In my mind, one of the most intriguing passages in all the Scriptures is the baptism of Jesus. On the one hand, there is much theological truth revealed in this event. Though the word Trinity is never used in Scripture, the reality of the Trinity is center stage as the Son emerges from the waters of the Jordan, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father echoes from heaven. Yet on the other hand, despite all that is revealed, the event still seems to be shrouded in mystery.  Perhaps the greatest mystery of all being, why would Jesus receive baptism?

            Perhaps the reason why Jesus’ baptism and its motivation puzzles us is because we often look at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan through the prism of our own journey into the baptistry. We know why we made that decision.  First, we needed forgiveness for our past sins. When the crowd at Pentecost, realizing their guilt as it related to the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus, asked Peter what they should do, his answer was simple, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38) Peter would later write, comparing Christian baptism to the salvation that Noah experienced on the ark during the flood. “²¹ Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. (I Peter 3:21-22) It is important to not overlook that in the same sentence that Peter states, “baptism now saves you,” he immediately elaborates by describing it as an appeal to God for a good conscience and connecting it to the power of Christ’s resurrection. It becomes evident that while baptism is something we “do,” it is God’s work in the act that makes the difference. 

     In addition to needing forgiveness, a second reason why we are baptized is so that we might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for future sanctification. Having been forgiven for the past, what hope do we have to not repeat those same mistakes? That hope is found not in us, but in God’s gift of Himself in the form of the Spirit.  To put it simply, we transfer control from our flesh to God’s Spirit. Paul reminds the Galatians, ¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16) While I am sure there are many other reasons why we are baptized, a third motivation that bears mentioning here is that it is our baptism that unites us with Christ. When confronted with the idea that grace is a license to sin, Paul responds by vehemently rejecting that idea, for no less reason than our baptism has united us to Jesus: “³ Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4)

            Having considered our motivations for receiving baptism, let us now turn to consider Jesus’ own baptism. Matthew tells of the event in this way: ¹³ Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *allowed Him. ¹⁶ After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17)

 

Right out the gate John the Baptist raises the same objection we do.  Why would Jesus want to get baptized? We are the ones with sins to wash away, not Jesus! Jesus’ response is that His baptism in some way contributes to the fulfillment of all righteousness. Notice He doesn’t say that it fulfills His righteousness, but rather all righteousness. Somehow, Jesus’ baptism advances the goal of perpetuating His righteousness to us. While we know that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us through His work on the cross, there seem to be prerequisites to that work. To die for us, Christ had to first become like us. The author of Hebrews writes, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) To put it another way, we can identify with Christ through baptism, because He first identified with us, which included His baptism in the Jordan. When we ask why Jesus died on the cross, we know the answer is because we needed Him to. The same answer holds true for Jesus’ baptism.

            This is reinforced when we consider the connections drawn by Matthew’s gospel between Jesus’ baptism and passages from the Old Testament.  An explicit connection is made between the Servant Song of Isaiah 42 and Jesus. The song in Isaiah begins, “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights.  I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1)

The parallel is obvious between God’s statement in Isaiah, “My chosen one in whom my soul delights,” and Matthew 3:17, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” A further parallel emerges between God’s promise to put His Spirit upon the Servant in Isaiah 42:1, and the descent of the Spirit upon Jesus at His baptism. When we continue reading the Servant Song to the end, we discover that the one described sounds more and more like Jesus. 

           ⁶ “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, ⁷ To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison. ⁸ I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to idols. ⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.” (Isaiah 42:6-9)  

It is Jesus who is called in righteousness, because He is righteous. It is Jesus who becomes a covenant to the people, through His faithfulness.  Jesus is a light to the nations.  Jesus opens the eyes of the blind. Jesus frees the prisoners. Jesus is the “new” thing that God is doing, a new thing rooted in the old promises made by God long ago.

                        Jesus is the new thing that God is doing because in Christ God is bringing the old story of the exodus forward and broadening its implications. This is why we see a motif throughout Matthew of Jesus as the new Moses. Just as Pharoah tries to kill all the Hebrew boys, Herod tries to kill all the Jewish boys Jesus’ age to snuff out the Messianic fulfillment. Jesus’ teaching in the gospel of Matthew is presented in five extensive blocks, reminiscent of the Pentateuch, of the five books of Moses.  Whereas Moses is the intermediary who receives God’s Law on Mount Sinai, Jesus stands on the mount in Matthew 5 and delivers, as God’s Son, a new law. Moses leaves the safety of Midian to reenter Egypt and deliver his people to safety and freedom. Jesus leaves His rightful place in heaven at God’s right hand to come to earth and deliver His people from slavery to sin and death. There is reasonable speculation that when the people came to the wilderness to hear John the Baptist preach, they were gathered on the side across from Israel, so that their baptism became a type of re-entry into the Promised Land. In his farewell speech we know as Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen.” (Deuteronomy 18:15) Though there have been many twists and turns, ups and downs, Jesus arrives as the fulfillment of that promise.  Sent from the side of God yet also raised from among the people. A new Moses who will lead not only God’s people, Israel, but all people out of slavery and into freedom.

            My problem in thinking of Jesus’ baptism is that I was approaching it from the angle of what purpose it served for Him. The truth is, at no point in His life did Jesus do anything for His own benefit.  Everything Jesus did was for our benefit, and that is no less true of His baptism than it is of the cross. Hebrews puts it this way, “¹⁴ Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Hebrews 2:14-15) Jesus, the new Moses, leads us out of slavery to death through His own death, but that journey begins publicly at the Jordan River, on the border between the wilderness and the Promised Land. To lead us across that border, Jesus needed to come alongside us. I can only become united to Christ through my baptism, because Christ united Himself to us through His.

-Justin Simmons Lives in Glenmora, Louisiana and preaches for the Glenmora Church of Christ