The Baptism of Jesus
But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.”
So John agreed to baptize him.
Matthew 3:15
Jesus was baptized by his cousin in the Jordan River. All of the gospels recount this story, and it is the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. The new public life of Jesus begins with His baptism. But why baptism and why was John tasked to do this? These are some of the issues we want to ponder as we examine this act of obedience.
First and foremost, the baptism of Jesus was an act of obedience. As we can see in the above quote, Jesus tells John baptism is an act that God requires. I am reminded of the miraculous healing of the leper general Naaman recounted in 2 Kings 5. We remember Naaman was offended when he was told by Elisha’s servant to wash in the Jordan river seven times to be healed. It was too easy! We know that Naaman obeyed and was healed. Isn’t baptism the same? We are healed of our sins by God’s grace and our obedience. There is nothing magical in the water, but our willingness to do the will of God shows our faith and begins our healing. Jesus did not need healing, but this act of faith, obedience, and example begin His journey to the cross. Ours baptism does the same. Jesus was obedient to God, and we need to be obedient too.
John knew Jesus was sinless and came directly from God. In other words, He knew Jesus was special. Scripture tells us that Jesus was essentially God incarnate. In other words, Jesus is another part of God the Father. So essentially, Jesus was being obedient to himself as He goes to John for baptism. Why would one element of the Godhead need to be obedient to another part of it? God has a plan and Jesus is part of it. God needed to become human, live a perfect life, and sacrifice Himself for all of humanity. Jesus represents many different things. He is our God who becomes human. He is the result of years of the children of Israel serving God. He is our teacher and example. He is our ultimate sacrifice and savior. Jesus becomes all these things through the grace and plan of God. Jesus shows us here that we all must choose God’s will over our own. He does this again in the garden of Gethsemane as He prays for God’s will to be done even as He is asking for the cup of suffering to be taken from Him.
Obedience is often easy, but sometimes it is hard. We struggle in both instances. Doing easy things should be easy, but we often question the why as Naaman did. Doing the hard things in life is also a challenge. Perhaps we should follow Jesus’ example in both cases. Ask for God’s will to be done and seek that in our lives.
Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17
Comments