WHY DID HE DO IT?
Play Audio
If you prefer listening to today’s Bible guide reading, play this audio file.
If the audio bar is not appearing, click here to play the audio.
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to see you in new ways today; deepen my understanding of your commitment to save the lost and give me greater ability to share who you are with others.
Read MATTHEW 3:13—17
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Matthew
Matthew 3
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Reflect
What does baptism mean for you?
For me, the question is: Why did Jesus do it? When he joins that crowd waiting for baptism, he is the last person you would expect to wade into the waters. That’s why John reacts negatively (v. 14). Matthew’s account reveals his shock. Surely, the one who is so much more powerful than he shouldn’t be baptized by him. Rather, roles should be reversed. This seems so wrong. John understood that his baptism was for those who were repenting of sin and was therefore utterly out of order for Jesus.
This is the first of many times when we see how differently Jesus acts. John needs to learn that his own ministry lies at a hinge moment in history. In the national renewal movement he has begun, John belongs with Jesus in God’s love mission, where Jesus identifies with the world in revolutionary ways. Note how Jesus’ words to John include him in joint action: it is ‘proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness’ (v. 15, emphasis added)—that is to say, God’s right purpose. Jesus is saying, ‘This is where I join with the people and identify with them in their needs and failures.’1 He doesn’t stand distant on the bank. He wades in as the Word made flesh—into his ministry, accessible to everyone he meets.
By being baptized, Jesus confirms the rightness of John’s preparation and says ‘Yes’ to his Father’s will. Gloriously, God says ‘Yes’ to Jesus going public: as he comes out of the water, the Spirit descends like a dove, and he hears his Father’s words of love and affirmation. This is the best moment of all. The doctrine of the Trinity is complex, but here we see a wonderful picture of how Jesus belongs within the triune nature of God as the incarnate Son.
Apply
Close your eyes and picture this extraordinary scene at the beginning of Jesus’ mission, as he rubs shoulders with the crowds and God says ‘Yes’ to him.
Closing prayer
Gracious Lord, help me to marvel and praise you for the ways you break the rules when you show your love and care for people like me.
1 See Matt 8:17.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2026 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.