With Opened Bible
Baptism of the Lord
“John tried to prevent him, saying,
“I need to be baptized by you,
and yet you are coming to me?”(John 3:14)
The Christmas season concludes with the baptism of the Lord. This event marks the beginning of his public ministry and shows how Jesus embraced our humanity to bring salvation. He did as all sinners did when they came to John after hearing his message, calling them to repentance. But one question remains: if John only baptized sinners as a sign of conversion, why did Jesus also receive this so-called baptism of repentance?
John baptized the crowds for conversion to demonstrate the change required by the confession of sins. (Matthew 3:8, 11; Mark 1:4-5) It was proof of the conversion brought about by the message of salvation. Returning to Scripture, we discover that Jesus never sinned. (See 1 John 3:5; Hebrews 4:15) Therefore, he did not need conversion, nor a baptism of repentance. Thus, Jesus wanted to reveal to us a truth beyond what we know.
Through the Holy Scriptures, we discover three major reasons why Jesus received the baptism of repentance.
First, he wanted to reveal to the world that salvation comes from a Triune God. In the Jordan River, the Trinity manifested itself in tangible ways: the Son in the water, the voice of the Father in the clouds, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. (See Mark 1:10-11) Jesus' willingness to share in our human condition should inspire us to feel gratitude for God's love.
Second, his baptism enabled the fulfillment of all righteousness. (See Matthew 3:15) Jesus is the one in whom God accomplishes his righteousness.
Third, he embraced our sinful humanity to raise it to the Father. He became one of us: “For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus shared inour humanity before revealing his divinity to us.
In celebrating the Baptism of the Lord, the Church, Mother and Teacher, reminds us that it is the Trinity that saves us and that grace and truth have come to us in Jesus, the God-Man. (cf. John 1:17)
