Why Did Jesus Get Baptized? (Part 1)

Jesus’ Baptism Signals the Dawn of a New Era.

Photo by Vince Fleming on Unsplash

“21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’ -Luke 3:21-23 (NIV)

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Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose to be baptized? Whatever his reasons were, they couldn’t be the same as ours. Today, people are baptized after they come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and make the decision to follow him as their Lord and Savior. They receive the tangible blessings that God associates with baptism in the Bible, like the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

But that doesn’t seem to apply to Jesus, does it? We know from Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life—meaning he never did anything wrong that would separate him from God or make him guilty. So why would he choose to be baptized along with all the other people in Israel who were being told to repent (Matthew 3:2) and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins (Luke 3:3)?

Reframing Jesus’ Baptism

Part of the reason the baptism of Jesus has always seemed a little odd to me is because my stream of Christianity (Restoration Movement / Churches of Christ) has primarily talked about baptism in the context of an individual sinner responding to the Gospel message. Our main frame of reference has been an individual hearing the message, believing the truth about Jesus, repenting of their sins, confessing their faith that Jesus is the son of God and then being baptized for the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (based on a variety of passages including Acts 2:38).

But that frame of reference just doesn’t explain why Jesus—the perfect, sinless son of God would want (let alone need) to be baptized. So why did Jesus get baptized?

There’s three things that are worth mentioning about the baptism of Jesus, which I will divide into separate posts:

1. It signals the dawn of a new era, both for the people of God and in the earthly life of Jesus.

2. It reveals something important about the identity and mission of Jesus.

3. It foreshadows the blessings that future believers will experience in baptism.

The Baptism of Jesus Signals the Dawn of a New Era.

Water stories are common in the Bible, and they frequently symbolize a transition from something old to something new. In Genesis 1, the Spirit of God hovers over the waters before God begins speaking the universe into existence. In the next chapter, the streams of water in Eden are mentioned right before the creation of Adam (Genesis 2:5-7). In both instances water is strongly associated with the creation of new life.

And then the stories of Noah, Moses, Joshua, Namaan, and Jonah (to name a few) demonstrate the way that God uses water to symbolize a fresh start, whether it’s for the world as a whole, or for one nation, or one family, or even for one individual.

John Mark Hicks and Greg Taylor make this point about these water stories in their book Down in the River to Pray:

“Water rituals represent a transition—from the old world to the new world (Noah), from bondage to freedom (Israel) and from impurity to purity (Levitical rituals). Water rituals cleanse the participants and prepare them for entrance into something new, free, and pure. They sanctify a people for God’s holy presence.” Hicks & Taylor, Down in the River to Pray, 45.¹

One reason Jesus was baptized was to signal the dawn of a new era. So what kind of change was taking place?

A New Era for God’s People

On the one hand, this was a new era for God’s people as a whole. John the Baptist had been busy preaching about the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God, and called upon the people of Israel to repent in preparation for the arrival of the Messiah. The baptism of Jesus signals that this new age—what the prophets of Israel and the early Christians called “the last days” (see Isaiah 2:2, Acts 2:17, and Hebrews 1:2)—was about to begin. The arrival of the Messiah is a turning point in God’s great plan of redemption—in the same vein as the flood in the days of Noah or the crossing of the Red Sea.

A New Chapter in the Life of Jesus

On the other hand, the baptism of Jesus was a turning point in his life specifically. Luke tells us that Jesus’ public ministry did not begin until he was 30 years old. Prior to his baptism, Jesus was essentially a private individual. We know very little about his life up to this point other than the account of his birth and a story about him teaching in the Temple when he was twelve. But after his baptism, he began publicly preaching, teaching, and performing miracles throughout Israel. And that’s why in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the two stories right after the baptism of Jesus are his temptation in the wilderness and the preaching of his first sermon.

Summary & Application

The Gospel writers are inviting us to see the baptism of Jesus as a pivotal moment in the salvation history of God’s people, as well as a turning point in the life of Jesus specifically. By connecting the baptism of Jesus to the water stories of the Old Testament, we can see how God was using this moment as a way of telling his people that something new and exciting was about to unfold.

And that idea of a fresh start or a turning point is a great way to think about our experience in baptism as well. In Romans 6:3-5, Paul describes baptism a death, burial and resurrection that mirrors the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus:

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” -Romans 6:4 (NIV)

Reflection Question: How was your baptism a turning point in your life? What kind of transition takes place when a person is baptized into Christ?

1. Down in the River to Pray on Amazon: https://a.co/d/9YAiJiR.