Spiritual Corner -- Why Was Jesus Baptized?

At the beginning of His public life, Jesus first went to the Jordan River and was baptized by John the Baptist.

At that time, John was a recognised prophet. He was the cry in the wilderness, calling for people to repent and stay away from sinful life. People from all places came to him to be baptized by him. John's baptism was the “baptism of repentance”. According to the practice at that time, people needed to come to John, confess their sins, and then be baptized. But the question is, Jesus had not sinned, so why should He be baptized by John?

According to the Gospel of Matthew, John tried to prevent Jesus from doing this, but Jesus replied, “Just permit it for now; for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) However, Jesus’ answer is like a mystery.

Pope Benedict XVI explained that although Jesus had not sinned yet, He had to be baptized in the same way as He had to walk the way of the cross. Since Jesus was God who became man and lived among us, He had not only become one of us superficially but sinners like us. Thus He bore all our sins on His own shoulders. He seemed to have become a sinner, and He began his public life as a sinner. As foretold by the prophet Isaiah, “Because He poured out His life to death, and was counted among the transgressors, He himself bore and took away the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12). Therefore, Jesus carried the sins of all mankind on His shoulders and accepted the baptism of John, just as three years later, He carried the sins of all people and went up to Mount Calvary and sacrificed Himself to atone for their sins.

Therefore, Jesus was baptized for all of us, just as He has done everything for our salvation. May we all be grateful to Jesus and offer our praises and thankfulness to Him all the time.

Yours,
Fr. Matthew Wang