Why Did Jesus Get Baptized? (Part 3)
What The Baptism of Jesus Tells us About Our Own Baptism
In part 1 of this series on why Jesus got baptized, we explored the way the baptism of Jesus signaled the dawn of a new era for the people of Israel and for Jesus specifically.
In part 2, we focused on the what the baptism of Jesus tells us about his identity and mission as the Son of God who came to bring salvation to the world.
In this third and final post, we’ll explore the way the baptism of Jesus gives us a free preview of four spiritual blessings we experience when we’re baptized into Christ:
Being united with Jesus.
Receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Being commissioned to go and serve.
Being adopted as God’s children.
1. United with Humanity
“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too.” -Luke 3:21 (NIV)
When Jesus entered the waters of baptism, he didn’t do it as a guilty sinner in need of repentance and forgiveness. He entered the waters as the perfect savior. So why did he get baptized? Part of the reason was to express his solidarity with the sinners he came to save.
One of the names given to Jesus in the Bible is Immanuel — which means God is With Us. A key reason Jesus was baptized at the same time and in the same place as the rest of (sinful) Israel was to show that he was the “With-Us-God” who wasn’t afraid to walk alongside us.
John Mark Hicks and Greg Taylor comment on this aspect of the baptism of Jesus in their book Down in the River to Pray:
“Jesus identifies with sinners through he waters of John’s baptism. He undergoes a ritual designed for penitent sinners. He goes down in the river with ‘all the people’ and identifies himself with a people who need cleansing. Jesus dives in with his people who are looking for the kingdom of God. Through baptism Jesus joins himself to his people and experiences solidarity with them.” (p. 53).
So how is this a preview of our experience in baptism? Through baptism, Jesus was united with people like us. And in baptism, people like us can be united with Jesus.
Paul writes about this in Romans 6:3-5:
“3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (NIV)
Baptism is meant to symbolize the union of an individual sinner in need of a savior with Jesus, the perfect savior who died for the sins of the world.
2. Anointed with the Spirit
“And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.” -Luke 3:21-22 (NIV)
Just after Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit came and rested on him. This is an important foreshadow of the way that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when we’re baptized into Christ, as Peter talks about in Acts 2:38:
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV)
Beyond this example in Acts 2, several of the other baptism stories in Acts demonstrate a strong connection between being baptized into Christ and receiving the gift of the Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit comes during baptism (Pentecost in Acts 2 and Paul in Acts 9), sometimes shortly after (the Samaritans in Acts 8), and other times just before (Cornelius in Acts 10), but we shouldn’t miss the point that in all of these cases the gift of the Spirit is given in the broader context of being baptized into Christ.
3. Commissioned for Ministry
“Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.” -Luke 3:23 (NIV)
Part 2 of our series on the baptism of Jesus focused on the way his baptism served as a call to ministry. The most obvious way we see that is the fact that Jesus began his public ministry (preaching, teaching, healing) immediately after his baptism.
When a person is baptized in Christ, they are called to begin serving in the Kingdom of God. Their new life in Christ involves a new perspective, new priorities, and a new calling. The water stories of the Old Testament demonstrate this theme of a new calling on the other side of the water.
When God’s people passed through the waters, they were often given a new mission in life:
After God sent water into the Garden of Eden, he put Adam there to “work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15, NIV)
After Noah’s family was saved from the flood, he was called to “be fruitful and increase in number” (Genesis 8:17, NIV)
After Moses led Israel through the Red Sea, God met him on Mt. Sinai and gave them the Law of Moses to follow.
After Joshua led Israel across the Jordan River, the people of Israel were called upon to conquer the Promised Land.
After Jonah spent three days in the belly of the fish, he was called to go preach in Nineveh.
Paul’s baptism story also shows the connection between being baptized into Christ and receiving a new mission or calling to pursue (see Acts 22:15-16). In Ephesians 2:8-10, Paul talks about the connection between our conversion to Christ and our new calling from Christ:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV)
The baptism of Jesus helps us see how our baptism into Christ gives us a new calling and purpose in life. We no longer live for ourselves—we live to do the good works God has prepared in advance for us to do.
4. Affirmed as God’s Son
“And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” -Luke 3:22 (NIV)
During the baptism of Jesus, God affirmed the all-important truth that Jesus was the Son of God. And although we can never be a son or daughter of the God in the same was Jesus is, the Bible does tell us that everyone who has the Spirit of God—given in baptism—has been adopted as a son or daughter of God.
Paul talks about this adopting in Romans 8:14-16:
“14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (NIV)
When a person is baptized into Christ, they are added to God’s family. They aren’t added as a servant, an employee, or a weird uncle that everyone begrudgingly tolerates simply because they’re family—they are adopted as the beloved children of their Heavenly Father. In that light, baptism can be seen as our adoption ceremony.
Summary
The baptism of Jesus foreshadows four important things that happen when a person is baptized into Christ:
When Jesus was baptized, he was united with the people he came to save. When we are baptized, we are united with Jesus, the one who saves us.
When Jesus was baptized, he was anointed with the Holy Spirit. When we are baptized, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus was baptized, he was commissioned for ministry. When we are baptized, we are given a new calling and purpose in life.
When Jesus was baptized, he was affirmed as God’s son. When we are baptized, we are adopted into God’s family.
This series has really helped me see how personally Jesus is involved in my life. Sometimes I need to be assured that I am chosen by God, not just part of an anonymous group. I also appreciate the reminder that I have God's Holy Spirit to help me live each day in a way that pleases God.
My takeaway-
“There is something that God wants me to know, feel, or do differently because of what I am about to read.”
God wants me to know and experience the blessings that come through baptism. I so appreciate that Jesus, God in the flesh, demonstrated his humanity and was always right there in the midst of sinners, including in his baptism. Such humility! I am grateful for the blessing of his spirit to guide me. I am also grateful to have a heavenly purpose in life, beyond self and focused on being a blessing to others. Finally, I’m grateful to be called God’s daughter, to belong to him, and to be part of his family. I love this sense of belonging!
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 2:38-39