HYMN FOR THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST To Jordan came the Christ, Our Lord
- Gracia Grindal
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 minutes ago
German: Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam
Text: Martin Luther (1483-1546) Tune: Johann Walter (1486-1570)
To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord
To do His Father’s pleasure;
Baptized by John, the Father’s Word
Was given us to treasure.
This heav’nly washing now shall be
A cleansing from transgression
And by His blood and agony
Release from death’s oppression.
A new life now awaits us.
O hear and mark the message well,
For God Himself has spoken.
Let faith, not doubt, among us dwell
And so receive this token.
Our Lord here with his Word endows
Pure water, freely flowing.
God’s Holy Spirit here avows
Our kinship while bestowing
The Baptism of His blessing.
These truths on Jordan’s banks were shown
By mighty word and wonder.
The Father’s voice from heav’n came down,
Which we do well to ponder:
“This man is My beloved Son,
In whom my heart has pleasure.
Him you must hear, and Him alone,
And trust in fullest measure
The word that He has spoken.”
There stood the Son of God in love,
His grace to us extending;
The Holy Spirit like a dove
Upon the scene descending;
The triune God assuring us,
With promises compelling,
That in our baptism He will thus
Among us find a dwelling
To comfort and sustain us.
To His disciples spoke the Lord,
“Go out to ev’ry nation,
And bring to them the living Word
And this My invitation:
Let ev’ryone abandon sin
And come in true contrition
To be baptized and thereby win
Full pardon and remission
And heav’nly bliss inherit.”
6. But woe to those who cast aside
This grace so freely given:
They shall in sin and shame abide
And to despair be driven.
For born in sin, their works must fail,
Their striving saves them never;
Their pious acts do not avail,
And they are lost forever,
Eternal death their portion.
7. All that the mortal eye beholds
Is water as we pour it.
Before the eye of faith unfolds
The pow’r of Jesus’ merit.
For here it sees the crimson flood
To all our ills bring healing
The wonders of His precious blood
The love of God revealing,
Assuring His own pardon.
Tr. Elizabeth Quitmeyer (1911-1988)
REFLECTION
Martin Luther knew early on that he had to provide educational resources in the vernacular so people could understand the faith into which they were being baptized. He began by translating the Bible, then writing German hymns. In 1523, he and musician Johann Walter started writing hymns. Luther wanted German poets who could write poetry well enough for the people to sing—and these hymns would be the Word of God like sermons.
To that end he began writing hymn texts and tunes. He also wanted a simple catechism. He finished his Small and Large Catechisms in 1529. During this time he also planned for a “Singing Catechism,” a series of hymns that taught the Catechism. Families could teach the Catechism through these hymns.
This hymn is probably the last hymn he wrote. It served as the Lutheran baptism hymn for generations. In its seven stanzas he teaches about baptism. It begins in Stanza one, on the fourth line: “This heavenly washing now shall be/A cleansing from transgression."
Luther knew that it was important to teach children the faith they were baptized into. Without the teaching, the rite could descend into pure magic. That is why Lutherans have promised at baptism to teach their children the Scripture and Catechism—especially the Ten Commandments, the Apostles Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer.
Many millions have stood at the baptismal font and promised they would teach the faith to their children, but it was not clear they did. Sponsors also promised to do the same should the parents not be able to keep the promise, either through death or apostasy. In the olden days to be a sponsor meant one would take care of the child being baptized should something happen to the child's parents.
Both my grandmothers died in childbirth. My father's mother died when he was born. His mother's close friend, Anna, a sponsor at his baptism along with her husband, knew what that meant. Childless herself, she told her husband it was their duty to take him. It stands in the Bible, as they would say, translating the phrase from Norwegian. They did take him and raised him with love and a deep immersion in the rituals of the faith: daily devotions, church, Sunday school, Luther League. He knew well the faith he had been baptized into and taught it to us.
My mother's mother died in childbirth after giving birth to a baby who died the next day. She had herself raised several nieces and nephws whose mothers had died. Before giving birth she stood in the kitchen looking at my five year old mother and sang, "God will take care of you." She died a few days later. My mother clung to that song through her life. And her mother's promise was true. Through her godmother and father, she was cared for while living with her father who never married again. Many of her aunts, especially Mildred, and uncles, worked to give my mother and her sister as good a life as one could have during the Depression. They did not have much, but they knew that their family would care for them through anything. And they raised her in a home and family that lived richly in the word and kept the rituals of the faith. They probably did not know this hymn, but they knew enough to say to each other something like this: "Let faith, not doubt, among us dwell And so receive this token."
HYMN INFO
Luther and Walter worked together in Luther's house some time during 1523 when they first started writing hymns. As director of Frederick the Wise’s chapel, Walter composed and led the singing there. He became the Lutheran composer of his time. While Luther was well trained as a musician, Walter probably helped him with his musical compositions, like "Out of the Depths." Walter wrote passions, motets and songs for use in the church. He lives on in the work he did with Luther on the first Protestant hymnals, the first, Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn in 1524.
Bach wrote three cantatas for St. John’s Feast, Midsummer. One on this hymn, BWV 7. Enjoy it. The first and last stanza begin and end it, the middle movements are on the themes of each stanza. Enjoy the musical waters flowing!
LINKS
Concordia Publishing House version
Children's Choir Holy Cross Lutheran
Bach's cantata BWV 7 Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam
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To read those stories about my grandmothers in greater detail read my latest book What a Fellowship: Remembering Augsburg Seminary and the Lutheran Free Church. You can read it in either a book or ebook!
