Your Baptism Matters Because of Jesus, Matthew 3:13-17

When Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, he changed the meaning and the blessings of John’s baptism. As we are baptized into Christ, we receive the blessings of him being our representative and our substitute. Through that union with him, we receive life and salvation from the Father because the Spirit of God comes to be with us and we are adopted. We can now rejoice in the goodness and mercy of God the Father because Jesus was baptized and transformed baptism to be a gift and blessing to us.

Image: The Baptism of Christ, Nicolás Enríquez, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jesus Baptized for You, Matthew 3:13-17

Why did Jesus go to John the Baptist to get baptized? Was it needed for Jesus himself? Or did he do it for a greater purpose? Father Jeremiah considers why Jesus was baptized and how that changes us today.

Image: Andrea del Verrocchio, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, no changes made. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Baptism_of_Christ_%28Verrocchio_%26_Leonardo%29.jpg

Changed by Jesus' Baptism, Matthew 3.13-17

When Jesus was baptized, he transformed what baptism was about. His baptism was unexpected for John the Baptist, but to do what was necessary and needful, he baptized Jesus and saw the transformation of baptism into something new and even more glorious. This is what we participated in when we were baptized and what we participate in when we remember that baptism.

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay