Caesar, Moses, Jesus and Wet

The Apenine Mountains run like a high, ridged seam down the center of Italy’s boot. The Rubicon river, flowing down out of the mountains to the eastern coast, neatly divides the map into northern and southern regions. In the ancient world it was illegal for a Roman general to cross the river with his troops - the punishment was death. But in 49 BCE Julius Caesar did exactly that, marching his troops across the the Rubicon and initiating a civil war that would eventually see him in control of the Republic and, indeed, preside over the expanding Roman empire.  As a result, the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” has entered our vocabulary, representing a decision that takes us to a point of ‘no-return’.

When the waters of the Red Sea closed behind Moses and the Israelites - and drowned the Egyptian army - they also reached a point of ‘no-return’. They were fully committed to the way ahead and, though they might not have fully grasped the significance of it - their die was cast into God’s lap. I suppose it’s indicative of how pervasive the influence of Greek and Roman culture is for us Christians (as oppossed to the Hebraic culture of the biblical world) that the phrase in our language is ‘crossing the Rubicon’ and not, ‘crossing the Red Sea’.

In the New Testament a pretty clear connection is made between the Israelites crossing the Red Sea and Christians being baptized into Christ. The narrative arc of God’s story of redemption, reconciliation and ‘Shalom’ is arcing outward through our lives to the generations yet to come. In the midst of following the Exodus story we’re going to stop for a moment and look at this weird Christian practice called ‘Baptism’. How did we get it? What does it mean? Why do we do it?

Sooner or later, in all our lives, comes a Red Sea decision. Caesar crossed the Rubicon in an act of naked aggression and hostility, initiating a civil war that would see him seize power over the Roman Republic and expand its empire. Moses took God’s people across the Red Sea so that they could find freedom from oppression and enter into the promised land of God. Both men were fully committed to their path, but these were very different paths, taken for very different reasons. On Sunday I want to ask you a very simple question: What journey are you fully committed to? This ritual we call baptism - that has its origins in a story thousands of years old - is a public declaration of who you are and what your life is about. When you make this very public declaration of baptism you’ve crossed your own point of ‘no-return’. It’s an act that places us in the middle of a story - and a family - that spans thousands of generations, and it can’t be undone.

Yes, you believe in Jesus Christ. You’re following him the best you can. But this is something different. Baptism is a transformative moment in the life of a Christ follower - it’s a moment where you publicly declare what your life is about in front of your friends, your family and your community. No, you don’t need to baptized so that your friends and family know you’re a Christian.

You need to be baptized so that you know you’re a Christian.