At first glance, it appears that Jesus’ baptism serves no purpose. John’s baptism was the baptism of repentance ( Matthew 3:11 ), yet Jesus was sinless and did not need to repent. Even John was surprised that Jesus came to him. John recognized his own sin and was aware that he himself, a sinful man in need of repentance, was not fit to baptize the spotless Lamb of God: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ( Matthew 3:14 ). Jesus replied that he should do so because “it is fitting that we fulfill all righteousness” ( Matthew 3:15 ).
There are several reasons why it was fitting for John to baptize Jesus at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus was about to embark on His great work, and it was fitting that He be publicly recognized by His forerunner. John was the “voice crying in the wilderness” prophesied by Isaiah, calling the people to repentance in preparation for their Messiah ( Isaiah 40:3 ). By baptizing Him, John was declaring to all that here was the One for whom they had been waiting, the Son of God, the One whom he had foretold He would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire” ( Matthew 3:11 ).
John’s baptism of Jesus takes on a particular dimension when we consider that John belonged to the tribe of Levi and was a direct descendant of Aaron. Luke specifies that both of John’s parents belonged to the Aaronic priestly line ( Luke 1:5 ). One of the duties of priests in the Old Testament was to present sacrifices before the Lord. The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist could be seen as a priestly presentation of the Supreme Sacrifice. John’s words on the day after the baptism have a distinctly priestly character: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” ( John 1:29 ).
Jesus’ baptism also showed that He identified with sinners. His baptism symbolized the baptism of sinners into the righteousness of Christ, dying with Him and rising again free from sin and able to walk in newness of life. His perfect righteousness would fulfill all the requirements of the Law for sinners who could never do so for themselves. When John hesitated to baptize the sinless Son of God, Jesus responded that it was fitting “to fulfill all righteousness” ( Matthew 3:15 ). In this way He alluded to the righteousness He provides for all who come to Him to exchange their sin for His righteousness ( 2 Corinthians 5:21 ).
Furthermore, Jesus’ coming to John showed His approval of John’s baptism, testifying that it was from heaven and approved of God. This would be important in the future when others began to doubt John’s authority, especially after his arrest by Herod ( Matthew 14:3-11 ).
Perhaps most importantly, the public baptism event recorded for all future generations the perfect incarnation of the triune God revealed in glory from heaven. The direct testimony from heaven of the Father’s good pleasure with the Son and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus ( Matthew 3:16-17 ) is a beautiful picture of the Triune nature of God. It also describes the work of the Father, Son, and Spirit in saving those Jesus came to save. The Father loves the elect from before the foundation of the world ( Ephesians 1:4 ); He sends His Son to seek and save the lost ( Luke 19:10 ); and the Spirit convicts of sin ( John 16:8 ) and draws the believer to the Father through the Son. All the glorious truth of God’s mercy through Jesus Christ is manifested in His baptism