Smoodock's Blog

Both Matthew and Luke place Jesus’ baptism just prior to his temptation, concerning which we’ll address in future studies. As I mentioned in an earlier study, John’s baptism pertained to preparing the people for the coming of Christ, meaning ending their exile and coming into the Presence of God (Malachi 3:1; cp. Genesis 3:22-24), calling out to a people who had lost their way (Isaiah 40:3). They no longer understood spiritual truth (Matthew 13:15), and they preferred to believe their own ways were righteous, when, in fact, they walked in darkness (John 3:19-20). In what context, then, could Jesus be baptized by John? Jesus had no sin to repent of, and preparing himself to meet his Messiah is ridiculous, so how was all righteousness (Matthew 3:15) fulfilled in Jesus’ coming to be baptized by John?

Many believe Jesus was setting an example for others to follow. Yet, John’s baptism and Jesus’ baptism were different and many concluded they were at odds with one another (cp. John 3:22-26). Others conclude that Jesus was identifying with the believer’s need, or it was his ordination and equipping for ministry, or it was a symbol of his redemptive task, or it was his approval of John’s ministry, or, finally, it was prophetic of his death, burial and resurrection.[1] Nevertheless, none of these opinions seem to make sense, at least they don’t make sense to me. Nevertheless, Jesus’ baptism seems to be a very significant event both for God and for mankind. So, Jesus came out of Galilee to John’s baptism in Judea to be baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Matthew has John immediately challenging Jesus’ request to be baptized (Matthew 3:14), but the Gospel of John shows us that, at first, John didn’t recognize Jesus at all, at least not as the Messiah. In fact, this is mentioned twice, seemingly for emphasis’ sake (John 1:31-33). Moreover, the identifying feature, which was to reveal the identity of the Messiah to John, seems to have occurred after John had already baptized Jesus (John 1:32-33; Luke 3:21-22). Therefore, John’s restrain or hindrance (G1254) of Jesus in Matthew 3:14 was more like a challenge, similar to the time, when John was later confused over Jesus’ ministry, while he was in prison. John sent messengers to Jesus, asking if he truly was the Messiah, because what Jesus was doing didn’t make sense to John or his disciples (Matthew 11:3). So, the fact that Jesus came to John and was baptized by him came as a shock to John, because he believed the Messiah would come and, for all intents and purposes, take over John’s ministry, and John would serve him. Why would Jesus come to him to be baptized?

Nevertheless, Jesus told John to allow it for the present. In other words, accept it for now even though you don’t understand (cp. John 10:38). This was necessary to fulfill all righteousness, so even though he was confused over the matter, John permitted it, just as he was told (Matthew 3:15).

However, is it possible for us, today, to know why Jesus was baptized, and why his being baptized fulfilled all righteousness (Matthew 3:15)? I believe we can. John’s baptism was one of repentance, which was designed to symbolize ending the sinners’ rebellion against God (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12), for man’s rebellion took him further and further away from God (Genesis 3:22-23; 4:16; 11:7-8; 2Kings 25:8-11; cp Matthew 1:11). Although God is not a man that he should repent (Numbers 23:19), vis-à-vis he doesn’t err or need to change his mind, he does repent of the lengths he could go to in judgment of wrongdoing. In other words, his judgment is righteous (Daniel 9:14), but it is tempered with mercy (Micah 7:18). Therefore, he was merciful to David, who sinned, when David prayed to the Lord to stop the full force of his judgment (2Samuel 24:16-17). Earlier, because of the terrible violence that had covered the earth, when he brought the flood over the whole earth, in his mercy the Lord saved 8 people (Genesis 6:5-8).

In the present context, Jesus came to John’s baptism to repent of the distance he had allowed man to flee from his Presence. It was now time to repair the breach, fulfilling all righteousness, and bring man and God back into a righteous relationship.

Therefore, we should consider Matthew 3:16-17 to have occurred prior to John’s challenge of Jesus’ behavior in verse-14. In fact, the introductory word “and” in the KJV at Matthew 3:16 should be considered emphatic, as it is in 1Corinthians 2:10 “…yes (G2532), the deep things of God.” Thus, it should also be translated to: “Yes, Jesus, when he was baptized…” as an explanatory statement for John’s challenge. The heavens were opened or parted as Jesus prayed (Matthew 3:16), just as Moses’ parted the Red Sea, so Israel could escape the judgment and enter the Promised Land (Exodus 14:16; cp. Joshua 3:13-16; 4:23). Therefore, Jesus, in the parting of the heavens, regranted man access to the Presence of God through his, Jesus’, ministry. Moreover, not only was this so, but the heavens stand or remain open for all of us (cp. John 1:51), through the ministry of his Holy Spirit, which God has given us (Matthew 3:17; 28:19-20).

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[1] See You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary by Dr. Bob Utley on Matthew 3:13