The Baptism of Jesus
TRANSLATION
(13) Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. (14) But John tried to stop him saying, “I need to be baptized by you. Why do you come to me?” (15) But Jesus responded, “You need to do this, for this will carry out God’s righteous plan.” Then he agreed. (16) And when he was baptized, Jesus rose immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest upon him. (17) And a voice out of heaven declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
OBSERVATIONS
Along with the names of “Jesus” (vss. 13, 15, & 16) and “John” (vss. 13 & 14), two words received emphasis by repetition: “baptized” (vss. 13, 14, & 16) and “heaven(s)” (vss. 16 & 17). John’s humility and deference toward the one whom he had come to introduce to the nation were fully on display in his reluctance to baptize the promised one. It took Jesus’ urging to persuade John to go ahead and immerse him.
One thing we should particularly note is the participation of all three members of the Trinity at this historic event. The Son submitted to John’s baptism, the Spirit of God descended on the Son like a dove, and the Father verbally declared Jesus to be his “beloved Son.” Some have considered this event to mark the moment when the human Jesus actually became the Son of God. The rest of the New Testament, particularly John’s Gospel, clearly belies this notion, asserting that Jesus had always been the eternal Word, God’s Son now taking on flesh. While the baptism of John changed nothing about Jesus’ divine nature, it did, in fact, mark the inauguration of his earthly ministry.
OUTLINE
I. John reluctantly agreed to baptize Jesus in the Jordan River. (13-15)
II. The descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father affirmed the Son’s identity. (16 & 17)
IDEA STATEMENT
After John reluctantly agreed to baptize Jesus, both the Holy Spirit and the Father visibly and audibly affirmed the Son’s messianic mission.
APPLICATION
Some have asked, “Why was it necessary for Jesus to be baptized by John?” Jesus’ response, “You need to do this, for this will carry out God’s righteousness plan,” leaves us yearning for more specifics. At least three implications come to mind. First, Jesus’ baptism by John made it clear that Jesus was the one to whom John had been referring when he declared, “(The one) 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” (Mt. 3:11). More than that, by undergoing John’s baptism Jesus validated John’s ministry as the forerunner of the Messiah, the “voice crying in the wilderness declaring, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’” (Mt. 3:3).
Finally, because of its strategic placement at the very beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the baptism of John served to mark the moment when Jesus’ public ministry was launched. From now on, as John 3 tells us, Jesus’ fame would increase while the forerunner’s influence would decrease. John’s great work of introducing the Messiah had now been largely accomplished. Later we read in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus’ testimony regarding John: “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Mt. 11:11).