Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
John 1:23-34 “John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, Make straight the way for the Lord.’
Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’
‘I baptize with water,‘ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.’
Then John gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.’”
Devotional: Do you ever find yourself wondering where this idea of baptism came from and why we practice it? There is perhaps no more compelling reason than the example Jesus gave as He came to be baptized by John the Baptist.
God had set in motion John’s ministry, which was to prepare the way for the Messiah- namely, Jesus. This ministry included calling people to repentance, and baptizing them, telling them to believe in the One to was to come (Acts 19:4). But when Jesus came to the Jordan where John was baptizing, the Spirit of God revealed to him Jesus’ identity as the One of whom John had been speaking. He was indeed the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.
Jesus’ baptism by John served to affirm all John had been teaching and preaching, and it served as an opportunity for God to affirm Jesus as His own Son “with whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus alone has the power to forgive sins. And as those who follow Him, we follow His example of baptism, not for the forgiveness of sins, but as a symbol of the forgiveness we’ve received when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Reflect:
- What has been your understanding of baptism up to this point?
- What do these passages reveal to you?
