Salvation Has Been Here All Along

11 March 2026  Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

“For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us?” (Deuteronomy 4:7)

Before Jesus ever uttered a word in His public ministry He stood beside us in the muddy waters of the Jordan River, awaiting a baptism of repentance (cf. Matthew 3:13-17).

John the Baptist was struck by the irony of the situation: “I need to be baptized by you,” he said (Matthew 3:14). But Jesus waved him off: “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness” (3:15). There wasn’t going to be any final righteousness, any permanent salvation unless He got this close, stayed this close.

He got so close that people didn’t even know who He was at first. When people finally recognized their salvation, the most common reaction was surprise that their salvation had been there all along, hiding in plain sight.

Repentance is how it all starts, and that means – much to our chagrin and astonishment – that everything is not OK with us. It means that we are misshapen and misdirected, confused and complacent, resigned and reluctant to do anything about the fix that we are in.

But then God Himself takes on our flesh and takes a place among us at the riverside, close enough to rub shoulders with us, and He comes meaning to heal. Christianity is a salvation religion, and that requires, first and foremost, the recognition that we need saving, that we are not OK and won’t be OK apart from some kind of divine intervention. “What great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us? (Deuteronomy 4:7). Salvation only happens in one direction – from heaven to us – and heaven was right there, close enough to be shoulder to shoulder with sinners in the muddy Jordan River seeking what only heaven can give.

Heaven still is.

It took people a long time to recognize Who was standing there with them, and when some started whispering, “Could this be the Messiah?” (cf. John 4:29), many reacted with incredulity, some with anger. But that’s just the thing with salvation in the Bible – God didn’t wait around for people to ask for Him. He didn’t wait for an invitation to step into the Jordan River to be baptized by John. “God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He got so close that people didn’t even know who He was at first. When people finally recognized their salvation, the most common reaction was surprise that their salvation had been there all along, hiding in plain sight.

They are surprised still.

At the end of His public ministry Jesus was holding the hand of a Roman soldier. True, the soldier was holding Jesus’ hand still while he drove a nail through it, but Jesus accepted that as the cost of the soldier’s salvation, and so He held on tight and prayed, “Father forgive him, for he knows not what he does.” A couple hours later the same soldier was saying, “Truly this Man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). You have to get pretty close for a transformation like that, but Jesus was pretty close.

He still is.