What Did Jesus Do?
In John's baptism, Jesus identified with us sinners. In Christ's baptism, we sinners are identified with Him.
Baptism of Christ. This event is recorded by the first three Evangelists and implied by Jn. Even those critics who question the historical accuracy of many details in the Gospels accept that Jesus Christ came to hear St *John the Baptist and, like others, received baptism at his hands, thus endorsing John’s mission. Mk. 1:10–11 tells of a vision of the heavens opening and a Divine Voice declaring His Sonship. Later accounts, including Ignatius, *Justin, the Gospels of the *Ebionites, *Nazarites, and *Hebrews, develop the tradition, reflecting some perplexity that the sinless Son of God should undergo a baptism of repentance, and at the hands of a subordinate figure.