Luke 3:21

     Luke reports little about the baptism of Jesus. He doesn’t say specifically that John was the one who baptized him, but simply indicates that when the others were being baptized, Jesus was also. Mark and Matthew tell the story more fully, although Matthew, in particular, may have been especially uncomfortable with the fact that Jesus was baptized by John (instead of the other way around).
     Since there was some rivalry between the followers of John and those following Jesus, the fact that Jesus went to John for baptism would be puzzling. It would also be difficult to explain. Matthew adds the detail that John felt himself unworthy to do the baptism, but the response Jesus made seems somewhat cryptic. He told John to do it because it was proper to fulfill all righteousness. Neither Luke nor John report this part of the story (and the Gospel of John doesn’t tell anything about the baptism).
     It is important to note that the story of the baptism was told by all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke.) Aside from the content of the story, the reporting of it may tell us certain things. One is the fact that they were honest. Although the story may have been hard for them to understand, they still recorded it. This might indicate that it was known to others and the followers of John may have been telling it as part of the rivalry referred to in last week’s study. If so, it would have been tempting to the Gospel writers to leave it out, but they didn’t. It seems possible that Jesus himself might have spoken of the baptism and his followers knew it had been important to him.
     If Jesus did speak of his baptism, the gospel writers didn’t tell us what he thought about it. The story of God speaking of Jesus as beloved Son has given rise to various theologies. One suggests that Jesus became aware of his special calling at that time. Another is the ‘adoption’ theology, which says Jesus became God’s chosen one at that time. Luke, however, sees Jesus’ identity from the time of his conception and birth, so it seems unlikely that he was presenting such a thought.
     One of the things people have puzzled over concerning the baptism is that John was preaching a baptism of repentance. We have generally believed that Jesus would have had nothing to repent. The scriptures say he was tempted in every way as the rest of us are, but without sin. At the same time, we affirm the fact that he was as human as any one of us, with the same fears, pain, hopes, dreams and longings as we might have. He expressed grief, anger, friendship, even a sense of abandonment by God when he was upon the cross.
     In each of us, our “humanness” also meets the soul which was created in God’s image. How might this be understood in the case of the baptism of Jesus?
     If Jesus was without sin, what might have his baptism meant to him? Could it have been a ritual for him as he embarked upon a new path?
     When you consider your own baptism, either by memory or the knowledge of it as a child, what does it mean to you to know that Jesus also was baptized?