Jesus Is Baptized

All four Gospels tell how Jesus' public life began at the Jordan River. Matthew's account is short, only five verses (Mt 3:13–17), but it is packed.

First, the setting. John the Baptist, Jesus' relative, had been preaching in the wilderness of Judea. He dressed like the prophets of old, in camel's hair with a leather belt, and he lived on locusts and wild honey (Mt 3:4). His message was urgent: turn away from sin, because God's kingdom is near. Crowds came from Jerusalem and the whole region, admitted their sins, and were baptized by him in the Jordan. John's baptism was a sign of repentance. It was not yet the sacrament of Baptism, but it prepared people for the one coming after him, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:11).

Then Jesus arrives from Galilee and asks to be baptized. John protests. He knows who is standing in front of him, and he says that he is the one who should be baptized by Jesus. Jesus tells him that this is part of God's plan, and that he means to do everything God asks. John gives in.

Why would Jesus, who never sinned, join a line of sinners? The Church answers that Jesus was already showing what kind of Savior he is. He doesn't save us from a safe distance. He comes down into the water with us, taking his place among sinners, the way he will later take our place on the Cross (CCC 536). John's Gospel adds that the Baptist called him the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29).

As Jesus comes up from the water, three things happen. The heavens open, like a door between God and his people. Jesus sees the Spirit of God coming down in the form of a dove and resting on him. And a voice from heaven, the Father's, speaks of Jesus as his own dear Son and of the joy he takes in him.

Notice the dove. In Genesis, a dove came back to Noah over the waters with an olive leaf, a sign that the flood was over and a new beginning had come (Gen 8:11). Here, over the waters again, the Spirit marks a new beginning in Jesus.

Notice, too, that the whole Trinity appears at once: the Father's voice, the Son in the river, the Spirit as a dove. It is one of the clearest moments in the Gospels showing that God is one God in three Persons.

For us, this is personal. In our own Baptism, we are joined to Jesus. Sin is washed away, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, and the Father adopts us as his sons and daughters (CCC 1265). What the Father said about Jesus at the Jordan, he now says, in a real way, about each baptized person, as if to tell them: you are mine, and I love you.