Why Was Yeshua Baptized?

Author: Joseph

Date: November 17, 2019

As John is proclaiming repentance to the people, Yeshua approaches him in a startling way. Yeshua goes to John to be baptized by him.

John was preaching the need to repent and then be baptized as a sign of this repentance. While he was still doing this, Yeshua came before John insisting to receive this same baptism. John’s response made it clear he didn’t understand why the Messiah, who is supposed to take away the sin from the world, is taking on the act of baptism (which is a sign of repentance from sin).

"It was Yeshua’s will..."

Why did Yeshua go to John to be baptized if He had no need to repent? Yeshua’s response to John clarifies His intent, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). In other words, the act of baptism would not be a sign of repentance, but as an act of submission and a sign of humility and blamelessness before all men. It was Yeshua’s will to fulfill all righteousness.

Yeshua was God in the flesh, and as such, submitted himself to the requirements of humankind. His baptism was necessary for His fleshly body, which though not tainted by sin, needed to submit to the requirements of the flesh. He had to be blameless: fulfill all righteousness.

No one could accuse Him of not undergoing baptism and even more so, no one who witnessed His baptism could deny who He was. Yeshua was baptized and immediately after the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove and rested there. God spoke in that moment, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17). In the act of baptism, God was also able to reveal Yeshua as His Son before John and anyone who witnessed the event.

He underwent baptism as an act of humility and not because He Himself needed it. When God spoke and said that Yeshua was His Son, it became apparent that because of who He was, baptism did not have the same meaning for Him as it did everyone else. Yeshua did not need to be baptized. He chose to be baptized and humble Himself to a standard He was beyond.

Yeshua’s baptism was a record of His blamelessness, a moment of humility, and a revelation of His identity. What the baptism was for Yeshua helps us explain the answer to the initial question.

To state the question again, why was Yeshua baptized?

Yeshua was baptized to leave no room for doubt of His righteousness and who He was before He would begin His ministry.

In your own walk with God, how do you prepare yourself to do God’s work? Yeshua waited many years before beginning His ministry and ensured He did things the way God had planned for Him. Ensure that you are doing things God’s way, even if you already know what He has planned for you.

Matthew 3:13-17

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org