NOTES for Mat 3:13-17

Why is Jesus baptized? He is sinless, and He does not need repentance. Is it to show us an example? But surely not a meaningless one. John the Baptist senses this very strongly, and therefore he "tried to prevent Him."

But this is exactly how Jesus "fulfills all righteousness," bringing righteousness in this world to its fullness, because by entering the water of baptism He makes it able to cleanse us from our sins. In this way He takes them upon Himself and then carries them to the Cross. And John, standing in that water, suddenly receives the possibility, unknown to people until then, of seeing God in the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and of hearing from heaven the revelation of God's good will, revealed in Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God.