There are moments when I’m reading the Bible and something makes me stop and go back over what I just read. Not because the words are difficult, but because something doesn’t seem to fit.
That happened when I was reading about Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist.
I’ve known the story for years. John was baptizing people in the Jordan River, calling them to repent and prepare for the coming of the Lord. Then Jesus arrives and asks John to baptize Him.
But wait a minute.
John’s baptism was associated with repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Jesus was without sin. He had nothing to repent of and no forgiveness to seek.
So why would Jesus ask to be baptized?
And apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had that question. John himself couldn’t understand it.
Even John Didn’t Understand
Matthew tells us that when Jesus came to John at the Jordan River, John initially tried to stop Him.
John understood something important about the man standing in front of him. He knew Jesus was greater than he was. In fact, John believed the situation should have been reversed. He was the one who needed what Jesus could give, not the other way around.
And that makes perfect sense.
John had been preaching repentance and preparing people for the Messiah. Now the Messiah Himself was standing before him, asking to participate in a baptism intended for people who needed to turn away from sin.
Jesus answered John’s objection:
“Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”
— Matthew 3:15 (NIV)
That’s an interesting answer, isn’t it?
Jesus didn’t tell John that He needed to repent. He didn’t suggest that He had done anything wrong.
Instead, He told John that what they were about to do was proper because it would fulfill all righteousness.
John accepted His answer and baptized Him.
But what exactly was Jesus telling John?
Why Jesus Asked John for Baptism
I think one of the most important things to understand is that Jesus wasn’t being baptized for the same reason as everyone else.
The people coming to John were acknowledging their sins and responding to his call for repentance. Jesus had no sins to acknowledge.
His baptism was about something different.
Jesus had come to carry out the Father’s will. When He told John that His baptism would fulfill all righteousness, He was making clear that this was something they were supposed to do, even though John didn’t fully understand it.
There’s also something remarkable about where Jesus chose to stand.
He didn’t separate Himself from the people gathered at the Jordan. He stepped into the same water where sinners had been coming to repent.
Not because He was one of them in their sin, but because He had come for them.
The One who had no sin was willing to identify Himself with people who did.
That becomes even more meaningful when we consider where His ministry would eventually lead.
Jesus would go on to bear the sins of others on the cross. His baptism wasn’t that sacrifice, but it was an early public moment in a life devoted to the purpose for which He had come.
And He entered that water willingly.
What Happened When Jesus Came Out of the Water?
Matthew doesn’t end the account with John baptizing Jesus.
Something extraordinary happens immediately afterward.
As Jesus comes up out of the water, heaven is opened. The Spirit of God descends like a dove and comes to rest on Him.
Then a voice from heaven identifies Jesus as God’s beloved Son and expresses the Father’s pleasure in Him.
Think about that for a moment.
John had been preparing people for the arrival of the Messiah. Now Jesus had come, and the Father Himself was identifying His Son.
The account also gives us a remarkable picture of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together. Jesus is standing in the water, the Spirit descends upon Him, and the Father speaks from heaven.
This wasn’t an ordinary baptism.
It was a significant moment at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
And there’s something worth noticing about the timing.
The Father expresses His pleasure in Jesus before the miracles, before the crowds, and before the years of public ministry that would follow.
Jesus wasn’t becoming the Son of God through baptism. He already was the Son.
The Father’s words confirmed who He was.
Obedience Doesn’t Always Begin With Understanding
There’s another part of this account that stays with me, and it has to do with John.
John knew who Jesus was, at least enough to recognize that Jesus was greater than himself. He understood his own role in preparing the way.
Yet when Jesus came to be baptized, John didn’t immediately understand what was happening.
He questioned it.
I can relate to that.
Over the years, I’ve learned that understanding the reason behind something can make it easier to accept. When you’ve carried responsibility for other people, you learn to ask questions, examine decisions, and consider the consequences.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In many situations, it’s exactly what responsibility requires.
But following Christ isn’t the same as having every part of God’s plan explained to us beforehand.
John had a reasonable objection. Jesus answered him, although not with a lengthy explanation of everything His baptism would mean.
John trusted Him enough to proceed.
I don’t think that means Christians should stop asking questions. Scripture itself gives us plenty of examples of people bringing honest questions before God.
But John’s response reminds me that there is a difference between seeking understanding and insisting that God explain everything before we trust Him.
Sometimes we understand more clearly only after we look back.
John couldn’t have seen everything that was coming. He didn’t yet know how the events surrounding Jesus’ ministry would unfold or what the cross would ultimately mean.
But he knew enough about Jesus to listen.
The One Who Came to Serve
There’s something else about Jesus’ baptism that I find striking.
Consider who Jesus was.
John had already said that the One coming after him was far more powerful than he was. Yet Jesus didn’t arrive at the Jordan demanding recognition or insisting on being treated differently.
He approached John and asked to be baptized.
Later in His ministry, Jesus would wash His disciples’ feet. He would spend time with people others avoided. He would teach that greatness in God’s kingdom looks very different from greatness in the world.
And ultimately, He would willingly go to the cross.
That willingness is something I reflected on in He Knew What Was Coming: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where I looked at how Jesus faced what was ahead of Him, knowing what it would cost.
Each of those moments was different, but they all showed something about who Jesus was.
He didn’t come looking for the position or recognition people normally associate with power.
He came to accomplish the Father’s purpose.
That challenges the way I sometimes think about importance and responsibility. In everyday life, authority can easily become associated with being above certain tasks or expecting others to accommodate us.
Jesus certainly had authority. More than anyone standing at the Jordan that day.
Yet He willingly submitted to baptism.
He wasn’t surrendering His identity or authority. He was acting in complete agreement with the Father.
There’s a quiet strength in that kind of obedience.
A Different Way to See the Jordan River
When I first thought about this passage, my question was simple: Why would someone without sin need to be baptized?
But the more I considered the account, the more I realized that the question itself needed adjusting.
Jesus didn’t need baptism for forgiveness.
He chose to be baptized because it was part of fulfilling the Father’s will.
And in doing so, He stood among the very people He had come to save.
I sometimes wonder what John thought afterward, especially when he remembered the heavens opening and the Father’s voice identifying Jesus as His Son.
He had questioned why Jesus would come to him for baptism. Then he witnessed something far greater than he could have expected.
For me, that’s what makes this passage worth returning to.
The One who had every reason to stand apart from sinners willingly stepped into the water among them.
And that was only the beginning of what He had come to do.
More Straight Talk on Faith
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