Matthew 3:13-17
Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized by him.
John resisted Jesus request and rightly so for John’s baptism was a baptism that identified repentant sinners who had come to make a public confession of their sin and Jesus had none!
- The Jews had over time adopted a practice of requiring Gentile converts to be immersed (fully submerged) in this fashion signifying their total break from paganism and acceptance into Judaism. It was this Jewish ritual of the day that John capitalized on and used as a sign of repentance not only for Gentiles but also Jews.
- This was quite significant because John was calling upon Jews to humble themselves and admit that they too were in need of forgiveness of sin (just the same as Gentiles) and were not accepted by God by virtue of simply being “good” biological Jews. (Matt. 3:5-9)
Jesus told John it must be done to fulfill all righteousness!
- Obedience is righteousness, and it was the ordained will of the Father for Jesus to be baptized in like manner as His disciples would be as an example to them.
So John conceded, and did as Jesus requested resulting in a different kind of revelation:
- Jesus baptism identified Him, the Son of Man, with those whom He had come to redeem from sin (Galatians 4:4,5), cleansing them from it fully unlike the sacrifices of the old covenant which could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4 “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”).
- Jesus baptism identified Jesus not as a repentant sinner but as the obedient Son of God sent by the command of the Father to take away the sin of the world!! (Matthew 3:16,17; John 1:29 “ “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”; Philippians 2:5-8)
- Jesus baptism signified the kind of sacrifice He would give to atone for the sins of mankind as it pictured his death on the cross, burial and resurrection from the grave! (Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”; I Corinthians 15:3,4 “…How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”)
- Jesus baptism marked the beginning of His earthly ministry and identification as the Hebrew Messiah. (John 1:33,34 “…He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this [JESUS] is the Son of God.”)
Christian baptism following the pattern of Christ not only identifies one as a repentant sinner but also as a Child of God through faith in Jesus Christ your risen Savior & Lord.
- Just as Jesus baptism announced the beginning of His earthly ministry so it introduces Christ’s newly redeemed saint and His new ministry in service to His Lord & King! (Romans 6:4) – It announces both an ending (old life) and a beginning (new life in Christ)
- The purpose in baptism is “to fulfill all righteousness:” the obedience of both the congregation of the saints in performing the ordinance and the new believer in Christ for yielding to it! (Matthew 28:19)