#DailyDevotion When You Are Baptized God Says, “You Are My Beloved Son.”

Matthew 3:13–17 ¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John tried to stop Him. “I need to be baptized by You,” he said, “and You come to me?” ¹⁵“Permit it now,” Jesus answered him. “That is how we should fulfill all righteousness.” Then John gave in to Him. ¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, He stepped out of the water, and now heaven was opened, and He saw God’s Spirit coming down on Him as a dove. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, Whom I love and delight in.”

John indeed speaks the truth when he tells Jesus, “I need to be baptized by You and You come to me?” John, though a prophet, was still a sinner like other men. He too was needing the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world, his sin. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People confessed their sins to John and he baptized them forgiving them their sins. But who would baptize John? We don’t know if Jesus ever returned the favor and baptized John. John would receive a baptism of martyrdom at the hands of Herod most assuredly.

But the reason why John needs to be baptized by Jesus is the reason he tries to stop Jesus from being baptized. Jesus is the Holy One of God. He is sinless. There is nothing for Jesus to confess. He does not need his sins washed away because he is pure and holy. He has never sinned in thought, word or deed. What will the people think if Jesus is baptized by John? Would they think he is a sinner too? Well, here at his baptism, Jesus is baptized into our sinfulness. He is baptized for us and in our place. When we were baptized we are identified with Jesus life, death and resurrection. When Jesus is baptized he is identified with our life, sin and death.

Jesus tells John to “Permit it now. That is how we should fulfill all righteousness.” What does that mean? How is Jesus fulfilling all righteousness by being baptized? Just this, what I said above. He is taking our place. It is not his righteousness that he is fulfilling but ours. He is baptized into fallen humanity and he will do what we cannot and will not do. We see this immediately after his baptism and he is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. When he is tempted he does not fall into the devil’s traps. He is not deceived into rebelling against God. He puts his trust in God’s Word, keeps God’s Word and continues to faithfully follow the will of the Father. In doing this, his active obedience becomes our own when we are baptized into him.

Following this we have this great epiphany not only of who Jesus is but a manifestation of the Holy Trinity. We have Jesus, the Son of God. We have the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus. We have the Father speaking. Each person of the Trinity, distinctly, and at that same moment making an appearance and manifestation of their glory. Modalism (yeah go look that up) is totally trashed by this scene. All three person exist, distinctly, at the same time, being one God, one Lord, one Holy, one Incompresible but each one those things in and of themselves.

Now the Father speaks these words to Jesus, “This is My Son, Whom I love and delight in.” Jesus is the Son, the Father’s Son. Now look, when you are baptized into the Son, Jesus, the Father said to you also, “This is my beloved son” and you too receive the Holy Spirit.

Merciful God and Father, let us recognize Jesus as your beloved Son in his baptism and by baptism into him give us faith so we may hear those words spoken to us as well. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.