Baptism of the Lord: context

Matthew 3: ¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” ¹⁵ Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. ¹⁶ After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him. ¹⁷ And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Context. The story of Jesus in Matthew 3:1–4:16 is bracketed by John the Baptist’s ministry.

• In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea (and) saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (3:1-2).
• From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (4:17)

John prepared the way for Jesus and his ministry. Where John’s proclamation is that the kingdom is “right around the corner,” Jesus announces that the kingdom is here in the person of the Messiah, the Son of God.  The “inauguration” of the in-breaking of the kingdom (kairos) into Time (chromos) occurs at the baptism of Jesus which serves as the occasion for the coming of the Spirit and the Father’s approval of his beloved son.

And all of this is then immediately tested by Satan (4:1) in the periscope that follows our text. There Matthew continues to show Jesus as the fulfillment of the Covenant – where Israel failed in the desert, giving into temptation, Jesus is obedient and faithful to his Father.  Tested, Jesus then becomes the “new Moses” announcing far more that the promised land – announcing the presence of the Kingdom of God.

Commentary. That Jesus was baptized by John is undoubtedly a historical fact. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus received from John a baptism connected with repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It is inconceivable that the early Christians, who held Jesus in such high esteem, would have invented a story in which Jesus received something from John and that this reception would involve the baptism of repentance.

Matthew uses this scene to bring the adult Jesus onto the narrative stage for the first time, to present him and his mission to the reader in terms of his own Christology.  By bringing Jesus into the on-going story of John (3:1-12) Matthew preserves the continuity of salvation history from the OT through John to Jesus. It is clear that the continuity is at the initiative of Jesus.

The gospel text naturally divides into two parts: (1) the discussion that precedes the baptism, and (2) the scene following the baptism when he came up from the water (v.16).  Within the first division there is one question which begs to be answered – why did Jesus receive the baptism of John?  The ancillary context is “….Jesus had no sin, and so had no need for baptism – did he?”  Within the second division is the more basic question – “What does all that happened – the voice from heaven, the coming of the Spirit – what does it mean?”