Baptism Sunday

At first glance, it seems that Jesus’ baptism has no purpose at all. John’s baptism was the baptism of repentance (

), but Jesus was sinless and had no need of repentance. Even John was taken aback at Jesus’ coming to him.

John recognized his own sin and was aware that he, a sinful man in need of repentance himself, was unfit to baptize the spotless Lamb of God: “I need to be baptized by You and You are coming to me?” (

). Jesus replied that it should be done because “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (

).

“All the righteousness that would be required of men before the court of God Jesus performed.”

3. Jesus insisted on being baptized is that this new people who were being gathered by John the Baptist on the basis of repentance and faith, not on the basis of Jewishness, would need to be justified. They are not, like the Pharisees, depending on their ethnicity or their religious pedigree by saying, “We have Abraham as our father.”

4. Jesus insisted on being baptized is that this new people who were being gathered by John the Baptist on the basis of repentance and faith, not on the basis of Jewishness, would need to be justified.

There are several reasons why it was fitting for John to baptize Jesus at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.

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John Piper

First, 

 says that people were coming to be baptized confessing their sins. And then he quotes John in 

: “I baptize you with water for repentance.” So Matthew was making plain that the purpose of John’s baptism was to provide an occasion for Jewish people to confess their sins and repent and get right with God. That is the first thing.

Second, John makes clear that his baptism of repentance is bringing into being a people of God for the coming Messiah, and that he is bringing this people into being with an identity that is not identical with their Jewishness, but with their repentance.

We see it in 

. He says to the Pharisees who had come out to the river, “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” What does that mean? It means there is no salvation and no security in claiming your lineage from Abraham.

God is free in choosing who will be in his people. He can make saints of his own, out of rocks if he wanted to. So the new people of God that are being gathered by this baptism being prepared for the coming Messiah, Jesus, are marked by repentance and the fruit that comes from repentance.

Jesus had read Isaiah 53. Indeed, Isaiah 53 was his life mission. And here is what he read in verse 11: “By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous.” The righteous one will cause many to be counted righteous.

.

They would need to be counted righteous, because they weren’t righteous. They would need to have a righteousness not their own, as Paul said in 

.

by sharing their baptism.