The Great Reversal: The Baptism of Jesus Text: Matthew 3:13-17
Introduction: When Heaven Invades Earth
We live in an age that is allergic to authority, allergic to submission, and allergic to objective reality. Our entire culture is a frantic attempt to create a world where every man is his own god, defining his own truth, and answering to no one. We want a universe that revolves around us. But the story of the Bible, the story of reality, is the story of a great reversal. It is the story of the King of Heaven coming down, not to be served, but to serve. It is the story of the one who is without sin identifying with sinners. It is the story of the Judge of all the earth placing Himself under the authority of His own law.
The baptism of Jesus is one of those moments where the fabric of our fallen expectations is torn open, and the light of God's kingdom shines through with blinding clarity. Here at the Jordan River, we do not see a self-made man pulling himself up by his bootstraps. We see the eternal Son of God stooping to conquer. This event is not an afterthought, not a mere biographical detail. It is the formal inauguration of Christ's public ministry. It is a Trinitarian coronation. And it is the foundational pattern for our own identification with Him.
John the Baptist has been preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Crowds have been flocking to him from Jerusalem and all Judea, confessing their sins, and being washed in the Jordan. This was a preparatory work, a tilling of the soil for the coming of the Messiah. And then, the Messiah comes. But He doesn't come the way anyone expected. He doesn't come to commend John's work from a distance. He doesn't come to take over the operation. He comes to get in the water. He comes to be baptized. This is a profound offense to our pride, and it was an offense to John the Baptist's humility. But in this act, Jesus establishes the pattern of His entire ministry: He identifies with us, in our place, so that we might be identified with Him in His place.
The Text
Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 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. 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, and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
(Matthew 3:13-17 LSB)
The Righteous One and the Repentant (vv. 13-14)
We begin with the shocking arrival and the reasonable objection.
"Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?'" (Matthew 3:13-14)
Jesus comes. He travels from Galilee, His home region, down to the Jordan where John is ministering. He comes with a stated purpose: to be baptized by John. Now, we must feel the force of this. John's baptism was for sinners. It was a baptism of repentance. It was for people who had sins to confess. And here comes the one Man in all of human history who had no sin to confess, no rebellion to repent of, no stain to be washed from. He is the Lamb of God, without spot or blemish.
John understands this immediately. His reaction is not one of pride, as though his ministry has finally attracted the VIP it deserved. His reaction is one of profound, theological shock. He tries to prevent Jesus. The verb here implies a strenuous, ongoing attempt. "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" John gets it exactly right. The lesser is blessed by the greater. The sinner is cleansed by the Savior. The creature is baptized by the Creator. John recognizes his own need, his own sinfulness, and he recognizes Jesus' absolute purity and authority. He sees the great reversal and he objects to it. It doesn't make sense. It's like the sun asking a candle for light.
John's objection is born of humility and reverence. He knows his place. But in this moment, he does not yet understand God's plan. He sees the transaction in terms of personal need and merit, which is how we naturally think. But Jesus is operating on a different level entirely. He is operating on the level of covenantal substitution.
Fulfilling All Righteousness (v. 15)
Jesus' answer to John is the theological center of this entire event.
"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." (Matthew 3:15 LSB)
Jesus does not deny John's premise. He doesn't say, "No, John, you've misunderstood. I'm not who you think I am." He affirms it, but overrules the objection. "Permit it at this time." This is a temporary necessity for a permanent purpose. And what is that purpose? "For in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."
What does this mean? It means that Jesus, as the representative of His people, as the second Adam, must perfectly obey every command of God. He must walk the whole path of righteousness that was required of man. And this baptism was a command from God, mediated through John. For Jesus to bypass it would be an act of disobedience. He is submitting Himself to the authority of God, just as any other faithful Israelite was called to do. He is identifying with the righteous remnant of Israel who were responding to John's call.
