What's Up with Jesus' Baptism?

A Puzzling Baptism

What's up with Jesus' baptism? All the Gospel accounts from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John report that John is a forerunner of Jesus. He points the way. He prepares the way for Jesus. But then John baptises Jesus.

Matthew highlights John's discomfort about this. John hesitates. He expresses his concern. John knows Jesus is greater than him, and he sees this as a time for Jesus to take centre stage.

Jesus doesn't agree.

It's quite reasonable for John to think Jesus has got things back to front and upside down — but that's a feature of Jesus' life, isn't it? And of his Gospel. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. It was not normal for a student to baptise the teacher, the sign to override the goal, the lesser one to overshadow the greater one. But here we are, seeing Jesus being baptised by John. A new thing is happening. A new era has begun.

Why Would Jesus Need Baptism?

Moreover, John was performing baptism for repentance. How or why would Jesus need a mode for repentance? What sin could Jesus have to confess? What would he need forgiveness for?

There is a sense in which baptism is about cleansing, but it's much more than that. It's about being immersed in something, becoming one with it, absorbing it. It also has a sense of drowning, of perishing, of losing to become something else — something better.

In the baptism of repentance, they lose the sin. It's washed away. It perishes, and a new person emerges with new life, new purpose, and new affiliations.

A New Beginning

Jesus is baptised by John. It isn't for his own sin. It isn't for his own cleansing. Is it about him emerging with new life, new responsibilities, renewed affiliations? He takes up his ministry in a new relationship with those around him. Filled with the Spirit of God, it is a new beginning. It is a letting go of how he lived.

Is his baptism about Jesus being a representative human being, taking on the nature and the needs of humanity — like a bookend to the crucifixion — taking on our sin and perishing in the water of baptism to rise anew?

Divine Solidarity with Humanity

Is baptism about Jesus' solidarity with humanity? Is Jesus immersed into his creation in a way additional to that of his incarnation, his birth as human? The divine meets in solidarity with humanity. Heaven and earth combine in this humble act of submission, in a way similar to a king washing the feet of his servants.

In this act of receiving baptism, Jesus becomes one with us, his creation.

The baptism of Jesus is more about God's solidarity with us than it is about our sinfulness.

God has chosen to side with us. God chooses to be for us. Whatever strife we face, Jesus is immersed in it with us — and he's showing us the way to live in solidarity with others.

Solidarity in Action

On New Year's Eve of 2011, Coptic Christians were leaving church in Alexandria, Egypt, after celebrating Holy Communion. Early on that New Year's Day, a bomb went off, killing 23 people and wounding 97 others. Many lives were destroyed. Many were angry. Many sought revenge.

Some found a way forward through the actions of Muslims who stood against the way of violence. A large number of Muslims attended subsequent church services in an act of solidarity. Others stood outside the churches as human shields to deter further violence against Christian worshippers.

As Michael Marsh describes it:

That was an act of baptism. They immersed their lives so deeply into the lives of others that whether they lived or they died, they did so in solidarity. They did for other human beings what Jesus did for all humanity.

Imagine. Righteousness was fulfilled. The heavens opened. The Spirit descended, and God was pleased.

God Is With You and For You

"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." These words affirm that what Jesus had done had fulfilled all righteousness. It was the right move. Being baptised, being one with creation and humanity, being with us in the messiness of our lives — this is God's will for Jesus.

So what's up with Jesus' baptism? How do you make sense of it? And can you be confident in such a God who is with you and for you?