Matthew 3:13-15 13Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan to John in order to be baptized by him. 14But John prevented him saying, “I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted him.
In fulfillment of John’s prophecy about preparation, Jesus came to the region of the Jordan to be baptized. This story is the first recorded public appearance of Jesus since childhood. History is silent about the intervening years. Jesus began his ministry at just the right time in history. Verse 13 hints that Jesus had spent those years in Galilee, likely most of that time in Nazareth.
John raises the significant question about why Jesus needed to be baptized. John knew Jesus was without sin. In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). John was interpreting baptism as only a sign of the need to repent from sin. Jesus may have had a deeper meaning in mind. He had no sin to repent from, but as the Lamb, he came to take upon himself the sin of the world. The one without sin became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The challenging phrase in these verses is to fulfill all righteousness. Obviously Jesus did not need to be baptized for his own sins. He came as Immanuel, God with us, to live among us and as one with us. He came as a model for us to follow. Baptism represents our identification with him in his death and resurrection (Romans 6:4). By sharing with us in this baptism, we are able to share with him in eternal life. By taking our sins upon himself, he enables us to be righteous before God’s justice. Jesus was not washing away his sins but showing that he came to cleanse away all sin.
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