Why was Jesus Baptized?

[Jabez]

I was asked this question,and i did not know.I am going to do a study on this to conclude my thoughts on it.Anyone have any thoughts?

[Tibby]

What you ever heard the joke about what does a full grown Elephant does?

He does what ever we wants. Maybe you forget, but Jesus is both GOD and the Son of GOD. Last time someone messed with the son of God, he beat them up and took their house key

Ok, for real, The main reason theologians believe he did this was to enter the priesthood. We all know about the old Testament prophecy about Jesus and the Melchizedek priesthood. This was part of it. One must be washed in water, anointed with oil, and be at least 30 years old to become an Old Testament Priest. He was al ready 30, the other 2 came when he was Baptized.

In Mat 3, John Asked him why. Just a few verses ago, he was talking about not even being worthy to touching his feet. Now Jesus wants to get Baptized by HIM. I’m sure he was as confused as you. In Verse 15 of Chapter 3, Jesus replied, and I quote "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." I think part of it was that he just didn’t want to be a “Do as I say, not as I do” kind of person. His life it and example to us, as it should be. Not just what he said, but what he did. For those that believe Baptism is required for salvation, it is seen as fulfillment of this. Just like he held the first “communion,” he was likewise baptized.

[Whitehorse]

Baptism sy,bolizes our death with Christ, the death of our sinful nature, because of what Jesus did on the cross. So we are partakers with Him. I believe He did it to symbolize what He was going to do-His sacrificial role. And possibly to set the example for us, because we are partaking with Him. In Jesus we are partaking in a new covenant, and He may have wanted to set the standard, so to speak, but that's my speculation.

[ollie]

Matthew 3:13.  Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
 14.  But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
 15.  And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
 16.  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
 17.  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Righteousness:

Strong's Number: 1343
Transliterated: dikaiosune
Phonetic: dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay

Text:  from 1342; equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification: --righteousness.


Becometh:

Strong's Number: 4241
Transliterated: prepo
Phonetic: prep'-o

Text:  apparently a primary verb; to tower up (be conspicuous), i.e. (by implication) to be suitable or proper (third person singular present indicative, often used impersonally, it is fit or right): --become, comely.

Jesus said, baptism was proper for us to fullfill all righteousness.

Who is the us?

Is it a reference to the Godhead, God, the Father, The Holy Spirit, and Jesus the Son of God?
Is it all who come to faith in Christ?
Is it Christ, John and those present at that time?
Is it Christ alone?

Whatever us is refering to, we are told that Christ, (us), was baptised to fullfill all righteousness.

Does this imply or infer that baptism for the faithful fullfills righteousness or makes one complete in the sanctification process of God to His saints?

Does Jesus set the example for all concerning baptism?

[Ralph]

  As John indicated, Jesus was morally perfect in every way and on His account needed no baptism; but Jesus was acting on behalf of those in Him. They were His sheep, chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. But they were also, in themselves, sinners. Thus the baptism of Jesus by John was essential to His fulfilling the law on their behalf. For that reason Jesus said, "suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." The "us" Jesus spoke of was Himself as a federal representative of those in Him.
He used "us" as a reference to Himself and all those in Him. By His obedience He fulfilled "all righteousness" not only by being baptized, but by every act of obedience throughout His life.
THAT is a righteousness we can fully rely upon as making us acceptable to the Father.

[Petro]

Jesus said, baptism was proper for us to fullfill all righteousness.

Who is the us?

The dialogue, in the verse in question is between Jesus and John, so the context clearly identifies who the "us" is, it refers to both of them.

It is understood from the text of the passage, that John understood perfectly that it was not needfull for him to baptize Jesus (sin He was sinless) but that he (John) needed to be baptized by Jesus .

Jesus indentified himself with those godly Israelites who were coming to be baptized unto repentance.

John understood that he must baptize Jesus, in order tyo make Him manifest to Israel the nation. (Jhn 1:31-33)

If we make the word "us" to include everyone;

Then the teaching that one must be water baptized, becomes a necessity, thus the reason for the teaching, that water Baptism is more than symbolic of the only one true Baptism with the Holy Spirit.


Blessings,

Petro

[Allinall]

Here's an interesting factor...it was after Jesus was baptized that...

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit's ministry was one of temporary measure.  That is, the Old Testament believer didn't have an indwelt Holy Spirit.  The Spirit came upon many in order that they would be able to perform certain tasks that God had called them too.  Take Samson for example, or Gideon.  God enabled them in specific ways to do the work He'd called them too. When the kings of Israel came on the scene, this practice didn't end.  Saul had the Spirit come upon him to enable this donkey-chaser to be a king!  When Saul disobeyed, that Spirit was taken away - that is, his ability to be king was removed.  Where did that ability and subsequent annointing go?  David!  This kingly annointing went on until the kingdoms was taken down (can't remember the fella right off the top of my head, but after him, no other kings were annointed with this Spiritual empowerment).  Not until the King had come...the Spirit landed on Jesus, as the same spiritual annointing for the kingship in times past.  Jesus was King.  BTW, this was also a sign that John the Baptist was to be looking for.  Just a side thought...

[2nd Timothy]

It seems to me that baptism is important, however, there is one example of a man that was not water baptised who entered heaven.  The thief on the cross was told by Jesus, he would be with him in paradise that day seems to say one can enter heaven without baptism (water).  On the other hand, I think water baptism is important simply because Jesus commanded it, and set the example.  

For me personally, I feel If I cannot be faithful with the smallest things Jesus asked, how can I be faithful with greater things?  

Grace and Peace!

[Petro]

I don't think true born again Christians would deny water baptism is unimportant, but compared to Baptism with the Holy Spirit, this is the One Baptism which matters of the two types spoken of in Gods Word.

