during his trial before Caesar. Baptism is a risky and counter-intuitive procedure. It looks as if we are exchanging power for weakness, success for failure. Baptism means joining a conspiracy; it is enlistment in a hidden kingdom, a kingdom not of this world.

Were that all, then baptism would be folly. But baptism is also a promise from God. Baptism is the promise that the hidden King will be revealed. Baptism is the promise that Jesus will reign until all His enemies are placed beneath His feet. Baptism is the promise that all the nations will be blessed in Jesus, who is Abraham’s seed. Baptism enlists us in a secret kingdom, but promises that this kingdom will endure forever.

So, teach Flannery that she is a citizen of that hidden kingdom. Teach her to reject the illusory power and pleasures of the kingdom of this world. Train her to live by the rules of the kingdom of God, under the authority of King Jesus. Teach her that there is a king in heaven, a king she does not yet see, who rules over and will triumph over the kingdoms of the world. Teach her that, despite all appearances to the contrary, her baptism has placed her on the winning side.