THE BAPTISM UNTO REPENTANCE

Jesus gets to the Jordan river where John, the Baptist, is baptising all who come to him. We hear him explaining to them in Matt. 3: 11:

                           "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance..."

 - the baptism unto repentance of sin - to become part of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus steps into the water to be baptized and John says to Him:

                            "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
                            Matt. 3: 14

Jesus, the Son of God, without sin or guilt, pure and holy, asks to be baptized with the sinners' baptism unto repentance... why would He do this? It is clear that John, the baptist, also did not understand His actions.

We read in Isaiah 53: 4-5:

                            "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet
                             we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But ,
                             He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
                             iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by
                             His stripes we are healed. "

He became our scapegoat. Took the punishment for our sins on Him. Became us in guilt and status before God.

Jesus had reached the age of 30, which meant that He had attained the age at which He could assume a public ministry or the status of a rabbi. He deliberately chose this, the moment at the Jordan river, to identify Himself wholly with sinful mankind; to take upon Himself the sins of the whole world, assuming our guilt.
Although nobody perhaps realised what was happening, Jesus was in fact publicly declaring, before the people and before God, His Father, His willingness to fulfil the mission for which He was sent to this earth. He was taking the first steps on the road that would lead to His terrible and humiliating death... from this moment on there would be no turning back ... the scene was now set... and this was the first act.

In addition, in allowing Himself to be baptized, He also set the example for each and every person on earth to follow:

Once you have made the decision to turn to God, be part of the Kingdom of God and submit to the will of God and His purpose for your life, once you have repented of your sins, you should make your decision public by identifying with the obedience and submission of Jesus, and die to the old "you" and be resurrected as a "new creation" by following the example set by Christ in baptism . Just as He at His baptism identified Himself as being one with mankind, at baptism in His name, we identify ourselves with Him in His death and resurrection.

Listen to Him replying to John the Baptist:

                              "...Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all
                               righteousnesss." Matt. 3:15

So, also, it is fitting for us to fulfill all that Jesus require of us who decide to follow Him.

Many people are "baptized" as babes and not knowing what it meant or was supposed to mean at the time of their baptism, it may never mean anything more to them than believing that they were given a name at that moment; a human name - although they received their names when it was entered into the Birth Registrar of their Department of Inland Affairs, and they have no idea that they were supposed to receive the spiritual name "my beloved son" at the time of their baptism and that they were supposed to be giving the first steps towards the spiritual purpose and mission of their lives.

Listen to Jesus address His disciples before His ascension into heaven:

                      " Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
                      them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
                      Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have comman-
                      ded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
                       age."  Matt. 28: 19-20

But, let us now return to the scene at the Jordan River... Jesus, having been baptised, upon coming up out of the water, hears the voice of His Beloved Father coming from the heavens:

                      "...This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matt. 3:17

Proudly, lovingly, intimately aware and present and part of the proceedings, God the Father, from the heaven above, pronounces His pleasure in His Son, Jesus, whose purpose it is to be the Christ of the world.

What is your purpose? What is mine? How are we able to fulfil our God-given purpose and destiny? We first need to be obedient and submit to His commands...

Thank You, Lord, that we have no reason to ask what your commands are. They are all there, in Your Word, for us to see, to read and to obey. And thank You, that as we obey, you will declare Your love and pleasure in us and lead us to our ultimate purpose and destiny.