Why the Baptism of Jesus?

     We find In Matthew 3:13-17 the narrative concerning the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. The baptism of Jesus is generally considered the launch point of His ministry as reflected in the confirmation of the baptism by the other two members of the godhead. A question that is sometimes raised about the baptism of Jesus is,” Why was He baptized?” John was preaching a message of repentance and baptism was a confirming step of obedience after repenting. The sinless son of God did not have to repent, yet He came to be baptized by John. John himself even pushed back about this baptism. In verse 14, John recognized that Jesus should be baptizing him, not the other way around.

     Jesus’s response to John’s objection is found in verse 15, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (NASB) Jesus insisted the baptism should go forward. In fact, he is commanding John to baptize Him when says “permit it” (imperative.) Jesus goes on to explain why He should be baptized. His explanation revolves around the phrase, “…to fulfill all righteousness.”

     Before delving into what this phrase means, it is important to understand that Jesus is not saying that He had to be baptized to meet a standard of righteousness. He is saying, instead, that it makes sense for Him to be baptized. This is clearly seen by Jesus’ usage of the Greek word prepō which means “fitting” or “right”. “Prepō expresses that which is proper and appropriate” (NIDNNT, 2:668). This is in contrast to other Greek words which emphasize obligation or requirement. Prepō is used six other times in the New Testament and gives us insight into the use of this word by Jesus here. “The common factor of all these instances of the word [in the NT] is the absence of external constraint and absolute necessity. In each case the person concerned could have acted otherwise. On the other hand, righteousness and exigencies of the situation make the conduct specified not only appropriate but imperative” (NIDNNT, 2:669).

     Jesus is saying that I don’t have to be baptized, but in carrying out the act of baptism, John and Jesus are going above and beyond the righteousness of the Law. Jesus clearly states later in Matthew that He came to fulfill the Law and the prophets (5:17). Jesus chose to be baptized because it was appropriate, it was proper to be an example to us in fulfilling righteousness. By His sinless life he was already fulfilling the righteous standards contained in the Law and the Prophets. Baptism is necessary only for those who repent of their sins. Jesus was exceeding this righteousness, as it applied to Him, in choosing to be baptized, though He was not under obligation.

     How did John respond? “Then he [John] permitted Him.” (vs15). John was quick to obey and Jesus was baptized. As was stated earlier, the baptism was recognized by God the Father and the Holy Spirit as seen by their responses.

     What do we learn from this event that Jesus saw as fitting to do, even though He was not obligated to fulfill it? In the context of the setting where this baptism took place, John was preaching a message of repentance and those who responded to his message and repented of their sins were baptized as a response to their repentance. As an aside, Jesus began to preach the exact same message that John was preaching. This is recorded in Matthew 4:17 and in John 3 where it speaks of Jesus and His disciples baptizing. What Jesus was conveying by His actions is that baptism in a necessary response to repentance. He states this very clearly in the Great Commission (Matthew 28: 19-20). His example of being baptized, though not required for salvation, reminds us how important baptism is to us who respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is an act of obedience to “fulfill righteousness.”

APPENDIX

Other places prepō is used in the New Testament

1 Cor 11:13                       Eph 4:3                             1 Tim 2:10

Tit 2:1                                Heb 2:10                           Heb 7:26

-David Staggers                                                                                  -August 8, 2021