Why was Jesus baptized?

Research Tools

______________________________

Question:

If baptism washes away our sins, and Christ was without sin, why was Jesus baptized?

______________________________

Answer:

Rating: +0

Hi,

Thanks for your participation.

John the Baptist called a wayward Israel unto repentance. The Greek word translated "repentance" basically means "a change of mind." The water baptism of John was a symbol of that change, not a physical act that in itself washed away sins. None the less, Jesus had no need of any repentance.

Your question about why he was baptized is a very good one. John himself asked Jesus about this.

Matthew 3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Jesus' response was, "It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness" and that is all I know. I do not know exactly what Jesus was referring to by this. The phrase occurs only here and I don't see anything in the immediate context that unlocks it for me. It was at this time that he saw the spirit of God lighting upon him and heard God's voice from heaven. Obviously, it was a significant event, but that is all I can tell you.

Good question. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Bless,

Ken Brown

Tags: Answer, Baptism, Christ, faq, Jesus, sin, sins

One Response to “Why was Jesus baptized?”

Christopher Preston says:

January 6, 2010 at 11:12 pm

I like to take a more practical approach at this event. Lets put ourself in John the baptists shoes for a second. Here we are in the water with Jesus Christ… OK lets stop there for a second. If I were John I’d say “Dude, you’re holy shouldn’t you be baptizing me!?” but Jesus says “For now this is how it should be, because we must do all that God wants us to do.”

so then John says ok… (probably very confused) and then He submerges Jesus…

now it says that the Heavens OPENED UP!!!! WHAT!? and The Holy Spirit comes down, and a voice (God’s Voice) says “Check it bro! This is my Son, and I’m proud of Him”

I honestly think this was confirmation to the people that were present that Jesus was truly who He said He was.

Now Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but It is something that I believe every Christian should do. (Full submersion) because Jesus tells us in this verse that it’s something we should do, to show everyone around us that we are openly admitting that Christ is our King!!!

so if you can schedule your baptism to be public then do so! if not, no big deal because there may be some people in your church that haven’t chosen Christ as there savior yet…

I hope that this is some good insight on these verses.

God Bless you

http://www.myspace.com/halfpricehero

The Brown Bible

God Loves a Cheerful Giver

Research Tools

Groups & Organizations

Sponsored Links