Matthew 3 - Why Did John Baptize Jesus?

Matthew 3 - The Passion Translation (TPT)

Matthew 3 - New International Version (NIV)

Enduring Word Commentary All commentary notes will come from EW unless other noted.

3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”(Isaiah 40:3)4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

John the Baptist was the cousin of Jesus, as Elizabeth was a relative of Mary. John was known as the "Baptizer". His baptism of water was one of repentance. This was not the baptism, which we will learn about after Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. It was a baptism for the cleansing from sin, as evidenced by turning from sin to God. Gentile converts to Judaism were given a siimilar water baptism as they became part of the Jewish faith. 

John's message was, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near." Jesus came to show us what heaven is like. The principle of God's kingdom coming through Jesus, and then coming through us through the power of the Holy Spirit. I like the way the TPT translates this passage. 

Heaven’s kingdom  is about to appear—so you’d better keep turning away from evil and turn back to God!”  (TPT)

Remember Israel had not seen or heard from a prophet in about 500 years. It was a period of darkness and silence from God. The people of God had waited for a long time for the Messiah, and now John was announcing His arrival. John's lifestyle mirrored the prophets of his time. He led a very austere lifestyle, which was characterized by his home in the wilderness, and a diet of locusts and wild honey. At least he got carbs and protein. LOL.

John’s message was a call to repentance. Some people think that repentance is mostly about feelings, especially feeling sorry for your sin. It is wonderful to feel sorry about your sin, but repent isn’t a “feelings” word. It is an action word. John told his listeners to make a change of the mind, not merely to feel sorry for what they had done. Repentance speaks of a change of direction, not a sorrow in the heart. 

John’s main message wasn’t “You’re a sinner, you need to repent.” John’s main message was “Messiah the King is coming.” The call to repentance was the response to the news that the King and His kingdom were coming – indeed, already here in one sense.

John’s ministry met with wonderful response. There were many people who recognized their sinfulness, their need to get ready for the Messiah, and were willing to do something about it.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

We can see that Jobn was not much of a "people pleaser", as when he saw the religious leaders (Pharisees and Sadducees), he called them a brood of vipers (snakes). He wondered why they sbowed up to see what was happening. Were they there to repent and be baptized, or to see if their authority was being undermined or threatened. 

John had a very stern message for them, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance". They likely weren't very responsive to this message, as they were the religious authorities and told people what to do. The language of "being a sinner" was foreign to them. 

As children of Abraham, they had already been accepted by God. Therefore, this only applied to the Gentiles, who were the "real sinners". But John quickly dispelled the notion of riding on Abraham's coattails by telling them if they didn't bear fruit worthy of repentance, like any dead tree, they would be cut down and thrown into the fire. 

The message was clear. The only way to become ready for Jesus' kingdom was to repent from a lifestyle opposed to God's way of life. The message was for everyone. Jew or Gentile, religous leaders and everyone in between. 

The message today is the same. Repentance is a way of life for a Christian. Not just when we come to faith in Jesus but every day of our life, as we confess our sin and turn from what we know is wrong. It is only as we live in this rhythm of life do we live lives marked by the kingdom coming in and through us and in the Church. 

But when he saw many coming from among the wealthy elite of Jewish society  and many of the religious leaders known as Pharisees  coming to witness the baptism, he began to denounce them, saying, “You offspring of vipers!  Who warned you to slither away like snakes from the fire of God’s judgment?  8You must prove your repentance by a changed life. 9And don’t presume you can get away with merely saying to yourselves, ‘But we’re Abraham’s descendants!’ For I tell you, God can away. (TPT Version)

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming: This is our introduction to these two important groups in first-century Judaism. These two groups were very different and often in conflict. Together they represented the leadership of Judaism.

Bruce called the Pharisees “Legal precisians, virtuosi in religion.” Of the Sadducees, he said they were “Men of affairs and of the world, largely of the sacerdotal class.”

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John is referring to Jesus' baptism. John acknowledges the superior nature of Jesus' baptism. Jesus' baptism will be with the Holy Spirit and fire. The Holy Spirit and fire here carry the idea of judgment. Fire burns out the impurities and it would be the Holy Spirit who purifies us. We often think of Jesus being all about grace but there is also a side of judgment. 

We acknowledge when we say in the Apostle's Creed, "Jesus will come back to judge the living and the dead."

The metaphor of the wheat and chaff being separated is a popular one in the bible. 

To baptize with fire means to bring the fires of judgment, which will purify the pure, but destroy the wicked like chaff. Chaff is the worthless residue of a wheat stalk after the kernel of grain has been removed. These proud and unrepentant leaders were just as useless to God. “Purification by fire was also a prophetic hope (Isaiah 4:4; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:2; cf. Isaiah 1:25). John therefore predicts a real cleansing, in contrast with his own merely outward token.” (France)

“A winnowing fork tossed both unto the air. The wind blew the chaff away, and the heavier grain fell to be gathered up from the ground. The scattered chaff was swept up and burned and the threshing floor cleared.” (Carson)

The Baptism of Jesus

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

The most important thing to say about Jesus' baptism is that Jesus was not baptized because he was a sinner. As it says was baptized "to fulfill all righteousness." 

The TPT translates this verse, "Jesus replied, “It is only right to do all that God requires."

As Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, when he came up out of the water (i.e. this was a full immersion baptism) the heavens opened and the Spirit of God literally descended on Jesus. I.e. Everyone could see it. The Holy Spirit is characterized as a "dove". The dove is a symbol of peace. It was a dove came on the scene after the flood to let Noah know the waters had receded and brought a leaf to him to prove it. 

I absolutely love the TPT's translation of these verses, 

Jesus rose up out of the water, the heavenly realm opened up over him  and he saw the Holy Spirit descend out of the heavens and rest upon him in the form of a dove.  17Then suddenly the voice of the Father shouted from the sky, saying, “This is my Son—the Beloved!  My greatest delight is in him.”

The baptism was also an inauguration of Jesus' public ministry. I am sure there were many amazing things Jesus did between his teaching at the temple as a teenager and the beginnng of his ministry here at his baptism. As we will see everything Jesus from this time going forward was done in the power of the Spirit. 

We also see a unique time in the bible when we see a description of the Trinity. Jesus was baptized, as the Holy Spirit was poured out on Him, and the Father proclaimed from heaven. "This my Son - the Beloved! My greatest delight in Him" (TPT). The NIV translates, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

The bottom line is that in a very public way Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit through baptism and he received the blessing and commendation of the Father to start His ministry. This was all in plain view. They saw the Spirit descending on Jesus and heard the Father's commendation of His Son. 

We see the importance of baptism in this passage. The apostle Paul says there is "one baptism for the forgiveness of sin." There will always be debates on whether the bible teaches adult or infant baptism? There is scriptural evidence for both we don't have time to go into here, but the bottom line as Mark 16:16 states, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved!"

The two sacraments in the Protestant church are Baptism and Communion. In Baptism we are made part of God's family, and at Communion we take part in the family meal where we are nutured by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Did you know that God delights in you? He proved it when He sent His only Son to die for you! Many people never experience God's unfailing love for them. Yes, we need to repent and turn from our sin and turn to God, but this too is out of God's love for us. 

Repentance is turning from a life of trusting in one's self to trusting in God. If we believe God has the best plan our lives (after all why not?) why would we not repent from sin and live the life he has called us to live. 

Christian writer and pastor John Ortberg wrote a great book called, "The Life You've Always Wanted!"