Commentary - Matthew 3:13-17

Bird's-eye view

The baptism of Jesus is a pivotal moment in redemptive history, marking the formal inauguration of His public ministry. It is an event saturated with Trinitarian glory and profound covenantal significance. Here, the sinless Son of God identifies with sinful humanity, not because He has any sin to repent of, but in order to "fulfill all righteousness." This is not a private act of piety; it is a public coronation. The heavens are torn open, the Spirit descends, and the Father speaks, anointing and commissioning His beloved Son for the work of salvation. This event is the formal presentation of the King. John the Baptist, the last prophet of the old covenant, rightly recognizes his own unworthiness and the supreme worthiness of Christ, yet he obeys the Lord's command. The baptism of Jesus is therefore a foundational event, establishing His identity as the messianic King, His solidarity with His people, and the Trinitarian nature of the salvation He has come to accomplish.

In this one scene, we see the whole gospel in miniature. We see the humility of the Son, the anointing of the Spirit, and the approbation of the Father. Jesus, the second Adam, stands in the water as the representative head of a new humanity. His baptism is not for His own sin, but for ours. He is identifying with us in our need so that we might be identified with Him in His righteousness. The voice from heaven is the ultimate divine testimony, declaring to the world who this man is. This is the starting gun of His ministry, the moment He steps onto the public stage to begin the work that will culminate at the cross and the empty tomb.

Outline

Context In Matthew

Matthew has just introduced us to John the Baptist, the forerunner prophesied by Isaiah, who is preparing the way for the Lord with a baptism of repentance. John's ministry creates a great stir, drawing crowds from all over Judea. His message is one of urgent repentance in light of the coming King and His impending judgment. He is the transitional figure, the hinge between the old covenant and the new. It is into this charged atmosphere that Jesus, who has been living in obscurity in Galilee for thirty years, now steps. His arrival at the Jordan is His first public act. This event immediately follows John's fiery preaching and serves as the divine answer to the question on everyone's mind: who is the "mightier one" that John spoke of? The baptism of Jesus is His anointing, His official commissioning for the ministry that Matthew will go on to record, beginning with the temptation in the wilderness, followed by the Sermon on the Mount, and leading inexorably to Jerusalem and the cross.

Key Issues

The Great Reversal

The scene at the Jordan is a picture of a great and glorious reversal. The one who is infinitely greater humbles himself to come to the one who is lesser. The one who has no need of repentance submits to a baptism of repentance. The one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire submits to a baptism of water. This is the nature of the incarnation and the gospel itself. The Lord of glory condescends. John the Baptist understands this, which is why he is so resistant. "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" John's theology was straight. He knew who was who. He knew that the flow of blessing should be from Jesus to him, not the other way around.

But Jesus insists. Why? Because His entire mission is one of substitutionary identification. He stands in the place of sinners. He takes on our obligations. He goes where we were supposed to go, into the waters of judgment, so that we might receive what we did not deserve, the approbation of the Father. Jesus is not being baptized because He is a sinner. He is being baptized because we are sinners and He is our substitute. He is beginning His public ministry by stepping into our shoes, identifying with our plight, and taking our place. This is the gospel. The righteous for the unrighteous. The king for the rebels. This act at the Jordan is the first public step on the road to the cross, where this same principle of substitutionary identification will find its ultimate expression.

Verse by Verse Commentary

13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him.

After thirty years of quiet, obedient life in Nazareth, the time has come. Jesus makes the journey from Galilee down to the Jordan, where John's ministry is in full swing. He comes with a specific purpose: "to be baptized by him." This is an intentional, deliberate act. The King is not swept up in the revival; He is the reason for the revival. He comes to the prophet, the greater to the lesser, initiating an action that seems, on the surface, to be entirely backwards. This is the humility of the Son, who "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant" (Phil 2:7). He comes to place Himself under the ministry of His own forerunner.