When understood perfectly, there is no disagreement between children of God, who hold to the teaching of the Spirit concerning this issue, however, there are those who  count themselves to be of God, that teach contrary to the Word of God,

That water baptism is necessary for salvation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which causes confusion and division among the unlearned within the body of Christ, simply because some Christians chose to listen to mans teachings rather than the Spirits.

Some go so far as to teach, water baptism must of necessity precede the baptism of the Holy spirit, which is error, since the baptism in veiw is not of the Holy Spirit, at all but, with the Holy Spirit.

Quite a difference....



Blessings,

Petro

[2nd Timothy]

Very well stated Petro!

Grace and Peace!

[Mick]

As Jesus said to John,"Baptise me to fulfill the scriptures";notice he didn't say he needed baptism in order to receive the Holy Spirit,which as we know,he had already received at birth,as had John. Baptism was a popular harmless ceremony,and because Jesus came "not to destroy" harmless customs and traditions,he saw no harm in being baptised by John.
I haven't been baptised because it's not my style,as I've no interest in dead material atoms of H2O, and to his credit even a Baptist Minister told me its not necessary for salvation. Yet some people think it automatically makes them "holy" despite baptism and the coming of the holy spirit being completely unrelated:-
  "The holy spirit hadn't come upon the Samaritans as they'd simply been baptised" (Acts 8:16)
  And no doubt some baptised people think they're holier than those who haven't been.
  And  people who haven't been baptised might wrongly think they're inferior to someone who has been. See how divisive and satanic the subject of baptism can be when used by some to bully others into going through with it?
  Paul got fed up of people pestering him to baptise them. He said:-"Jesus sent me not to baptise,but to preach the gospel" (1 Cor 1:17)
  We need no weak water to wash us clean. Jesus said:- "You're already clean through the word I spoke to you" (John 15:3)
And when people asked Jesus "how can I receive eternal life?",Jesus made no mention of water-baptism being needed.
  Baptism is just a nice ceremony for those who like ceremony.If people think water has holy magic properties,it smacks of matter-worship,or idolatry.

[broken1]

I was raised southern baptist and I also after much biblical searching believe that baptism is simply a symbolic gesture to show ones newness in christ. I have often wondered why certain faiths baptise their infants? What is that all about? How can an infant choose a life with Christ and why do they need to be baptised? are they pure and free of sin when they are born? not trying to "bash" anyone just curious?

[Petro]

I was raised southern baptist and I also after much biblical searching believe that baptism is simply a symbolic gesture to show ones newness in christ. I have often wondered why certain faiths baptise their infants? What is that all about? How can an infant choose a life with Christ and why do they need to be baptised? are they pure and free of sin when they are born? not trying to "bash" anyone just curious?

broken1,

Hi, and Welcome to the forum.

Your question can be answered using one word;

Tradition.

Blessings,
Petro

[Tibby]

I was raised southern baptist and I also after much biblical searching believe that baptism is simply a symbolic gesture to show ones newness in christ. I have often wondered why certain faiths baptise their infants? What is that all about? How can an infant choose a life with Christ and why do they need to be baptised? are they pure and free of sin when they are born? not trying to "bash" anyone just curious?

This is a very deep question, and other that is hard to answer without bashing one or the other group. But I’ll try. It all comes down to the fact that these other groups view Baptism completely different from how there brothers and sisters in Christ do. It is hard to understand someone’s actions without first understanding their thinking.

Assuming that baptism is only a symbol, to baptize an infant is a waste of time. But these other groups do not believe it is only a symbol, they believe it is a requirement for salvation. So, assuming what they believe is true, the best thing to do would be to Baptist the Child as soon as possible. It is all a thing of perspective. They perceive Baptism differently then you do, so they naturally will treat is differently.

Disclaimer: I’m not trying to say perception is truth, only that the perception is at fault for the differences in beliefs.

Also, You must keep in mind that many of these groups view Salvation as a Journey. Southern Baptist run the area I live in, and they seem to understand salvation to be a “magic moment” where Jesus comes into your heart, and you are saved. But this is not the case with the other groups, they perceive salvation as a journey, and Baptist is just the first step, they view Baptism as a sort of consecration, a dedication. With this view, of course they would want to baptize a child, dedicate them to God, and start them on there Journey of Salvation.

I hope that answers your question. I tried to explain the how the other half thinks as best I could with being bias.

Of course, Petro is also right. Take a group of 10th generation Christians, and I’m willing to bet at least half of them do the whole Sunday thing because that is the tradition, the way it has always been done, not because they love God and want to please him. It is very sad. I see many Christians like that in this area. It is easier to drag yourself to church hungover from Saturday night then it is to be a Christian all week. Many of them take a medieval peasant view of God, as being some mystical creature in the sky. They show respect for “preachermen” and the church, but that is Tradition and fear, not love and respect.


One last thing before I post this:

are they pure and free of sin when they are born?

No. They are instantly born into sin.

[Petro]

broken1

I was pressed for time, when I answered you the first time.

As tibby as said,  "This is a very deep question"

The fact is that within the christian camp ther are two factions, one believes what the bible teaches; and that is that man is born into this life stained with what is known as "original sin", dead to the things of God, the verses top support this are found in;   Col2:13, Eph 2:1, 1 Cor 15:21-22, Rom9:1-15, etc etc.

The other, believes and teaches men are not born with original sin, but are perfectly sinless ( I am surprised tibby, posted what he did), and them when he reaches an age of accountability, sins and dies spiritually, and then at a later time comes to faith using their "free will",  the verses they use to support his are;  0

Tradition and church teachings...


Blessings,

Petro