Today, twenty-eight years ago, my mother died. Knowing this day was coming, I spent a few hours on Google Maps trying to catch a glimpse of her grave. I think I found it. Seeing someone you loved laid to rest is not a praiseworthy event. It is sad. It can even be traumatizing.

Why then would Jesus choose the “Good News” to start with a death and a burial? Why would He tell us that our journey with Him must also start with a death and a burial (Romans 6:3-4)? Even our confession and repentance prior to our “death” are not meritorious or praiseworthy. Peter could get no pats on his back for being the first to confess “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Why? Because God revealed this truth to him. And repentance is turning away from sin. Who can brag about that?

No, friend, baptism is a burial. While Christ’s resurrection is praiseworthy, ours is not. Why? Because we are dead, and it is Christ who lives through us. Anything praiseworthy or meritorious that we may do is to God’s glory.