Scripture: Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17 ESV
Observation: The climax to John the Baptist’s ministry is about to unfold. He has faithfully prepared the way for his cousin Jesus, the Messiah, by preaching confession of sins and repentance and initiating disciples through water baptism. So now is the appointed time for Jesus to enter Matthew’s Gospel account and receive the sacrament of baptism to consecrate his ministry. But while Mark and Luke present similar versions of Jesus’ baptism, only Matthew tells his audience that John tried to deter Jesus from receiving baptism (v.14) and that Jesus compelled John to do so since it was fitting for both of them to “fulfill all righteousness” (v.15).
Submitting to his Lord, John baptized Jesus. And as Jesus rose from the river’s baptismal waters, the Holy Spirit immediately rested on him like a dove attending to her squab, followed by the voice of his good Father pronouncing his love for and pleasure with his Son.
Takeaway: Theologian D.A. Carson surmises that John, a humble man fully aware of his sin and need for confession and repentance, rightly discerned Christ’s sinless purity and thus initially expressed reluctance to baptize Jesus. Nevertheless, he submitted to Jesus’ directive to “fulfill all righteousness.” For John, it is a matter of obedience to his Master. For Jesus, this baptismal ceremony would identify him as Isaiah’s suffering servant and portend his mission: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations” (Isaiah 42:1 ESV).
Carson adds that Jesus’ response to John implicitly acknowledges he does not need baptism, but “at this point Jesus must demonstrate his willingness to take on his servant role, entailing his identification with the people” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew). Thus, while the Messiah is fully God (Son of God), he is also fully human (Son of Man). And this second title points Matthew’s audience to Daniel’s prophecy of the son of man: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14 ESV). Daniel’s vision bears eschatological (end times) undertones of the Messiah consummating his eternal kingdom at his second coming.
That’s a lot of theology. So what can we take away from Jesus’ baptism? In short, Jesus fulfilled all righteousness by following his Father’s will to reveal his mission as our Suffering Servant who would bear our sins in his body so that we might become the righteousness of God and thus appease the Father’s uncompromising justice. And while Christ inaugurated his kingdom at his first coming, he will co-reign over the new heaven and earth with his Father when he returns. So how should we respond? Like all his future disciples, we must conduct our lives in anticipation of Jesus’ glorious return with awe, wonder, and gratitude for what he has already done.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son who has fulfilled all righteousness, being wholly divine and human, and has addressed your call to justice and thus brought us salvation. So would you please help us live in anticipation of his glorious return with awe, wonder, and gratitude for his substitutionary death, resurrection, and ascension? Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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