13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
15But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him.
16When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Imagine being John, who said he would not even be worthy of carrying the sandals of Jesus, now being asked to baptize Jesus. Imagine John, a sinner like everyone else, who is baptizing people for the repentance of sin, baptizing Jesus who had no sins to repent. John knew Jesus was mightier than he. John knew he needed cleansing more than Jesus. And yet Jesus wanted John to baptize him. I can understand why his reaction would be to prevent Jesus, not because he didn't think Jesus should be baptized, but just that he didn't feel he was worthy of doing it.
I had wondered why Jesus would need to be baptized. He had no sins to repent. But here Jesus says it is fitting for them to fulfill all righteousness. Note, he didn't even say it was required. He just said it was fitting. It was righteous for everyone to be baptized. Jesus would do what was righteous.
In most of Jesus' ministry to come, Jesus was in full control, was able to do everything for himself. Sure, he had disciples who assisted him in His work. But they were only assistants. Here is the one time He is unable to do something for Himself. As he said it was for "us" to fulfill all righteousness, He needed John to baptize Him.
I was surprised to hear it stated as that John allowed it. It seemed like it would have been more appropriate if it was written that John did it. But I think this is making it very clear that John wasn't the one who actually did the baptizing. Sure, he performed the steps required of baptizing people, but he was only a servant taking people through the steps. God is the one who actually baptized the people, washed away their sins. By taking them through the steps of baptism, he was allowing them to be baptized. He allowed Jesus to be baptized by taking Him through the ritual of baptism.
When everyone else was baptized, their sins were washed away. But when Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. John had told of the baptism to come where the baptized would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. It seems that here they just witnessed the first baptism with the Holy Spirit.
So why did Jesus need to be baptized? He didn't need it for the forgiveness of sins. And it wasn't just that it was the righteous thing to do. But Jesus needed to be baptized by the Holy Spirit to Help Him in his work to come. When we are baptized today, we are baptized with water to wash away our sins, but we are also baptized with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came to Jesus in his baptism to help Him in His work. The Holy Spirit also comes to us in our baptism to help us in our work too.
I love the feeling it gives me when I read about the voice from heaven saying "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." It makes me think of any loving parent who is proud of their child. To me this reaffirms the fact that we as parents need to let our children know how much we love and admire them, especially when they get ready to take their lives down a new path. Jesus is about to embark on an incredible mission. Before he goes, God gives Him the Holy Spirit to go with Him, and lets everyone know His love and pride for His son. God made it clear to all there that He was proud of Jesus. We should do the same for our children.