Daily Devotion for 11 January 2026 (Baptism of Our Lord)

Readings

• Psalm 7
• Psalm 14
• Ezekiel 33:1–20
• Romans 3:1–18
• Large Catechism III:1–13

Festival

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. As recounted in the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew (and in parallel passages in Mark, Luke, and John), Christ was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Although John initially hesitated when asked to baptize Christ, because Christ was without sin and John knew he was in the presence of One greater than he, Christ spoke His first words in Matthew so that John would agree:

“Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

On Christ’s Baptism, Luther said:

“[Christ] accepted it from John for the reason that He was entering into our stead, indeed, our person, that is, becoming a sinner for us, taking upon Himself the sins which He had not committed, and wiping them out and drowning them in His Holy Baptism.”

This Baptism in the Jordan River marked the beginning of Christ’s ministry.