Category: New Testament
Scriptures:
Matthew 3:13-3:17
Mark 1:9-1:11
Luke 3:21-3:22
John 1:29-1:34
Matthew 3:13-3:17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
14 But John would have hindered him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?”
15 But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.
16 Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him.
17 Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Mark 1:9-1:11
9 In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 Immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens parting, and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
11 A voice came out of the sky, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:21-3:22
21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”
John 1:29-1:34
29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.’
31 I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water: that he would be revealed to Israel.”
32 John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him.
33 I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
34 I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Commentary
The Gospels set the baptism of Jesus in the context of the age-long unfolding of the history of redemption, which takes place according to the plan of God. The background of this history is found in Genesis 1–3, in the events of creation and the fall. The fall of Adam is followed by the first promise of redemption, found in Genesis 3:15, the promise of “her offspring,” the offspring of the woman, which already points to Christ (Gal 3:16).
John the Baptist explains his baptism as “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”.His central message is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
God called John the Baptist to serve as the forerunner of the Messiah: “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11). The Gospels indicate that John is the fulfillment of the prophecies in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 concerning a prophetic forerunner. John proclaims that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
John is preparing people for the coming of Jesus by his call to repentance. When Jesus himself comes to John, John recognizes Jesus’ superiority: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matt 3:14). John’s objection makes a good deal of sense. Jesus has no sins and needs no forgiveness, and therefore, has nothing to repent of. In comparison to Jesus, John is the one who needs to repent and be baptized: “I need to be baptized by you.”
And yet Jesus answers the objection: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” This mysterious statement satisfies John: “Then he consented.” Jesus says that his baptism will be “to fulfill all righteousness.”
But how is Jesus’s baptism a “fulfillment of all righteousness”? The Jews are coming for repentance. They come for forgiveness of sins. Jesus has no sin, as we have noted, but he is “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), the sin bearer. He identifies with the sinful people of Israel, and he identifies with their sin, because he is coming to be both the final sacrifice and the final high priest (Heb 8–10).
Jesus’s baptism is an act of humility. He consents to be counted as if he were a sinner, along with everyone else.