I need to be baptized

Introduction

Today we cover one of the two sacraments that Jesus instantiated or took part in. Today’s sacrament is baptism. This is often a confusing topic and in today’s passage, it can easily be confused why Jesus got baptized. Who was John who he came to in order to be baptized? Why did John baptize him? Why did John try to argue against it? Today’s passage leaves us with many questions when we try to dive deeper in understanding Jesus’ baptism by John. In turn we may be asking ourselves similar questions but we can’t have the same answers. We may strive to be like Jesus but in answer why Jesus was baptized, is it sufficient to say we are baptized for the same reasons? No! Once we understand Jesus’ baptism though perhaps we will understand our own even better. Or if you are still wrestling with that decision, today may help you to understand why you need to be baptized.

Jesus’ Baptism

First, lets talk about Jesus. In our passage today, Jesus comes to John from Galilee. This is important because Jesus was not just wandering around and ran into John coincidentally by the Jordan River but he came to John for baptism purposes. Our first question is why did Jesus seek John out for baptism? Did Jesus need forgiveness? Did Jesus need to demonstrate repentance? No! Yet Jesus went to John in order to be baptized by John. The short answer is obedience.

What do I mean by obedience? John was in the wilderness preparing the way for Jesus. John was the servant of the Messiah who was preparing the people for his coming. John went out into the wilderness to preach the message of repentance. John was chosen at birth, well before his birth, to be this messenger, to be the one who prepares the people to receive the messiah. John was in the wilderness, at the Jordan preaching and baptizing for this purpose. John was serving out of obedience to God’s calling. John did not come up with the mission but God chose him for this purpose. John chose obedience to God’s will. John chose to do what God asked of him.

What does John being obedient to God have to do with Jesus being baptized? The answer is Jesus was also being obedient to the Father’s will. We sometimes say that Jesus was baptized to demonstrate what we should do but when we examine that closer, it does hold up. John’s baptism was all about repentance, washing away sins and turning back to God. This is John’s mission and ministry. Jesus neither needed forgiveness nor repentance. In a sense you could see why John tries to stop him because Jesus does not need this. The one sent from God obviously has not turned away from God and turned to a life of sin. Yet, Jesus seeks out John at the Jordan.

When John objects, he turns it around that in fact, John needs to be baptized by Jesus, but Jesus is coming to him to be baptized. John sees it that Jesus has it backwards. John had preached that the messiah would come to baptize with Fire and the Holy Spirit. John needed this baptism. Jesus did not need John’s baptism. Yet each of them were following the will of God.

Jesus answered John’s question of why Jesus should be baptized by him with the statement: “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15 NRSV). The meaning of fulfill here

New Interpreters Bible Commentary shares that righteousness in this context means “doing the revealed will of God”.(p. 93 vol. 7) - “fulfill seems to mean simply ‘do, perform’ and the meaning is that it is necessary for both John and Jesus to do God’s will, which includes the baptism of Jesus. The plural us links John and Jesus together as partners in carrying out God’s saving plan” (New Interpreters Bible Commentary - p. 93 vol. 7)

John prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry. Jesus came to save the world, to bring salvation. With John preparing the way, Jesus being baptized by John and then having the Holy Spirit descend upon him, his ministry picked up where John’s left off. While the people repented and turned back to God, they still needed salvation that only came from Jesus.

Our Baptism

So if Jesus’ baptism was more about following God’s will or as Jesus said fulfilling all righteousness, then what does that mean for our own baptism? First, our baptism is necessary for John’s reason. We need to repent of our own sins we have committed. None of us is without sin, so we need the baptism John preached. In our sacrament liturgy, we repent of our sins and we reject all evil in the world.

We still need a Savior who brings salvation. Our baptism marks us or sets us apart as God’s children. It is our public declaration not only that we have rejected sin and been washed clean by God but that we are God’s children that are part of the church Jesus established and uses in mission to the world. Our baptism sets us apart from the rest of the world as accepting God’s gift of grace through Jesus Christ that imparts salvation.

When John baptized, it was a public display. When Jesus was baptized, it was a public display. In some sense the church does baptisms as public displays for this reason as it is a sacrament that is marking you or setting you apart for God. The rest of the church is witness to this special event. This establishes your membership in the church.

The third part of our baptism is what Jesus ushered in. The baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is key and crucial to our faith walk. In Jesus’ baptism, we read the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and rested upon him. This event was the official start to his ministry. He was now empowered by the Holy Spirit for the mission he was sent to fulfill. In our baptism liturgy, this is why we lay hands on the baptized person praying God pour out the Holy Spirit on the baptized person. This too empowers us for the works God has prepared us for. Having received the gift of salvation, being set apart as God’s child, we are now empowered to continue the mission Christ started.

In some ways, we also are meant to fulfill all righteousness. Meaning, we are set apart by God as children, set free by salvation through Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill God’s will to preach the Gospel news, train up and send out disciples of Christ to the lost world.