14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”

John's reaction is one of shock and profound theological correctness. He knows who Jesus is. He had earlier declared that he was unworthy to untie Jesus' sandals. His baptism was for sinners repenting, and here stands the sinless Lamb of God. John's protest is born of humility and a right understanding of Jesus' identity. "I am the one who needs what you give, not the other way around." John sees the incongruity. The sinner should not be baptizing the Savior. The creature should not be ministering to the Creator. His resistance is not rebellion; it is reverence.

15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.

Jesus' response is gentle but firm. "Permit it at this time." This is a divine necessity for this specific moment in redemptive history. And the reason is foundational: "it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." This is a dense and crucial phrase. Jesus is not confessing any personal sin. Rather, He is identifying Himself with sinful humanity as their representative. He is submitting to every requirement of God's law, not for Himself, but on our behalf. As the second Adam, He must succeed where the first Adam failed. This includes identifying with the repentant remnant of Israel that John was gathering. It was an act of solidarity. By submitting to this baptism, Jesus was formally and publicly launching His mission to be the perfectly obedient Son who would secure a righteousness for His people. John, hearing the voice of his King, obeys. He permits it.

16 And after being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him,

The moment Jesus obeys, heaven responds. As He comes out of the water, the sky is torn open. This is not a quiet, private affair. This is a cosmic event. The barrier between heaven and earth is breached. And then the Spirit descends. Matthew says He descended "like a dove." This does not mean the Spirit is a bird, but that the manner of His descent was dove-like, perhaps gentle and hovering. The dove is a rich biblical symbol, reminiscent of the Spirit hovering over the waters of creation in Genesis 1, and the dove returning to Noah's ark with an olive branch, a sign of new life and peace after the flood's judgment. Here, the Spirit is anointing Jesus for His messianic task, empowering Him for the ministry that lies ahead. This is the King being equipped and commissioned by the Spirit of God.

17 and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Following the descent of the Spirit, the Father speaks. The voice comes "out of the heavens," an unambiguous declaration from God the Father Himself. And the content of the declaration is the central truth of the Christian faith. First, identity: "This is My beloved Son." This echoes Psalm 2, the royal psalm of the anointed King. Second, affection and relationship: "My beloved." And third, approval: "in whom I am well-pleased." This is the Father's perfect delight in His Son's person and His obedient mission. While Israel, the first son, had been disobedient, this Son is perfectly pleasing to the Father. This declaration is not for Jesus' benefit; He has always known who He is. It is for John's benefit, and for ours. It is the public, divine testimony to the identity of Jesus Christ. The entire Trinity is present and accounted for, working in perfect harmony to inaugurate the work of salvation.

Application

The baptism of Jesus is a foundational event for our faith, and it has direct application to our lives. First, we see the profound humility of Christ. If the sinless Son of God was willing to humble Himself in this way, identifying with sinners, how much more should we be willing to humble ourselves, confess our sins, and identify with Him? All Christian obedience begins with humility, recognizing who God is and who we are.

Second, we see the pattern for our own Christian life. Jesus' ministry was inaugurated with the anointing of the Spirit and the approval of the Father, and so is ours. When we are united to Christ by faith, we are given the same Spirit who descended upon Him. We are adopted as sons and daughters, and the Father looks upon us and is well-pleased, not because of our own righteousness, but because we are clothed in the righteousness of His beloved Son. Our baptism is our inauguration into this new life. It is the sign and seal that we belong to the Father, are united to the Son, and are indwelt by the Spirit.

Finally, this scene gives us ultimate assurance. The Father's declaration, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased," is the bedrock of our salvation. God is pleased with Jesus. And if we are in Jesus, then God is pleased with us. When we are tempted to doubt our salvation, when we feel the weight of our sin, we must not look to ourselves. We must look to the Jordan. We must look to Christ, the beloved Son, standing in the water for us. We must listen to the voice of the Father, whose pleasure in His Son is the ground of our acceptance, our hope, and our joy.