The King Who Stayed in the Ruins

In September 1940, German bombs struck Buckingham Palace while King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were inside. Advisors urged the royal family to evacuate to Canada, where they would be safe from the relentless Blitz. The King refused. Instead, he and Elizabeth drove through the shattered streets of London's East End, walking among families who had lost everything. When a reporter asked why the Queen seemed so calm amid the rubble, she replied, "Now I can look the East End in the face."

The King of England had no obligation to endure what his people endured. He had every means of escape. Yet he understood something profound — that a king who will not stand where his people stand has no right to lead them. His presence in the wreckage said more than any speech from a safe distance ever could.

This is precisely what happened at the Jordan River. Jesus had no sin to repent of, no unrighteousness to wash away. John knew it. Jesus knew it. Yet the Son of God waded into those muddy waters and stood shoulder to shoulder with tax collectors, soldiers, and ordinary sinners seeking forgiveness. He stepped into a baptism He did not need so that we would know He stands with us in every broken place we inhabit.

And when He rose from the water, the voice of the Almighty thundered what was true all along: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Heaven's approval rested not on distance from sinners, but on identification with them.