The baptism of Jesus

Read Matthew 3:13-15

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The ministry of Jesus began with his coming from Galilee to be baptised by John in Judea. It perhaps seems strange that the sinless Jesus should come seeking “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk.1:4) and John himself protested the inappropriateness of this (14). John somehow recognised that Jesus didn’t need to repent of any sin – instead, he was the promised “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn.1:29).

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By his reply, we see that Jesus was not being baptised for his own sins but in order to identify with the sinners he has come to save (15). He knew that he must “fulfil all righteousness”. John had come to show the way of righteousness (Mt.21:32), “viewed as a relationship with God focused in obedience” (R.T.France). By being baptised, Jesus modelled the importance of doing the Father’s will obediently (Mt.7:21).

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But, more than that, “fulfil all righteousness”, points to the saving work Jesus had come to do. Just as Jesus would end his ministry by being the representative of sinners on the cross, so at the beginning, by his baptism, he stood with sinners and dedicated himself to making them righteous (2 Cor.5:21; 1 Pet.3:18).