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Baptism Of Jesus (1)

Our Lord lived as a man for about a third of a century. For good reason, not every earthly activity of Jesus is recorded in the Bible (John 21:25). But we can rest assured that what we do have in God’s word about Him is sufficient to cause us to recognize Him as the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:30-31). One unique happening in the life of Jesus was His baptism. Let us examine what the Scriptures say about this event by presenting and answering a series of questions:

1) Where does the New Testament record the baptism Jesus? The Biblical record of Jesus’ baptism is found in Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-23.

2) Who baptized Jesus, and where did it take place? Mark records that, “Jesus came. And was baptized of John in Jordan” (Mark 1:9).

3) Where was Jesus before He came to be baptized? In “Nazareth of Galilee” (Mark 1:9).

4) What had Jesus been doing in His life before His baptism? Later, some asked regarding Him, “Is not this the carpenter” (Mark 6:3). Thus, He must have been working as a carpenter.

5) How old was Jesus when He was baptized? After Luke recorded Jesus’ baptism, he immediately noted, “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23).

6) What was John’s reaction when he learned that Jesus wanted to be baptized by him? Matthew records, “But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me” (Matt. 3:14).

7) Why was Jesus baptized? John’s baptism was a “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3). Jesus, however, “did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22), and thus could not have been baptized for the remission of sins. What, then, was the reason for His baptism? Christ Himself said to John in Matthew 3:16, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness”. The New King James Version renders this verse, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus was baptized to fulfill or carry out righteousness, and since all of God’s commands “are righteousness” (Psalm 119:172), then it must be the case that Jesus was baptized in obedience to the Father’s command. Of those Jews that refused to receive John’s baptism, it is written that they “rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him” (Luke 7:30). By being baptized, Jesus certainly showed forth an example of submission to the will of God that was worthy of imitation for those Jews who lived in His time, even as it continues to serve as an excellent example of obedience for men living today.

8) Was Jesus’ baptism an immersion? Perhaps you have seen pictures or movies in which John the Baptizer is shown pouring water on Jesus’ head as they stood in shallow water. The pouring of water on someone’s head is not biblical baptism. The Greek word from which our word “baptism” is translated simply means an immersion or dipping. That is what a genuine baptism is in every case, an immersion into water. The text of Matthew 3:16 states that Jesus went up “out of the water” immediately after His baptism. To say that He came up out of the water indicates that He had to first enter the water. Neither of these actions (entering and exiting water) is required for either sprinkling or pouring, both of which are religious practices invented by imaginative men.

9) What was the difference between Jesus’ baptism and the baptism that other Jews received from John? John called upon other Jews to bring forth fruits “worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8 – ASV). Those who received John’s message “were baptized of him, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:6). Since our Lord lived without “sin” (Hebrews 4:15), it was impossible for Him to repent of or confess any personal transgressions. Thus, as we noted above (question #7), unlike all others who received John’s baptism, Christ could not have been baptized in order to receive the remission of sins.