But it is more than that. He is not just identifying with the righteous; He is identifying with the unrighteous. He is stepping into the water with sinners, not because He is one of them, but because He has come to stand in their place. He is our substitute. He was our substitute in His baptism, just as He was our substitute on the cross. He is taking our place, fulfilling the requirements on our behalf. He is being numbered with the transgressors. This is the beginning of His public ministry, and it begins with an act of profound solidarity with the very people He came to save. He did not need to repent, but He underwent a baptism of repentance so that our repentance, united to His, might be accepted. He fulfilled all righteousness so that, as Paul says, we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
The Heavens Torn Open (vv. 16-17)
As soon as Jesus obeys, the entire Godhead erupts in glorious affirmation.
"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, and behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.'" (Matthew 3:16-17 LSB)
As Jesus comes up from the water, two things happen. First, the heavens are opened. This is not just a patch of blue sky appearing. This is a tearing, a rending. For centuries, God had been largely silent. The heavens had been like brass. But now, at the inauguration of the Son, communication is restored. Heaven is invading earth.
Then, the Spirit of God descends. Matthew says He descends "like a dove." This is not to say the Spirit is a bird. The Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity. The comparison to a dove signifies gentleness, peace, and new creation. Just as a dove returned to Noah's ark with an olive branch, signaling that the waters of judgment had receded and a new world was beginning, so the Spirit descends on Jesus, the true ark of salvation. He is anointing Jesus for His messianic task. This is the moment Jesus is formally equipped and empowered by the Spirit for the ministry that lies ahead. The Spirit does not direct attention to Himself; He points to Christ. He anoints Christ.
Finally, the Father speaks. "Behold, a voice out of the heavens." This is not an internal impression. This is an audible, objective declaration from God the Father. And what does He say? "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." This is the ultimate affirmation. The Father's pleasure, His delight, rests completely on the Son. This statement is a direct quote combining Psalm 2:7 ("You are my Son") and Isaiah 42:1 ("Behold my Servant, in whom my soul delights"). It identifies Jesus as both the Messianic King and the Suffering Servant.
Notice the Father's pleasure is declared before Jesus has performed a single public miracle, preached a single sermon, or healed a single person. The Father's love for the Son is not based on performance; it is based on relationship. It is an eternal love. And because of Jesus' obedience, because He stood in our place, this is the verdict that is rendered over all who are united to Him by faith. When the Father looks at you, Christian, He sees you in His beloved Son, and He says, "This is my beloved child, in whom I am well-pleased." This is the heart of the gospel. It is not about us earning God's favor. It is about receiving the favor that Christ has already perfectly secured.
The Triune God on Display
We cannot leave this passage without marveling at the clarity with which the Trinity is revealed. This is one of the clearest pictures of the triune nature of God in all of Scripture. We have the Son in the water, being baptized. We have the Spirit descending from heaven to anoint the Son. And we have the Father speaking from heaven to affirm the Son. They are three distinct persons, yet they are one God, working in perfect unity to accomplish our salvation.
Our God is not a solitary monad. He is not a lonely deity in need of a creation to keep Him company. He is, and has always been, a fellowship of love within Himself. The Father eternally loves the Son in the unity of the Spirit. This is the foundation of reality. This is why love, communication, and relationship are not accidental byproducts of evolution, but are woven into the very fabric of the universe. Because God is Triune.
The baptism of Jesus, therefore, is not just about Jesus. It is about the unveiling of the God who saves. The Father plans our salvation, the Son accomplishes our salvation, and the Spirit applies our salvation. And here, at the Jordan, we see them all at work. To deny the Trinity is to unravel the gospel at its very seams. Your salvation is a Trinitarian work from beginning to end. When you were baptized, you were baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. You were brought into this divine fellowship.
This is the great reversal. The sinless Son of God stands in the water with sinners, so that sinful men and women might be clothed in His righteousness and hear the Father's voice of loving approval. He went down into the water of judgment for us, so that we could be raised to newness of life with Him, and have the heavens opened to us. He identified with us, so that we could be identified with Him. This is not a story about what you must do for God. This is the story of what the Triune God has done for you in Jesus Christ.