Why did Jesus get Baptized?

Imagine this scene....You’re a Jew living in the time of Christ who hears about an eccentric man named John. This man is considered by some to be a prophet, nay the Messiah himself, as he ministers to the masses a “baptism of repentance” in the Jordan river. Curious, you travel to the Jordan to see if these claims hold any water. Upon arriving, you see and hear “The Baptist” announce that the “Lamb of God” has arrived as he points out a man in the crowd. Finally, you see a look of confusion appear on John’s face as he eventually converses with him.  You overhear…

“I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?”

“Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Mt. 3:14-15) 

Consenting to the divine request, you see John baptize the Lord. The heavens open and the Spirit of God descends on him like a dove, and a voice says “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Amazed, you wonder who exactly this man is that John has baptized.

Many today share the same initial confusion as John when considering the Baptism of Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God. Particularly the question is asked, “If Baptism takes away sin, and Jesus was not a sinner....then why did Jesus undergo the Baptism of John?” 

Good question! Thankfully in a Church just short of her 2000th birthday, a question rarely arises that has yet to be asked. For every sincere question held, it is safe to bet that some saint or theologian has already commented on the matter. For our purposes here, St. Thomas gives insight about the fittingness of the Lord’s Baptism by John in his Summa Theologica. Specifically, the Angelic Doctor has given three reasons for the act in Article One of Question 39 located in the Tertia Pars. 

Firstly, Jesus chose to undergo baptism to sanctify the waters. By coming into contact with his divine nature, the waters were made holy in order that they might be the proper instrument through which divine grace may flow, i.e., the matter of the sacrament. To better understand this, it might be helpful to recall how in every sacrament there is both a “matter” and a “form.”  

The form of a sacrament are the words that are used to convey the meaning of the act. The matter of a sacrament are those tangible substances by which the act occurs. In every sacrament, the matter becomes sanctified itself as it is reserved for the purpose of divine worship. An example is the holy Chrism in Confirmation and the Anointing of the Sick. The greatest example is the offering of Bread and Wine in the Sacrifice of the Mass, which become Jesus’ own body and blood!  

In remembering that Christ established every sacrament, we can see that by his baptism he has provided the matter necessary for this sacrament in sanctifying the waters. Christ would then establish the form of this sacrament in “the great commission” where he told his Apostles to go out baptizing all nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28).

The second reason for Christ’s Baptism that Thomas provides is that by it, Christ began to cleanse sinful human nature. To break this down, let’ keep in mind a few points. 1.) Water has always been used to cleanse and bring life. 2.) Jesus Christ is one divine person with two natures: Totally human and totally divine. 3.) Jesus came to reconcile God and Man.  

When the Son of God united human nature to himself, he took on the flesh’s likeness to sin, but not sin itself. When Christ was baptized, he took sinful human nature and plunged it in the cleansing and life-giving water to signify the start of his mission for which he was sent. Gregory Nazianzen says "Christ was baptized that He might plunge the old Adam entirely in the water." (Fun fact: the word “Baptism” is Greek for “To immerse”!) For this reason, Christ immediately begins his ministry following his Baptism by preaching about repentance and the arrival of the Kingdom of God.  

Thomas finally gives a third reason that the Baptism of Christ was fitting. The saint says that Christ did so as to lead by example. As previously noted, he commanded that all nations be baptized. In being baptized himself, Jesus shows himself to be a true brother who is in solidarity with sinful humanity. God has revealed himself to man not as being vengeful to his creation, but rather as one whom walks alongside it in order to lead it to life. His actions here at the beginning of his earthly ministry are similar to those at the end where he washed the feet of his disciples, telling them that they ought to do the same for others. 

In summary, Aquinas states that it was fitting that Christ be baptized in order to 1.) Sanctify the Waters of Baptism, 2.) Both initiate and signify the beginning of his work of cleansing human nature of sin and 3.) To do himself what he has commanded others to do. Thomas goes on to write another seven articles concerning the Lord’s Baptism and I highly recommend that you read them in light of today’s feast!