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In the Christian church year, the first Sunday after Epiphany celebrates the baptism of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 3:13-17.
This text says, “Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Back in Advent, we encountered John the Baptist at the Jordan River, calling people to repent and be baptized. People responded to John’s message by confessing their sins to him and receiving a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of their sins. Can you see why John was perplexed when Jesus showed up for baptism? God the Father had revealed to John that Jesus was the Messiah, the spotless Lamb of God, and John knew that Jesus didn’t need forgiveness of sins because He wasn’t a sinner.
Nevertheless, there was Jesus, asking for baptism alongside all those other sinners. John’s heart must have sunk. “Oh, no! I had such great hopes for this Jesus, but now He’s insisting on acting like all these other sinners. That’s not the kind of Messiah I’m looking for.” So, John tried to prevent the Lord’s desire to be baptized, which shows us that John needed a Savior from sin just as much as we do.
Jesus rebutted John’s protests, saying, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” In other words, Jesus says to John, “Allow this baptism to occur right now, because even though I don’t need baptism for Myself, I am allowing Myself to undergo this baptism in order to identify Myself with sinners. I have come to fulfill all righteousness by taking the place of sinners under God’s law and judgment. I have come to accomplish a mighty salvation by saving My people from their sins, and this baptism is part of that salvation, because here in the Jordan, I stand in the place of all sinners to repent of their sins and fulfill all righteousness by taking all sins upon Myself.”
After hearing this, John consented and baptized Jesus. Then the heavens were opened to Jesus, “and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him.” The descent of the Holy Spirit also speaks to us about who Jesus is, and how He would fulfill all righteousness for us. In the Old Testament, one of the names for the Messiah was “Servant of the Lord.” When the Spirit descends on Jesus, this indicates that Jesus is the servant of the Lord predicted in Isaiah 42, which says the Lord would put His Spirit on His servant and the servant would bring forth righteousness for the nations. The baptism of Jesus shows that Isaiah’s prophecy had been fulfilled in Jesus.
The prophet Isaiah also speaks of the Servant of the Lord in several other chapters, and those apply to Jesus as well. In Isaiah 53, the Suffering Servant of the Lord is called the righteous one who would make many to be accounted righteous by bearing their iniquities and giving His life as a ransom for the many. Jesus undergoes baptism for sinners in order to take upon Himself all our iniquities. Later on in Matthew, Jesus would say, “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for the masses,” Matthew 20:28. In that passage, He points back to His baptism and to Isaiah 53 and shows that He is the Lord’s Servant who will die for the sins of the people, thus fulfilling all righteousness. God’s righteousness involves sending His Son to the cross for sinners.
Then, God the Father demonstrated once and for all His pleasure in Jesus by raising Him from the dead. The resurrection is the key. The fact that Jesus lives is proof positive that His Father is pleased with Him, that His baptism in the Jordan River, His perfect life, and atoning death have fulfilled all righteousness for us. And by baptism into Christ and faith in Him, we share in that saving righteousness and can stand witho
